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Creator (Definite): George Wilhelm Herman Emanuel MerckDate: Nov 1944
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Created byGeorge Wilhelm Herman Emanuel Merck
Nov 1944
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON B.W.
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August 26, 1942 - War Research Service established in Federal Security Agency. George W. Merck appointed Director.
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January 11, 1944 - Sub-Committee of Biological Warfare set up by Joint Chiefs of Staff to evaluate intelligence reports of enemy preparation to use B.W. George W. Merck appointed Chairman of the Sub-Committee.
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June 8, 1944 - President approves transfer of B.W. activities to War Department.
June 15, 1944 - George W. Merck appointed a Consultant to the Secretary of War on all matters pertaining to biological warfare.
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October 11, 1944 - United States Biological Warfare Committee established. A policy forming Committee to advise the Secretary of War on B.W. George W. Merck appointed Chairman.' (ff. 8-11)
'Early Steps Taken by the U.S. Government in Relation to B.W.
Before there was any unification of activity in b.w. several United States Government groups considered this subject independently and their efforts form the logical beginning of any narrative.
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... the Secretary of War, evidently feeling that further study was necessary before issuing directives to implement these conclusions, requested only the formation of the two civilian committees made up of the highest level of scientists from the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council. These two civilian committess were merged into one and named for purposes of security, the WBC Committee, with Dr. E.B. Fred as Chairman. This Committee made a complete study and its reports have formed the basis for all future planning, both military and civilian, in the realm of b.w.
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In March 24, 1942, the Secretary of War submitted the first report of the WBC Committee to the General Staff with the suggestion that a branch be set up under a suitable officer to make plans to meet the potential dangers of b.w. (See Section II, pp. 11-12.)
The results of the General Staff's deliberations and the subsequent action by the War Department are best explained by quoting a letter of the Secretary of War to the President of the United States under date of April 29, 1942...
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On May 15, 1942 the President gave his verbal approval of this letter and as a result of his verbal directive, and the recommendations contained in the second report of the WBC Committee, the civilian agency recommended by the Secretary of War was eventually organised under the title of War Research Service. Mr. George W. Merck was appointed Director.
The reason for the informality of these other directives given Mr. Merck's organization is explained by the fact that it was considered imperative that all work in b.w. should be done under the highest security control. Therefore, the formation of War Research Service was itself a secret. This further explains the absence of supporting documents for some portions of this report.' (ff. 13-16)
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CitesABC Committee
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON B.W.
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October 16, 1942 - ABC Committee appointed by National Academy of Sciences and National Research Council at request of War Research Service.
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June 7-8, 1944 - ABC Committee disbanded.' (ff. 8-10)
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CitesWalter C. Baker
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON B.W.
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September 8, 1939 - Major General Baker, Chief, Chemical Warfare Service addresses memorandum to Brig. General George V. Strong, Assistant Chief of Staff, War Plans Division, recommending further research on B.W.' (f. 8)
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CitesMaurice E. Barker
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON B.W.
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August 15, 1941 - Report of Chemical Warfare Service work on B.W. Recommends further study of offensive by Chemical Warfare Service and defensive by Surgeon General. Lt. Colonel M.E. Barker, Chief, Technical Service, OC-CWS, Progress Report No. 54.
August 20, 1941 - Mr. Bundy called a meeting of the National Research Council Committee: Dr. Ross G. Harrison, Chairman, National Research Council, Dr. A.N. Richards, Chairman, Committee on Medical Research, OSDR, Dr. Lewis H. Weed, Chairman, Division of Medical Sciences, NRC, Colonel J.S. Simmons, Office of the Surgeon General, Lt. Colonel Jacobs, War Department General Staff, and Lt. Colonel M.E. Barker, Chief, Technical Division, CWS. This Committee advised the War Department to set up two committees: One committee for offense to be selected by the National Defense Research Committee, and one committee for defense to be requested by the Surgeon General from the National Research Council. The Central Scientific Committee of the Office of Emergency Management to be consulted for membership in each.' (f. 8)
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CitesHarvey Hollister Bundy
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON B.W.
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August 18, 1941 - Colonel James S. Simmons, M.C., recommends further study in memorandum to Mr. H.H. Bundy, Special Assistant to the Secretary of War.
