Pont-St.-Esprit, France, August 16, 1951.

[Ron Bulman]

Southern France, on the Rhone River, isolated small town few modern convivences for the time.  Then the still new CIA and the Army flew crop dusters over town dispensing an aerosol form of LSD.

How does this relate to the JFKA?  Allen Dulles authorized it, regarding him, see Davis Talbot's The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government: Talbot, David: 9780062276179: Amazon.com: Books  

If you still don't believe he would authorize the JFKA, read this.  A Terrible Mistake: The Murder of Frank Olson and the CIA's Secret Cold War Experiments: Albarelli Jr., H. P.: 9780977795376: Amazon.com: Books   From pages 350-351.

"two hours before noon, a young farmer stumbled through the door of Dr. Vieu, babbling incoherently and waving his arms about, a second man appeared ranting nonsensically . . . seemed to be in the grip of hallucinations."  . . . by nightfall he was he was doing his best to treat 75 delirious patients.  Many had to be forcibly tied to their beds.  An eleven year old boy threw his mother to the ground and tried to strangle her.  A local politician stripped off his clothes and merrily danced naked in the town square.  An elderly man ran about yelling, "My belly is full of snails."

A young man, violent, finally subdued by five others, tried to put him in a straight jacket, he ripped it in half, next tied down on a cot chewed through leather straps so intensely he lost teeth.  A five year old girl told her mother. "Tigers are going to eat us all.  They're going to rip us to pieces."  The girl pointed at the ceiling of her room and cried, "Blood is dripping down on everything.  Can't you stop the blood?"  A police officer later remarked, no sexual acts, rapes or molestations.  This despite the fact that many people seemed possessed by an odd euphoria, and went about profusely professing love for the world and all it's inhabitants.

"rumors ran rampant" Satan was blamed, also, low flying unmarked  aircraft had sprayed the town with an unknown substance.  Or it could have been those well dressed foreign strangers who had passed through town the day before.

By August 18th 250 people had fallen victim to the mysterious malady.  Four died, all "in muscular spasm and cardiovascular collapse." 

Per a White House letterhead document from the 1970s, involved Sideny Gottlieb, Frank Olson, George Hunter White, Pierre Laffite, more.

Frank was disturbed by it all, he started talking too much.  LSD, Deep Creek was a trap to interrogate him under the influence.

Then he was pitched out the window.         

[Ron Bulman]

I'm guessing no one here has read A Terrible Mistake.  At 700 pages it is a bit of a slog at points, but the details are important.  Frank Olson was a Biochemist for the Army who also worked for the CIA.  One aspect of his job was developing aerosol methods of delivering drugs.   He was in France in the summer of 1951.  Testing his work?  He'd reputedly been to Europe before and after, observing the effects of experiments using LSD in interrogations.  Something gave him ulcers.  He wanted out.   

[Benjamin Cole]

Interesting post. 

Was Dulles of the character to order the JFKA? Maybe.

Was LBJ? Maybe.

Was Carlos Marcello? Maybe. 

Were Cuban exiles-mercs and CIA Miami station? Maybe.

The KGB? Maybe. (Ex-CIA'er Woolsey thinks so). 

The Mormon Mafia? Maybe.

Nazis brought to the US after WWII? Maybe. 

Did fragments break off from any of these groups and perp the JFKA as a rogue action? Maybe.

Did higher-ups tacitly agree to a "rogue op"? Maybe. 

Were any fragments essentially a "cat's paw" for higher ups? Maybe. 

Was there a government "investigation" and then cover-up post-JFKA? For sure. One that continues through the present Administration. 

 

[Paul Brancato]

I’ve read both books, both great and important works. 

[W. Niederhut]

20 hours ago, Ron Bulman said:

I'm guessing no one here has read A Terrible Mistake.  At 700 pages it is a bit of a slog at points, but the details are important.  Frank Olson was a Biochemist for the Army who also worked for the CIA.  One aspect of his job was developing aerosol methods of delivering drugs.   He was in France in the summer of 1951.  Testing his work?  He'd reputedly been to Europe before and after, observing the effects of experiments using LSD in interrogations.  Something gave him ulcers.  He wanted out.   

