Im delighted to welcome jennett conat who is an played author and the doctor of ryan con nat the director of the Manhattan Project, one of the best sellers. And the shell be speaking tonight about her new book the great secret the classified world war 2 that launched the war on cancer. I want to thank the museum for inviting me to be we youve. Alas its virtually. My first zoom presentation so bear with me. Ive had a lot of coffee and im thinking i should have had a lot of wine but here we go ill start off with a quote from winston churchill. He had way with words. He once observed men occasionally stomach pel across the truth stumble across the truth but most of them. Pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened. Lieutenant colonel Stewart Francis alexander, the remarkable hero of my become did not hurry off. In fact he refused to leave the scene of a military disaster even when churchill himself warned him to he stayed, he paid attention, he investigated, and as a result, he recognized the neverbefore seen symptoms in a group of dying sailors thats might have lifesaving implications for others in the future. This is a story of one intrepid army doctors alert mind and how it turned the chemical weapons report into a stepping stone and a horrific world war ii tragedy into a medical triumph. Im going to take you back to the night of december 2, 1943. The old port town of barry on the italy coast was bustling. The british had taken the capital in september and throe the front lay only 150miles to the north, the Medieval City withed the cliffs hat scened the fighting almost unscathed. Only a few miles outside of town lines of women and children were begging for black market food but in barry, the shops were full of cakes and bread and rolls, young couples involved arm in arm like in the old days and ice cream vendors were doing a brisk business. Its would critical met tier rayan met terrainan hub it and was supplying both the american fifth and british eighth armies which was the better part of the 500,000 allied troupes engaged in driving the germans out of italy. We can show the first slide of the waterfront. The rib brateing british tommies already chased the nazis from the sky owed italy and at the british who controlled the port were so confident they had won the air war that Marshall Cunningham announced it was all but immune from attack. I was rather as a personal affront, an insult if the luftwaffe could attempt any significant action in the area. The busy wartime port was teaming with activity. Four tase earlier the american liberty Shawn John Harvey pulled in with a convoy of nine merchantmen, 30 allied ships were cramming the harbor, packed against the sea wall on the peer. Hulls laiden with a from food to medical gear, and tons of fuel oil for planes. You can see on the upper decks were tanks, armored personnel carriers, jeeps, ambulances, everything. Bright lights, winked atop huge cranes hosting equipment out. The dark areases were longing to unload the supply for the next big push, the advance on rome. Allied strategy hinged on making steady progress up the rugged mountainous peninsula of itty. The excels of thes a the excels of the advance depend on the line supply lines sustaining the mens match march north. The usual blackout order were suspended. The lights blazed in the harbor, all night long. At 7 35 p. M. A blinding flash was followed by a terrific bang. The ancient port single antiaircraft patry opened fire, then came an earsplitting explosion and then another and another as a german ju88 flew in low o. The town dropping bombs. Smoke and flames rows from the streets. The lead path finders dropped a knew kind of jamming technique using foil strips designed to confuse allied radar, and as a result they achieved almost complete surprise. As the incendiaries rained down on the harbor it turned night into day. Gunners scramble to shoot down the enemy but it was too late. Virtually no opposition. The attacking german planes pulled out, unchallenge by allied he fighters. The results were devastating. A tremendous roar came from the harbor and exploding aming this tankers send a huge rolling mass of flames a thousand feet high. A reporter for Time Magazine described a firey panorama, eight ships burning fiercely. The entire center of the harbor was covered with burning oil, he reported. A ruptured fuel line sent thousands of gallons gushing into the harbor and ignited into a gigantic sheet of flames engulfing the entire north side of the port, the flames spread across the surface of the water, leaping from ship to ship. The cries worked frantically to save the vessel before they were forced to jump and swim for safety. He the distant cries of men yelling for help echoed in ruins harbor. News of the night raid was one of the worst naval catastrophes of the war was heavily censored. Dwight eisenhowers first communication stated only the damage was done, add ensuggest to injury the first account of the air raid came from german, berlin propaganda broadcast floated over the missions spectacular success, stating the harbor was so for lie protected the german bombers were picking off the allied i ships like sitting ducks. The press ducked it the little pearl harbor shook the come complacency of the allies forces who were convinced of their air superiority in the area. The nazid sunk 17 allied ships and destroyed more than 31,000 tons of vital cargo. More than 1,000 american and british servicemen were killed and almost as many wounded in an untold number of civilians. Rumors abound that officials were covering up the indemnities talk of a new german weapon. Congressional concern of the debacle was underscored by eisenhowers announcement he asked a special Senate Subcommittee to investigate. Where admiral land responsible for u. S. Merchant marine fleet angrily told Time Magazine, youre going to hear more about that raid before you hear less. But that was the last official word on the matter and that the incident remained show rounded in mystery. A determine effort of the government to cover up the