“Did you tell any of your superiors what you heard?”
“Colonel Mot was my superior.’’
“Did you tell any of your American superiors?”
“No, sir — that is, no one except Phillips and Carmody. I told them.”
“And what did they say or do?”
“Nothing. They said one operation is pretty much like another and it didn’t really make any difference.”
“Was this like the others, Sergeant Creech? Were you in the habit of rounding up civilians for execution?”
“Objection!” Major Patterson shouted.
“Withdraw the question. How many bad guys were killed, Sergeant Creech?”
“One hundred seventeen.”
“And how many weapons were recovered?”
“One.”
“One? One hundred seventeen bad guys were killed and only one weapon was recovered? Isn’t that unusual?”
“No, sir. You see, the V.C. set great store by their weapons. They’ll save a weapon before they’ll save one of their own wounded.”
“I see. How many casualties did Colonel Mot’s force sustain?”
“I don’t know.”
Reynolds returned to his table and picked up a piece of paper. “Oh, here it is. Eighteen. Seventeen killed and one wounded. Does that sound about right to you? One hundred seventeen of the enemy and eighteen friendlies?”
“Yes, sir. We fought a good fight.”
“How about the bad guys? Did they put up much resistance? In fact, was there any resistance at all?”
“We had eighteen casualties,” Creech said.
“Did you observe a vigorous return fire?”
“I...I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? A moment ago you were deriding the straphangers and feather merchants. You are a man of the bush. Can’t you tell if you’re getting return fire?”
“Well, sir, we seemed to have things pretty well under control.”
“I would say so. Eighteen casualties to one hundred seventeen is a significant difference. In fact, when you stop to realize that the seventeen killed weren’t killed by enemy action at all, but by the American helicopters, it becomes even more significant. The eighteenth casualty, the soldier who was wounded, suffered a sprained ankle when he left the helicopter. When you get right down to it, not one casualty was the result of enemy action…and yet they lost one hundred seventeen. Who were they, Sergeant Creech? The one hundred seventeen who were killed — were they bad guys?”
“They were V.C.”
“V.C. soldiers?”
“V.C.,” Creech said again.
“Could they have been villagers?”
“V.C. villagers.”
“V.C. villagers who might have been, let’s see, what did you say? A twelve-year-old girl, a pregnant woman, an old man, or an old woman—are they the bad guys you killed?”
“I...I don’t know. Maybe.”
“In fact, Sergeant Creech, weren’t the entire one hundred seventeen dead comprised of villagers of all ages and sexes, including one infant not yet able to walk?”
“I...I don’t know. There was so much shooting going on...so much confusion. One moment we were in a mopping-up action, and the next we were being attacked by our own helicopters.”
“While Colonel Mot was mopping up?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Now, I ask you, Sergeant Creech, is it possible that the mopping up…given the fact that some of the bad guys might be twelve-year-old girls, pregnant women, old men, and old women…isn’t it possible that someone flying over might mistake Colonel Mot’s troops, who were dressed in black, as Viet Cong who were murdering villagers?”
“They weren’t murdering, sir, they were mopping up,” Creech insisted.
“But isn’t it possible that from a helicopter one might mistake the mopping-up action for murder?”
“I... I guess it’s possible, sir,” Sergeant Creech said. “I just don’t know.”
“No further questions.”
Colonel Sherman looked at his watch, then cleared his throat.
“At this time, I declare a recess of one hour and thirty minutes. We will begin again at 1300 hours.”
Chapter Sixteen
“If the court please,” Reynolds said. “I understand Major Patterson is about to call Song Tay Minh as a witness.”
“Have you evidence as to why she shouldn’t be called?” Colonel Sherman asked.
“No, sir,” Reynolds said. “However, we are prepared to stipulate that Mr. Carmack was sexually intimate with Madam Mot, at the time and place so stated by the young lady. In deference to her age, and to spare her embarrassment, I ask that the court accept our stipulation and dismiss the witness.”
