[jmacusa]

Still though, ever look down into a bottle of chlorine bleach? Swear to God the stuff looks like a kind of mustard color. My grandfather was lucky to have survived that crap. My grandfather would never talk to us kids about his tie in France. When he died my father(recently passed away) told us some of the horror he endured. Things like having to go out on night time prisoner snatches were they has to blacken their faces, wear balaclava hats, carry a bayonet, a club and a pistol. The pistol was a last resort so as not to give away your position.

My Dad said sometimes he'd have nightmares and my poor grandmother would get a beating. He got involved in working with poison gas because he thought he was volunteering for a detail that would get him out of the front lines. Little did he realize what he was in for.

[NorthMountain]

Clorox looks kinda greenish to me ... different perceptions?

My grandfather was lucky to have survived that crap.

Yes, he was. The chemical agents used in The Great War got nastier as it progressed. Straight chlorine gas wasn't deadly enough (!!!) and could easily blow back at the people using it, so they got clever. The various phosgene, lewisite, and mustard agents were used because they were deadlier and less susceptible to weather. There were, in fact, over a dozen different chemicals, and various mixtures, employed by both sides. It was a nasty business; your grandfather's reluctance to talk about it is understandable.