Many of Sidney Gottlieb's horrific Cold War experiments on unwitting human subjects are almost beyond belief, in retrospect.

Little wonder that Gottlieb's boss, Richard Helms, shredded those CIA human experimentation files.

Stephen Kinzer made the point, in Poisoner-in-Chief, that Gottlieb's human experiments were rationalized by Helms & Co. as necessary defensive measures against the Big Red Soviet Monster.

In the process, the CIA damaged and murdered a lot of people, including, of course, Frank Olson.

 

Edited April 15 by W. Niederhut

[Ron Bulman]

On 4/14/2024 at 9:53 AM, Paul Brancato said:

I’ve read both books, both great and important works. 

Thank you Paul.  I think so too.

[Ron Bulman]

I should probably let this thread slide into oblivion, not much interest.  But before we do, a few things.  As Paul mentioned, great and important work(s).

A Terrible Mistake: The Murder of Frank Olson and the CIA's Secret Cold War Experiments: Albarelli Jr., H. P.: 9780977795376: Amazon.com: Books

Several things in the book are shocking, fascinating, and important.  Pont-St.-Esprit was one of the most such for me, in addition to Olson's murder. 

LSD to me was the 1960's mind expanding drug I tried 3 -4 times in the early 1970's.  No bad trips, though one a little tense because of unforeseen circumstances.  Overdosing people spraying it from a crop duster in 1951 kind of blows my mind today.  Allen Dulles facilitated that.  It was a multi agency experiment, CIA - Army, Multi National effort, British (French?).  Then the Swiss/Sanoz. 

Eric Olson remembering his father's b/w home movie blurb of a crop duster taking off in an unknown field in the middle of other family things.  The villagers noticing men in expensive suits in town the day before.  Dr. Albert Hoffman, the Swiss Sanoz researcher/developer of LSD wandering the streets observing in the days afterwards, Sanoz supplied the CIA with LSD for years before I think, MERK synthesized it for the CIA.  All a bit mind boggling given the CIA was just getting started.

I just kind of figured LSD was something a chemist came up with.  I'd never heard of ergot, people afflicted BC.  It forms on the grains of rye then ferments under certain conditions of humidity , liberating several alkaloids of ergot.  LSD-25 it was noted, was one of the alkaloids produced by the fermentation of ergot. 

I never knew people were experimented on without their knowledge, many over dosed, purposefully, many died.  

 

[Ron Bulman]

The Whitehouse Stationary document is interesting.  No date but Routing: Colby, Belin.  An Identity Sheet (Partial) Frank R. Olson Identity 17: see att.

7. Pierre (Jean) Laffite (bellmAN?FBN)

8. FNU Spiritto (a/k/a/s)

9 George H. White

10.  French EmbaSSY* JM

11. Pont Saint Esprit incident (Olsojn)

12.  Lovell-Detrick

13. Ruwet, V

Who were the first six?  This was used by Chenny to develop Ford's response to the Olson's.  Downplay, apologize and pay off.

[John Kowalski]

Document below is from the The Black Vault's huge MK Ultra file which can be download from: 

https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/cia-mkultra-collection/

The document mentions putting LSD in a city's water supply.

https://archive.org/details/20240425_20240425_2248

Documentary on this event:

 

[Jean Ceulemans]

I once read a French book and a number of reports on it.  Strange was the 2nd poisening a few days later.  They did find issues with the bread that was polluted with something. A lot of it was destroyed.  In the end there were 6 or 7 options that may have been the cause, it was never concluded wat it could have been. Samples never really matched a cause that could make it to court.  2 bakeries closed shop and never sold bread again... Some say mass hysteria also had a role in it

I´d be very interested in the doc's Albqrelli used to make his point.

