Ft Jackson 1969-70

1.  SJA Office Personnel
   1.  Lawyers
      1. COL Charles Rook Counts
         1. SJA
         2. Was a classmate of Uncle Ted’s in law school
         3. Lived in a house directly behind the JAG Office
         4. Held one office meeting a week at 7:30 a.m. on Monday morning
      2. Major Malcolm T. Yawn
         1.  Deputy
         2. Wrote the post trial review in LT William Calley case
      3. COL Ried Kennedy
         1. My first court martial case was before him
         2. He tried the LT William Calley case
      4. CPT Bate Hamilton
         1. Pled wrong Hispanic guilty to AWOL. Discovered when he asked why accused had gone AWOL. Said was to take care of his mother. Should have been to go to his mother’s funeral. Hamilton then knew it was the wrong one.
      5. CPT Henry J. Rode
         1.  Left for VN
         2. Someone arriving at Ft Jackson reported seeing him getting off the plane in VN as he was leaving.
      6. CPT Robert Markham
         1. In Basic Class with me. From MO, talked very slowly
         2. Entered my office, unfolded a sheet of paper to me (a request for orders) and said “Nam.” Walked out without another word and went home.
         3. PPTO had quit calling people about VN assignments, simply sent the copy of the request for orders.
      7. CPT Fleming Martin
         1. From St Simon Island, GA
         2.  Offices were in old BOQ so some had showers. He would come to work with uniform on hanger, shower, and dress for work after staying out all night.
      8. CPT Davey Crockett
         1. From Elizabethton, TN, descendant of the Davey Crockett
         2. When returned from Korea his picture was on front of USA Today newspaper at the Guest House at Ft Jackson
         3. Later when I was at UAH saw article in Huntsville Times saying that his son had been killed in a car wreck
      9. CPT Richard N. Booth
         1.  Represented one of the Green Berets in the case where they were accused of throwing suspected VC out of a helicopter after wrapping them in chains. This was an interrogation technique. Charges were dropped when defense filed its witness list in support of its claim that higher ups knew about it and authorized them to “terminate with extreme prejudice.”
         2. Always talking about how he would tell you something but it was classified. Became known as Top Secret Booth.
         3. On occasion referred to as “Telephone Booth.”
      10. CPT Richard Woods
          1.  Brought Vicki Chesser, Miss SC, to office functions. She later married Johnny Bench, major league catcher, and appeared in national tv toothpaste commercials.
      11. CPT Paul Artzer
      12. CPT Dan Scoggins
          1. CLaims officer
      13. CPT Eugene Osborne Powell
          1. Later an ALJ in Columbia.
          2.  He is the one who warned me that the Military Intelligence people were following me.
      14. CPT Bob Bartlett ~
          1. Played defensive half back for Yale.
   2. Secretaries
      1. Laverne Smith
         1. Would come to work early and draft post trial reviews
      2. Mildred Smith
         1. The other Smith.
   3. Jane Fonda
      1. Came to Columbia to give anti-war speech. Applied to address troops on Ft. Jackson
      2.  Members of the CG’s staff were suggesting themselves as the best person to deliver a rejection notice to Fonda.
   4. Thomas Broadwater
      1. Black defense atty
      2. Liked to place tape recorder on desk of commander and begin questioning them
   5. School Teacher and MG Hollingsworth
      1. Came to Hail and Farewell with MG Hollingsworth’s aide.
      2. She was introduced to MG H as a school teacher. He said she did not look like a school teacher to him. She replied that he did not look like a general to her
   6. Note on Record of CM
      1. Note said COL xx did it again. This is insane.
      2. The note did not get taken off the record and got back to the COL
   7. Military Intelligence Unit
      1. Headed by Tom Kiernan, later went to law school and became JAG officer
      2. Asked him in later years when he was in JAG why his people were following me around. Denied it very matter of factly.
      3.  Used to send people to federal district court room to take up seats and make it harder for reporters to get into see the proceedings.
   8. Lesson 5 Defense
      1. Soldier had been model recruit till suddenly would not salute officers or the flag.
      2. Defense was Lesson 5. Was taking a mail order religion class and in lesson 5 he was told not to salute people or flags as was violation of the commandant Thou shall have no other gods before me.
