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Project 112/SHAD REPORT
BY JACK ALDERSON, CHAIR
Larry Pilkinton served with the Project SHAD Technical
Staff. I first met him when the light tugs were reorganized,
and I and other new crew members reported in October 1964.
The following is an excerpt from his obituary: “In
1964 he was selected for Project 112/SHAD, which was a top-secret
project of chemical and biological warfare tests. He had
various duties for SHAD, and in addition to his laboratory
research work, he was assistant safety officer and exposed
to many agents. He was injured in the line of duty but could
not receive a medical discharge due to the top-secret nature
of his duties. So after serving almost 13 years, he received
an honorable discharge from the Navy.”
Now for the rest
of the story: Larry was not on board the light tugs (LTs)
but was assigned as part of the laboratory and support staff.
After returning from the test called Shady Grove, Larry was
sent to Hawaii’s Big Island as part
of a land test. He told me that he was loading bomblets with
nerve and biological agents. The next thing he knew was when
he woke up back in Oahu at Tripler Army Hospital.
When we
heard that he had been injured, a couple of the crew went
to see him. However, they were denied entry by a Marine stationed
outside his room. The next time we were in port we were informed
he had died and that his family had shipped back to the mainland.
Everyone on the staff thought of him dead, including those
who worked closely with him.
It came
as a great shock then when I received an e-mail from him
in March 2006. He had read one of these columns in The VVA
Veteran. In talking with him and his wife, Doreen, he told
me that he had been shipped to Oaknoll Naval Hospital and
placed in the psychiatric ward. He was told that he had a
prior mental illness and his security clearance was revoked.
His medical records had no indication he was part of the
SHAD staff. Rather than going back to being a regular hospital
orderly, he preferred to leave the Navy and restart his life
as a civilian.
The Project SHAD Technical Staff members were
carefully selected and all had final secret security clearances
and, periodically, interim top secret. This means that background
investigations had been performed. Why had this not come
up with evidence of his prior mental illnesses? Why were
his medical records devoid of PSTS information?
Agent Orange Committee chair Buzz
Sawyer noted, “Larry
died on February 13. Many of us feel his demise was related
to the latent effects of his exposure to chemical and biological
weapons on the Big Island in 1966. Because of the classified
nature of his work, he died without establishing service
connection to his illness or survivor benefits for his widow.
The VA would only consider his prior mental illness.”
Sawyer
added, “It is truly a shame that agencies of
our government hide behind the veil of “national security” to
cover up and block requests for information that may aid
veterans in their quest for their rights. They check out
our backgrounds thoroughly. But they obfuscate and they lie,
and it is the veteran who gave honest and upright service
who is hurt.”
It just ain’t right.
THE LIVING WEAPON
On February 5, PBS’s American Experience
broadcast an hour-long documentary on 112. “The Living
Weapon” was,
we were informed, supposed to reveal new information. We
were misinformed. It was mostly just a rehash. Toward the
end, there was a short scene that showed three of the LTs.
They said the targets were barges with monkeys on board but
said nothing about the sailors involved.
One other new piece of information: Add St. Louis and Minneapolis
to the list of cities that were targeted in biological simulant
tests.
Chair: Jack Alderson. Members: Jack Barry, Tom Berger, Norm
LaChapelle, Rich Levesque, Bob Maras, John Olsen, and Buzz
Sawyer. Staff Coordinator: Bernie Edelman.
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©2006-
2008, Vietnam Veterans of America. All Rights Reserved. 8605 Cameron
Street, Silver Spring, MD 20910