By Chris Nichols
The story of Frank Olson, a U.S. Army biochemist, and his death in 1953 has intrigued and disturbed historians, conspiracy theorists, and justice-seekers for decades. At the heart of this chilling tale lies an event that occurred at Deep Creek Lake in Maryland—an idyllic retreat that, for Olson, became the setting for a life-altering episode orchestrated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This article delves into the complex and shadowy story of Frank Olson, examining the key events, players, and the enduring questions surrounding his untimely death.
Frank Olson: A Scientist at the Crossroads of Innovation and Secrecy
During World War II, Olson served as a captain in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps. In December 1942, he got a call from Ira Baldwin, his thesis adviser from his PhD program and the future mentor of Sidney Gottlieb, who would go on to be the CIA’s leading chemist and director of MK-ULTRA. Ira had been called to leave his University post to direct a secret program regarding the development of biological weapons, and wanted Olson to join him as one of the first scientists at what would become Fort Detrick. The army transferred him to Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. A few months later, the Chemical Corps took over Detrick and established its secret Biologicals Warfare Laboratories.
A specialist in aerobiology, Olson was deeply involved in developing biological weapons during the early days of the Cold War. In 1948, Frank Olson helped to set up the Special Operations Division (SOD) at Fort Detrick, which was tasked to develop new and secret biological means for effective interrogation and warfare. Olson soon became the acting head of this division.
Frank Olson, 1910-1953
In 1951, the CIA initiated project BLUEBIRD with the aim to invent techniques for what became known as “special interrogations.” A document issued on January 1,1952 described the essential question of the program as “Can we obtain control of the future activities (physical and mental) of any given individual…” Project BLUEBIRD spawned Project ARTICHOKE on which Olson, then a civilian contractor for the Army, served as a committee member. Dr Sidney Gottleib, a chemist by training, headed up these projects.
The primary goal of Project Artichoke was to determine whether a person could be involuntarily made to perform an act of attempted assassination. The project also studied the effects of mind control and hypnosis, forced addiction to (and subsequent withdrawal from) morphine, and other chemicals, including LSD, to produce amnesia and other vulnerable states in victims.
By the early 1953, Olson was collaborating with Gottlieb and the CIA on Project MK ULTRA, the successor program to BLUEBIRD and ARTICHOKE. MKUltra was infamous for its experiments involving hallucinogenic drugs, including LSD, on unwitting subjects.
The Deep Creek Lake Retreat
In November 17-19 1953, Olson attended a work retreat at Deep Creek Lake. Hosted by Dr. Sidney Gottlieb, and Dr. Robert Lashbrook, another key figure in the project, the meeting was ostensibly meant to be a routine conference. Deep Creek Lake, with its serene surroundings, was an unusual but not unprecedented choice for high-level government gatherings.
The invitation to the “Deep Creek Rendezvous” said that a cover story had been given for the meeting. “CAMOUFLAGE: Winter meeting of script writers, editors, authors, lecturers, sports magazines.” Frank Olson believed they were there to talk about the joint projects of the Special Operations Division and CIA involving things like biological warfare and using drugs for mind control. Unbeknownst to Olson, this was also a camouflage story to get him and others to the cabin for an experiment. On Wednesday morning, a group from the SO Division, including Vincent Ruwet, chief of the division, John Schwab, Frank Olson, Ben Wilson, Gerald Yonetz, and John Malinowski, drove out to the Deep Creek Lake retreat. The Detrick group was met at the lodge by Dr. Sydney Gottlieb, his deputy Robert Lashbrook, and a couple of others from the CIA.
The men enjoyed a hearty dinner and then settled down in the cabin’s living room for after-dinner drinks. Gottlieb and his deputy served Frank Olson and several others a bottle of Cointreau laced with LSD. The researchers did not tell their subjects they were being drugged until after they had ingested it. Olson became livid upon learning of being dosed with LSD without his consent. The meeting at Deep Creek Lake confirmed to Olson the immorality of the men for which he worked.