August 20, 1941 - Mr. Bundy called a meeting of the National Research Council Committee: Dr. Ross G. Harrison, Chairman, National Research Council, Dr. A.N. Richards, Chairman, Committee on Medical Research, OSDR, Dr. Lewis H. Weed, Chairman, Division of Medical Sciences, NRC, Colonel J.S. Simmons, Office of the Surgeon General, Lt. Colonel Jacobs, War Department General Staff, and Lt. Colonel M.E. Barker, Chief, Technical Division, CWS. This Committee advised the War Department to set up two committees: One committee for offense to be selected by the National Defense Research Committee, and one committee for defense to be requested by the Surgeon Genral from the National Research Council. The Central Scientific Committee of the Office of Emergency Management to be consulted for membership in each.' (f. 8)
'Early Steps Taken by the U.S. Government in Relation to B.W.
Before there was any unification of activity in b.w. several United States Government groups considered this subject independently and their efforts form the logical beginning of any narrative.
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On July 15, 1941 the Office of the Surgeon General, USA, requested a committee of civilian scientists be set up to review the entire field. Before action was taken, the Office of the Secretary of War had begun an independent exploration of means by which the branches of the military services might most effectively combine in dealing with b.w. This resulted in a meeting being called by Mr. Harvey H. Bundy, Special Assistant to the Secretary of War, comprising representatives of the SGO, CWS, NAS and NRC. It was decided at this time:
1. That the Surgeon General (presumably because of the doctor's Hippocratic oath) could be responsible only for the defensive aspects of the problem, and that the Chemical Warfare Service would explore the offensive aspects.
2. That two civilian committees of scientists be formed to investigate all phases of b.w.
3. That the Navy be apprised of these plans and asked to collaborate.' (ff. 13-14)
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CitesChemical Corps
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON B.W.
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September 1941 - A Medical Research Division in the Technical Service, CWS, established to further organisation of B.W. research and development.
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December 4, 1942 - General Styer delivers verbal directive to General Porter, Chemical Warfare Service, re CWS collaboration with WRS on B.W. research projects.
March 31, 1943 October 29, 1943 - War Research Service requests Chemical Warfare Service to carry on supplemental research and development on a total of eight projects.
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December 18, 1943 - War Research Service writes Secretary of War asking permission to request Chemical Warfare Service to manufacture and stockpile certain B.W. agents.
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January 13, 1944 - Secretary of War issues directive giving Chemical Warfare Service responsibility for large part of B.W. weapons program with the cooperation of the Surgeon General in defensive matters, and redefining the responsibilities of WRS.
January 18, 1944 - Special Projects Division established within the Office of the Chief, Chemical Warfare Service to implement the B.W. program.
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July 13, 1944 - U.S. Naval Unit incorporated in Special Projects Division, CWS.' (ff. 8-10)
'ORIENTATION NARRATIVE OF UNITED STATES ACTIVITIES IN BIOLOGICAL WARFARE
General Background Before World War II
In the years between World Wars I and II, considerable interest existed among both scientists and military men of all countries in the general subject of biological warfare. This is amply proved by reference to the extensive b.w. bibliography prepared by the Chemical Warfare Service and the National Academy of Sciences, which indicates speculation during this period along scientific, military and popular journalistic lines.
Much of this speculation was based on pieces of incontrovertible fact, showing that the German Government experimented in World War I with living organisms for the destruction of animals:
1. Intelligence reports show that the German army attempted not without success in 1916-18 to inoculate Allied forces' cavalry animals with the causative agent of glanders. Equipment for this purpose was discovered in the German embassy at Bucharest when Roumania entered the war on the side of the Allies.
2. Testimony taken in the investigation of the famous Black Tom case in the United States, which deals largely with German sabotage and espionage in this country, before the United States entered World War I, indicates that German agents were equipped with a device by which they inoculated remount animals with the causative agent of anthrax in the depots where horses and mules were collected for shipment to France and England.
In 1934, the British journalist Wickham Steed, wrote a highly sensational article based on documents in his possession which he claimed had been extracted from the files of the German General Staff. These concerned experiments by German agents with non-pathogenic organisms in the ventilating systems of the London Underground and the Paris Metro designed to prove the feasibility of introducing bacteria and viruses for mass inhalation, thus producing a large scale civilian epidemic. Although this article produced a prompt and vehement denial from German quarters, it is believed possible that the Stead documents were genuine.
