Army Records
The sworn witness statement of William Carpenter on January 18, 1973. The document was Exhibit 23 of the Coy Allegation. It included the following about the death of the prisoner:
CARPENTER: I don’t know whose idea it was to have the prisoners work. However, on one day I saw Sawyer beating one of the prisoners with a shovel handle, Sawyer struck this Vietnamese several times, knocking him to the ground, then Sawyer struck him a couple times while he was down. The next morning the Vietnamese prisoner that was beaten by Sawyer had to be mi-evacuated to a hospital. That same day, Sawyer and Ybarra were guarding the remaining prisoner. I was just a short distance away from Sawyer when I heard two shots. I turned to Sawyer and saw the prisoner lying about 10 feet from him. Sawyer was holding his M16. I approached Sawyer and he told me that the prisoner tried to run away so he shot him. This area where Sawyer shot the prisoner was located in open country and aside from that the prisoner couldn’t hardly walk, much less run. I know the prisoner was in very bad physical condition and couldn’t have run if he had wanted to. Sawyer was a sadist. I had previously watched him tie two prisoners up with “Det Cord” and then connected the Det Cord to a claymore trigger, then Sawyer wrapped a piece of Det Cord around a small tree and exploded it to show the prisoners what he would do to them if they gave him a hard time. These prisoners that Sawyer tied up are the same ones I mentioned above.
QUESTION: Did someone else witness Sawyer shoot the prisoner and/ or tie the two prisoners up with Det Cord?
CARPENTER: Yes. Ssg. Trout observed both instances, I recall him specifically. And as far as others seeing both incidents, the whole Tiger Force platoon was present in camp. I can’t recall just who was watching either incident.
QUESTION: Were either of the above incidents reported to your superiors?
CARPENTER: Not to my knowledge. I do recall Lt. Hawkins was there and saw both incidents, however, I doubt if he reported it.
The sworn witness statement of Barry Bowman on May 31, 1973. The document was Exhibit 41 of the Coy Allegation. It contained the following about Floyd Sawyer shooting the prisoner:
BOWMAN: The following day word was passed around that the prisoner who had been beaten and injured with the shovel be given a chance to escape to prevent possible repercussions about his severe beating. Somebody, I can’t recall who, told the prisoner that he was free to go and as he moved down the hill Sawyer shot him from behind with an M16 rifle. I was standing close and watched the whole thing. Sawyer put the rifle to his shoulder, fired one shot, and hit the prisoner in the head. Sawyer at the time was about 35-50 yards away from the prisoner.
QUESTION: Was Sawyer ordered to kill that man?
BOWMAN: I don’t know. In my opinion, somebody with authority told him to get rid of the prisoner. I am sure Sawyer would not have shot the prisoner if he would not have been told to by someone with authority.
The sworn witness statement of Gerald Bruner on February 12, 1974. The document was Exhibit 132 of the Coy Allegation. It included the following about the shooting of the farmer:
BRUNER: I came back out and I saw one of Doyle’s men hitting him, and at one point he was knocked to his knees. His family was crying and yelling so the men drug [sic] him away from them. The guy was then jerked to his feet, and at this time Doyle shot him in the forearm with his M16. I don’t know which arm it was. About this time, the interpreter from my team came up to me and said that this man’s brother was in the second hooch and we should get him because maybe Doyle’s team would believe what the guy was telling them. I then went with my interpreter to the second hooch and in a bunker there, we found a young kid about 16 years old and what was apparently his wife, her parents, and the two brothers’ parents. Also, I guess there were a couple of children.
About the time we started back towards the first hooch, with the family, we heard a burst of fire and I distinctly heard the sound of an M79 being fired. As we approached the area, I could see the Vietnamese guy lying facedown and there was smoke still in the air. I have no idea who did the shooting. I started to take the young Vietnamese kid to my team, who was separated from Doyle’s, when a tall guy from Doyle’s team came over and took the kid from me. He hit the kid a couple of times and then drug [sic] him over and threw him down on the ground next to his brother. I went over to see what was going on, and I could see that the older brother was dead—having been shot in the back several times and his skull was broken open. I then asked a general question, to no one in particular, of what was going on. Somebody standing there said that the guy had been told to run, and when he did, he was shot. I don’t know who the guy was that said this but apparently he was as mad as I was at what was happening.
