Peggy - Can anyone shed any light on the place and circumstances of the suicide of Arvo Thompson who was investigating UNIT 731? The few sources on the internet say that he committed suicide in 1948 -- does anyone have details?
I would also be interested to know if anyone has information about other war crimes investigators like Wild and Thompson who appear to have died under less than clear circumstances.
I did come across a reference that says that Thompson committed suicide, apparently in Tokyo, in 1951. His colleague, Dr. Frank Olson, CIA biochemist also engaged in BW CW investigations related to Japanese and German developments, committed suicide in 1953.
This material is from H.P. Albarelli Jr. at WorldNetDaily.
Peggy - I have found a tremendous amount of material about Olson's "suicide." It seems fairly conclusive that was murdered -- thrown out of the hotel window. He had apparently detailed knowledge about anthrax and plans to use this "weapon" in Korea. So Olson's death doesn't really seem mysterious.
That doesn't, however, answer the question I pose about Arvo Thompson and the general question regarding other investigators who died under mysterious circumstances.
Arthur - >Peggy, I hope to be able to publish further details re colonel Wild, However I have nothing at all o Thompson. Give me a lead and I will research
I have made copies of your "E" mails and will make enquires through my contacts. Do you know what nationality?
Peggy - >Arthur, Thanks for the offer of help on Arvo Thompson. Let me probe a bit more to see if I can find any other clues. I have a buddy in the States who might be able to point me in the right direction for discovering the records. If the
source I have is correct, he suicided while in Tokyo on a special mission in 1951. He was still US ARmy at the time and this was still during the Occupation. There should be something in US records.
Oh, I wanted to ask, about the plane-explosion (Col. Wild). You had an expert describe what had happened, but he says there was no report on the condition of the engines. Is this normal in such events, that the investigation would omit/overlook such an element? I'm not an expert in such matters but it seems an odd oversight.
Peggy - >Arthur, Both Olson and Thompson were Americans.
I think Thompson was a Lt. Col. at the time of his death. He was apparently working out of Ft. Detrick, Maryland the CW/BW Army research center.
Arthur - >Peggy, There were a number of glaring observations regarding this crash, the whole matter was rushed and hshed up.
Maurice - >Peggy, I noticed the reference to UNIT 731 and being involved with research into this I have responded.
The only piece of information I have regarding Arvo (Arvo T Thomson Lt Col ,Veterinary Core. Record Report, Army Service Forces, Camp Detrick, Maryland File 186, RG331 dated 31 May 1946, that preceded the Hill/Victor report and the final one by Norbert H Fell Chief PP.E Division dated 20 June 1947) is that he agreed to interview Doctors and Staff of UNIT 731 "not knowing" that they had possibly experimented on Americans and United Kingdom prisoners of war in the same camp that my father was been held in.
But once this information was passed on to him this and other things, he became depressed and later took his own life. I have no details on how or where, but he was one of the very few that were involved with this sordid affair that had a conscience.
You may care to look at my web site for some of the responses I received from the Department of Defence in the USA and the Ministry of Defence in the UK.
http://www.btinternet.com/~m.a.christie/unit731.htm
I have over 500+ hundred pages of declassified information regarding this including five reports and was involved in the Programme by Peter Williams and David Wallace on TVS in 1985. I have completed my researches and have taken it as far as I can. I am unwilling to enter into any further correspondence as I am of the opinion that it falls outside the scope of FEPOW.
Maurice A Christie son of Hoten pow 1210..
www.btinternet.m.a.christie.co.uk/