“One moment,” Colonel Sherman said. The officers of the court huddled for a conference.
“Why don’t you let her talk?” Mike asked. “If Mot really was with her, that would show that he knew about Le and me, and that I had no motive, wouldn’t it?”
“If Mot knew, the court may decide that you knew he knew. That changes it from a simple foolin’ around into what the people in my part of Texas call kinky. We want to portray you as a professional army officer, not as some sex pervert.”
“Oh, I see what you mean,” Mike said quietly. The conference of officers broke up and Colonel Sherman cleared his throat.
“The court agrees to accept the stipulation,” he said. To Major Patterson, he added, “You may dismiss the witness.”
“Court calls Specialist Five Clayton R. Smith.” Smitty, Mike’s crew chief, was sworn in. Major Patterson opened his questioning.
“Specialist Smith, did you inform Mr. Carmack of the missing transponder before this mission?”
“Yes, sir,” Smitty answered. “And it was written up on the dash-thirteen.”
“Isn’t that a rather serious problem?”
“It ain’t no red-X, sir, if that’s what you mean,” Smitty said. “You can fly, even without a transponder.”
“So when Mr. Carmack began this mission, he knew the transponder was inoperative. He knew he would have no way of verifying an identity code?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Despite that, he opened fire against soldiers on the ground, not knowing whether they were friend or foe. Is that correct?”
“He thought they —”
“I’m not interested in what you think he thought. My question is: Did he open fire on those soldiers?”
“Yes, sir,” Smitty said quietly.
“No further questions,” Patterson said.
“Smitty, as crew chief, do you also man a machine gun?” asked Reynolds.
“Yes, sir. We got two M-60s, one mounted in each cargo door. The door gunner has one, I have the other.”
“Did you shoot at any of Colonel Mot’s men?”
“Yes, sir, I did,” Smitty answered.
“Why?”
“I thought they was V.C.,” Smitty answered.
“Objection. Calls for a conclusion,” Major Patterson said.
“Please the court,” Reynolds said. “I was only asking him to justify his own actions…not draw a conclusion as to Mr. Carmack’s actions.”
“Objection denied.”
“I have no further questions,” Reynolds said.
Major Patterson had no more witnesses, so it was Reynolds’s time to bring his witnesses on. His first witness was Captain Mack, commander of the convoy Mike had rescued.
Captain Mack testified that if Mike hadn’t arrived when he did, he might have lost his entire convoy. Reynolds’s second witness was one of the air force pilots who responded to the call, Major Clifton Hazzard. Major Hazzard stated that when he arrived on the scene the helicopters had already stemmed the V.C. attack, and all he provided was mop-up services. Both officers agreed that Mike’s response to the call saved the lives of two dozen American soldiers.
Reynolds’s final witness was Ernie Chapel.
“Mr. Chapel, what is your pos
ition?”
“I’m a reporter for Combined Press International,” Ernie said.
“You’re here to cover the war for the folks back home, are you?”
“For the people back home, for anyone who wants to know.”
“Mr. Chapel, how long have you been in Vietnam?”
“Five years,’’ Ernie answered.
“Five years? You were here when Diem was killed?”
“Yes, I was.”
“Tell us a little about your combat experience,” Reynolds invited.
“Understand, none of it is actually combat experience; I have always been an observer,” Ernie said.
“Tell us about some of the combat you’ve observed,” Reynolds suggested.
“During World War Two, I went ashore with the marines on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. I rode in some of the B-29s during the fire-bomb raids over Tokyo. During the Korean War, I went ashore for the Inchon landing, made the long, cold march down from the Chosin Reservoir, followed the troops up Pork Chop Hill. In Vietnam, I participated in Operation Junction City, Rolling Thunder, and half a dozen other operations over the last five years. I hitched a ride on a Phantom jet for a mission over Hanoi and a Skyraider for a dive-bombing and strafing attack outside Da Nang.”
