“It Felt Like You Were On Fire”: Black Soldiers Were Led Into Gas Chambers and Poisoned During WWII

Discussion in 'Mental, Medical and Sexual Health' started by OckyDub, Jul 21, 2017.

  1. OckyDub

    OckyDub is a Verified MemberOckyDub I gave the Loc'ness monstah about $3.50
    Site Founder The 10000 Daps Club

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2015
    Messages:
    6,691
    Daps Received:
    15,036
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    The planet of Memory Corpses
    Orientation:
    Homosexual
    Dating:
    Married
    [​IMG]

    During World War II black soldiers were experimented on with mustard gas.

    For the first time, NPR tracked down some of the soldiers and asked them about their experiences.

    Rollins Edwards, a former U.S. Army solider, told the public radio station that he and other black soldiers were led into a gas chamber where toxins were released.

    “It felt like you were on fire,” Edwards, now 93, told NPR. “Guys started screaming and hollering and trying to break out. And then some of the guys fainted. And finally they opened the door and let us out, and the guys were just, they were in bad shape.”

    Edwards didn’t know at the time that he and 60,000 other enlisted soldiers were being used as guinea pigs for mustard gas and other chemical tests. Edwards was chosen for the study specifically because he was black.

    “They said we were being tested to see what effect these gases would have on black skins,” Edwards says.

    It wasn’t just blacks, but Japanese-Americans and Puerto Ricans were also used as test subjects. Although the Pentagon had confirmed the tests, it never shared how test subjects were chosen based on race.

    Researchers wanted to know if people of color were more resilient because if they were, then they could be used on the front line during battle.

    “The first thing to be very clear about is that the Department of Defense does not conduct chemical weapons testing any longer,” Army Col. Steve Warren said. “And I think we have probably come as far as any institution in America on race. … So I think particularly for us in uniform, to hear and see something like this, it’s stark. It’s even a little bit jarring.”

    After the tests were done, the soldiers received no health care for any resulting ailments and were sworn to secrecy under threat of dishonorable discharge.

    “I spent three weeks in the hospital with a bad fever. Almost all of us got sick,” said Lopez Negron, 95, who was also a test subject.

    Mustard gas not only causes blisters, but it also damages DNA
     
    Winston Smith and Cyrus-Brooks dapped this.
  2. Cyrus-Brooks

    Cyrus-Brooks is a Featured MemberCyrus-Brooks The Black Vulcan
    Squad Leader Best Site Comments The 1000 Daps Club

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2015
    Messages:
    1,257
    Daps Received:
    2,420
    Gender:
    Male
    Dating:
    In a Relationship
    Yet white people think our beef is just about slavery. This wasn't 150 years ago. This actually happened during my grandparents lifetime.
     
    OhSheit and handsomeguy25 dapped this.
  3. Winston Smith

    Best Site Comments The 1000 Daps Club Supporter

    Joined:
    May 6, 2016
    Messages:
    2,016
    Daps Received:
    5,479
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Nowhere in Particular
    Orientation:
    Gay
    Dating:
    Not looking
    Yeah see there's a lot of shit like this that Honolulu Slim should have taken care of when he had the reigns. Black men are still fucked over in the military and their benefits could easily have been dealt with in an executive order.
     
    OhSheit and Cyrus-Brooks dapped this.
Loading...
Similar Threads - “It Felt Were Forum Date
Oscar Nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor: “It’s Harder To Be Gay Than Black In Hollywood” Race, Religion, Science and Politics Feb 15, 2016

Share This Page

Loading...