Frederick Thomas Frederick Thomas

The Chemical Bombs that DIDN’T Fall on Nagasaki

Eighty years ago, on March 5, 1945, Lt. Col. Wyss from U.S. Chemical Warfare Headquarters in Calcutta visited Ondal Advanced Chemical Park in West Bengal, India. The purpose of his visit was to reassess the stockpile of toxic chemical bombs then being maintained at Ondal by the 771st Chemical Depot Company (Aviation). Immediately after Wyss’s visit, the soldiers of the 771st began a major project to dispose of tens of thousands of chemical bombs that were judged to be either unneeded or unusable.

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Frederick Thomas Frederick Thomas

The 802nd Chemical Company on Guam, Feb. 1945

Eighty years ago, on February 3rd, 1945, the 802nd Chemical Company (Air Operations) participated in the official opening of North Field on Guam. They had arrived on Guam just two weeks earlier, assigned to establish and operate a “Class V Air Chemical Ammunition Depot” supporting the B-29s of the 314th Bomb Wing, XXI Bomber Command. Commander of the XXI, Gen. Curtis LeMay, was ….

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