incident so as not to endanger preparations for the most important operation of the war, overlord think allied invasion of german occupied france planned for the spring. It would be almost 30 years before the world would learn the truth what really took place and even today, few are aware of the surprising consequences of the disaster and its impact on the lives millions of americans. Lieutenant colonel alexander was asleep in his headquarters. He was awake at the first jangle of the telephone. The summons came in the middle of the night, appeared to be a developing medical crisis, too many men were dying, too quickly of unexplained causes. The symptoms were unlike anything the local military physicians had seen before, and they had begun to suspect the germans used an unknown weapon, perhaps poisoned gas. With the number of mysterious deaths increasing rapidly with each die they british placed a call alerting allied headquarter in algiers. An urgent request for assistance. Alexander was dispatched immediately to the scene of the disaster. He looked young for a combat physician. He was 58 and skinny, only 29, his hair was thinning at the temples and that leapt him the only air of authority he could claim. He was popular with the troops, though some patients kidded him is gentle bedside mapper was best sueded to a pediatrician but he had been through the brutal invasion of north africa under George Patton and despite this quiet mod city and dimples he had proven this. Be confident, determined, and resourceful. His superiors knew the had a good head on his shoulders help could have sat out the war in a stateside hospital but the desire to serve ran deep in his family. He was defended from selfmade immigrants who fled famine and persecution in europe nor United States in the 1880s and were forever grateful for the turns aford emthem in under knew home. Alexanders father was a popular Family Doctor in surge in it was his one ambition to follow his fathers photostatted. He entered dartmouth at 15, allowed to advance directly to medical school and graduated at the top of his class in 1935. He earned his mt at columbia. After completing his residency he went back home and hung out his shingle next to his father. But in the spring of 1940, at hitler ban his march across you were. Ale los angeles volunteered for duty and. The that it was a war in which he had to par tis it. Notified his draft board he would be available at any time. He was called up in november and spent time with a 16th 16th infantry regiment stationed at Gun Powder Creek in maryland which happened to be home to the Chemical Warfare service. Before long he decided to contact the Chemical Warfare service with an Innovative New design he had couple if with for spectacles that could fit inside the facepiece of gas mask. A gas mask because the gas mask those left from previous wars fit over his glasses. He came up with a different kin kind. He wanted to impress his superiors at the war service that want to offer him a dodge freight transferred to the arsenal yet underwent a crash course in poison gases. He became a newly minted expert in the field. He conducted experiments on animals for toxic agents to new forms of treatment and protective your for soldiers for after pearl harbor start traveling around the world to different Training Camps to teach Army Medical Personnel how to treat chemical casualties. He was promoted to director of the Chemical WarfareServices Medical research laboratory. And so when general eisenhower, concerned about the heightened threat that hitler might launch a gas attack in europe, he requested a doctor with the Chemical Warfare background, and Young Alexander was sent to allied force headquarters in algiers. So now at 5 00 p. M. On december 7, 1943, 5 days after the attack, alexanders plane touched down at the airfield waiting for him are group of senior british doctors. I could say they were immediately agitated and was taken to the hospital at once he wrote in his diary. The situation was grim. All the equipment for five planned american field hospitals had been sunk in the air raid. Fortunately all the doctors were safe and they scrambled to open the 26 American General hospital the morning after the raid, to help care for the score is of bombing victims pretty think we have a picture of the hospital. Alexander the lack of medical supplies was going to compound the tragedy predicts this in hospitals were run by the british, by some miracle the largest, the 90th general hospital, had been spared. But the place a taken a beating. Windows were shattered on the wall scattered there bricks like hail part in concussion blasted knocked out the powers there working by lamplight. There is no sweeping up the class when the first the wounded began to arrive. Hundreds and hundreds of bodied served from shock and exposed almost all were covered in thick black crude oil. Had the most seriously injured. These were the sailors entered sailors had jumped through ships were horribly burned. A death warrant was set up in the empty back room for those beyond help. In the basement, a makeshift mortuary, a local carpenter was knocking together rough pine conferences bestie could. The town run out of caskets and only the first few hours. With so many patients needing urgent attention, there is no time to get most of the wounded sailors out of the dirty right the nurses did what they could. The immersion cases, the boys had been taken from the water had standard emergency treatment for the time, a shot of morphine, blankets to keep them warm, on strong hot sweetie. Then they were left to rest. A few complained of smarting eyes and stinging burns, but that was attributed to the large filers and fuel oil. Their discounted at the time. Most just lay there quietly, aware surgical case of the given priority. The first unusual indications the doctors told alexander, was that the casualties did not present typical symptoms or respond in a typical manner. They said the men complained being thirsty, suddenly they started ripping off their clothes and bandages