Word of Honor (94 page)

Tyson looked at the board and addressed them directly. "When my attorney, Mr. Corva, asked me if I would like to make a swom statement in extenuation or mitigation on my own behalf, I told him I could think of no extenuating or mitigating circumstances that I could swear to." He paused and looked directly at the board, meeting each member's eyes.

"Sitting here now, I still can't."

Colonel Sproule waited some time, expecting more. Finally realizing that Tyson had no intention of offering anything further, he addressed Colonel Pierce. "Does the prosecution wish to offer anything in rebuttal to the statement of the accused?"

Pierce stood and began to reply, but Corva had come across the floor and was standing in front of the pulpit. Corva said, "The accused has not finished, your honor."

Sproule's eyebrows rose. "It appeared he was, Mr. Corva. "

"No, your honor." Corva turned to Tyson, who gave him a sharp look. Corva said to Tyson, "Would you characterize your state of mind after the incident as remorseful?"

Tyson sat back in the chair and crossed his legs. He stared at Corva awhile, then replied, "Yes."

"And do you feel remorse now?"

Tyson replied tersely, "I suppose."

"And would you also describe yourself as haunted by this incident?"

Tyson looked at his lawyer. Clearly Corva did not intend to let his statement stand as it was. He studied the man's face and saw he was very distraught.

"Are you haunted by what happened at that hospital?"

Tyson snapped, "Wouldn't you be?"

"Did you seek psychiatric help after you returned from Vietnam?"

Tyson could see the board out of the comer of his eye, WORD OF HONOR 0 729

and he noticed that some of them looked uncomfortable. He kept silent.

"You did seek psychiatric help, didn't you?" he went on without waiting for an answer. "By shooting Larry Cane did you believe you did everything humanly possible to stop the mutiny and massacre?"

"Hard to say."

Corva's voice rose. "Can't you give me more complete answers?"

There was a stirring in the spectator pews. Tyson looked past Corva at Pierce, who was no longer staring at him, but at Corva. Weinroth and Longo were glancing at each other.

"Don't you think," asked Corva, his voice becoming louder, "that combat fatigue mitigates what happened at that hospital? That if the UCMJ

recognizes that, then maybe you should too?"

Tyson uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. His voice was taut. "I don't think I want to retry this case now."

"Were you or were you not suffering from combat fatigue? Answer the question."

Tyson stood. "I told the court what I had to say! There is no extenuation or mitigation."

Corva began to speak, but Sproule cleared his throat. "Mr. Corva, does your client wish to conclude his statement?"

"No.

"Yes," said Tyson, and stepped away from the chair. Corva blocked him.

There was open talking in the court now. Sproule called for quiet and said to Corva, "This is most unusual. "

Tyson looked into Corva's eyes. It suddenly occurred to him that Corva had been under tremendous strain, had hidden it wel I, and was now about to snap. Tyson took his seat and said in a calm voice, "I suppose battle fatigue could explain almost all of what happened."

Corva seemed to be gctting himself under control and nodded quickly.

Sproule spoke. "Mr. Corva, do you want a recess?"

Corva rubbed his cheek. "No, your honor."

Tyson said, "Your honor, I've concluded my statement.

Corva stood silently, as though in a daze.

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"Very well," said Sproule with a note of relief in his voice. Sproule looked at Pierce and asked for the second time, "Does the prosecution wish to offer anything in rebuttal to the statement of the accused?"

Pierce stood and made an exaggerated shrug. "it appears that defense counsel has already done that."

There were a few tentative laughs, which quickly died away.

Sproule looked at Colonel Moore. "Does the board have any questions for the witness?"

Colonel Moore, apparently without consulting the board, replied tonelessly, "We have no questions, your honor."

Sproule said to Tyson, "You are excused, Lieutenant."

"Yes, Sir. " Tyson rose and nudged Corva back toward the defense table.

They both sat.

Colonel Sproule said, "We will take a five-minute break in place."

Sproule made a show of concentrating on some paperwork as did the prosecution team and the board.