Edited April 26 by Jean Ceulemans

[Ron Bulman]

1 hour ago, Jean Ceulemans said:

I once read a French book and a number of reports on it.  Strange was the 2nd poisening a few days later.  They did find issues with the bread that was polluted with something. A lot of it was destroyed.  In the end there were 6 or 7 options that may have been the cause, it was never concluded wat it could have been. Samples never really matched a cause that could make it to court.  2 bakeries closed shop and never sold bread again... Some say mass hysteria also had a role in it

I´d be very interested in the doc's Albqrelli used to make his point.

The book is about much more but see this for $7.51 US plus shipping.  Or buy a new copy, which I guess would benefit his estate.  It's well documented.

A Terrible Mistake: The Murder of Frank Olson and the CIA's Secret Cold War Experiments: Albarelli Jr., H. P.: 9780977795376: Amazon.com: Books

[Ron Bulman]

4 hours ago, John Kowalski said:

Document below is from the The Black Vault's huge MK Ultra file which can be download from: 

https://www.theblackvault.com/documentarchive/cia-mkultra-collection/

The document mentions putting LSD in a city's water supply.

https://archive.org/details/20240425_20240425_2248

Documentary on this event:

 

Thank you for this John.  A lot of info in there.  It was cool to see Hank Albarelli talking briefly, Then Lashbrook, the Army/CIA fellow scientist who was int the room with Frank Olson when he was pitched out the window.  It did start drifting away from Pont-St.-Esprit but came back with a good closing by Albarelli.

Though in their summation I think they get the method of delivery wrong.  It was not the bread.  Fank Olson's bio-chemistry research specialty was aerosol delivery of such products.  Frank's son Eric referred to a home movie with a short blurb in it of a crop duster taking off from an unknown field.  Not much, but Frank was in France or the area specifically on dates before, itself and after per some documentation.

The photography of the town is great.  Much larger than I imagined.

Worth re watching and taking notes for me.

[Ron Bulman]

Not the butcher or candle stick maker, but they arrested the baker, then the miller.  After that they blamed Saint Anthony's Fire. 

 Michelangelo Buonarroti - The Torment of Saint Anthony - Google Art Project - The Torment of Saint Anthony - Wikipedia

[Ron Bulman]

22 hours ago, Ron Bulman said:

Not the butcher or candle stick maker, but they arrested the baker, then the miller.  After that they blamed Saint Anthony's Fire. 

 Michelangelo Buonarroti - The Torment of Saint Anthony - Google Art Project - The Torment of Saint Anthony - Wikipedia

I left out the water, there was that theory.  Someone poisoned it, soon discounted.  Some Frenchmen still seem to cling to the bread theory in the video.

Then there is Albert Hoffman, I know, already mentioned.  A research scientist in Switzerland at Sanoz who accidentally discovered LSD when he accidentally got some on his fingers in 1938 (odd coincidence, Allen Dulles stationed there during WWII with the OSS). 

Called in (by who?) after the Pont-St.-Esprit incident he had no doubt it was caused by LSD.  Then he backtracked.  Then he was unavailable for further comment.

Looking for the painting of Saint Anthony's Fire (look up the story behind that) yesterday I came across this.  I've not watched all of it but the first part and scanning through it seems a depiction of a bad trip, though I never really had one, a little paranoia a couple of times.

 

 

[Ron Bulman]

A couple of more notes on the documentary John linked.

Somewhere in the latter part the narrator mentions kind of in passing that the town of Pont-St- Esprit "was under control of socialists at the time".  I found that interesting, that the US Army, CIA and British Intelligence would choose to target a town under control of socialists (if this was true) for such an experiment on such a grand scale so early in the Cold War.

The other thing from the documentary was a clip I'd never seen from 8/2/95 of President Bill Clinton apologizing to all US citizens who had been used unwittingly in experiments by the US government.  I know some will laugh at this but he seemed sincere.