“And you’ve flown in helicopters before?”
“Several times, yes, sir.”
Reynolds turned to the court. “Unless there is some challenge to Mr. Chapel’s level of experience, I would now like to present him as an expert witness.”
“Expert in what field, sir?” Major Patterson asked, puzzled by Reynolds’s strategy.
“Expert in the observation and evaluation of men under fire. His unique position as a war correspondent has given him a ringside seat to three wars. Is there anyone present in this court who can match his experience?”
“Court agrees to regard Mr. Chapel as an expert witness,” Colonel Sherman said.
“Thank you. Mr. Chapel, as an expert witness, I ask you to evaluate Mr. Carmack’s performance on the fifteenth of June.”
“Objection!” Patterson boomed. “Colonel, surely we aren’t going to be subjected to the distant observation of a reporter, no matter how experienced he is!”
“Please allow me to qualify this,” Reynolds said, holding up a finger. “I’m not asking for a general evaluation. I’m asking for a specific report based on direct observation. You were in the helicopter with Mr. Carmack, were you not?”
“Yes, I was,” Ernie said.
There was a collective gasp in the courtroom. Then Colonel Sherman looked sharply at Major Patterson.
“Major Patterson, were you aware Mr. Chapel was in that helicopter?”
“His name wasn’t on the dash-twelve,” Major Patterson said.
“I’ve been informed that only flight crew are listed on the dash-twelve. But I do have signed statements and certificates from the enlisted and officers of Mr. Carmack’s fire team to verify that Chapel was aboard,” said Reynolds. “Will you accept that?”
“Do I have to?” Patterson looked at Colonel Sherman.
“For the sake of expediency, perhaps you’d better,” said Sherman.
“Very well,” said Patterson, begrudgingly.
“Proceed,” Sherman said.
“Did you see Colonel Mot’s troops on the ground?” Reynolds asked.
“I saw troops on the ground, dressed in black, shooting villagers,” Ernie said.
“Shooting at villagers?” Colonel Sherman asked.
“No, sir,” Ernie said. “They were shooting villagers. They were lining them up—men, women, and children—and they were shooting them.”
“What did you think?”
“I thought what all of us thought,” Ernie answered. “I thought the men in black were V.C.”
“Did Mr. Carmack attempt to contact the troops on the ground to determine if they were friend or foe?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How could he do that without a transponder?”
“He asked one of the other pilots to contact them. The other pilot came back on the radio and said there was no response.”
“Then what happened?”
“We made two strafing attacks. When we were starting our third, the pilot came on and said that his parrot had squawked and he had received a message on the FM frequency saying the soldiers on the ground were friendly.”
“What did Mr. Carmack do then?”
“He terminated the attack.”
“At the beginning of the questioning, I asked you to evaluate Mr. Carmack’s performance on that day. Would you do that for us, please?”
“I consider Mr. Carmack one of the most capable and dependable officers I have ever encountered. On the day in question, he was calm and collected. He made every effort to identify the troops on the ground and, not getting any response, acted on what I considered to be the reasonable assumption that black-clad soldiers who were shooting civilian women and children were not friendly.”
“Did you know Colonel Mot?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How well?”
“I had been his guest a couple of times. We were speaking acquaintances.”
“But you didn’t recognize him from the air?”
“No, sir.”
“Colonel Todaro claimed that he was able to pick out Colonel Mot from the air by his flag. In fact, several other pilots said the same thing. Couldn’t you have done that?”
“He may have been flying his personal flag earlier, when we were absent from the area. It wasn’t flying when we made the attack.”
“We heard testimony that Colonel Mot waved his flag in an attempt to stop the attack.”
“If he did, I didn’t see it,” Ernie said. “And no one on board any of the helicopters saw it.”
“In your expert opinion, was Mr. Carmack justified in making his attack on Colonel Mot?”
