# Cyanide and suicide in combat.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cyanide-and-suicide-in-combat/316310>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 9, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cyanide-and-suicide-in-combat/316310 "2005-08-09T18:21:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![RyJae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@RyJae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RyJae)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cyanide-and-suicide-in-combat/316310/1 "2005-08-09T18:21:13Z")

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I always thought soldiers using cyanide to kill themselves before capture was well Hollywood.

> [@](#):
>
> He also brought a small cardboard box holding a dozen cyanide pills, in case his crew had to bail out over enemy territory.

[Link](http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/09/enolagay.pilot.ap/index.html)  
The Enola Gay pilot said he had cyanide to use, was this common? And did anyone actually swallow the pill that we know of?

Or was this an isolated case as he was going to be using “top secret” technology?