During the Cold War, while some people signed up to be part of the U.S. Armed Forces, others were drafted. Most people knew if you were going to be involved in the military, especially during global conflict, you might have to kill someone. This was a problem for some men who were drafted, specifically the Seventh-Day Adventists. This denomination in Christianity takes the Bible very seriously, especially the part that reads “Thou shalt not kill.” This made using them hard for the military.
[Image via Operation Whitecoat, The Movie]As we know, governments conducted experiments on their own people already, so that is an option. Many times, America would do this on those they considered lesser than, but not military right? Wrong! Roughly 2,300 Seventh-Day Adventists decided if they had to be part of the military, they did not want to fight. Thus, they were used as guinea pigs for testing vaccines against biological weapons. In many experiments, those involved recalled being miserable with fevers, chills, and deep aches from diseases. In spite of the high likelihood they would, no one died in the experiments.