[GODREKR]

Vertus Wellborn Hardiman (March 9, 1922 – June 1, 2007) was a victim of a US government human radiation experiment at the age of five that left him with a painful skull deformity that forced him to cover his head for 80 years.

Hardiman was born in Lyles Station, Indiana. In 1928, he attended Lyles Consolidated School where he and nine other children were severely irradiated during a medical experiment conducted at the local county hospital. To get parental consent the experiment was misrepresented as a new therapy for the scalp fungus known as ringworm. The radiation of the skull led to immediate symptoms but also to a severe progressive necrosis of the bone throughout his life.

The school children from Lyles Station School were delivered by their schoolbus, including Hardiman who was only five years old at the time and not technically enrolled in school. His mother sent him with his older brother to receive what they had been told was treatment for ringworm. All of the children treated with the radiation complained of the same symptoms: they all experienced headaches, suffered from dizziness, and felt extreme burning of the scalp. Eventually all the children lost their hair permanently.

The parents of the children met with a local lawyer and filed a lawsuit against the hospital, focusing on how the parents had been misled and tricked, but the hospital were found not liable. Many suffered long-term effects, but Hardiman's were the most pronounced.

In 1945 Hardiman traveled to California in search of broader opportunity. In 1946 he worked for the County of Los Angeles General Hospital, where he served with distinction. He lived his last years in Altadena, California and died at age 85.

Hardiman's life is the subject of a documentary released in 2011 that was written and produced by Wilbert Smith and directed by Brett Leonard.
Wiki

Hole in the Head: A Life Revealed (Documentary Site)

Interview with Wilbert Smith, author of Hole in the Head, the story of Vertus Hardiman

Despite his circumstance, he had lived life on his own terms and refrained from complaining about his affliction. Vertus’ life was an example to others of the triumph of the human spirit. He insisted that education is the foundation for creating a heaven while here on earth. He never borrowed money and subsequently was able to accumulate astonishing amounts of wealth by investing his savings in real estate.

He died at age 85. Upon his death, Vertus bequeathed eight million dollars to his church and favorite educational scholarship fund. Vertus harbored no anger and was known to say frequently, “If I am angry, my prayers will not be answered because my heart’s not right.”

Source

[marcos_69]

Poor guy.

[kellyhound]

top of the iceberg when it comes to new therapies and treatments but were actual medical experiments. Lot of orphans and poor people were the victims.

[LadyCPlum]

Christ, and we thought Nazi medical experimentation was bad.

[Massacreman]

Ya'll can bitch and moan about how there's problems in x or y, but you fail to account for the fact that most of the modern issues with almost everything can be traced back to our government.

This gentleman found out first hand, and HE STILL STAYED IN THE COUNTRY. What a boss.

RIP Mr. Hardiman