- Approved for Release - 2019 04 23 C02330049 l TO WHOM IT MAY CONCEBN My name is Vincent L Ruwet a Lt Colonel in the Chemical Corpso At the time of the death of Dr Frank R Olson I was assigned as Chief of Special Operations Division in which division Dr Olson was a Branch Chief I first met Dr Olson on the 1st of July 1951 on which date I reported to the Division • From July · 1951 to January 1952 we were in intimate contact professionally and on comparable levels professicnally that is I was Assistant to the Division Chief and he was a Branch Chief Also during that tin e we became very friendly socially and I saw a great deal of him and his family both at his home and they at my home In January 1952 I left the Division to undertake the duties of Executive Officer of the Post at which time rcy daily professional contact was t1ore limited but I did work with him on a liaison basis particularly with reference to matters pertaining to the mission of SO Division Sub- sequent to that time in August 1952 I became the A ssistirnt Deputy Director of the Biological Laboratories and on about the same level my relations with the deceased continued During this period we continued our social friend- ship on a very close and intimate basis In June 1952 I as assigned as Acting Division Chief of SO Division in addition to my other duties In October 1953 I was appointed Division Chief which fact seemed to please Dr Olson veey mucho During the period just covered Dr Olson was kanch Chief until October 1952 at which time he was prevailed upon by Dr S chwab and myself to become Acting Chief of SO Division by reason of the fact that Dr Schwab bad left the Division Dr Olson did this reluctant J since he said that he was I ' I pproved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 - · • • Approved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 • 2 adverse to taking on administrative type of work and preferred closer touch with the laboratory bench Dr Olson carried on as Acting Division Chief until 1 March 1953 at which time he was removed at his own request to rE vert to Branch Chief his old job and in addition to his other duties Special Assistant to the Division Chief During the period described a bove and before the experiment my estinate of Dr Frank R Olson is as follows His personality s that almost of an extrovert He liked a practical joke did not carry it to excess Socially he was very popular life of the party type lie was the first one on hand to assist anyone who might have troubles either professional%' or personal He and his wife were extremely popular persons on the Camp As a professional ma n ing my estimate of his ability is that he was outstand- The extant of my contact with him has already been stated froM Octo- ber professionally and at work from Jµly 1951 to January 1952 the contact was daily From January 1952 to June 1953 it was probably on the order of 2 or J times a week From June 1953 until his death the contact was daily At all times from June 1951 and until his death my social contact with him and his family was intimate For the period in which I have knowledge my e·stimate of the performance of his duties officially wa s satisfactory to outstanding I would say that from the cumulative standppint and in comparison with other scientists doing similar type of work he was outstanding During the period prior to the experiment my opinion of his state of mind • Approved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 e e Approved for Release 2019 04 23 C023 0049 3 was that I noticed nothing which would lead me to beleive that he was He had the normal family worries worries that I con- of unsound mindo sider to be normal Occassionally he had trouble with his ulcers but was_alwa ys reluctant to discuss personal troubles with anyone Professionally he was making very fine progrese particularly in the last year and was most successful in the work he was doing I would further like to insert as regards to hia personality or per- sonal habits that he did smoke and did take social drinks but did not use either to excess The experiment took place Thursday November 19th 1953 in the evening l saw Dr Olson on Friday morning We had breakfast and he appeared to be agitated and at the time I did not consider this to be abnormal under the circumstances Immediately after breakfast on Friday morning November 20th Dr Olson ca r 10 to me and had asked if I would object if he rode back to home-station with Mr Champlin '· I stated Of course not that it was perfectly al- right with me 11 The next time I saw Dr Olson was on Monday morning 23rd of November 1953 I came to work about 7 30 and Dr Olson was waiting for me office in his He appeared to be agitated and asked me if I should fire him or should he quit I was taken 11 a-back 11 by this and asked him what was wrong He stated that in his opinion he had