Incident on Hill 192 November 19, 1966 The kidnapping, gang rape, and murder of Phan Thi Mao, a young Vietnamese woman by an American squad of soldiers during the Vietnam War. I give him max rating as a soldier. In other connections, it was brought out that the Sergeant had not waited to be drafted, that he was currently in line for the Bronze Star, and that in the course of his overseas duty he had been awarded five medals, of varying importance, and had a conduct rating of Excellent. Did Eriksson know that military judges and jurors were notoriously lenient in their sentencing? He said it would be good for the morale of the squad.. We were advancing through nice country, Eriksson told me. We all looked at the paper, and he asked us what this was all about. He was confident, he told me, that he stood a better chance of finding help there than in the confines of the platoon area. All four soldiers were sentenced to hard labor at the United States Army Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Rafe was the man closest to Clark and Maoonly a few metres awayand because he was, his testimony concerning the events that now took place carried special weight with the court. Eriksson did not have sexual intercourse or harm her in any way.) Meserve and Clark denied any wrongdoing, and the leader of the misbegotten patrol insisted that his motives had been misconstrued. Listening to the fellows, I had the feeling there might be any number of Meserves and Clarks around me, he said. Can you add one ? Flying back to Carson, I thought to myself, So Manuels out. To listen to them, and to the testimony that the guys in the patrol gave, Mao was probably living happily in her hamlet. As early as the opening day of Rafes trial, which was the first one held, he realized that it was idle to consider whether the G.I.s punishment would, or could, fit the crime. His break came after just a weekby accident, which was the only way it could come. I can assure you I wasnt being paranoid in thinking he might be shot in the back for seeing me. This arose when a defense witness, a sergeant in the platoon, said that Eriksson had none. Late in July, Eriksson was handed a communication from the commanding officer of his division, the 1st Cavalry (Airmobile). During his months leave, he was always with her and with relatives and friends and, in a way, Eriksson said, with Mao. Bunkers, trenches, trails that were not marked on maps, caches of enemy equipmentthese, too, were to be reconnaissance objectives. 2. gcdc. It was six in morning and dark. The father was away in Phu My market, the interpreter went on. The climb took longer than it had the day before, the mens pace slowed by the packs they bore. He had no one to talk to over there. The decision was not easily arrived at, for two days before Clarks trial was to begin, and when Rafe had already been convicted, Clark approached Rafe in the stockade at Long Binh, where both were jailed, and, appealing to Rafes conscience, told him that if he gave unfriendly testimony against his comrades, he would have it on his mind the rest of his life. Troubled by this, Rafe sought, and heeded, the counsel of a Catholic chaplain at Camp Radcliff in resolving the dilemma of choosing between his moral obligation, as Rafe put it to the chaplain, and loyalty to the patrol. Summoned to the stand by Clarks lawyer, the priest said he had advised Rafe that, as opposed to defending Clarks interest, he had a greater obligation to his wife and his child and the young woman who, supposedly, I assume, was killed, and to justice and society. The priest also said he was asking a Franciscan brother in Texas to break the news of Rafes conviction to his wife, to help her absorb the initial shock., By contrast, the general demeanor of the other defendants was that of incredulity at being tried; the impression they gave was that they thought only the sheerest, most improbable sort of accident could explain their being haled before a tribunal. He saw now how wrong he had been in thinking that a report of rape and murder would evoke instant action, as in civilian life. Asked by the prosecutor why he thought Eriksson had stayed out of the hootch, Manuel answered, Eriksson was different. [9], Thomas, Cipriano Garcia, and Joseph Garcia were each convicted of unpremeditated murder in March and April 1967. And then there was Vorsts invitation to Eriksson to transfer out of the company. Six months ago, he said, he had taken a Minneapolis bus home from work and, being very tired, had dozed off. Thus, a couple of weeks before the first court-martial opened, Eriksson found himself sitting in a cubbyhole office at Camp Radcliff face to face with a stocky medical captain with an extremely close crew cut who wanted to know whether the young infantryman loved his mother and whether he heard from his wife. I had had enough of watching beatings and stranglings with ponchos, he told me. Inasmuch as the board may only affirm or reduce Rafes sentence, any changes that it makes will necessarily fall under the heading of good news for him; for example, the board may decide that Rafe served too long a sentence by five or six months, in which event it will be incumbent upon