These rather plainly authenticated instances have been backed by a large amount of hear-say material tending to show that in the years between the two wars, the German, Japanese and Italian staffs, as well as scientists of those countries, were experimenting and were seriously concerned with the strategic potentialities of biological warfare. And these rumors are further confirmed by the large amount of published scientific discussion emanating from these countries.
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[ff. 12-13]
These facts, taken together, had sufficient weight to cause the responsible authorities in the United States to consider very seriously the dangers and possibilities of germ warfare, particularly in the months immediately preceding our entrance into World War II.' (ff. 12-13)
'Early Steps Taken by the U.S. Government in Relation to B.W.
Before there was any unification of activity in b.w. several United States Government groups considered this subject independently and their efforts form the logical beginning of any narrative.
...
Independent of this early activity of the United States Public Health Service, the Office of the Surgeon General, USA, was also concerned with the possibility of b.w. particularly with reference to the protection of United States troops. G-2 had also been exploring the subject and at the same time, the Chemical Warfare Service had entered the field and had directed a small group of officers to study the possibilities of b.w. (See Section II, pp. 3-4.)' (f. 13)
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CitesDEF Committee
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON B.W.
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August 31, 1944 - DEF Committee appointed by National Academy of Sciences as advisory group to War Department on B.W.' (ff. 8-10)
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CitesFort Detrick
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON B.W.
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April 20, 1943 - Camp Detrick activated.
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February 8, 1944 - U.S. Naval Unit established at Camp Detrick.
February 14, 1944 - School for B.W. officers started at Camp Detrick.' (ff. 8-10)
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CitesEdwin Broun Fred
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON B.W.
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October 1, 1941 - Secretary of War Stimson requests National Academy of Sciences to appoint a committee to survey whole field of biological warfare. WBC Committee appointed with Dr. E.B. Fred as Chairman.' (ff. 8-9)
'Early Steps Taken by the U.S. Government in Relation to B.W.
Before there was any unification of activity in b.w. several United States Government groups considered this subject independently and their efforts form the logical beginning of any narrative.
...
... the Secretary of War, evidently feeling that further study was necessary before issuing directives to implement these conclusions, requested only the formation of the two civilian committees made up of the highest level of scientists from the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council. These two civilian committess were merged into one and named for purposes of security, the WBC Committee, with Dr. E.B. Fred as Chairman. This Committee made a complete study and its reports have formed the basis for all future planning, both military and civilian, in the realm of b.w.' (ff. 13-14)
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CitesG-2 (intelligence)
Description:'Early Steps Taken by the U.S. Government in Relation to B.W.
Before there was any unification of activity in b.w. several United States Government groups considered this subject independently and their efforts form the logical beginning of any narrative.
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Independent of this early activity of the United States Public Health Service, the Office of the Surgeon General, USA, was also concerned with the possibility of b.w. particularly with reference to the protection of United States troops. G-2 had also been exploring the subject and at the same time, the Chemical Warfare Service had entered the field and had directed a small group of officers to study the possibilities of b.w. (See Section II, pp. 3-4.)' (f. 13)
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CitesGranite Peak Installation
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON B.W.
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July 4, 1944 - Granite Peak Installation, Tooele, Utah, activated.' (ff. 8-10)
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CitesH.W. Steed, ‘Aerial Warfare: Secret German Plans’. The Nineteenth Century and After, 116 (7) (1934), pp. 1–16.
Description:'In 1934, the British journalist Wickham Steed, wrote a highly sensational article based on documents in his possession which he claimed had been extracted from the files of the German General Staff. These concerned experiments by German agents with non-pathogenic organisms in the ventilating systems of the London Underground and the Paris Metro designed to prove the feasibility of introducing bacteria and viruses for mass inhalation, thus producing a large scale civilian epidemic. Although this article produced a prompt and vehement denial from German quarters, it is believed possible that the Stead documents were genuine.' (f. 12)
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CitesRoss Granville Harrison
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON B.W.