messed up the experiment and did not do well at the meetings I talked with Dr Olson for about a half hour and further discussed it with him stating that in my opinion he had the wrong impression - that I thought he did very well at the meetings and in - · pproved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 · - - _ Approved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 4 his participaticn in the experiment was abova reproach He appeared to be satisfied and relieved We attended two professional ap _Jointments tcgether and I noticed nothing unusual except that he appeared to have some difficulty in concantrating We also had lunch together on tbat date well I did notice that He did not eat very We atte ded an official movie and meeting at 1530 that afternoon J e was riding home in a car-pool that night and immediately after the movie he said so-long and ran to catch his car The next time I saw him was the following mornir g Tuesday 24 lfovember 1953 when he a gain was waiting for me in my office when I crune to work about 7 30 a m He appeared to be gr 3atly agitated and in his own words all mixed up 11 He said he felt that he was not competent that he had done zomet ing wrong When questioned closely he could not say exactly what he thought he had done wrong He made reference to the fact that he thought he should not have been retired for physical reasons but when this was J ushed he shifted to the fact that he felt incompetent to the type of work he was doing - when tli is was pursued he seemed to look for somethi lg else wi 1 ich he had done wrong • After about an hour of discus·sion it became apparent to me that Dr Olson but needed psychiatric attention I continued the discussion in sucb a - a as to attempt to get him to s gest that he needed some help lly This he did fina- Dr Stubbz who was present e nd I immediately agreed that this was our opinion also and I suggested to him that I call Mr Robert Lashbrook arrange for such assistance and This he agreed to and said that he would go hoine at once and discuss the situation wi tht his ife which he d id I immediately called Mr Lashbrook and explained to him what the situation I pproved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 - 1· i - _ _ 4 - - Approved· for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 was 5 and expressed the opinion t hat Dr Olson wa s in serious trouble and needed immediate professional attention • Dr Latmtrook said that he unclerstood and would take immediate action discussing this with his wife Meanwl Dr Olson ha d been I received a calli from his 'ife asking if she could come along and I told her that she coullil We were to go to Wash- ington D C for further assistance Shortly after this Dr Lashbrook called baclc ai ad wanted to know ·That time we would be in Washington since he had arraDged for an appointment in New York with a psychiatrist and that he would obtain air reservations for us to go to New York arrived at the office About 5 minutes after t hat Dr and Mrs Olson We went froLl there to my home where I changed from u' uniform to civilian clothes and we driven frora my home to Washington by Nr John C Y a linowski En route Dr Olson ap oeared to be greatly agitated highly suspicious and in his own words all mixed up 11 1mt in Bethesda 1• d to r ave lunch drank very little We stopped at the Hot Shoppe restaurDr 01s m ordered lunch but ate or Ee apFeared to be highly suspieious of food or drhlk We then proceeded to Dr Lushbrook 1 s office and explained the situation to him with his wife and Mr Malinowski again I 11 enrt in and saw Dr Lashbrook Dr Ols on stayed out in the car I found out l e tSir that he had asked Mr Malinowski to leave the car so tha t he could talk t 1 ' his wife which was d one After about 15 minutes I came out and s1166 este d to M r Malinowski and Mrs Olson that they leave us there and that we wouild get t0 the air-port with Dr Lashbrook who was gcing with us We procecded'for the air-port and left for New York as I can estimate the tiine now aibout 2 JO p m Nov 24 _ ·Approved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 - · · A - Approved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 6 Durir g the tr3 p Dr Olson's condition apr eared to be about the same He was ver anxiou s and he had the feeling tbat soEeone was out to get him He didn't appear to be qnite sure why etc We arrived in New York without incident pr iceeded from Ls Guardia $P Airport to Dr Abramson's office arrived there approximately 5 p m l 'le left Dr Olson with Dr Abramson who requested us to come back in about l hour After an hour 1 1e came back and Dr Abramson sugE ested that we go to a hotel and we told him we had reservations at the Statler Hotel ne stated that he would come up to our room about 10 JO with some sedatives Dr Olson Dr Lashbrook and also suggested that we have a high-ball