Tyson leaned toward Corva. "Are you all right?"

Corva sipped some water. "Better."

"Are you well enough for me to beat the shit out of you?"

Corva smiled wanly. "I just slipped a little."

"Don't get personally involved with your clients," advised Tyson, Corva didn't reply. The minutes ticked by in silence. Sproule looked up from his papers and cleared his throat. He addressed Pierce. "Does the prosecution wish to present an argument for an appropriate sentence?"

Pierce let a few seconds pass, then replied, "The board has the facts and will reach a decision on an appropriate sentence. "

Sproule turned to Corva. Sproule asked, "Does the defense wish to present an argument for an appropriate sentence?"

Corva, without standing, replied, "The defense, too, believes the board has the facts it needs to reach an appropriate sentence. "

"So," said Sproule with uncharacteristic informality, "that's it."

Sproule turned to the board and said, "It is my duty now to instruct the board on matters of punishment."

WORD OF HONOR * 731

He cleared his throat and began. "it is your sole responsibility to select an appropriate sentence, and you may consider all matters in extenuation and mitigation in arriving at that sentence. You may take into account the background and character of the accused, his reputation and service record, including awards, medals, conduct, efficiency, fidelity, courage, bravery, and other traits of good character.

"You must also consider that the desired effect of a sentence is not primarily punishment, deterrence, rehabilitation, or the protection of society. The end product of a conviction in a trial by military court-martial and the sentence arrived at is to reflect military goals, which include the maintenance of good order and discipline, the continued ability of the service to carry out its mission, and the preservation of the service concepts of duty and honor. In the case where the accused is a commissioned officer, he should, by custom and often by law, be held accountable to a higher degree for the preservation of these goals, concepts, and ideals than an enlisted man would be. However, he should not be held accountable to such a degree as would impose unrealistic or unattainable standards on the officer corps."

Sproule went on, "In considering your verdict, you should also take into consideration the prevailing conditions at the time of the offense. You should not take into consideration any outside influences, real or perceived, and you should not be subject in any way to command influence."

Sproule glanced around the room, then concluded, "Though there is not and should not be a statute of limitations for the crime of murder, you may consider in arriving at an appropriate sentence that the offense for which the accused stands convicted occurred over eighteen years ago.

Also, due to the special circumstances of the accused having been a civilian for nearly eighteen years, you may take into account his civilian accomplishments, his community standing, his marital status, and his age in arriving at your sentence." Colonel Sproule looked at Colonel Moore. "Do you have any questions?"

Moore looked toward either side of the table, then said, "We have no questions."

Colonel Sproule instructed the board, "You may deliberate the sentence in the room set aside for that purpose. If

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you have not reached a sentence by fourteen-thirty hours, you may continue deliberating in the deliberation room until you do reach a sentence. Please keep the court informed of your progress. The court will be closed. "

Tyson and Corva found themselves back in Rabbi Weitz's office. The rabbi, too, was present. He said to Tyson, "I came. I was there today for the first time. Whose side were you on?"

Corva said, "That's what I'd like to know. That was the absolute worst statement I ever heard from an accused."

Tyson saw that Corva was nearly himself again, though he seemed somewhat sulky.

Corva added, "It would serve you fight if they took you at your word."

Rabbi Weitz joined in. "If that was supposed to be reverse psychology, my friend, I hope the board responds."

Tyson said irritably, "I said what I had to say."

Corva responded, "Your ego will be your downfall one of these days . . .

maybe today."

"You said I could say what I wanted."

"You were supposed to say that the murderers were walking free. That before they imposed a prison sentence on you, they should consider that. I thought you understood what we have been driving at . . . oh, the hell with it."

Rabbi Weitz took his attach6 case, headed for the door, and opened it.

"While they are considering an appropriate sentence, maybe they will consider an appropriate place to hold courts-martial next time. God bles's you both. " He left.

Corva sat at the rabbi's desk, drinking ice water.

