The Plum Island Mystery

The Plum Island Mystery

By Joseph Parish

Since the turn of the century the federal government has been aggressively eradicating extensive amounts of contaminants and waste from a small Island in New York commonly identified as Plum Island. The name may ring a bell in your mind, as it is the previous Top Secret Army Germ Warfare Research Laboratory.  For several decades this lab with its 840 acres and 70 buildings was the vista of America’s most hazardous and deadliest research dealing with dangerous animal associated diseases.

Plum Island is positioned off the northeast coast of Long Island. It has an extensive and remarkable history dating back to the Spanish-American War where the government acquired the island to construct the Fort Terry military reservation. Fort Terry was ultimately deactivated abruptly after World War II had ended although the location was again reactivated in 1952.

In response to the recurrent epidemics of diseases originating from Canada and Mexico, the island was consigned under control of the Agriculture Department for use as a research center. Its original target, in 1954 was a noble cause, as a research center established to concoct some sort of protection for America’s livestock. During that time frame there was considerable lose of domestic animals from various diseases. As the Cold War approached, the center transformed into a unit with more sinister purposes as it assumed a secret biological weapons profile. This federal program has been the focus of many intense controversies which eventually caused the facility to reap a sort of cult status.

The choice for Plum Island was likely selected for the fact that it was a secluded island, however after 911, our government concluded that the location of the island presented somewhat of a vulnerability and an invitation for terrorists.

Those inhabitants residing in Connecticut are more then familiar with the countless rumors that populate conversations regarding the existence of several monsters within the region of the island. One of the foremost of these tales is that which recounts the dreaded Lyme disease. It is suspected that this ailment had its beginning on the island and rapidly spread to the mainland of Connecticut in particular the city of Lyme Connecticut.

One person from the city of Lyme who is suffering from MS, asserts that her condition was caused by exposure to the Lyme disease virus. We would do well to keep in mind that the town of Lyme is the closest municipality to the island. The lady argues that she does not know if the release of the virus was deliberate or by human error but she leaves no doubt in her mind that it originated from Plum Island. For those who may not be aware of it, Lyme disease is an insidious disease which has yet to be properly addressed by the media. It runs unbridled throughout the southern portion of New England.