   9. Voodoo Defense
      1. Solder charged with AWOL. Said he just woke up a home and could not remember how he got there or how long he had been there. He was sure he had been the victim of a voodoo spell.
   10. Report of Survey to pay for awning damaged by soldier making a suicide try (jumped from bldg)
   11. Stop the trial, we want to court martial the witness for perjury
       1. Witness for prosecution testified against my accused. On cross changed story to favor him. On re-direct went back to damaging story. On re-cross went back to helping.
       2. President of court (no military judges yet) said we want to suspend this trial and try this witness for perjury.
   12. Blow Horn when Checking Guards with Live Ammo at 3 am
       1. Most guards were armed but had no ammo. Had to check on certain number during the night.
       2. Told driver to blow horn and flash the lights when approaching the guards with live ammo.
   13.  Red Phone Ringing While Duty Officer
       1. Drunk looking for the CG
   14. Classified TWXs at 3 am while Duty Officer
       1. Always wondered what might be coming in
       2. Nothing but supply info for the most part
   15. Dime Taped to Guard’s Clipboard at Officer’s Club
       1. Guard at O Club had watched it burn severely despite a pay phone being nearby. Could not call he said because had no dime.
       2. After that a dime was taped to guard’s clipboard
   16.  Scopitron
       1. Video jukebox at O Club bar
       2. Ancestor of MTV, Devil with the Blue Dress On was on it.
   17. Meeting with Clients in Stockade
       1. Talking with clients at the stockade often meant being locked in the cell with them.
       2. Practice was to ask guard to leave so they would not overhear privileged info
       3. One night one of our CPTs went there at 3 or 4 a.m., was locked in the cell, shooed the guard away, and then asked the soldier what he was charged with. The answer was I just killed a man with my bare hands. The CPT became a bit uneasy.
   18. Accused who claimed not to speak English
       1. Had to do pre-trial interviews with him and witnesses with interpreters.
       2. Several days of trial with interpreters. Very hot in barracks court room with only fans. Would have been a one afternoon trial without interpreters.
       3. He denied all of the charges. Got several charges dismissed, not guilty on several, convicted on only one charge.
       4. Turned to me in and spoke in perfect English saying “They convicted me of the only thing I didn’t do.”
   19. Ft. Jackson 8
       1. Company Commander
          1. CPT Wishart
       2. My clients
          1. Tommy Woodfin
          2. Andrew Pulley
             1. Later ran for President on Socialist Workers Party ticket in early 70s
             2. I saw a poster and his campaign literature at NYU while there for a class. He was speaking in NYC.
       3. Civilian Lawyers
          1. Leonard Boudin – New York
             1. Daughter, Kathy, one of Weathermen faction; house blew up in Greenwich Village while making bombs, years later part of gang robbing Nanuet NJ shopping mall
          2. David Rein – DC
          3. Peter Rindskopf – Atlanta or NY
          4. Charles Morgan – Atlanta. Black lawyer who looked much like a genie.
   20. Black MP Taking over as Stockade Officer
       1. Meeting of all black prisoners
       2. I believe in black power. In this stockade, I am the black power.
   21. Leather Sniffer 
       1. Was at the office on a Saturday morning in my job as a defense counsel. Happened to look out the second floor window to see a soldier being double timed accross the parking lot by a drill sergeat. The soldier was wearing tennis shoes (not allowed in those days.
       2. A few minutes later he came to see me and when I asked him to sit down he bent over and sniffed the chair. He then asked me if the chair seat was leather. When I said no it was plastic he sat down. When I asked what his problem was and he replied that he was a vegetarian. I asked if he was able to get enough vegetable to eat and he replied that the food was fine but that he was a real vegetarian. I asked what he meant and he explained that he would not use any product that was derived from an animal. Hence he was wearing tennis shoes since leather was a problem. In fact he had been offered a ride to the office by his company commander but he had turned it down since the car seats were leather. I suggested he get Corfram boots. He said he would. As we talked more I learned that he had a masters degree in philosophy. In discussing his beliefs I asked him if he was required to do KP. He said he was but they did not make him prepare meat products. I asked if he had to wash knives and when he said yes I pointed out that knives could be used to cut meat. He said I was right and he could no longer wash them.