and I went directly to the hotel sat and talked for a while then went _to the cocktail-lounge had a Martini and then went to dinner drank a l•' artint liut refused to drink a seCO ld one Dr Olson He ate very little still appeared to very suspicious of Dr La shbrook and myself · After dinner we went back to our roor 1s disccnsted various things and Dr Olson asked to talk with me alone upset and kept asking 11 What 1 Again he appeared to very anxious s behind all this Give me the low-1iown What are they trying to do with me are they checkii1t me for security etc 1 I did my best to re-aosure him and tried to show him wherein factually he as imagining these difficulties and thought I had convinced him at least he said that he thoue ht things were clearing up and also he said that he thou ht Dr Abramson could help him About 10 JO p m Dr Abramscn came and brought a bottle of bourbon and sone 11 Uembutal 11 for Dr Olson We sat around and had just a good social discussion and a couple of ' 11 high-ballso 11 About mid-night Dr Abramson pproved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 _ A - Approved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 said 'Well it 1 s time to go to bed 7 He suggested to Dr Olson t at he take a Jfombutal 11 which he did at that time and that Dr Olson take another should he have difficulty sleeping By the way Dr Olson had com- plained to me from the start that he had not been able to sleep after Thursday He said that he got no sleep Dr Olson fell asleep The undersigned remained awake Dr Olson fell asleep immediately after going to bed and I heard him get up about J to go to the bath-room He came to bed but obviously could not fall asleep as he was tossing ann turning and talking to himself remember what he was saying I don't I asked him about that time if he would take another Nembutal and he said no Finally about 5 JO a m he appeared to get · 1pset again and I suggested that he take a Nembutal he agreed and took it We star tad discussing the situation over again - the content of the conversation was almost identical to what it had been before Then he went back to sleep or I bel ve at least rested until about 9 JO a m on the morning of the 25th of November 19 53 At this time he got up watched television and the three of us Dr Lashbrook Dr Olson and myself went to breakfast He ate some breakfast and t 11 S appeared to be a little better although he hetd s t i l l in a rather anxious state in my opinion We then accompanied Dr Lashbrook at Dr Lashbrook's suggestion on an official visit which he had to make During this visit Dr Olson again became highly suspicious and mue d up When this became apparent we tactfully cut the visit short and left doctor's office for the 4 o'clock appointment picked him shortly after 5 o'clock Dr Olson We went from there to the 'iwe left Dr Olson there and ailill requested that he return home for Thanksgiving dinner so that he could bawe dinner with his family · ·· Approved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 · - • • and this ' '8 S • Approved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 8 agreed 1o by Dr Abramson who suggested that we make an ap p int- ment to come back upp on Tuesday l December 1953 I asked at that time if he would like to have me come with Dr Olson or if Dr Olson should come alone He said this was entirely up to Dr Olson - if he wished he could come alone if he wished to have company it would be perfectly alright for me to come So then we left Dr bramson 1 s office came back to the hotel and at my suggestion got tickets for a musical show flMe and Juliet We went out to dinner and from there to the show which started at 8 JO p m Dr Olson appeared to get upset during the first act and at intermission he was highly agitated and stated that he knew that people were outside waiting to arrest him on his departure from the show I tried to reassure ·w lo that I personally guarantee him that he will be in Frederick or at home the following morning and that he would be there with his family for Thanksgiving He stated that he didn't beleive me and I tolclhim Well he must do so and that I would give him my word of honor that this would be so n out that we had the plane reservations I suggested that maybe he didn't want to eee rest of the show and that he and I talk and walk he quickly agreed state I pointed To this sug6 estion We left the th _ atre wUe b rn and he was in a very anxious We walked back to the hotel from the theatre talking all the while and by the time we arrived at the hotel he appeared to be more relaxed We went back to the hotel-room talked and watc ed television discussed going home 44 the following day aad Dr Lashbrook stayed for the remainder of the show and came in about ll or 11 JO p m We talked for a little while called the desk to arrange for being called in time get out to the