At the time I was trying to find out what had happened, some of Doyle’s team were trying to make the kid lie down next to his brother but he kept trying to get up and appeared to be praying or something. All the while he was doing this, they kept kicking and hitting him. Someone told Doyle’s interpreter to tell the kid to lie down or he’d get the same as his brother. Then someone came up and put a .45 to the kid’s head. At this time, the kid’s family came up and while Doyle’s people were trying to keep them back, I took the kid over to our team. There was kind of a pause, like Doyle’s team was discussing something, then this same tall guy came over and hit the kid about three times. He grabbed the kid and started to take him back by his brother when I told him to leave the kid alone. The guy was pointing a .45 at the kid and I told him that if he “fired up” the kid, I would do the same to him.
The sworn witness statement of Ralph Mayhew on October 5, 1973. The document was Exhibit 126 of the Coy Allegation. It included the following about the shooting of the farmer:
MAYHEW: The man indicated that there was no VC in the area, speaking through an interpreter, nor had he seen any in the past. When he gave this answer, Doyle shot the Vietnamese in the arm with his M16 rifle. Again, he asked about the VC, to which he got the same answer that there was none. This time, Doyle began beating him on the head with his M16 rifle, hitting him several times, beating him to the ground. Then Doyle turned his back and as he walked away he said, “Shoot him,” at which time several members of the group shot him with their M16s, and one man with an M79 grenade launcher.
We also relied on Army records, including the unit history of the 1st Battalion/327th Infantry, for parts of the chapter related to the hunt for NVA positions. In August 1967, the U.S. military leaders had underestimated the strength of the NVA presence in Quang Tin and other areas of the Central Highlands. When Tiger Force teams embarked on search-and-destroy and reconnaissance missions, they were regularly encountering enemy soldiers.
Books
Bilton, Michael, and Kevin Sim. Four Hours in My Lai. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.
Karnow, Stanley. Vietnam: A History. New York: Viking Press, 1983.
The Pentagon Papers. New York: Bantam Books, 1971.
Schell, Jonathan. The Military Half. New York: Knopf, 1968.
Topmiller, Robert J. The Lotus Unleashed: The Buddhist Peace Movement in South Vietnam 1964-1966. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2002.
CHAPTER 17
Main Sources
We talked at length to numerous Tiger Force members, including William Doyle and Daniel Clint. We also interviewed Gerald Bruner’s friends and family.
We drew on our interviews and CID investigative records about the meeting between Bruner and Captain Carl James. When questioned by CID agents in 1974, James said he had no recollection of Bruner. But in an interview, James told us he remembered Bruner coming into his office at Chu Lai but couldn’t remember details of the meeting. He complained that the CID investigation was the reason the Army held up his promotion for years. “If it wasn’t for all that shit—Bruner and Tiger Force—things would have been different in my life.”
Army Records
The sworn witness statement of Gerald Bruner on February 12, 1974. The document was Exhibit 132 of the Coy
Allegation. It included the following about the meeting with James:
BRUNER: When I went to the rear, Sgt. Trout carried a letter to the company commander about me, and I have no idea what was in the letter. When we got in, Sgt. Trout told me to get cleaned up, the company commander called for me. When I saw the company commander, he started yelling at me and said that he read this note that came in from the field. And that he didn’t like the idea of me threatening his men. He suggested that I was going to see a psychiatrist. At that time, the first sergeant stopped in and said that he remembered me from A Company and that I had done a fine job and that they had no problems with me. The company commander then asked me if I had anything to say. That’s when I tried to explain why I threatened another team member. I told him that I felt I was justified in doing it to save a Vietnamese’s life whose brother had been killed by Doyle’s team unnecessarily. I felt that if I hadn’t threatened the tall guy, that they would have killed the other brother, too. After I explained that to him, he told me to go over to his tent. Then he showed up with a chaplain and they asked if I had any type of personal problems and I said no. Then the chaplain left. Then the company commander asked again why I got so disturbed. Then I reported my story, indicating that I felt justified in the actions that I had taken.