       3. He was ultimately administratively discharged.
       4. Years later I read a book which dealt with his so-called beliefs called The Exhibitionists. It was written in 1967 so it could have been the model for what I believe was a scam.
   22. Admin discharge action for continually almost violating regulations
       1. Told him he should demand a hearing. He declined.2. I’ve done my job. I was to start the underground newspaper. I’m ready to go home. Bad discharge is what I need for credibility back home.
   23. Legal Clerks
       1. We had legal clerks all over Ft Jackson who were lawyers and drafted
       2. There were a number of Harvard Law School graduates.
       3. They were taking their chances with 2 years on AD as EM rather than having a 4 or 5 year AD tour as a JAG officer.
       4. One was drafted out of law school at UVA. I later met him in the halls of UVA law school in 1973 while in the advanced class at TJAGSA. He was back in school and graduated while I was there.
   24.  Secretaries
   25. Jim C. Johnson
       1.  Escaped from stockage, hid underneath the chapel claiming sanctuary. Tested IQ was in 140 range. No dummy.
       2.  Father, who claimed to be retired A, said he (the father) was part of “the Movement on the Coast.” He told me he knew I knew about “The Movemenet.” Govt was out to get him through his son since the the father was too smart to be caught doing anything illegal.
       3. Did the opposite of what guards in stockade told him to do
       4. Waved at guards and threw mattress over barbed wire and started climbing over the fence
       5. Court Martial
          1.  Thomas Broadwater was supposed to there to represent him but failed to arrive and would not return my calls. His father was to be there to be a witness but also failed to show.
          2. Igot an Army psych report for JCJ which said he was “almost” not criminally responsible. I then managed to get him to see a civilian psych who said he was lacking in criminal responsibility. The civilian psych would not come to the trial unless he was paid by the father and the father would not pay him.
          3. During arraignment for trial began getting up and walking to window. I would go him and sit him back down.
          4. Then began muttering under his breath various comments which the court could hear and finally were unwilling to ignore.
          5. President of Court called a recess and said he would give me one chance to calm JCJ down. When court left the room, he bolted to the window and jumped out. I told the President and we went out just in time to see JCC running down the street. His guard, who carried one live round, chambered it and started to shoot. The President knocked the rifle away saying Good God man, we’ll get him back.
          6. He was recaptured shortly and taken to the stockade. President gave me one chance to bring him back if he would behave. Went to stockade. JCJ said he would not be quiet. I told him the fact that the trial proceeded without Broadwater there would be a possible basis for reversal. I told him he was arraigned and could be tried in absentia. He still said he did not want to go back.
          7. Went back. Told the President. Trial proceeded. Made motion of insanity. Denied though I pointed to his actions in the court room and entered a written evaluation from a civilian psychiatrist who said JCJ suffered from mental illness. Tried. Convicted. Maxed.
          8.  On review, he was given chance to Chapter 10 (administrative discharge) and did.
   26. Can Opener Killer
       1. Soldier had claimed voices told him to kill someone
       2. Army psych opined he was just trying to get out of the Army to avoid VN
       3. Killed a woman by beating her to death with an electric can opener
   27. Motorcycle Man
       1. Walked around with arms extended making vroom vroom noice and claiming to be riding a motorcycle.
       2. Supposedly was boarded for psych reasons at which time he vroomed up to the guardshack at the gate, got off his imaginary motocycle and parked it saying “I won’t be needing this anymore.”
   28.  The Penguin
       1. Walked on his heels to avoid touching ground and germs, constantly washed his hands
       2. Boarded for psych reasons. Came by the JAG office and said it worked, here is my discharge
   29.  John Taylor
       1. Drafted and in BCT
       2.  Graduated from Cumberland with me
       3. Helped him call PPTO which resulted in commission.
       4. Met him and wife again in 1990 or so at a ceremony for the founding members of the Cumberland Law Review (I was one.). He and wife credited me falaciously with saving his life, quite an overstatement.