the Army to restore back pay for that period; it is also within the boards power to reverse Rafes dishonorable discharge. It might have influenced my thinking if Id had that information, but Im not sure. Subjects Apocalypse Now 1979. In the end, the four juries sitting at Camp Radcliff found the defendants guilty of one crime or another. Day after day, out on patrol, wed come to a narrow dirt path leading through some shabby village, and the elders would welcome us and the children come running with smiles on their faces, waiting for the candy wed give them. I thought again of letting her go, but what would I tell Meserve when he got back? Here is the interchange between the executive officer and the prosecutor: Q: Do you feel there is a place in the United States Army for any murderers? Today, on Hill 192, located between the Normandy cities of St. L and Bayeux, sleek horses graze the fields, and people in hacking gear travel the roads and bridle paths. In a sample encomium, Lieutenant Reilly declared that the Sergeants character and reputation are the best I have seen, and [he is] one of the best combat soldiers I have known. Reilly also called him a fine soldier, and went on to say, He never failed to accomplish the mission. I wanted to get out of the whole company, because I could not see staying in a company that would do anything such as here. that he [had] thought [at first] the men were just joking about really completing the acts. Throughout, Eriksson told me, he had the distinct impression that his position and Vorsts were at variance. [14], In 1992, former PFC Thomas gained further notoriety when he was charged with being an accessory after the fact in the murder trial of George Loeb, who was charged with the 17 May 1991 shooting death of an African-American USS Saratoga sailor named Harold J. Mansfield. The only thing these women had to do on their way to the stream was breathe pure mountain air.. None of the four hit anything, and the Sergeant radioed the platoon command for artillery support, which was quickly granted; the coperation, Eriksson recalled, pleased Meserve no end, since it implicitly conferred an importance on the skirmish. Professor Furue and Colonel Finck also appeared as witnesses, to offer information based on clinical studies they had made of Maos skeletal parts in Saigon. In daylight it was search-and-destroy missions, and at night it was setting ambushes for the enemy. From the minute I got to Radcliff, I was on the lookout for him, whoever he might turn out to be, Eriksson said. He displayed a hunting knife. When Eriksson reaffirmed that he was, Kirk picked up his phone and called the Criminal Investigation Division office at Camp Radcliff. Sure, there were always advance plans to do this or that, but they didnt often stand up in the field. I couldnt tell whether it was Charlie or the girl, Rafe testified. The four soldiers with whom he was on patrol raped and killed her, abandoning her body in mountain brush. Manuel later told agents of the Armys Criminal Investigation Division, Meserve said to Eriksson that inasmuch as he did not do anything to the girl [the day before], Eriksson would have to kill the girl, but Eriksson said that he would not have anything to do with that. Meserve, however, didnt follow through on his threat. To be sure, there were a few individuals, like Rowan, who shared his outlook, but the great majority saw things the way their officers did. Testifying in his own defense, Rafe stated, I was afraid to tell [the officer], because I might be the only one who brought it up. As for himself, Eriksson told me, Meserve had ordered him to a ledge from which he could overlook the complex as he trained his grenade launcher on two cave mouths in particular, either one of which, the Sergeant thought, could afford the entombed V.C. Related period. It makes for an easier mission and no problems. Its time for some fun, he said. There had been times when Id thought that if I had been in Vietnam longer than just a month when the incident took place I might have felt differently about ithad the same attitude, that is, as most of the fellows. There Is Yet More to Casualties of War - Phoenix New Times He had wanted to unburden himself of his doubts about whether he had done all he might have done for Mao in her travaildoubts that gnaw at him to this day. Incident on Hill 192 | Historica Wiki | Fandom When Meserve ended his testimony, the prosecutor inquired how many times and to whom he had told the story you just told on the witness stand., Numerous times, sir, the Sergeant replied. or did he just refuse at all times? Conscience was one thing that crossed over from civilian life to war, he said. Mao seemed to figure constantly in his thoughts, he said, which were concerned mostly with how he would earn his livelihood after he left the Army, the following April. Even the prosecutor predicted defeat, Eriksson told me, and during a short break Eriksson heard the judge remark to the court reporter that the trial was a waste of the taxpayers money. Seeing him and Greenacre chatting together, Eriksson went on, had made him realize that the only chance he had of escaping the chain of command was through a