in a frenz frenzy. Complaining that their skin was on fire. Overnight, the majority of the immersion cases developed red and inflamed skin and blisters as big as balloons. This with widespread nausea and vomiting what the doctors think the cause might be the poisonous fumes or the field oil, perhaps the explosives. But six hours after the attack, patients began complaining of severe eye pain and by the end of the day, the wards were full of hundreds of mens with her eyes swollen shut. As it deepened, headquarters sent notification there is a possibility of a blister gas explosion. The information was vague and unconfirmed. They were to be classified dermatitis and why d, not yet diagnosed. Pending further instructions. Given the crush of casualties that first night, they not urgent cases appeared in Good Condition were sent away. Most of them were still in their wet uniforms. The next morning they return, clearly needing treatment. They were in a horrible state. But what made it worse is so many of the boys were conscious throughout the ordeal. Could not understand why his vision was becoming blurrier with each passing hour. Thats what and confiscated all of the close, shoes, belts, uniforms, everything. There is no explanation given. That create a panic among the patients, he said. They feared their fates were sealed. The first unexplained death occurred at 18 hours after the attack. Within two days, there were 14. Alexander noted the downward spiral of the patients. Boys appeared in Good Condition and a matter of minutes would be morbid and die. The british doctors were mystified. The symptoms did not fit any of those in their case history of poison gas in world war i. They could find no similarities in the medical textbooks or the manuals issued by the Chemical Warfare services. If the toxic agent was mustard gas, so named because it is unpleasant garlicky odor, and respiratory complications should have been more prominent, but they werent. As alexander walks toward e. G. Examine the patient to gently lifted blankets and studied their burns bread with delicacy he probed the thickened redskin prespoke to each man in turn, asking how he had come by his injuries, which ship was young . How did he come to be rescued . Did he receive any firstaid on the dock . What about when he got to the hospital . One sailor after another told the been caught in a firestorm the pandemonium that followed of some help making it to the hospital. There they had waited for as long as 12 and even 24 hours in their wet uniforms before receiving treatment. Drawing back the covers on one patient, alexander studied the burns on the otherwise healthy muscled body. The sailor said he had been aboard a pt vote in the harbor when the german bombers flew over. He heard a loud boom and felt a spray of oily liquid land on his neck. A picture of the injuries is shown in alexanders report. He observed the outline of red raised skin, shiny with ointment, eliminating where hed been sprayed as if it had been imprinted on his flesh. The burns already could distinguish between chemical burns and thermal burns. Certain patterns were present. It appeared to alexander the sailors have been thrown overboard and completely immersed in the harbor were burned extensively over 90 of their body were those in votes had superficial burns wherever the toxic suit had hit them. Some men who sat in the solution possibly in lifeboats had only local burns on the buttocks and groin. And a few lucky souls are taken upon themselves to wipe off the oily mixture that first night had only minor injuries. As he made his rounds, it was increasingly clear to alexander that most of the patients have been exposed to a chemical agen agent. He had noticed something from the first moment he entered the hospital. It was sub odor that just kept nagging away at him. He could pick it up at various places in various rooms. And it stood out from the usual smells of urine and disinfected and burned flesh. The odor implanted itself in his mind, he wrote in his diary, was mustard gas. It had been five days since the initial exposure and there is any chance of same the lives of hundreds of sailors lying in bed with the countless italian civilians, who knew he needed to act very swiftly. He decided to question the hospital director and put the question to him. He had his own suspicions. So we asked, feel this man may have been exposed and mustard in some manner, colonel, jiminy idea how this mightve happened . None in the hospital directors reply. As a Chemical Warfare consultant, alexander was clear to the highest degree. Into the alley had secretly stockpiled poison gas in the mediterranean case germany with its back to the wall, resorted to Chemical Warfare. But he was skeptical that the allies wouldve shipped mustard shells into a port so close to the local population. And then allow the toxic cargo to sit there as a prime target for enemy strike. Still, he could not afford to rule it out. He tried again. I did check with the port authorities . Have you checked the shipping mast . Could the ships in the harbor be caring mustard . He was told again and again, that they did not have the information, that it was not possible. But alexander had his doubts. I sent him like the british were trying to manage his investigation. He did not believe he was nearly full story or their full cooperation. The burden he proofed, he realized, rested on him. He ordered a series of test for the patients were still live and insisted on a series of carefully complete autopsies of those who died under mysterious circumstances. He ordered samples of the harbor water collected and analyzed. He borrowed personnel from displaced American Hospital units and put them to work gathering data, performing lab tests on tissue samples, and compiling pathology reports. Suspecting the british officials were dodging the question, alexander visited the navy house, the british admiral of the local headquarters, again come he demanded to be told that there was mustard gas in the harbor. Again he was absolutely denied. He was not co