   30.  Touch football games
       1. I actually outran a very small fast soul brother and caught a perfect pass for a touchdown. The ball seemed to hang in the air without moving as I ran under it and caught it at full speed.
       2. Pulled right thigh muscle playing in heavy rain storm. Very swollen. Could not see knee for 2 or 3 days.
   31. Charley Gogolak in the office
       1. Played tennis with him
       2.  Kicked half inflated soccer ball chasing it for hours
   32. MG James F. Hollingsworth
       1. Is MAJ Hollingsworth in the book, The Longest Day. Charged farmhouse where German machine gun was located. Went in with pistol in each hand and killed at least 8 Germans as I recall.
       2.  Peace Symbol
          1. Either using grass seed or fertilizer, someone caused a peace symbol to appear in the lawn in front of the post hq building. Hollingsworth spotted from his helicopter and was highly agitated.
       3.  Petition for Soldier’s Union
          1. COL Counts was at bowling alley when MG Hollingsworth stormed in with pistol on his belt. Told Counts to come with him to receive petition – wanted Counts there so he could shoot the petition provider legally. Counts talked him into holding out his hand, then moving away so petition dropped on floor. Janitor was there to quickly sweep it away and trash it.
          2. Called from golf course to arrest speeder
          3. MG H had radio on golf cart. Saw car go by golf course at high speed. Called MPs and directed them to arrest the driver.
          4. Photo of Trial Counsel Smiling with Defense Lawyers
          5. One of the Ft J 8, 7 … cases was being tried. State paper carried photo on front page with CPT Farris and David Rein smiling at each other. MG H ordered that no trial counsel be seen smiling with the enemy lawyers.
          6. Later in VN
             1. Kill Kong all the way to Camboia.
             2.  Would land helicopter in middle of fire fight
             3. VC said to consider him crazy.
          7. At Hail and Farewell
             1.  Aid introduced his date for the event saying this is Miss xxxx, she’s a school teacher here in Columbia.
             2. MGH replied that she did not look like a school teacher to him. Her immediate reply was You don’t look like a general to me.
   33. Lawrence M. Svirchev
       1. Being boarded out. I advised him. Got a call from him saying he was receiving SCM for failure to salute. He said he did not see the officer and would I represent him.
       2. Checked with CTP Gene Powell (MJ Section) who said no problem as long as do it on my own time. I called SC Officer sho agreed to try the case at lunch.
       3. When got back from the trial, CPT Powell said I should make a memo on the matter and that he had been contacted by Military Intelligence about my being at the trial. He had confirmed his ok and had made a memo on it too.
       4. Years later ran into COL Tom Kiernan who was then in JAGG but who had been in charge of Ml at Ft Jackson at the time. Asked him why he was following me. He denied it but without any emotion in the denial.
       5. Svirchev is now a photographer for music albums. Has web site.
   34. Sweet Alice
       1. When I babysat Nancy she was bout 4 or 5 years old. One of her friends was Alice. One of the games we played was Monster which involved my lumbering about the house at a walk while the two of them ran and hid.
       2.  On one occasion when I found Alice hiding in the corner of a room behind a chair, she said “Please Mr. Monster, don’t take my sweet life.” From that point forward she was “Sweet Alice.”
   35. Demand for Trial
       1. Term of art to establish argument for denial of speedy trial. Captain who defense counsel wrote to Colonel demanding a speedy trial for his client.
       2. Convening authority (COL who was brigade commander) replied to DC that no Captain would demand anything from a Colonel.
   36. CPT Bate Hamilton
       1. Was Defense Counsel for the Special Processing Detachment which handled massive numbers of AWOL cases.
       2. One day he pled an hispanic soldier guilty to AWOL. During the sentencing hearing he asked him why he went AWOL, expecting the reply to be that he went home to help his sick mother. Instead, the soldier said he went home for his father’s funeral. It turned out he had the wrong soldier. Both had the same last name, something like “Rosales-Martinez” and “Garcia-Martinez”
   37. CPT Dave Farris
       1. Deputy SJA until Major Yawn arrived
       2. From Kansas I believe

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