chaplain. Q: How did you react to this particular ambush, Eriksson? At any rate, he felt that he was on the right track, since chaplains were professionally concerned with conscience. We were all told to look for the girl. All five men shot, but Eriksson aimed his weapona grenade launcher, which looks like a shotgundown into the valley, away from the general direction of Mao. Eriksson also stated that the entire taking of the girl, the rape, and killing of the girl were pre-planned. Transitory though their show of character may have been, he said, it encouraged him in reaching a private resolve, for as he kept watch above the cave complex, Eriksson told me, he was suddenly seized with the overwhelming realization that unless he took it upon himself to speak out, the fact of Maos death would remain a secret. 7 years ago. In any event, Eriksson went on, he lost little time in seeking out his friend Curly Rowan to tell him the story of Mao. In turn, the sergeant passed the news on to Lieutenant Reilly, who sent for Eriksson. Throughout each trial, Eriksson said, the exponents of military law strove diligently to apply judicial rules largely borrowed from civilian law, as though they were seeking to re-create a semblance of civilian life. Incident Undeterred by Erikssons denial, the lawyer persevered with his line of questioning. However, Maos sister, Phan Thi Loc, who was present, has done this at one of the trials. Erikssons patrol leader delivered a tongue-lashing to his counterpart, who apologized. down a trail between two hedgerows when the patrol was suddenly fired upon from one side. Time and again, at chow or during a break out in the field, someone would tell him (as Vorst had told him) that it was pointless to throw good lives after bad by having Meserve and the others up on charges, since (as Reilly had said) violence was the language of war, and, naturally, it could not always be controlled. incident on hill 192 where are they now - pamelahudson.net A moment later, the two groups went off in different directions. It was to take them, ultimately, to Hill 192a height, in the Bong Son valley, that overlooked a ravine laced with a cave complex, which was suspected of serving as a Vietcong hideout. He called me back in a few minutes, or a couple of minutes, and informed me that he could not catch the girl, that he had had to shoot her. Eriksson was not called upon to testify this time, and this was a vast relief, he told me, not only because he was eager to get on with his civilian life but because it looked to him as though Rafes rehearing would be a duplication of Manuels second trial; that is, with Rafes tainted admissions thrown out, the governments arguments would be undermined and a verdict of acquittal brought in. It had nothing to do with a mans being responsible for his own behavior. The later actions of the convicted including murder of us naval serving enlisted members from the Saratoga in 92, don't assuage their guilt. You traded the girls life for your well-being, he was told. One of the defense lawyers hammered away at the point that Eriksson had killed the girl when, in obeying the Sergeants command to shoot her, he fired his grenade launcher. At times, Eriksson displayed a certain poise on the stand. Thomas took Mao into a brushy area, and although he stabbed her three times with his hunting knife, he failed to kill her. Q: You think your fear was apparent to anyone else? I heard that argument over and over again, and I could never buy it. The incident on Hill 192 refers to the kidnapping, gang rape, and murder of Phan Thi Mao, a young Vietnamese woman,[1] on November 19, 1966[2] by an American squad during the Vietnam War. She looked weary and ill, and she seemed to be getting more so by the minute. LANG, DANIEL (Author) Secker and Warburg (Publisher) Production date. PNP Change of Command Ceremony and Retirement Honors for - Facebook All that many of us could think at such times was that we were fools to be ready to die for people who defecated in public, whose food was dirtier than anything in our garbage cans back home. Departing from the hamlet with their prize, the soldiers moved west toward the main trail they should have been on. Eriksson said to me, his voice urgent, as though he had just heard the news, Charlie kidnapped her, just as he did Maos mother. There shouldnt have been, because I had decided, outside, that there wasnt a thing in the world I could do for her. "Casualties of War" is Brian De Palma's entry into the Vietnam War movies competition. He does remember, though, that she had a prominent gold tooth, and that her eyes, which were dark brown, could be particularly expressive. Under cross-examination at his court-martial concerning this disregard of his commanding officers instructions, the Sergeant stated, Sir, most of the time everybody agrees with his C.O. At last, someone outside the patrol knew of Mao, he said. As Mao stood listening, mute and uncomprehending, Meserve said that she had to be got out of the way; if they ran into action, he pointed out, she would be a hindrance, and even if they didnt, helicopter crews scouting the area might want to know who she was. If he said no, he would appear to be