Closing Ondal Advance Chemical Park
Eighty years ago in September 1945, U.S. soldiers still faced real dangers and challenges, and many were called on to display true heroism. At the time, my father, Sgt. Roger Thomas, was newly arrived in India and was serving as a Toxic Gas Handler with the 771st Chemical Depot Company (Aviation) at Ondal Advanced Chemical Park in West Bengal. He was one of many replacements for more experienced soldiers who had been managing the CBI’s central stockpile of toxic chemical bombs. The bombs were filled with the same toxins that had been used during WWI, but had been manufactured and deployed in far greater quantities for possible “retaliation in kind” if Germany or Japan again initiated chemical warfare.
Early in 1945, the B-29s initially based in India for Operation Matterhorn moved to the Mariana Islands, and the toxic chemical bombs they might have carried from India to Japan were no longer needed. Many of the bombs at Ondal had already been shipped to the port at Calcutta for disposal and dumped into the Bay of Bengal. The most dangerous of these for the soldiers of the 771st were 100-pound M47A2 bombs filled with mustard agent. Unlike the true gas bombs, liquid mustard bombs were made of thin sheet steel and were very prone to leaks, especially after being stored for a long time in India’s heat and humidity. In April 1945 as they prepared for the first shipment of bombs for disposal at sea, the 771st had received assistance from a white officer and 30 “colored” enlisted men of the 769th Chemical Depot Company, stationed at the B-29 base in Kharagpur. Working together, the 771st and the 769th had decanted 5000 of the worst leakers among the M47A2 bombs, transferring the liquid mustard into drums for shipment to Calcutta and burying the empty (but still contaminated) casings. The decanting project left several soldiers with mustard burns, but was accomplished without long-term injuries.
In September, the 769th had left India to rejoin the 468th Bomb Group in the Marianas, and the most experienced soldiers of the 771st had earned enough “points” to be transferred home. The prospect of relying on fewer and less experienced soldiers (like my father) to decant the remaining M47A2 mustard bombs seemed impossible, and the decision was made to bury the most dangerous bombs onsite. Unfortunately, the burial did not go well, as described by the new company commander of the 771st, Capt. George R. Royle.
“On September 21 1945, an accident occurred at the Park during the burial of approximately fifteen thousand M47A2 mustard filled bombs. One of the bombs burst and sprayed mustard on seven men, three being contaminated heavily and the other four moderately. The excellent and efficient first-aid treatment of the casualties by other men present at the scene of the accident, undoubtedly saved the sight and possibly the lives of the three heavily contaminated men. For this deed the rescuers were recommended for the Soldier’s Medal….”
So far as I know, my father was not directly involved in the accident on September 21,.. He talked, however, about his participation in the later ocean disposal of mustard-filled drums and bombs filled with phosgene and cyanogen chloride. Official records of these events were kept secret in U.S. Air Force archives until 2009 when they were declassified under a broad Executive Order. I have posted copies of the original Organizational History Reports from the 771st and the 769th at www.hoosierscientist.com, along with lists of the individual soldiers named in the reports. I hope others will join me in honoring these men and the other 70,000 soldiers who served in the U.S. Chemical Warfare Service during WWII. Important work remains to be done in remediating disposal sites for chemical munitions in the U.S. and abroad, but there should be no question that all of America’s World War Two soldiers deserve to be remembered and honored.