Box 14, MAMRU~2

APO San Francisco 96263
4, 71.38/RQB: sw

12 March 1974

Richard Hanmmerschlag, PhD

Division of Neurosciences

City of Hope National Medical Center
1500 East Duarte Road

Duarte, California 91010

Sir,

It apparently is current fashion to interpret all actions
of people in the worst light and not to assume that
people may act with only good intentions. A glaring
example is provided by the completely erroneous assump-—
tions made by you and your colleagues as put forth in
your letter of 6 March. No BW, CW, or other W's except
perhaps HW (Human Welfare) have ever been associated with
any research projects at NAMRU-2. In fact there have
never been classified projects of any kind here.

Concerning my work in acreening Asian ethnic groups for
hemoglobin variants, haptoglobins, and G-6-P D de ficiency
rates, that was strictly my own personal interest and done
on my own initiative. Sefore the issue of relevancy arose
in 1969 we at NAMRU-2 were relatively free to work on
projects of interest to us as long ag we also were earrying
out the regular work related to the mission of NAMRU-2
which is to study the acute infectious diseases of Southeast
Asia. Unfortunately that is no longer the case and hoth
because of the relevancy issue and because of severe
budgetary constraints my work in Asian ethnic groups has
been drastically curtailed.

There is no mystery at all about the ARPA funding I received
for work here at MAMRU-2. It was obtained through

Dr. Arnold EB. Schaefer who at that time (1964) was

Executive Director of the Interdepartmental Committee On
Nutrition For National Defense (ICNND). Among numerous
sources of funding Dr. Schaefer's program received some
money from ARPA. For several years beginning in 1965 I
received funding from Dr. Schaefer's ICNND for earrying
out nutrition work. Included in the budget was funding for
laboratory equipment. Several sets of Technicon
Autoanalyzer equipment were obtained in this manner and
used primarily for the nutrition studies including amino
acid analyses. One set of autoanalyzer equipment was nosed
Primarily for amino acid analyses of peptides in hemoglobin
structure work and on that basis acknowledgement of ARPA
funding was made.

I have checked my bibliography and find 26 papers in which
ARPA support was acknowledged. These are circled in the
enclosed liat of my publications. Among those 25
publications, 4 (#67, 74, 75, 86) concerned animal nutrition
studies supported in part by the ARPA funding provided by
Dr. Schaefer. Other publications of work directly supported
by those funds are in preparation; all concern nutrition
studies. The remaining 22 publications in which ARPA
support is acknowledged are without exception concerned

with hemoglobin structure studies in Asian ethnic groups.

In all cases quantitative amino acid analyses were involved
and therefore I acknowledged ARPA support because of the use
o: the amino acic analyzer equipment. ‘he actual surveys
themselves were not funded by ARPA nor, so far as I am aware,
did ARPA personnel have any interest in them. My research
reports on the nutrition studies were sybmitted to

Dr. Schaefer's office and I had no contact with ARPA personnel.

I am sure that Or. Schaefer can fill you in on some of the
background surrounding his receipt of ARPA funding for
nutrition studies. He currently is with the Pan American
Health Organization in Washington, 0.C.

So, there really was no sinister, nefarious plot on my part
or on the part of NAMRU-~2 toe blot out especially chosen
sect‘ons of mankind through genetically~induced chinks in
their biological armor. On the contrary, there have been
many excellent studies done at NAMRU-2 for the direct
benefit of mankind, My own work in Asian ethnic groups
can not be included among those studies because it has
been simply basic work primarily of anthropological
interest and the results are generally not really of any
direct benefit to the subjects themselves.

I have taken the time from my work to give you the above
information not because I think it really is any of your
business, nor as a courtesy from one worker in acience

to another responding to a scientific question, but in
the interest of truth and fair play. I hope you will
show equal interest in truth and fair play and that when
you are satisfied about the facts as I have given them

to you, you will take time to make them known to everyone
with whom you have previously corresponded on this matter.

Yours,

R. Quentin Blackwell

Copy: Dr. R. H. Watten, NAMRU-2
Director, City of Hope
Executive Director, ACS
Dr. Arnold E. Schaefer, PAHO