The Fallout from the LSD Experiment
The effects of the drug profoundly unsettled Olson. Having dinner with his family upon his return home, Olson refused to eat, and seemed distant from his family, not speaking about his trip or attending to his children. He blurted out to his wife, “I’ve made a terrible mistake.” Friends and colleagues later described a marked change in his demeanor after the Deep Creek Lake retreat. Olson became anxious, paranoid, and withdrawn, expressing doubts about his work and moral concerns about the use of biological weapons.
Some reports suggest Olson began to speak openly about classified operations he had witnessed, including alleged abuses in biological warfare and covert CIA activities. This apparent crisis of conscience may have made him a liability in the eyes of his superiors, raising questions about whether his subsequent death was an accident, a suicide, or something far more sinister.
On Monday November 23, Frank Olson told his supervisor, Army Col. Vincent Ruwet, that he wanted to resign. According to his sons, his decision was based on “ethical concerns regarding the CIA’s conduct, including the extreme interrogations he had witnessed and the experiment at Deep Creek Lake.” Olson told his wife later, “I talked to Vin. He said that I didn’t make a mistake. Everything is fine. I’m not going to resign. The next day, Ruwet and Lashbrook convinced Olson to see a psychiatric doctor in New York. Actually, he was meeting with Harold Abramson, an allergist-pediatrician, who was working with the CIA.
The Tragic Night in New York City
Dr. Harold A. Abramson was a highly respected physician who was then head of the Allergy Clinic at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York. On November 28, 1953 Frank Olson was staying in Room 1018A at the Hotel Statler in New York City under the supervision of a CIA chemist, Richard Lashbrook, having seen Abramson earlier in the day. That night, the manager of the hotel, Armond Pastore, heard a thump outside and went out to find Olson dying on the pavement, having fallen from the 13th floor. The manager later found that a phone call had been made from Room 1018A to a number in Long Island and the caller had said only, “Olson’s gone.”
The family had no real knowledge of the specific details surrounding the tragedy, until the Rockefeller Commission uncovered some of the CIA’s MKULTRA activities in 1975. That year, the government admitted that Olson had been dosed with LSD, without his knowledge, nine days before his death. After the family announced they planned to sue the Agency over Olson’s “wrongful death,” the government offered them an out-of-court settlement of $1,250,000, later reduced to $750,000 (about $3.8 million in 2021 value), which they accepted. The family received apologies from President Gerald Ford and CIA director William Colby.
Pictured in the Oval Office are left to right: Nils Olson, Lisa Olson Hayward, Mrs. Frank Olson, President Gerald Ford, Eric Olson, and Gregory Hayward, (Mrs. Olson’s son-in-law)
However, the official explanation was still suicide, attributed to a depressive episode exacerbated by the LSD. However, inconsistencies in the investigation sparked suspicions of foul play. For decades, Olson’s family questioned the circumstances of his death. In 1994, they exhumed his body for a second autopsy, which revealed injuries consistent with a physical altercation before his fall. This discovery added weight to theories that Olson was pushed from the window to silence him.
For Olson’s family, the fight for accountability continues. In the decades since his death, they have sought to uncover the truth, filing lawsuits and pushing for government transparency. While the U.S. government has offered apologies and financial settlements, the full story of what happened at Deep Creek Lake and beyond remains elusive.
Conclusion
Frank Olson’s tragic story is a chilling reminder of the ethical dangers inherent in unchecked government power and secrecy. The events at Deep Creek Lake mark a turning point in his life, leading to his untimely death and an enduring mystery that continues to captivate and disturb.
As Deep Creek Lake celebrates its centennial in 2025, its association with Olson’s story adds a somber note to its otherwise picturesque history. The juxtaposition of its natural beauty and its dark connection to Cold War intrigue serves as a poignant reminder of the complexities of human history, where even the most tranquil settings can harbor unsettling truths.
For more information on the Frank Olson case, visit: https://frankolsonproject.com/
The Docu-series “Wormwood” on Netflix also provides an account of Olson’s story: https://www.netflix.com/title/80059446