An NPR series has won a 2015 George Foster Peabody Away. The series revealed, for the first time, that the Pentagon exposed more than 60,000 African-American and Japanese-American troops to mustard gas to look for racial differences in reactions, and that the Department of Veterans Affairs broke their promise to find and help the affected men.
“This is an excellent case of how a young journalist’s instincts ended up helping some of our oldest surviving veterans,” said NPR Senior Vice President of News and Editorial Director Michael Oreskes. “Holding government institutions to account is one of our most important roles, even if it takes a long time. The army conducted these tests more than 70 years ago. But it took Caitlin Dickerson’s curiosity and reporting to reveal that the chemical-weapons testing was based on race. And with the help of Barbara Van Woerkom’s relentless research, they did what the VA said it could not do—find the surviving veterans.”
NPR’s investigative reporting triggered impassioned and affecting responses from the families of these soldiers and by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Because of these pieces, lawmakers across the country have also promised to take action to ensure the test subjects receive compensation.
The award is NPR’s 63rd nod from the prestigious program recognizing excellence in work by radio and television stations, networks, webcasters, producing organizations, and individuals.
A full list of this year’s winners is available at the Peabody Awards website.
