Word of Honor (89 page)

Sproule thought about that for a moment, then said, "Colonel Pierce, Mr.

Corva, would you approach the bench?"

Pierce and Corva stepped up to the higher level of the pulpit on the side away from the witness chair. Colonel Sproule faced them and addressed Pierce in a low voice. "Colonel, if I am to believe Mr. Corva, he is attempting to establish what he believes are extenuating and mitigating circumstances for the crime which you have proven. I suggest you let him do that. Unless you have good and substantive objections to the testimony, I will overrule you. If this testimony takes you somewhat by surprise because of the sudden appearance of this witness, I will give you ample time to prepare a cross-examination during which you may address these objections within that format. I remind you that the defense has the benefit of the doubt in these matters. The charges having been proven, I intend to give the defense even more leeway in presenting facts which might lessen the sentence. I believe the board is looking for those facts. "

Pierce stayed silent for a moment, then responded, "Yes, your honor."

Sproule turned to Corva. "I'll let the man talk, Mr. Corva, but I strongly suggest you do not attempt to retry this case in this session." Sproule looked from one to the other and said tersely, "Understood?"

They both answered in the affirmative.

Sproule faced forward on the pulpit and said, "Proceed with the examination."

Pierce went back to the prosecution table, and Corva to the witness chair.

Corva addressed Kelly. "During the bur-

WORD OF HONOR * 691

ial mound incident, did you hear Lieutenant Tyson give an order to shoot the peasants who were burying the dead?"

" Yes. I I

"Now . . . I'm going to ask for an opinion, Mr. Kelly . . . ... He glanced sharply at Pierce . ... . . And the court knows it is only your opinion.

But as a man who had served with Lieutenant Tyson in the field for approximately eight months before that incident, what was your opinion of that order?"

Kelly replied, "On the face of it, it was an illegal order. But it is my opinion that it was not given in earnest. It was meant to shame."

"To shame whom?"

"Me, for one. Farley, Simcox, and I were making threatening gestures toward the peasants, generally being abusive. The strip search, for instance, could have been handled with more tact. I could see that Lieutenant Tyson was becoming annoyed with us. So, in a manner of speaking, he called our bluff. And we were bluffing. We had no intention-at least I didn't-of shooting those people. It was a bluff that we used too freely with the Vietnamese. After Lieutenant Tyson gave the order, no one moved for some time. He did not repeat the order or attempt to enforce it in any way. He then said, 'Okay, heroes, let's get moving.' Or words to that effect. He said it with sarcasm. "

Corva asked, "Did you discuss this with him afterward?"

"No. There was nothing to discuss. If I had thought he was serious about the order, I would certainly have discussed it with him. But the order was too out of character to take it as anything but what I said it was."

"Did you discuss it with Farley?"

"No.-

"Do you think Farley understood that the order was a bluff? Meant to shame?"

Pierce got to his feet, thought better of it, and sat.

Tyson could see that the board and Sproule were intent on hearing the story. And Pierce, as Corva had suggested some time ago, knew when to withdraw. Pierce had to weigh the effects of letting Kelly tell the story against the effects of not letting him tell it.

692 * NELSON DEMILLE

Corva repeated the question to Kelly.

Kelly replied, "Farley was not a man who understood subtleties. Yet, on this occasion, I believe he understood that Lieutenant Tyson did not mean for us to shoot those people. Simcox understood it. He commented to me as we left the burial mound that Lieutenant Tyson was too soft on the gooks.

I don't think he wouid have said that if he believed that Lieutenant Tyson's order to shoot them was meant in earnest. Farley was in earshot and responded, 'Yeah. ' I I

Corva nodded, then said, "Thank you. We can move on or rather, move back, to an incident of some months previous to this incident which occurred in either late November or early December. I'm referring to an operation that was known as a cordon. Alpha Company was working with the Vietnamese National Police at a village south of Quang Tri. Do you recall this operation?"