disowning the defendants, his comrades-in-arms; if he said yes, he would in effect be telling the jury that he regarded the war as a public-works project for criminals. Eriksson and four other enlisted men were then on a reconnaissance patrol in the vicinity of the girls home. now had to do with law enforcement, for he was reassigned to the 545th Military Police Company at Camp Radcliff, in which outfit he guarded high-ranking officers, pulled gate duty, made periodic sweeps of the base area for signs of infiltrating V.C., and, every day at 4 P.M., climbed into the drunk wagon, which was an M.P. . At the time, Eriksson told me, he had no idea that the Captain had chewed them out. It was just that he was less than average as far as being one of the guys, should we say? Glancing at the girl with distaste, the Sergeant ordered Eriksson and Rafe to stay with her on the ridge, whereupon he, Clark, and Manuel began a cautious descent of the mountain, their purpose to stalk the Vietcong. After that, wed have to stay out of sight until the third day of the patrols missionthat was the day the patrol was supposed to rendezvous with another unit for fresh supplies. However, he welcomed the shift to Radcliff for a more important reason. Eriksson tries to rescue the girl, but the squad . You Are Here: ross dress for less throw blankets apprentissage des lettres de l'alphabet incident on hill 192 where are they now. wouldnt let me become a door gunner, Eriksson told me. When he first got back from Hill 192, he said, he had imagined that it might have been his peculiar misfortune to draw a patrol made up of psychopaths, but now each time a new G.I. 'Casualties of War': Brian De Palma's Exorcism of the Vietnam War For a number of months, though, he found it less than exhilarating to pick up where he had left off. Eriksson now believes he should have foreseen that sooner or later one of these incidents was bound to strike him with special, climactic force. The C.I.D. Again according to Eriksson, Clark was given to quick movements and to seemingly abrupt decisions that reflected Meserves thinking in an exaggerated form. . In a matter of seconds, the shooting broke off, and another patrol, consisting of another squad in Reillys platoon, emerged from behind the hedgerow. The film was based on the real-life incident on Hill 192, and on Daniel Lang's book of the same title, but all names and some details of the story were altered. Eriksson himself stood scanning the landscape intently, looking for the curiously shaped rock formation where the stabbed girl had been shot. An edition of Incident on Hill 192 (1970) Incident on Hill 192 by Daniel Lang 0 Ratings 0 Want to read 0 Currently reading 0 Have read Overview View 1 Edition Details Reviews Lists Related Books Publish Date 1970 Publisher Pan Books Language English Pages 124 This edition doesn't have a description yet. They scare that discipline into you in basic training, Eriksson told me. Out of the blue, without being asked, hed start defending what hed done maybe hours ago by saying that, after all, it was no worse than what Charlie was doing. Since the verdicts would automatically come under review and the government might again need him as a witness, he was kept on in the post of military policeman at the division base. When Eriksson replied that he was prepared to take his chances on that, Vorst asked whether Eriksson might not care to transfer out of the companyor, for that matter, out of the infantry altogether. ? an Oklahoma rifleman asked one night as he and Eriksson were settling down to sleep in their foxholes. Eriksson himself helped Manuels case by testifying briefly as a defense witness, corroborating the fact that Manuel had refused to obey Meserves order to kill Mao. He felt that way, he explained, because out in the field, in territory that could turn hostile at any moment, the men in the patrol would be very much on their own, and this would be so even if a high-ranking officer were in charge. The only thing you could count on out there was that the unexpected would happen. Usually, Eriksson said, it took time for the unexpected to develop, but nowmore than half a day before the patrol was to leave platoon headquartersit happened with stunning abruptness. At first, the chain of command, including the company commander, took no action. Commenting on this, Eriksson told me, I realized that nothing definite had happened yet, but I had the feeling it was the first sign that things were going to work out the way Captain Vorst had warned me they wouldI mean, that the sentences would get shorter and shorter, maybe even disappear.. As the court transcript shows, Reilly didnt let matters rest there. The structure was in a state of extreme disrepair, and had a number of large holes in its mud walls. When he opened his eyes, a new passenger was sitting directly opposite hima young Oriental woman. They had known each other since childhood, their fathers having been neighboring farmers, who both had difficulty making ends meet. He sounded genuinely concerned. Something else the prosecutor did was to advise him to see a psychiatrist before the trials started.
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