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The Vietnam Veterans of America said it has information showing an additional ship may have been involved in testing because it was on the same grid at the time a test took place. VVA officials point out that just as defense officials prepared to announce their search for documents was over, they had to add another vessel, a submarine, to the list of vessels involved in the so-called Project 112 tests.

The Pentagon must release more data relevant to veterans’ health, such as results from swab samples taken from the throats and noses of some veterans and dose rates of agents used, said Steve Robinson, VVA’s Project 112 adviser.

Defense officials announced June 30 they had concluded their proactive investigation into the tests. They began releasing data Sept. 13, 2001, when they revealed that tests called Copper Head, Autumn Gold and Shady Grove had taken place in the early 1960s.

In all, defense officials said 50 tests took place on land and sea, while 84 were canceled. Some 5,842 veterans have been identified as participants.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has sent letters to veterans telling them what tests they were involved with and what material they may have been exposed to. VA invited them in for physical exams.

But about 1,700 veterans who took part still have not been contacted by the government telling them more details.

That includes Jerrel Cook and Jack Alderson, who participated in the secret tests and have even provided information to defense officials. Cook, 58, of Joplin, Mo., has filed claims for respiratory, thyroid and joint ailments.

“The only thing I received was a letter denying all my claims,” said Cook, who as an Army private participated in Elk Hunt in Alaska in 1964 when VX nerve agent was tested. He gave government officials names of others participants that were noted in a letter of appreciation from their commander.

Meanwhile, some lawmakers are urging defense officials to investigate the tests further, including correcting inaccurate or omitted information.

Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., said he believes most of the information about the 134 planned tests under Project 112 still is secret.

“How were these tests conducted? What safety procedures were utilized? What information, if any, was provided to service members about their involvement? Why was it kept a secret for so long?” Thompson said in a prepared statement. “Continuing this investigation may help provide answers to some of these questions.”

Defense officials were asked to reveal all medically relevant data so VA could provide health care and process claims for compensation from veterans.

Retired Navy Capt. Michael Kilpatrick, who played a key role in the Pentagon’s investigation, said defense officials believe they have found all existing documentation but are willing to accept new data from veterans.

“We will continue to maintain dialog with veterans to try to work this issue through,” said Kilpatrick, deputy director of the Deployment Health Support Directorate.

Alderson has worked for many years to try to get information declassified. He was the naval officer in charge of five light tugs and took part in the exercises Big Tom, Fearless Johnny, Half Note and Shady Grove. Defense officials have issued inaccurate or incomplete information on two of the tests, he said.

Alderson was a lieutenant and stand-by skipper and never traveled through a cloud of real or simulated warfare agent, but says he was present for drills and decontamination. The Pentagon identified no decontaminants for Shady Grove, but Alderson claims chlorine, betapropiolactone, ethylene oxide and formalin were used.

He believes Big Tom took place in 1966, not 1965 as defense officials list, and said the light tugs were omitted from the data released on that test.

Alderson, of Eureka, Calif., said tug crews were vaccinated against six or seven germ-warfare agents, but that defense officials have only acknowledged two biological-warfare agents — tularemia and Q-fever — were used in the tests in which his crews were involved. He said it was his impression that the other agents were used, too.

Alderson questioned how defense officials could end their investigation when he said they haven’t interviewed many of the people involved in the planning.