“I beg to differ, Dr. Hess. There are similarities. The army sprayed clouds of what they believed was a nontoxic material.” She pretended to refer to her notes but the details were still fresh in her memory. “I believe it was zinc cadmium sulfide. Does that sound correct, Dr. Hess?”
“I don’t have the benefit of having those details in front of me, so I’ll have to take your word for it.”
“Between 1952 and 1969 multiple cities were used as test sites, as were multiple areas within each city. The ‘nontoxic’ material was sprayed from generators in the rear of trucks or in some cases from rooftops. At least one of those sites in Minneapolis was a public elementary school.” She paused and looked up at Hess. “Does this sound familiar now?”
He shifted slightly in his chair.
“Zinc sulfide is a fluorescent phosphor, chosen so scientists could actually test the students at various times with ‘special lights.’ Residual traces would illuminate on the children’s shoes or clothing or even on their bodies. The test was used to see if it showed up, and then how long it stayed.”
Now when Ellie glanced up and around the room she saw that she had everyone’s attention. There were no looks of boredom.
“What I’m wondering, Dr. Hess, is who determined the quantities that would be dispersed?”
“Excuse me?”
“The zinc sulfide. The army and Fort Detrick conducted these tests, but who was it who decided the composition of the fluorescent particles or how much was a safe level to spray?”
“As with any of these matters, there is a group who makes those decisions.”
“A group?” This time she smiled before she said, “Are you telling me the army did things back then by a democratic vote?”
There was a nervous laugh that spread across the room but it didn’t last, and now Hess couldn’t hide his irritation.
“Let me be more specific.” Ellie told him. “Who determined how much zinc cadmium sulfide was safe to spray on elementary-school children?”
He stared her down. Good Lord, her father would be so angry right now. But she continued, “It was you, wasn’t it, Dr. Hess?”
“I was the scientist in charge of that particular area.” There were a few whispers, and as if Hess wanted to extinguish them, he added, “Along with your father.”
She paused and allowed the room to whisper. Hess meant for the comment to connect her to this atrocity and discount her, but Ellie hoped for just the opposite. If she insisted on bringing this to light in spite of her father’s involvement, perhaps it would make her case even stronger.
“Zinc cadmium sulfide is now believed to be toxic. Studies show that it’s toxic enough to cause birth defects and even cancer. Isn’t that correct?”
“At the time it was said to be a safe, nontoxic material. Because of its phosphor principles it was easily traced. No one was known to be harmed.”
“And how would they have known, Dr. Hess, if their cancer or their child’s birth defect was actually caused by your ‘nontoxic’ material? How could they know when you didn’t even tell them that they were exposed?”
Silence, but his glare answered for him.
“How many other tests like this were conducted, Dr. Hess?”
“I’m unaware of the number.” This time he shrugged like it made no difference.
“The army admits that more than a hundred similar tests were conducted in multiple cities across the country on unsuspecting citizens.”
Now the room seemed to come alive as people shifted in their chairs, cameras clicked, and committee members flipped through the copies of photographs and information from inside the envelopes.
“You have no right to judge.” Dr. Hess’s voice boomed over the room, a teacher scolding his students into silence. “It was a dangerous time. We faced an enemy like no other. The Russians were already far more advanced and had stockpiles of biological and chemical weapons that could level any one of our cities in a matter of hours. The Russians didn’t hesitate to use those weapons on their own people.”
“Apparently you and my father and the United States Army didn’t hesitate to use them on our own people, either.”
“The sacrifice of a few to save millions.” He shook his head as he said it, like she would never understand.
“Schoolchildren, Dr. Hess?” She held up the photo of him with her father and the row of smiling elementary-school students for everyone, especially the cameras, to see. “If you’d do it to schoolchildren without the public knowing, without their parents’ consent, why would we not believe that you’d do it to sailors and soldiers without their consent? Without their knowledge?”
The room went silent again.
“We need to give veterans like Frank Sadowski and all the others the medical benefits and care that they’ve been asking for. That they deserve. Even if it’s fifty years late.”
56.
Haywood County, North Carolina