[CPEO-MEF] Sailors exposed to deadly agents

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Sailors exposed to deadly agents 

Pentagon finally concedes dangers from 1960s tests
By Lee Davidson
Deseret News Washington correspondent

WASHINGTON ? The Pentagon finally officially acknowledged Thursday ? 
seven years after the Deseret News first revealed it ? that U.S. sailors 
were exposed to germ and chemical warfare agents in 1960s tests at sea 
that were ordered by Utah-based Army scientists.

"This is what we've been fighting for since 1994," said Jack Alderson of 
Ferndale, Calif., who was the officer in charge of five tug boats that 
participated in the tests. Like many sailors, he suffers from cancer he 
thinks may have been caused by them.

"We always wanted what we are now getting: names of people involved, 
agents used and cleanup chemicals used, and to have the health of people 
checked," he said.

He notes that is far different than early years ? until a 1995 Deseret 
News story revealed the tests ? when the military denied they ever 
occurred.

"I have a letter from Navy headquarters saying they never occurred. 
Early on, I had someone from the Pentagon tell me I was never there," he 
said.

Many such sailors have long been denied health and disability benefits 
for cancer and other illness that they blame on such agents because, 
until now, they could not prove their exposure through official channels 
to the Veterans Affairs Department.

This story can be viewed in its entirety at:
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/1%2C1249%2C405007340%2C00.html

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