>> i remember him turning off the lights and me asking what are you doing? >> women who feel betrayed by the military they committed to serve. the pentagon's battle to do something about it. revealing investigations. fascinating characters. stories with impact. this is cnn presents. tonight's host, drew griffin. >> reporter: a special look at the men and women who have served our country and eye-opening investigations into the unbelievable injustices done to them. we begin with the startling story of how u.s. soldiers were used as human guinea pigs. during the cold war, the military embarked on a top secret program to test chemical and biological weapons but researchers used animals but believe it or not they also used humans. volunteers from the army who had no idea what they were signing up for. well, nearly half a century later, some of these human guinea pigs are emerging from the shadows with disturbing stories about what the military did to them then and how they are being treated now. dr. sanjay gupta investigates. >> i joined 18 years of age. the height of the vietnam war and really felt a sense of duty to my country to go and serve. >> i went straight to ft. bragg. it was just the thing to do. that was my obligation. that was my duty as an american. >> i was drafted and i was sent to ft. sill and placed in the missile detachment. we were supposed to be nuclear guards for the nuclear war heads that were to go on the pershing missiles. >> three american soldiers. tim josephs and frank rachelle and bill blynnski. called to arms half a century ago from different backgrounds but about to share an experience that would change each of their lives at edgewood arsenal military base in maryland. >> a couple of doctors came and gave a presentation. >> they presented it as not everyone would be chosen. >> three-day passes are the rule. >> no duties. no guard duty. no kitchen police. >> this is what we filled out. they ask you about your criminal background. they ask you if you drank and ask you about your parents and they ask you about your brother and your sisters. silly questions like did you like your mother better than you did your father. i took the test and got chosen and you got a couple of days off at home and reported to edgewood for two months. >> when you got chosen, were you excited? >> yes, i was glad to go. it was like a plum assignment. you would get all of the weekends off and the idea was they would test new army field jackets, clothing. weapons. things of that nature but no mention of any drugs or chemicals. >> in the beginning that's what we were told we would be doing, testing equipment, not testing drugs. >> reporter: but edgewood arsenal was testing drugs. beginning in 1955. >> this is edgewood arsenal. the united states army's chemical commodity center. >> this was the cold war and the united states wanted defenses against a possible soviet chemical attack. >> chemical attack may come in the form of a vapor, a cloud of smoke. >> reporter: the u.s. was developing psycho chemical weapons of its own. >> here's a group of normal soldiers responding correctly to a series of routine drill commands. after receiving a small dose of lsd, they are confused and undisciplined. >> reporter: edgewood arsenal is where much of the research took place using men like tim josephs. >> when i got there, it did not look like a military base. more like a hospital. >> reporter: describe it. what was it that you saw? >> everyone in lab coats. some military doctors and i guess some were civilian doctors but you were well aware you were private and i expressed my concern right from the beginning. they took me aside and said you volunteered for this. if you don't do it, most likely prison and a dishonorable discharge. >> you were intimidated? >> yes. >> reporter: coerced? >> yes. >> reporter: forced? >> forced. >> reporter: you didn't sign up for this? >> no, not at all. >> i reported up there september the 3rd and that started my ordeal. i trusted my government. i trusted the army. we were assured that we would not be harmed in any way. >> reporter: they said don't worry? was that the right message for them to be giving you? >> not at all. >> reporter: you trusted them? >> sure. >> reporter: how about now? >> i don't trust them very much at this point. >> reporter: and there is good reason for that. the army was testing substances ranging from lsd to nerve gas on human subjects. coming up. >> privates received a high dose of the incapacitating agent. in five minutes he won't be able to focus properly. the health problems these veterans say followed them from edgewood and haunt them to this day. automatically filter just the right amount of light. so you see everything the way it's meant to be seen. experience life well lit, ask for transitions adaptive lenses. 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[ male announcer ] the citi thankyou visa card. redeem the points you've earned to travel with no restrictions. rewarding you, every step of the way. redeem the points you've earned to travel with no restrictions. chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for motorcycle insurance. geico, see how much you could save. during the cold war the u.s. military launched a top secret program to see what sometimes dangerous chemicals could do to the body and the mind. veterans of these tests say they faced health problems long after the drugs wore off and they say the government has not lived up to its promise to take care of them. here, again, dr. sanjay gupta. >> these are the men of baker company. a special volunteer troop detachment at edgewood arsenal, maryland. >> reporter: for 18-year-old army private tim josephs the tests started almost as soon as he arrived