Operation Red Hat - Nerve Gas Accident

Nerve Gas Accident

In the early 1960s, Robert S. McNamara and the Kennedy Administration had secretly authorized the transferring of chemical weapons to a base in Okinawa, reportedly, without informing any Japanese authorities. However, it is known that Japanese scientists were working at the direction of the Japanese Government on the biological weapons program of the United States from the end of WWII through at least the 1960s.

On July 8, 1969, 23 servicemen and one civilian working in the Red Hat area on Okinawa were exposed to nerve agent after one weapon began to leak following a sand blasting treatment for repainting. The sand and cleanup material remained in storage at Johnston Atoll for more than 30 years.

On July 18, 1969, The Wall Street Journal printed a story revealing about 25 people were injured in a release of agent VX inside a weapon storage igloo at Chibana Army Depot (OKC) on Okinawa during the previous week. In addition, the leak exposed the secret stockpile of chemical weapons present on Okinawa which was reported to be unknown to Japanese authorities. Twenty-three servicemen and one civilian were injured and required medical care for up to a week. U.S. forces would not confirm or deny which leaking agent was involved though it was reported to be agent VX. In addition to chemical munitions, the Wall St. Journal article discussed the islands nuclear weapons, B-52s, the MGM-5 Corporal, MGM-29 Sergeant missiles and also revealed a previous instance of possible chemical, biological warfare (CBW) contamination when over 100 Okinawan children became mysteriously ill after swimming near a US base in the Summer of 1968.