"Yes. We'd done four or five of them before. Regarding this particular one, everything went as planned. The village was surrounded two hours before dawn. At dawn, we sent a few squads in to be sure the village was not infested with armed enemy soldiers. Then the squads withdrew. Sometime later, within the hour, a large Chinook helicopter landed, and about forty or fifty National Policemen got out. Their officers exchanged some words with our officers, who assured them the village did not harbor any large enemy force. The National Police then entered the village with the objective of finding VC who might be hiding in holes or tunnels, VC

sympathizers, VC political cadres, arms caches, documents, and that sort of thing."

"What was your personal opinion of this sort of operation? I ask that, because I was an infantry officer and know my opinion of it."

Kelly replied, "These operations were distasteful to me personally and to many other men in the company. The National Police usually-no, always-behaved very badly toward the local population. After we'd swept through the village, we were normally not allowed to go back to see what they were doing, but you could hear the screams."

"Screams. "

"Yes. They would vigorously interrogate the villagers."

WORD OF HONOR 0 693

"How vigorously?"

"Usually with the aid of electric shock treatments to the genitals. They brought their own hand-cranked generators. They would also suspend people by rope or wire upside down into the wells until they nearly drowned.

They used other means of interrogation which were peculiar to the Orient and which probably should not be discussed here."

"Of course. Now, you said Americans were not allowed in the village during this period of interrogation."

"Correct. However, the officers in the American unit involved sometimes entered the village for purposes of discussing tactical matters with the National Police commanders. As Lieutenant Tyson's RTO, 1, of course, would go with him. On those occasions, I personally observed what I stated earlier. "

"How did Lieutenant Tyson feel about these operations?"

"He had negative feelings toward using American troops as accomplices to this sort of thing. He wrote a memo once to the battalion commander protesting what he said amounted to condoning these brutalities. He made the point that it was demoralizing for his troops to see the results of it, as we always went through the village after the police had gone.

After his letter to the battalion commander, Alpha Company never again participated in these joint operations with the National Police."

Corva asked, "What happened on that particular operation? The one that led to the altercation."

"Lieutenant Tyson's platoon was stretched out along a dike, forming a side of the cordon. From here we could see into a part of the village.

The National Police had a dozen people, all naked, of all ages and sexes, lined up at a well. We could see them lower the first person down the well,"

"What was the purpose of this sort of thing?"

"It was supposed to encourage the villagers to point out the VC spider holes, tunnels, arms caches, and to turn in any VC among them. But, to my mind it was--or becamenothing more than a thinly disguised sado-sexual orgy. They often got a VC or two and a weapon or two, but the price was too high."

Tyson looked at the board, then at Colonel Sproule, then 694 * NELSON DEMILLE

at Pierce. And finally at the spectators. Kelly's narrative had created an atmosphere of intense interest, except at the prosecution table where the atmosphere was more one of uneasiness.

Corva said to Kelly, "Go on, please.-

"Yes. Lieutenant Tyson suggested we go into the village to talk to the local Viet commander. He always did that."

"Why?"

"To try to get them to take it a little easy. The presence of Americans usually accomplished that, until you turned your back. Lieutenant Tyson's objections to this sort of operation were partly humanitarian but partly practical. He doubted if any hearts or minds could be won by subjecting an entire village to mass torture and humiliation. He observed that after the National Police went back to their barracks, we would still have to deal with the locals in our area of operations. "

"So you went into the village."

"Yes. We went into the village. And while walking, we spotted Steven Brandt."

Pierce was on his feet. "Objection. Your honor, this has gone on long enough. This is totally irrelevant."

Sproule looked down at Corva, then at Pierre, then back to Corva. He said to Corva, "Explain to the court, Mr. Corva, how the line of questioning you are pursuing will extenuate or mitigate the circumstances surrounding the incident for which Lieutenant Tyson stands convicted."

Corva replied, "Your honor, it is my intention to demonstrate to the court that there was bad blood between Lieutenant Tyson and the prosecution's witness, Steven Brandt, and that the hostility that existed between Lieutenant Tyson and his former medic was of such intensity that it has prevailed up until the time that Mr. Brandt took the stand in this court.