airport the following morning The call was arranged for 5 30 a m I went' to 1 ed and unfortuna tely I fell asleep did not hear anything until 5 30 when the phonem ng I i I I I Approved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 -_ • It was • • Approved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 the hotel operator waking us up 9 I flicked on the light Dr Olson was not in his bed and his clothes were gone I immediately informed Dr Lashbr' ok who was in the adjoining room and·we dressed went down to the hotel lobby as speedily as possible and there we found Dr Olson fully dressed with his over-coat and hat on sitting in a chair He stated he was walking around in the streets and that in the process he had disposed of his identification button his wallet and his money Ile stated that he had done this because I had fnstructed him to do so since I was with him I told him that I wasn't with him he said Yes that's right I must have been dreaming 11 Since there was no c utl e time t o we decided against looking for his wallet and identification badge immediately went up to the room shaved and dressed Dr Olson also shaved We checked out of the hotel got a taxi and went to LaGuardia Air- port in time to make a JO plane Plane was delayed approximately one hour because of mechanical difficulties We arrived in Washington Dr · Olson appeared to be more relaxed at this time Dr Olson ate on the plane and slept the entire trip 1 hom We arrived in Washington were met by Mr Malinowski Thursday Nov 26th Thanksgiving Day v re got in Mr Malinowski's car and headed for Fre- derick In north-west Washington on Wisconsin avenue Dr Olson asked if we couldn I t stop the car and talk t1ii s thing over and I asked him if there was anything wrong a nd he said Well I would like to talk things over 11 We st 1_ i i ad in the parking lot at Howard Johnson I s on Wisc nsin avenue near Bet nesda-Chevy Chase Wooo ward Lothrop store He asked hr lalinowski to leave the car as he wanted to discuss something with me - Hr Jfalinowski complied He told me h'3 could not go back to Frederick since he was so mixed up He was a sha raed to rr eet his wife and family and requested to pproved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 • Approved for Release 2019 04 23 C02 49 10 just leave him go und would go off by himself not do This I told him I could He then asked me to turn hir 1 over to the police since they wan- ted him anyway We discussed tli sat considerable length and he ap eared satisfiad - that the police did not want him I then suggested that maybe he would like to go back to see Dr Abramson Ee agreed to this sugges- tion I then called Dr Lashbrook and told him what the situation was and he told rr e to take Dr Olson to his apartment immediately done This was We decided tot ake Dr Olson back to New York to see Dr Abramson and it was decided that since l-frs Olson was entitled to know what the situation was and because she vrci s expecting him for Thanksgivint dinner I should proceed to Frederick to brief Mrs Olson be very much upset and agitated Dr Olson appeared to Again all mixed up T lia was the wors1 1Q 5 that I had se en him since the experiment took place This the last time I saw Dr Olson On rriday evening approximately 10 30 N WE mber 27th I received a call from lfow York from Dr Lashbrook who stated that reservations had been r de for Dr Olson at Chestnut Lodge i11 Rockville l ary-land and that they had plane reservations for the follo ine morning and were scheduled to arrive in Washington at 9 34 on the 28th of November suggested that I meet the planqa - hich I agrcE- d to do I then asked if 1 Dr Olson was still speaking to me in a rather joking manner Dr Lashbrook ask him this question and his P nswer was have the phone 11 11 I heard w11y yes let me·• Dr Olson appeared on the phone q_dte relaxed He told me about the trip in the morning about the fact that he had reserva tions at Chestnut Lodge I told him that I hew the latter as Dr Lashbrook had I I l I' - -- pproved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 - · - - _ Approved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 told me so I also told him I would meet the plane I not do so since that day was Saturday work to c'Lo around the house I would meet him He said 11 He suggested that e nd he knew that I probably had l told him to think nothing of that and that 11 fine 1 1 11 see you in the morning fhis ia the last time I spoke to Dr Olson At approximately 2 45 a m Sat Nov 28th 195 3 I received a call from Dr Gottlieb with a message that Dr Olson had died I HEREBY CERTIFY TO 'l'HE BBST OF MY KNOilLl DGE rHAT THE ABOVE STJ TJ vl F I TS AF E TRUE P 1'ID CORRECT VniCR'NT L RUWET Lt Col CmlC Chief SO Division Camp Detrick Frederick aryland Approved for Release 2019 04 23 C02330049 - 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