Dear Brenda, A little more history for you, I have been going through my 60s archives and came upon an article I did for the 1968 Victorian YLA Conference on Biochemical Warfare- just a couple of quotes - you can put them on Tastalking using my name if you wish. The pneumonic plague outbreak is of particular interest as this is only made in the laboratory, it was designed with a limited life span so one could release it into an area (say where VC are active) wipe out the total population of that limited area with no risk to troops in adjoining regions - although it sometimes gets out of control. I notice Anthrax gets a few mentions, I also remember at one time that Cuba accused the US of dropping Anthrax infected material onto their stock and pastures.
Regards,
"...One of the most disturbing and frightening aspects of the Vietnamese War must surely be the "suspected" use of bacteriological and chemical agents on the Vietnamese people, by both the Untied States and south Vietnamese armies. One of the first attempts to prevent the use of bacteriological and chemical warfare agents was the Geneva Protocols of 1925 which the United States refused to sign"..." There is evidence prior to the Vietnamese war that the United states did not abide by President Roosevelt's assurances that they would never use them. In 1952 during the Korean War a five man International Scientific Commission was invited to investigate Chinese charges of Untied States use of bacteriological and chemical warfare agents. After visiting the attacked areas and interviewing numerous witnesses they found the allegations proven. In particular they cited the use of cholera infected clams, anthrax infected feathers and plague infected fleas. Photographs of infected animals and bacterial cultures were backed up by extensive clinical reports. The use of bacteriological and chemical warfare agents in Vietnam is indicated in the following reports:
October 1959 Walter Schneir, writing in the "Reporter" magazine - "I was told that infected insects are kept constantly available at the Fort Detrick installation. The inventory includes mosquitoes infected with yellow fever, malaria, and dengue; fleas infected with plague; ticks with tularemia, relapsing fever, and Colorado fever; horseflies with cholera, anthrax and dysentery. The facilities at fort Detrick include laboratories for mass breeding of pathogens and various chemicals that harm or destroy plants. Studies are in progress on the most effective means of spreading plant diseases that attack wheat, barley, oats, rye, rice and cotton". 22 July 1961 "Ngo Dinh Diem signs a decree press ganging public servants, doctors and pharmacists into the army, and compelling all men form 20 to 33, partially graduated from baccalaureate or having a corresponding diploma, to attend an officer training course." 1961 "US - Diem's aeroplanes sprayed toxic chemical over may localities in South Vietnam. According to investigations made by the South Vietnamese Liberation Red Cross Society, besides the products 2-4D and 2-4-ST used in a strong dose, the US-Diem also sprayed white arsenic, alkali arsenites, alcate earth, calcie cyanamide, metallic aresenate, 2-4 denitri-phenol DNP, and dinitoo-orthocresol DNC. 1 November 1965 A Washington official stated at the National Foreign Policy Conference - "We are only making limited use of arsenic and cyanide compounds in the southern part of Vietnam, but not yet in the north." 12 January 1966 Reuters despatch from Saigon stated "Non-toxic gas being used against Viet Cong guerrillas in tunnels north-west of Saigon has killed on Australian Soldier and sent six others to hospital....he died of asphyxiation event though he was wearing a gas mask [the use of nerve gas strongly suspected here] 9 March 1967 The Sydney "Sun" reported. "The plague has broken out at Cam-Rahn Bay, site of a big US air base and harbour. One Vietnamese has died, 30 others are infected and one US serviceman was being treated. He is believed to be suffering from pneumonic plague, one of the several forms of the dreaded disease, another variety of bubonic plague killed more than a quarter of the population of Europe in 1347. A US official said yesterday that the outbreak began on the 28th February. [pneumonic plague is a laboratory bred variant designed to have limited life span] 19 March 1967 The Sydney "Sun" reports "An outbreak of plague has caused a partial quarantine of Vung Tau where more than 1000 Australian troops are situated. 10 July 1967 A.P. reported "The Pentagon has placed on order 57.69 million dollars of chemicals to be used in the war in South Vietnam.