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    You are at:Home»Lifestyle»Animals/Pets»March 17, 1968: 6000 Sheep Protest Nerve Gas Test!
    Animals/Pets

    March 17, 1968: 6000 Sheep Protest Nerve Gas Test!

    Major DanBy Major DanMarch 17, 2016Updated:February 25, 202023 Comments3 Mins Read
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    A Brief History

    On March 17, 1968, the US Army proved just how dangerous it is to play with weapons of “maaaass” destruction!  (Yes, we went there…)

    Digging Deeper

    Digging deeper, we find the Army operating Dugway Proving Ground in Utah starting in 1941, a top secret testing area for chemical and biological weapons.

    The terrible effect of various poison gas weapons in World War I by both sides caused nervousness during World War II that somebody would once again initiate their use, especially when desperate.  The US supposedly contemplated using poison gas against Japanese dug in deeply in islands on the way to Japan, and perhaps even on the Japanese main islands to avoid heavy allied casualties from the expected fanatical resistance.  Luckily, those opposed to using such weapons prevailed and the US did not use poison gas.

    Adolf Hitler had been wounded by poison gas in World War I, and this incident has been speculated as his reason to shun its use for combat in World War II.  Unfortunately, this policy did not apply to concentration camps where millions of people Hitler considered sub-human were gassed to death.  (These included Jews, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Gypsies, homosexuals, retarded people, and generally anyone opposed to the Nazi regime.)

    Japanese military forces used chemical and biological weapons against the Chinese during the war in China leading up to World War II as well as during the big war.  The infamous Unit 731 was responsible, and the cracked part to this story is that the US gave war criminals that should have been hanged immunity in exchange for sharing their data with the US!

    Getting back to Dugway, the US purportedly (by New Scientist, magazine and website) has tested chemical and biological weapons in the open atmosphere around Dugway and produced such weapons from 1941 until 1998!  The cracked angle to this fact, is that the US renounced biological weapons back in 1969!

    On March 18, 1968, in an area near Dugway but not in the testing area, a large flock of sheep (6,000) were found dead, later testing positive for VX nerve agent.  It seems a few days prior to that an Air Force F-4 fighter had made a practice run dispensing real VX over the target area at Dugway, and due to some sort of malfunction continued to dispense the deadly stuff off the reservation and onto the sheep.  Lucky it was not on people!  Obviously, the US government was embarrassed and did their best to keep the facts from the public and the world, but the details eventually emerged and this incident had a role in President Nixon’s agreement to renounce offensive use of such weapons.  Meanwhile, the Soviet Union had their share of accidents, which of course were kept secret for as long as possible.

    Question for students (and subscribers): Would you use chemical or biological weapons if it meant saving thousands or hundreds of thousands of American lives?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information on the history or nerve agents, please see…

    Chaline, Eric.  History’s Worst Inventions: And the People Who Made Them.  New Holland, 2009.

    To see sheep get their revenge, please see…

    King, Jonathan, dir.  Black Sheep (Unrated).  Dimension Extreme, 2007.  DVD.

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    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

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    <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1412 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1412">23 Comments

    1. Madison Wright on March 17, 2014 12:06 am

      I am not sure if I would use biological weapons to destroy foreign lives and save American lives. I would try every available option other than biological weapons. I am not supportive of the idea; however, if one million or more lives were at risk I suppose I would use it.

      Reply
    2. MB on March 17, 2014 10:13 am

      I am not sure what i would rather use. I think i would probably just try every option i can to save every life possible.

      Reply
    3. kelseysherman on March 17, 2014 2:32 pm

      I don’t think i would be able to use the chemical weapons.

      Reply
    4. BY on March 17, 2014 2:32 pm

      I don’t know which one I would use because it would be difficult for me to decide. I would use the one that would be less dangerous in the long run.

      Reply
    5. Matt M on March 17, 2014 7:34 pm

      Its difficult to make this type of decision when you are not in that situation, those types of things are easier said then done. So I am undecided.

      Reply
    6. J Green on March 17, 2014 7:45 pm

      I don’t think I would be able to use chemical biological or weapons, because I would find that against my morals to hurt people in such a violent way.

      Reply
    7. MO on March 17, 2014 7:56 pm

      I do not think I could use the biological or chemical weapons, even if it did mean saving American lives because it was a general consensus that chemical warfare is something that needs to be banned. If another country used chemical warfare on the US, the US would be furious so I think the US should avoid chemical warfare.

      Reply
    8. E DiPasquale on March 17, 2014 9:25 pm

      I don’t think it’s humane to use biological weapons even if it means saving our people’s lives. There are no safe ways to ensure biological weapons are 100% error-free. Since we mainly use chemical weapons in war (even though they are very destructive and harmful), we should stick to those since we won’t harm living beings.

      Reply
    9. Jessie Richter on March 17, 2014 10:18 pm

      I think being in that situation would be very difficult. However, I would choose the best option. Which ever one would save the most lives is the one I would choose.

      Reply
    10. Owen on March 18, 2014 8:33 am

      I would not be able to do the chemical warfare because a lot of innocent lives would be put at risk.

      Reply
    11. Sadie Zegarac on March 18, 2014 4:47 pm

      I would not use chemical weapons because this runs the risk of innocent lives being taken knowingly. It is also incredibly inhumane to use chemicals in warfare.

      Reply
    12. Morgan Wade on March 18, 2014 8:42 pm

      I would not use the poisonous gas and I think it is sad that it affected all of those animals.

      Reply
    13. jprokay on March 19, 2014 11:30 am

      i have always thought that it was wrong for them to use the poison gas. that would be an awful way to pass away or even to see the person dieing from it. not to mention if it got into an area where there are normal people it would just be horrible.

      Reply
    14. Bricker on March 19, 2014 1:37 pm

      I do not agree with chemical weapons, but if if saves American lives, we may have to use it. We really should not be using it on animals though.If it kills innocent people;however, this would be terrible.

      Reply
    15. Katlyn Denissoff on March 19, 2014 5:10 pm

      I think I would choose to use the chemical weapons because in the end it does save many lives, but if it did not save lives then I would not use it.

      Reply
    16. Halee Heironimus on March 19, 2014 7:20 pm

      I wouldn’t use chemical weapons because it not only affects us but also the animals, and that’s cruel.

      Reply
    17. Donny G on March 19, 2014 8:35 pm

      If it came down to saving thousand of American lives, then yes i believe I would use them. But if it does not save thousands of Americans, I do not think i would be able to bring myself to use chemical weapons.

      Reply
    18. Hannah Brewer on March 20, 2014 2:02 pm

      I wouldn’t agree with using chemical weapons, it just seems cruel to the animals despite the possible advantages.

      Reply
    19. Autumn Harmon on March 20, 2014 10:01 pm

      If it really did save thousand of American lives then yes I would use them

      Reply
    20. Gabriel M on March 21, 2014 11:12 am

      So the reason why Hitler was so crazy was from being poisoned, now i get it.

      Reply
    21. Luke Lyden on March 25, 2014 8:39 pm

      I think the United States should use a gas in warfare it would save our own people form dying. Yes it would kill innocent people but it is a price that comes with using the gas. It could be a potential game changer in warfare.

      Reply
    22. Jessica Savage on March 30, 2014 11:25 pm

      I do not believe the United States should use chemical or biological weapons. The suffering that people go through from this is much worse and not to mention the environmental effects that these gases have that could be potentially devastating to much more than just humans.

      Reply
    23. Natalyn B on April 24, 2014 4:37 pm

      I do not agree with using these types of weapons. This is horrible.

      Reply

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