Infected for Science

They weren’t willing to kill for their country, but they were willing to die for it. They weren’t willing to kill for their country, but they were willing to die for it. During World War II, religious pacifist David Miller and a group of conscientious objectors made an extraordinary choice: they signed up for government-sponsored medical experiments that intentionally infected them with hepatitis. Their goal was simple but dangerous—help scientists understand a disease that was sickening American soldiers fighting on the front lines. Infected for Science tells this remarkable true story through the striking artwork of Trygve Faste and Sydney Halpern’s deeply researched narrative. Drawing on archival records and the sharp, humorous cartoons Miller himself sketched, the graphic novel follows the men through grueling medical tests and the looming fear of serious illness. What emerges is both a gripping, previously hidden history and a portrait of moral courage and conviction. The book reveals the heavy human costs of the experiments—and explores how the volunteers responded upon discovering that a group of individuals were being subjected to disease-inducing medical studies without their consent.