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August 20, 1941 - Mr. Bundy called a meeting of the National Research Council Committee: Dr. Ross G. Harrison, Chairman, National Research Council, Dr. A.N. Richards, Chairman, Committee on Medical Research, OSDR, Dr. Lewis H. Weed, Chairman, Division of Medical Sciences, NRC, Colonel J.S. Simmons, Office of the Surgeon General, Lt. Colonel Jacobs, War Department General Staff, and Lt. Colonel M.E. Barker, Chief, Technical Division, CWS. This Committee advised the War Department to set up two committees: One committee for offense to be selected by the National Defense Research Committee, and one committee for defense to be requested by the Surgeon General from the National Research Council. The Central Scientific Committee of the Office of Emergency Management to be consulted for membership in each.' (f. 8)
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CitesCharles C. Hillman
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON B.W.
September 1, 1939 - The questions of B.W. raised by the War Plans Division of the General Staff requests advice on subject from Lt. Colonel M.C. Dunhem, M.C. Memorandum from Colonel C.C. Hillman, M.C.' (f. 8)
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CitesHorn Island Chemical Warfare Service Quarantine Station
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON BW.
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August 26, 1943 - Horn Island Installation, CWS, activated.' (ff. 8-9)
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CitesL.A. Fox, 'Bacterial Warfare: The Use of Biologic Agents in Warfare', The Military Surgeon 90 (5) (1942 [1933]), pp. 563-579.
Description:'Early Steps Taken by the U.S. Government in Relation to B.W.
Before there was any unification of activity in b.w. several United States Government groups considered this subject independently and their efforts form the logical beginning of any narrative.
In 1933, Major (now Brigadier General) Leon Fox, M.C., USA, then Chief of the Medical Section of the Chemical Warfare Service, surveyed the possibilities of b.w. and printed his findings in one of the most comprehensible and complete papers on this subject. (See Section III, pp. 1-17.) It was his opinion that the difficulties of producing bacteria, spores, and toxins on a large scale and of storing these agents so that they might maintain their virulence, rendered b.w. more theoretical than practical. The ideal agent, in his opinion, was the anthrax spore. He also rated the dangers of botulinus toxin as feasible, but pointed out its sensitivity to heat and oxidation.' (f. 13)
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CitesPaul Vories McNutt
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON B.W.
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May 12, 1944 - The Secretary of War and Mr. McNutt write President recommending that entire B.W. program be made responsibility of War Department.' (ff. 8-10)
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CitesNational Institutes of Health
Description:'Early Steps Taken by the U.S. Government in Relation to B.W.
Before there was any unification of activity in b.w. several United States Government groups considered this subject independently and their efforts form the logical beginning of any narrative.
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In 1940 a meeting of scientists was called at the National Institutes of Health to consider the possibilities of biological warfare attacks on this country this subject had also been discussed by the Council of National Defense and the National Research Council. The sense of this meeting was that biological warfare did not present a practical menace to the United States. (See Section II, p. 3.)' (f. 13)
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CitesThomas Parran
Description:'Early Steps Taken by the U.S. Government in Relation to B.W.
Before there was any unification of activity in b.w. several United States Government groups considered this subject independently and their efforts form the logical beginning of any narrative.
...
Independent of this early activity of the United States Public Health Service, the Office of the Surgeon General, USA, was also concerned with the possibility of b.w. particularly with reference to the protection of United States troops. G-2 had also been exploring the subject and at the same time, the Chemical Warfare Service had entered the field and had directed a small group of officers to study the posisbilities of b.w. (See Section II, pp. 3-4.)
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[ff. 13-14]
These independent efforts were soon to be joined. On July 15, 1941 the Office of the Surgeon General, USA, requested a committee of civilian scientists be set up to review the entire field. Before action was taken, the Office of the Secretary of War had begun an independent exploration of means by which the branches of the military services might most effectively combine in dealing with b.w. This resulted in a meeting being called by Mr. Harvey H. Bundy, Special Assistant to the Secretary of War, comprising representatives of the SGO, CWS, NAS and NRC. It was decided at this time:
1. That the Surgeon General (presumably because of the doctor's Hippocratic oath) could be responsible only for the defensive aspects of the problem, and that the Chemical Warfare Service would explore the offensive aspects.
2. That two civilian committees of scientists be formed to investigate all phases of b.w.
3. That the Navy be apprised of these plans and asked to collaborate.' (ff. 13-14)
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CitesWilliam N. Porter
Description:'CHRONOLOGY ON B.W.
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December 4, 1942 - General Styer delivers verbal directive to General Porter, Chemical Warfare Service, re CWS collaboration with WRS on B.W. research projects.' (ff. 8-9)
