The US Army Chemical Corps is a small unit within the Army that oversees the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response and defense, and it celebrated its 100th birthday at the end of June.
The Chemical Corps is one of the smaller and one of the younger branches within the Army. It was created toward the end of World War I, as a response to the use of early chemical warfare.
Christy Lindberg, the Corps’ official historian, said after the end of World War I, the country moved away from chemical warfare and defense.
“So, there’s kind of a – people backing off – like we don’t even need the Army cause we’re never going to fight this way again,” Lindberg said. “There’s realism on the chemical side that says, ‘No we need to be able to do this because we’ve opened Pandora’s box and chemical warfare isn’t going to go away even if we wish it to.’”
Lindberg said that the Corps was prepared for defense and offense during World War II, though no chemical warfare took place.
During the Korean War, soldiers deployed mortars and smoke screens, and then during Vietnam, the Corps was integral to Operation Ranch Hand – the defoliant and herbicide operations.
“The unfortunate legacy of Vietnam associated with those operations is Agent Orange. And, of course, there were different agents used. Agent Orange has become the most infamous,” Lindberg said.
Following the war and the public’s growing discontent over the government’s use of such agents, the Corps was close to being shut down and was no longer training new recruits, but, Lindberg said, “our general orders were never rescinded.”
From 1973 to 1982, the Corps was in a sort of limbo with no new soldiers, but as new chemical threats around the world became evident, the Corps was reorganized and began training new soldiers again in 1983. It was then moved to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, in 1999.
It’s been years since the Corps resettled, and hundreds of soldiers gathered for a sunrise service on June 28th – the actual 100th birthday – to honor the fallen of the Corps.
So, in late June, hundreds of Chemical Corps soldiers gathered for a weekend of celebrations. Others activities included a veteran recognition ceremony, a look at new technologies, a tour of the Corps Museum, lunch with active duty soldiers and a ball for the “Green Dragons,” which is the nickname for Chemical Corps soldiers.
Veterans from every major war after World War I were present, like Clifford Petry, a double veteran of the Korean and Vietnam War.
He traveled from Texas for the weekend, and he reminisced about his time in the Chemical Corps. He said it was difficult to put his finger on exactly just how much the Corps means to hm.
“I’ve had a lot of fun in the army. 30 years. Infantry. POW – No fun there,” Petry said. “But I’m home.”
Another veteran, James Perkins, was there with his daughter - who was also a veteran.
“I first got into the Chemical Corps during the Korean War,” Perkins said.
Perkins is actually a three-war veteran – World War II, Korea and Vietnam, though he was only with the Chemical Corps for the latter two.
He was an officer in the Corps and worked with smoke screens during the Korean war, and he said he was glad he and his daughter could make the trip for the celebrations.
“I thank the Chemical Corps,” Perkins said. “I enjoyed my duties as a chemical officer, and I think we did some good.”
But the celebrations weren’t simply about looking back at the history of the Corps.
Henney Hodgkins is the current Regimental Command Sergeant Major for the Corps and the first woman to hold the rank. She said, to her, the Corps and its mission is more important now than ever.
“As you look the global environment right now, and you look at the use of those chemical munitions in places like Syria – to me, it’s even more relevant,” Hodgkins said.
She said she loves being a “dragon soldier” and is glad to be a part of the modernization effort of the Corps, but, more immediately, she is glad to be a part of the celebration of the branch she loves.
“I am just excited and I can’t wait to celebrate,” Hodgkins said. “I know I probably won’t be alive for the next 100 years, but, in spirit, I will be celebrating with them when they hit that 200-year milestone.”
So, in an auditorium in the middle of Missouri – on the 28th of June – hundreds of soldiers and veterans gathered in an auditorium to watch a large cake being cut with a saber and to sing “Happy Birthday” to the Corps that brought them all together.