I intend to show that Mr. Brandt's statement, that there was no such hostility and animosity, was a lie."

Sproule said, "It's a little too late for that, isn't it, Mr. Corva?"

"Your honor, if I can demonstrate through this witness's story that Mr.

Brandt's feelings for the accused were biased and hostile, then I can demonstrate that Mr. Brandt's testimony was likewise biased and hostile, which in turn will

WORD OF HONOR 0 695

let the board, put the proper coloration on Mr. Brandt's testimony and may influence their deliberations on an appropriate sentence, which is the purpose of this session. "

Sproule's eyebrows arched slightly. "That is stretching it a bit, Mr.

Corva. I don't know what your true purpose is in pursuing this story.

However, you may continue, with caution. Objection overruled."

Pierce sat and slapped his hand against the table in a rare show of ill temper.

Corva said to Kelly, "You saw Mr. Brandt in the village. Did he belong there?"

"To some extent. Medics, as well as officers, could and did enter these villages while the police were conducting their searches and interrogations. The medics were often needed. "

"What happened next?"

"Lieutenant Tyson said to me, 'Keep back. I want to follow him,' meaning Brandt."

"Why? What did he mean by that?"

"It was Lieutenant Tyson's observation that Brandt was acting improperly.

"

"How so, Mr. Kelly?"

"Brandt was taking pictures. This was strictly forbidden by the National Police. They did not want pictures.

"What was Mr. Brandt taking pictures of?"

"Mostly of naked women being tortured and humiliated. "

Corva waited for Pierce, but Pierce did not object. Corva said, "Go on."

"Lieutenant Tyson noticed that the National Police were not stopping Brandt from taking pictures. In fact, they seemed quite friendly toward Brandt. "

"Did you notice this also?"

"Yes. And I once saw Brandt on a previous cordon operation give a National Police captain what looked like medical supplies from his bag."

"Continue. "

"After Brandt finished with his pictures, he entered a hootch-a Vietnamese house-with two National Policemen. Lieutenant Tyson and I discussed this for some time, then went into the house. A policeman put his hand on

696 * NELSON DEMILLE

Lieutenant Tyson's arm to detain him. Lieutenant Tyson pushed the man away, and we entered the house in which Brandt had gone."

"And what did you-you see, Mr. Kelly?"

Tyson turned from Kelly and stared at Steven Brandt, whose expression was fixed and rigid. Tyson kept his eyes on Brandt as Kelly replied, "I saw three naked females. One of them was curled up in a comer weeping, and a policeman was pulling her by the arm. Another female was performing fellatio on a second policeman, and the third female was being raped by Mr.

l3randt."

Pierce jumped to his feet and shouted something that was drowned out by other sounds in the chapel, which ranged from gasps to a few shouts. Tyson caught Brandt's eye for a moment before Brandt turned away.

Colonel Sproule signaled to the sergeant at arms, who went to the communion rail and held up his hand for silence. The well-disciplined crowd fell silent.

Colonel Sproule announced, "If there are any more outbursts, I will clear the court. " He looked at Pierce, who was about to state his objection again, and Sproule said, "Objection overruled." He said to Corva, "I wish to put some questions to the witness."

"Yes, your honor."

Sproule looked down the side of the pulpit. "Mr. Kelly, the court would like to know how you determined that what you saw was rape and not ... not the normal activities of men and women."

Kelly glanced up at Sproule, then turned back to his front and replied, "I don't see anything normal in group sex, your honor, but that might be my personal prejudice. To answer your honor's question, I assumed from the circumstances that the men did not know the females very long. About five minutes, I think. Also, the females were weeping. All of them. Also, they were very young, your honor. The one who was with Mr. Brandt was not more than twelve or thirteen. Even making allowances for cultural differences and the earlier onset of puberty in tropical climates and such, this was quite young. Also, when Mr. Brandt stood, I could see blood on his genitals and his thighs, and I remember making the assumption that the girl had been a

WORD OF HONOR * 697

virgin, though, of course, she may have been having her period. Also, your honor, the girl looked to me as though she had been struck in the face.