For decades during the Cold War, the Army carried out chemical and biological testing experiments on more than 7,000 of its own soldiers at the Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. The GIs — all volunteers — were sworn to secrecy and told they would experience no long-term health effects.
Some soldiers tested protective clothing, while others were exposed to nerve agents, mustard gas, and psychoactive drugs with no plan for follow-up care.
Most didn’t realize what they’d signed up for.
Bob Krafty was just out of his teens when — in 1965 — he was offered temporary duty at Edgewood. The offer was attractive: it would mean no kitchen duty, a private room and three days off per week. The Army told him he’d be helping to end the war in Vietnam.