Tyson stood at the window and looked out into the rain. On the lawn, not ten feet away, stood two NIPS in rain gear, M-16 rifles slung on their shoulders. "There's no place to run. I I

"What's that?"

"They have MPs with fifles out there."

"What did you expect?"

Tyson shrugged. He turned from the window. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You know damned well what."

WORD OF HONOR e 733

Corva stayed silent. At length he responded, "I did it because I couldn't sit there and watch you walk jauntily to a firing squad with your fucking stiff upper lip."

"Well, I did it my way, and you did it your way. And the result was a dog and pony show. " He glanced at his watch and asked, "How long will this take, and how long will I get?"

Corva said, "They have a lot to consider. Sometimes this takes longer than the verdict. It could go on for days."

Tyson nodded. "Take a guess then. What's your experience with sentences, or shouldn't I ask?"

Corva smiled thinly, then said, "I could have fifty years' experience with sentences, and I couldn't call this one. It could be anywhere from no jail time to ten . . . fifteen years. "

Tyson sat in a visitor's chair and looked at the clock. "Eleven-fifteen hours."

"What is that in real time?"

"Quarter after eleven."

"Well, be prepared for a wait."

"is it your policy to stay with the accused while the sentence is deliberated?"

"I guess. We're authorized to go back to the lockup if somehow you'd feel more comfortable there."

"I think we'll stay here."

"Right. 11

They sat in silence for some time, then Corva began speaking. "You remember what we used to say in Nam--you can't tell the good guys from the bad guys.

So kill them all and let Saint Peter sort them out. Well, the first time I heard that, I thought it was funny. Then when I saw it happen-the killing of civilians-it wasn't so funny. But by the time I was ready to go home, it started to make sense, and that scared the hell out of me. I think-I know-that when you're there, you lose touch with external reality and create your own inner reality. That was the missing piece in your little speech. The gap between knowing what your duty was, deciding not to do it, then feeling fine about deciding not to do it even though it went against what you believed in. "

Tyson lit a cigarette. "I keep going back there in my 734 & NELSON DEMILLE

mind. Trying to experience it again, trying to feel what I felt, think what I thought. But the more I try to do that, the more elusive the whole thing becomes. It's funny that my most vivid and, I think, accurate memories are of the first days and weeks in Nam. While I was still open to outside reality. But as the weeks went by, with each passing month I began to block, to distort, and especially to deny. We, all of us, got heavily into denial.

You could have five men killed in the morning, and by lunch they didn't exist. You could kill a peasant through carelessness, and before you even reloaded, he was a hard-core VC armed to the teeth. So maybe what happened at the hospital was not what Brandt said or Farley said or what I told you or what Kelly told all of us. Maybe it was something else. Maybe if I'd gone into battalion headquarters and seen the colonel and told him what had happened, he'd have told me I was crazy. He'd wave an after-action report in my face, and show me my proposal for a Silver Star and tell me to get a grip on myself. "

Corva said, "Oh, Christ, Ben, what a place that was. Are we sane now?"

"You bet."

"Right." Corva said, "By the way, I have a verbal message for you from a Major Harper. Want to hear it?"

"No.-

"Okay.

Tyson drew on his cigarette. "What's she want?"

Corva said, "She wants you to know that she's being released from active duty at midnight tonight. She says she would like to buy you a drink tomorrow at a midtown bar of your choice."

Tyson thought about that awhile, then said, "There was a woman I could have gone for."

"You did. But, hey, that's another story. Make her take you to a hotel bar-then if it's going right, you just have to point up."

Tyson smiled. "You're disgusting. If I meet her, I want you along to chaperon."

"I'll be there. And so will you."

Tyson looked at him but said nothing. After a few minutes WORD OF HONOR 0 735

he said, "That Sindel woman isn't bad-looking either. Must be the uniform.

Why am I so attracted to uniforms?"

"Don't know. Ask your shrink."

"My shrink once said that when a soldier goes to war, all is pre-forgiven."

"Did he? I wish I had him on the board."