Responding to pressure from Congress and the White House, the Defense Department did an abrupt about-face Wednesday and promised to end the secrecy surrounding World War II experiments in which servicemen were subjected to poison gases.
Deputy Defense Secretary William Perry rescinded a secrecy oath imposed on the test participants and said the military would declassify research records in an effort to help those who took part qualify for veterans benefits.As many as 60,000 servicemen are believed to have been exposed to mustard gas and other chemical agents during the war years to test the effectiveness of protective clothing and treatments.
The tests were conducted by the Army and Navy in Washington and the states of Utah, Alabama, Alaska, California, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Maryland, and in Panama.
In a letter to the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Perry said he was acting "so that past service members that have been hesitant to seek assistance will no longer be constrained."
After decades of silence, participants have come forward recently, saying they suffered chronic health problems due to the tests.
The reversal came as a new congressional General Accounting Office report found that the military's reluctance to disclose personnel logs and details of the experiments was preventing veterans from substantiating claims.