Books
Karnow, Stanley. Vietnam: A History. New York: Viking Press, 1983.
Langguth, A. J. Our Vietnam: The War 1954-1975. New York: Touchstone, 2000.
The Pentagon Papers. New York: Bantam Books, 1971.
The Winter Soldier Investigation: An Inquiry into American War Crimes. Boston: Beacon Press, 1972.
CHAPTER 18
Main Sources
We interviewed friends and family members of Sam Ybarra and Kenneth Green, including Green’s mother, Kathleen, and sister, Sherry Hodson. We talked at length with numerous Tiger Force members, including William Carpenter, William Doyle, Barry Bowman, Daniel Clint, and Harold Fischer.
For our account of Sam Ybarra and Kenneth Green’s visit to the United States, we drew on information from their family and friends, including friends who socialized with them during their monthlong leave. During this leave, Kathleen Green said, her son was restless and suffered severe headaches. “He had a terrible temper and I thought when he went into the service he would get over that. But he didn’t. If anything, Vietnam made it worse. ”
We drew on Tiger Force interviews, the unit history of the 1st Battalion/327th Infantry, and the platoon’s radio logs for the section about Terry Oakden’s death. Many of the Tigers vividly recalled the day. Not only was Oakden killed when he stepped on a mine but several platoon members were injured, including Daniel Clint, who wrote a short story about the explosion. “Things happen quickly in these situations,” Clint wrote. “For us it was an assessment of who was and who was not injured. Sergeant Diaz had his leg completely shattered (he would later have it amputated above the knee). Oakden’s head had suffered major trauma—there was no saving him. I heard the distant voices conferring, ‘He’s gone.’”
We drew on extensive interviews with Tiger Force members for the sections about the deaths of Jerry Ingram, Robin Varney, Kenneth Green, and Edward Beck. By the end of September, the Tigers were encountering snipers every day. The soldiers told us the deaths of four platoon members over forty-eight hours pushed some members over the edge. Harold Fischer recalled, “They all wanted revenge—especially Ybarra. We had to keep Sam away from friendly villagers because he would kill them. He would kill unarmed villagers when the opportunity presented itself, which sometimes was on a daily basis.”
Tiger Force private Richard Ammons was so upset by Green’s death that he wrote a letter to Green’s father, expressing his sorrow:
I don’t know exactly what to say but I would like you to know that “Boots” was a very close friend of mine and that I’m very sorry about what happened. He was a very likable man and everyone he came in contact with found him very easy to become friends with. Everyone thought he was one of the greatest guys in the force. I’ve been in Tiger Force for 15 months and I’ve known a lot of guys and saw quite a few in action. Ever since I’ve known Boots, when you needed help you could always count on him.
Mr. Green, I don’t know if you found out how it happened or not so I’ll tell you now. We walked into somewhat of a hasty ambush and Boots rushed for the enemy and was shot in the left thigh. Edward Beck ran to his aid and picked him up and tried to get him into some kind of cover. The enemy killed both before he could reach it. I’m very sorry that this happened and I just don’t know how I can put into words how I felt when it happened. I also want you know that it was one of the hardest things in the world for me to do when I was called to identify his body. I’m so sorry.
Our account of Green’s body being transported by chopper to Chu Lai was based on interviews with Leon Fletcher, who had tried to stop Green from volunteering for Tiger Force. He said the image of Green’s body in the chopper continues to haunt him. “The blast from the chopper blade blew open the poncho and there was Ken. It just freaked me out. There was his bullet-ridden body, blood all over him. I had different nightmares about this for years. One of them was that he rose up in the helicopter and he grabbed me by my shirt and he would say, ‘Why did you let me go to Tiger Force?’ And another one was he would grab me by the shirt and say, ‘Why didn’t you come with me so you could have watched my back?’ I still have those nightmares.”