“In that he didn’t know it was Colonel Mot and the troops were murdering villagers, Mr. Carmack was not only right to make the attack...it would have been criminal to allow the massacre to continue.”
“Objection. Calls for a conclusion,” said Major Patterson.
“Sustained.”
“Thank you, Mr. Chapel.”
“Mr. Chapel,” Patterson started. “You say that you might have known the troops were friendly had you been there earlier to see Colonel Mot’s flag. Why weren’t you there?”
“We were answering a call for assistance from a convoy under attack.”
“Against orders?”
“Beg pardon?”
“Didn’t Colonel Todaro issue specific orders not to answer the call?”
“Yes.”
“But Mr. Carmack, the officer you just characterized as capable and dependable, disobeyed those orders. Why?”
“By the time Mr. Carmack’s request to render assistance was answered, we were already over the target area. Mr. Carmack had information that Colonel Todaro didn’t have, because we were in a position to see that the V.C. were about to overrun the convoy. Based on that information, Mr. Carmack exercised sound judgment and leadership.”
“Nevertheless, he did disobey orders, did he not?”
“Yes, but —”
“Yes or no?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you. No further questions.”
“Defense recalls Colonel Todaro.”
Colonel Todaro took the stand a second time. Then Reynolds walked over to question him.
“Colonel, given the circumstances as you now know them, would you still have ordered Mr. Carmack not to render assistance to the convoy?”
“As I now know them...I would have allowed Mr. Carmack to answer the call,” Todaro agreed reluctantly.
“Thank you, Colonel.”
“But that still doesn’t —”
“Thank you, Colonel,” Reynolds said again. “Witness may step down,” Colonel Sherman said.
During his summation, Major Patterson tried to point out motive, opportun
ity, and premeditation. The motive, he said, was confirmed by Mr. Carmack’s admission that he was having an affair with Madam Mot. The opportunity was evident by the fact that he found himself in a helicopter over a confused field of battle and used that confusion to commit murder.
“Premeditation, I admit, is more difficult to prove, for how can you look into a man’s mind to measure the intention of his soul? However, the fact that Madam Mot committed suicide shortly after Mr. Carmack was charged indicates to me that she knew the trail of evidence would lead right to her. It could only lead to her if she was guilty…and as she was not in the helicopter, she could only be guilty of conspiracy. Conspiracy, by definition, means premeditation. Therefore, I ask you to find Mr. Carmack guilty of Article 118 of the UCMJ. Murder.”
Greyhound Reynolds stood up and looked at the court, letting his eyes move across the face of every officer present. Overhead a helicopter that was returning from a flight beat through the air, its blades popping loudly as the pilot descended through his own rotor wash. In the windows three air conditioners hummed softly. Reynolds waited for a long moment. Finally, he began to talk. His voice was so low the board had to strain to hear him.
“The question you are asked to decide is a simple one,” he said. “Did Mr. Carmack kill Colonel Mot because of some crazed action to rid the world of the man so he would be free to pursue his relationship with Madam Mot? Or was this an accident, brought on by Colonel Mot’s own bloodlust?
“Consider this,” he went on. “Mr. Carmack attempted, through other pilots in his flight, to identify the soldiers who were engaged in the brutal massacre of innocent villagers. There were three other helicopters in the flight and all three were trying to raise a signal on their transponder. Not one did.
“Consider this as well. Every helicopter in the flight fired at the soldiers. Admittedly, some of them were new, but there was in every helicopter at least one officer and one enlisted man with previous combat experience. And,” Reynolds said, holding up his finger, “there was riding, as a passenger in Mr. Carmack’s helicopter, Mr. Ernie Chapel, who, by the certification of this very court, is recognized as an expert in combat observation. Despite all this, there was not one man…not one...who refused to fire. Why? Because to a man they thought they were firing at V.C. to save innocent villagers.
Dateline: Viet Nam: A Military Thriller Double Page 13