at edgewood, home to a top secret military testing program using human subjects. >> sometimes it was an injection. other times, it was a pill. >> reporter: did they tell you what it is? >> the drugs or chemicals were referred to as agent one or agent two. one test i was involved with, i was pretty much out of it all day and that afternoon, i woke up with parkinson's symptoms immediately. >> reporter: so you had tremor? >> and aching in the limbs and arms and numbness. >> in this -- is a compound called -- >> reporter: bill billlynnski was exposed to tear gas three times at edgewood. >> this chamber looks familiar from the test i was in. >> reporter: this video shows volunteers in the gas chamber at edgewood exposed to cs. >> the effects were apparent almost at once. >> your eyes water and knows runs and your skin burns. you start throwing up. it's a real mess. >> reporter: in another test, he received an injection before being taken to a room with padded walls like this one. >> i'm sitting in a bedroom looking at the wall. all of a sudden, i'm looking at it and it starts fluttering like a flag does. >> careful control of these chamber tests resulted in a dose of only two parts per million. >> reporter: frank rachelle tested a similar drug in aerosol form. >> i leaned over into a face mask and inhaled and exhaled and inhaled and exhaled. >> a low dose of agent was ed if into the mixing bowl. >> reporter: this video shows carpenter undergoing the same kind of test. >> within an hour, carpenter's hands will feel cold, his face hot. borderline hallucinations come late in the experiment. >> reporter: like the photo in the film, frank rachelle experienced hallucinations. >> people were calling my name and nobody was around. there were animals coming out of the walls. it appeared that all of my freckles were bugs on my skin and i took a razor and i tried to cut some of them out. >> what was it over here in the corner lying down and looking at the wall? >> reporter: in all, some 7,000 military volunteers or more were part of chemical tests at edgewood from 1955 to 1975. the military tested at least 250 chemical and biological agents during the cold war, including potentially lethal nerve agents like vx and seron and barbiturates, taranquilizers an narcotics. this army film shows performing drills under the influence of lsd. volunteers were ordered not to ever tell anyone what had happened at edgewood. >> the thing about this whole program, you were told up front, you don't talk about this. you don't tell nobody about it. we couldn't even talk to our doctors and we couldn't even talk to our physicians. >> it was hammered into us that we were never supposed to talk about this. it was top secret. >> reporter: these days, palynnski is suffering from inflammatory bowel disease and cancer of the blood. frank rachelle has problems. >> i have breathing problems and i have nightmares and do i still remember and think about the test. >> reporter: tim josephs has parkinson's disease. he had to retire early. >> americans would not tolerate this kind of attitude toward our veterans. they would not allow it to happen. >> reporter: this attorney is suing the department of defense and department of veteran affairs on behalf of edgewood veterans. what do you hope to get for them in an ideal situation? they will get nothing for themselves out of this case other than perhaps medical care. they are not going to get any money. proper notice of the substances they received the doses and health effects. many of them had never been notified of anything. they were mistreated and don't want this swept under the rug and have everyone die and never see the light of day. that's why they are doing it. >> reporter: we wanted to talk about the lawsuit with the v.a. and defense department. they declined to be interviewed on cara citing the pending litigation and gave us a statement instead. the department of ges said it has made it a priority to identify all service members exposed to the veterans. >> on the fighting frond ground action has been quiet today. >> he says most veterans have never been contacted by the v.a. the v.a. has denied almost all edgewood-related health claims. >> our government has not fulfilled their duty. they have a duty to find and recognize every person and they got a duty to give them medical treatment. >> they are hoping that we die off. you get turned on and it just goes on for years and years. and they want to wear us down. they want to use young men as guinea pigs and throw them away. >> it's worth re-emphasizing that the edgewood veterans are not asking for money specifically. and although there are many delays in a case like this in part the difficulty of tracking down old documents from so many years ago, it is likely to go to trial next year. up next, another form of injustice. veterans from iraq and afghanistan back home and living on the streets. 