06/18/2026
“I was a Doctors Guinea Pig.” Sounds like the name of a 1950s science fiction movie.
In reality it was the title of a Saturday Evening Post article published July 25, 1953. The article was authored by Dr. Lloyd Thomas Koritz. Dr. Koritz was, himself, the guinea pig and this is his story.
Lloyd Amos Koritz (Amos) and his bride Margaret Shear were married in 1922. They had three children, two girls and one son who was named after his father, Lloyd Thomas Koritz was commonly referred to as Tom. Lloyd Amos Koritz and his family came to Rochelle via Del Monte which employed Amos forty-three years. Tom was a bright child. He enjoyed learning and the outdoors. Tom attended Rochelle schools and received some of his first notice when he won the American Legion essay.
Rochelle High School welcomed Tom as a freshman in the 1941-42 year. Three years later, 1943-44 Tom would graduate, one year early, with varsity letters in track and football and academic honors.
At 17, Tom had a decision to make; did he enter college or did he enter the military service. Tom entered classes at the University of Illinois and became a Second Lieutenant in the college’s ROTC. Though he excelled at the University, the call to serve was too strong. Tom enlisted in the Navy and 1945 found him at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center.
His company, the 371st, won the regimental championship for athletics. Tom captained the company’s track team. From Great Lakes, Tom entered the U.S. Naval Hospital School at San Diego, California. He graduated in the top 5% of his class. After his military service, Tom returned to the University of Illinois and completed his four-year degree then entered medical school at the University of Illinois Medical School in Chicago.
It was during his time at the medical school that Tom allowed himself to become a “Guinea Pig” or “test subject.” The most dangerous experiments involved testing new methods of artificial respiration. Starting out slowly Tom was first rendered unconscious to test the effects of Pentothal drugs.
He was put to sleep and monitored to see what he could feel or hear, and to see if the drug would stop his heart or respirations. The tests progressed using Sodium Pentothal combined with Curare. Sodium Pentothal, commonly referred to as truth serum, was used as a quick acting general anesthetic. Curare is the name given to various highly toxic substances used by certain indigenous tribes in South America to poison their hunting arrows. Curare would relax the diaphragm muscles and the victim would suffer from respiratory arrest. The victim stopped being able to breathe on his own.
Tom Koritz allowed himself to be put to sleep and then his ability to breath was removed. They tested a new machine, a respirator, made in Germany to see if it could artificially breathe for the patient. On another occasion Tom was put under and tests were run to see how long a team could breathe for the victim. For 11 hours Tom was unconscious, and his life was in the hands of others as they fought to maintain his flow of oxygen.
The most dangerous experiment was held in cooperation with the University of Illinois and CommonWealth Edison. Tom was placed in a harness and suspended at the top of a utility pole. He was to represent a lineman working on an electrical pole. Then once again he was sedated and his breathing stopped.
Rescuers tested several methods of artificial respiration while the victim hung helpless on the pole. Despite the dangers of these experiments Tom Koritz stated that the worst was the first. He was assigned to eat one pound of homogenized warm liver a day for 30 days.
“ I tried it every way,” he said. “I even tried mixing the liver with chocolate syrup. I finally found I could get the liver down by drinking two quarts of milk to each pound of liver.”
For his courage, Tom Koritz was awarded the Walter Reed Society Award. His citation read: Many lives are being saved through the use of new methods of rendering artificial respiration to victims of drowning or electrical shock.”
Dr. Lloyd Thomas Koritz finished his training and began serving the people of Rochelle in 1953 when he joined Dr. Arthur Bogue in practice. Dr. Koritz was a local physician until 1987 afterwhich time he taught at the University of Illinois Medical school in Rockford. Tom and his wife Mary Flagg had four children, three boys; Tom, Tim and Terry and one daughter Julie.
Dr. Lloyd Thomas Koritz loved his family. He loved hunting and camping. He loved helping people. Simply, he loved life and lived it to the fullest.