Army Records
The sworn witness statement of William Carpenter on January 18, 1973. The document was Exhibit 23 of the Coy Allegation. It included the following about Green’s death:
QUESTION: After Green was killed, 29 Sep. 67, was there a noticeable effect in Ybarra’s actions?
CARPENTER: He was visibly disturbed, he cried about Green’s death, and on the day Green’s personal effects were turned over to Ybarra, I heard him say that he would “even the score by killing more Vietnamese.”
The sworn witness statement of Gerald Bruner on February 12, 1974. The document was Exhibit 132 of the Coy Allegation. It included the following about Oakden’s death:
BRUNER: Approximately two weeks later, we were working in a different area up near Tam Ky and our team was told to occupy a certain area because there had been people sighted coming in our direction, but to stay away from a certain hill because it was booby trapped. However, Lt. Hawkins told us to go to the top of the hill because it was the best vantage point to see the terrain, but be careful. Approximately three minutes after occupying the hill, one of the team members stepped on a mine.
In the same interview, Bruner told CID agents about Hawkins and Lieutenant Edward Sanders firing rounds at a farmer.
BRUNER: The next morning we were up on a hill and I observed Lt. Hawkins and an artillery officer firing their weapons. As they put it, they were “test firing” into a rice paddy. However, there was an old Vietnamese man plowing with a water buffalo in the rice paddy. The man suddenly stopped and ran for cover. They were laughing about it and this was when I approached Lt. Hawkins and flatly told him I wanted to leave the Tiger Force.
For our account of the psychology of combat, we drew on a Frontline interview with retired lieutenant colonel David Grossman, author of the book On Killing.
Books
Clint, Dan. John Martinez 1967, 2002.
Grossman, David. On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society. Boston: Little, Brown, 1996.
Herring, George. America’s Longest War: The United States and Vietnam. New York: Knopf, 1996.
Karnow, Stanley. Vietnam: A History. New York: Viking Press, 1983.
Langguth, A. J. Our Vietnam: The War 1954-1975. New York: Touchstone, 2000.
The Pentagon Papers. New York: Bantam Books, 1971.
The Winter Soldier Investigation: An Inquiry into American War Crimes. Boston: Beacon Press, 1972.
CHAPTER 19
Main Sources
We talked at length with numerous Tiger
Force members, including William Carpenter, Rion Causey, Ken Kerney, Harold Fischer, and William Doyle. In addition, we talked to Gerald Bruner’s friends and family. We also drew on the Army records about the campaign, including information in the unit history of the 1st Battalion/327th Infantry and radio logs of Tiger Force’s daily contact with the enemy.
Our account of Lieutenant Hawkins’s last days as the platoon’s commander was based on extensive interviews with soldiers and officers. Captain Carl James told us how he led Hawkins back to the officers’ barracks after the second lieutenant became drunk. During the interview, James said Hawkins’s drinking problem was one of the reasons he was relieved of duty. “I felt it was time for a change. You can burn out if you stay with a platoon too long. And he was burned out,” James said.
For the section on Captain Harold McGaha’s leadership, we drew on interviews with Tiger Force members and records from the CID’s Tiger Force investigation. Many platoon members said McGaha was “aggressive” in the field and encouraged the Tigers to kill for body count. In the final days of Operation Wheeler, Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Morse also prodded his men for additional kills. During the CID’s investigation, soldiers told agents someone using Morse’s radio call sign “Ghost Rider” asked for 327 kills—the same number as the battalion’s designation. The order via the radio was transmitted to the battalion’s three line companies and Tiger Force. Army records show Tiger Force recorded the 327th kill on November 19. Several soldiers told us that they heard the message and that it led to the killing of unarmed civilians. But in an interview, Morse said he never asked for 327 kills. He said the accusation was unfounded.
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