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[ male announcer ] fiber one. here are the headlines. president obama heads to aurora, colorado, sunday. a city still numb with shock and sadness after a one-man shooting rampage killed 12 people. one ofthem a 6-year-old girl. the white house tonight says the president will meet state officials and the families of those people killed or wounded. the man accused of shooting up that packed movie theater will be in court on monday. he is james holmes. a 24-year-old doctoral student at the university of colorado. u.n. secretary-general ban ki-moon says the fighting in syria is destroying the country. the opposition says 96 people were killed. another sign the regime may be crumbling. two more defecting generals arrived in turkey overnight. officials say about two dozen syrian generals have now fled to turkey. and in bulgaria, a bus bomber may have had had an accomplice. suicide bomber the man highlighted here blew up the tour bus wednesday at the burgas international airport. the driver died and more than 30 injured. official tell cnn that a second suspect is a possibility but it hasn't been confirmed. worst drought in more than 50 years is crippling farmers in the midwest. many states are reported to be in severe to exceptional drought. that region produces about 75% of the nation's corn and soy bean crop. the drought is especially hard on livestock. many ranchers have had to sell off their herd early because they can't afford the corn to feed them. keeping you informed. you're watching cnn. the most trusted name in news. for far too many americans, the street is their home. a life bad enough for anyone, but unforgivable when the struggling men and women have already risked their lives for their country. there are more than 8,000 homeless veterans living in los angeles alone. surprising when you consider there's a plot of land there, nearly 400 acres that was donated, free, just to build a home for vets. as dr. sanjay gupta discovers, tat land could have helped a vet he met in l.a. >> reporter: you're young. how old are you? >> 22, almost 23. >> reporter: almost 23. you are from this area originally? >> san fernando valley, just over the hill. >> reporter: fresh out of high school, robert risman signed up to fight for his country. what makes an 18-year-old join the army? >> i wanted to go to college and make something of myself. the army said they'd pay for it. >> reporter: like a contract, i wail serve my country but my country will serve me? >> that's kind of what i was hoping for, yeah. >> reporter: where did it begin to fall apart? it began to fall apart in iraq. you saw things you don't want to talk about. >> no. >> reporter: you probably never want to talk about? >> no. >> reporter: the war was winding down. robert's unit was busy with pa patrols. then a close friend died in a bridge collapse. >> i got back from iraq. i was having a lot of psychological issues, i guess you could say. >> reporter: post traumatic stress? >> post traumatic stress disorder. >> reporter: back home at fort carson in colorado, he started feeling like people were out to get him. a few months later, someone discovered robert's sawed off shotgun hidden in his barracks. according to army papers, robert told investigators he was suicidal and at one point, he spent a full day drinking and sat on the side of the bed with his gun in his mouth. >> i wish sometimes i died in iraq so my life would have meant something, you know? >> reporter: forced to quit the army, robert ended up homeless. >> i went through some pretty bad times when i first got out. i was doing a lot of methamphetamines, my drug of choice. i was smoking a lot of dope and i was getting in with some rough crowds. >> reporter: many of those rough crowds were made up of people just like robert, returning veterans. as many as 1 in 3 soldiers returning from iraq or afghanistan suffers from traumatic brain injury, severe depression, substance abuse, or ptsd. >> i was dealing with other people that weren't so nice. >> reporter: is that weird for you to hear? >> yeah. that's really uncomfortable, actually. >> reporter: what happens when you hear a noise like that? >> it startles me a little bit. i know it's a truck. >> reporter: you see it everywhere you look. ex-soldiers like robert are desperate for steady care and for stable housing. so i was stunned about a piece of property in los angeles set side for this purpose, veterans for long term housing, literally across the street from the v.a. hospital. the story here actually dates back all the way to the 1880s. back then, the government wanted to create facilities for aging veterans of the civil war. so former senator john p. jones and his friend, a glamorous heiress, decided to donate all this land. back then, it was mostly ranch land. but today, just a few miles from the pacific ocean, it is some of the most valuable real estate in all of north america. >> it was solely an act of good will, an act of trying to take care of the veterans they had from the spanish american war and the civil war. >> reporter: carolina barry is descended from the heiress who made this gift and she is a part of a lawsuit against the v.a. filed by the american civil liberties union. the original deed include a condition that the land be used to establish and maintain a branch of a national home for disabled vets and a permanent home for thousands is exactly what it was. >> they had their post office. they had a trolley system that went all the way downtown to the beach. everything was provided for them. they had a special uniform. it was a marvelous place to live. and the grounds were gorgeous. i mean, they were just gorgeous. >> reporter: mark rosenbalm is the lead attorney for the aclu. >> at one point, this campus housed as many as 4,000 veterans. but beginning with the vietnam war era, the vets were kicked out, they were literally kicked out. >> reporter: around 200 veterans live on the property today, but none of them in permanent housing. alongside them, empty buildings, a public golf course, variety of public businesses-like a theater and bus depot. >> this land has been utilized for enterprise rent-a-car, for marriott hotels. they know what this land's about. for ucla baseball. >> reporter: with veterans sleeping on l.a. streets, i decided to head to the v.a. to see why this land isn't used for their housing. >> people said, look, that property is not being used for that purpose. >> reporter: is that a legitimate beef? 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