Ex-HPD officer victim A retired Honolulu police officer suspected for years that he was a victim of secret military chemical and biological tests in the 1960s.
of military chemical tests
James Sohns did not know he was
Experts downplay risk of 1960s testing
in the secret chemical testing
By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.comJames "Kimo" Sohns, who believes his medical problems stem from the testing, was a storekeeper on the auxiliary ship USS Granville Hall when it participated in three secret tests -- information released only recently.
He takes exception to fact sheets released by the Pentagon this week dealing with classified chemical and biological tests in the Pacific that said sailors "should have received comprehensive biological and chemical agent training." He said his ship's crew was never informed or trained in these areas.
"The DOD's definitive word," said Sohns, 57, in a phone interview yesterday from his Las Vegas home, was that "we should have received training. But we never did. We were never told about those tests then."
The Pentagon this week acknowledged that secret experiments were conducted at sea and in five states from Hawaii to Florida. Some used the military's deadliest nerve agent, VX.
Thousands of civilians in Hawaii and Alaska probably were unaware they were sprayed with relatively mild bacteria meant to simulate germ weapons such as anthrax.
Fred Ballard, spokesman for the Department of Veterans Administration here, said there have been only a few inquiries after the Defense Department's latest disclosures.
Ballard said when the Pentagon released information in May on one test, called "Autumn Gold," there were seven veterans living here who were identified to have been involved.
"We sent them letters, but we have never gotten a response," Ballard said.
He confirmed that Sohns has two claims pending with the VA in Reno, but could not talk about them due to federal privacy rules.
The Hall participated in "Flower Drum" from February to September 1964, "Shady Grove" from January to April 1965 and "Fearless Johnny" from August to September 1965. He was a crew member of the Hall from 1964 to 1966.
Sohns said he suffers from stomach nerve disorder and loss of sex drive, and one of his sons is afflicted with spinal meningitis.
"They (tests) ruined my life," Sohns said. "It destroyed my marriage. I lost my sex drive five years ago. I couldn't explain why to my wife.
"I no longer can do anything. I can't walk more than 50 to 100 feet without running out of breath. I had to buy a scooter to get around," he said.
Sohns said he tried for years to get help from the VA, but "no one knew what happened or what to do about it."
His medical problems drove him to dig into his military history, and in 1990 he saw military records that showed that he had been in three tests.
"I don't know why I was allowed to see that information if it was classified then, but it made me dig deeper," he said.
During the Flower Drum tests, in which the Pentagon said sarin nerve gas was sprayed on the Hall and the USS George Eastman, another auxiliary ship, Sohns said he does not remember anything out of the ordinary taking place.
"There was a Marine helicopter circling us, but we didn't know what it was doing," he said. "It could have been picking up air samples."
Sohns said there were civilians riding with them on the Hall, and now he thinks they could have been scientists.
The Hall, five tugboats and Marine aviators were involved in Shady Grove.
Bacillis globigii, a bacterial relative of anthrax, was sprayed from airplanes.
At the time, BG was considered to be harmless. Later, researchers discovered it could cause infections in people with weak immune systems.
A corpsman suspected in 1965 there was something going on and told him, Sohns said, but there was never anything to confirm those suspicions.
The Pentagon now says that in addition to "comprehensive biological and chemical agent training," participants should have been wearing protective masks and clothing.
"None of that ever occurred," Sohns said. "We were never told that we had been sprayed by chemicals."
In the Fearless Johnny tests where the nerve agent VX was sprayed on the Eastman, the Hall was the escort and laboratory vessel.
Most of the tests Sohns was involved in took place off Oahu.
Sohns said that after joining the Honolulu Police Department in 1975, he was forced to take disability retirement 11 years later because of his medical problems, leaving with post-traumatic stress. He received a 45 percent disability rating from the city. In 1980 he started seeing a psychiatrist. "My nerves were wrecked," he said.
About two years ago, Sohns said, since he was getting nowhere with the VA or the military, he sought help from California Rep. Mike Thompson, whom he now credits with forcing the Pentagon to make the recent disclosures.
In June, Sohns said, he finally got a letter from the Pentagon and the VA noting that he was involved in Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense), which was done in the 1960s to determine the effectiveness of shipboard protection and protective procedures against chemical and biological attacks.
However, Sohns said the government said it did not know what kind of medical problems the tests may have caused.