Missouri WWII veteran says he was exposed to mustard gas

In November, National Public Radio reported that it had uncovered about 3,900 World War II veterans who had been exposed to mustard gas in Army experiments, six times the number the VA had recognized. Arla Harrell may be the only World War II veteran from Missouri on that list who is still alive.

Now Sen. Claire McCaskill is pressuring the Pentagon and the VA to expedite the investigation of the NPR claims. More importantly for Harrell, McCaskill's investigators point to a 2012 Army Corps of Engineers document proving mustard gas was present at Camp Crowder.

"All of the soldiers who underwent the experiments with mustard gas in World War II have been treated reprehensibly by the VA and by the Department of Defense," said McCaskill, D-Mo. "These should have been handled decades ago, and this shouldn't be a fight to get help."

Wayne Harrell, who turns 89 next month, is in a nursing home in Macon, Mo., 180 miles northwest of St. Louis, unable to walk or talk. But his family hopes his final appeal to the VA will get him the recognition from the government they believe he deserves.