Vietnam Army Deserters |
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(NA-3) CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind., Sept. 23 - FIRST OF MANY - Among the more than 100 Vietnam War era deserters that began processing Monday in President Fords week-old amnesty program, at Camp Atterbury, in south, central Indiana, Walter E. Kriner, 31, of Indianapolis and four others granted interviews. Kriner, with Thomas Oney, 25, of Dayton, Ohio (left) and David E, Thoman, 24, of Columbus, Ohio, were among deserters already in custody when the program was announced. About 400 deserters are expected through. |
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(NA-1) CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind., Sept. 24 - DESERTERS INTERVIEWED - Among the more than 100 Vietnam War era deserters arriving at Camp Atterbury Monday were five who consented to photographs and interviews. The men are : Thomas Clay, 25, Dayton, Ohio (left to right) Walter E. Kriner, 31, of Indianapolis, Eugene Wade, 27, Alliance, Ohio, David E. Thoman, 24, Columbus, Ohio, and James Hatcher, 25, Cleveland. More than 400 are expected this week. (AP WIREPHOTO) (CAR/30001/tf) 1974 |
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(NA-1) CAMP ATTERBURY, Ind., Sept. 25 - A THOUSAND STORIES - Charley McFarland of Los Angeles and Jim Noble, 24, of Washington Courthouse, Ohio, (left) leave a press interview at Camp Atterbury National Amnesty Center with a military escort. McFarland spent his 25th birthday at the center with 228 deserters. He has been working under his own name since leaving six years ago. Noble left in 1970 and turned himself in when the amnesty program was announced. (AP WIREPHOTO) (CAR/40001/stf7+) |
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Army Chaplain Major Larry D. Scott at the Camp Atterbury National Amnesty Center said, "I haven't talked to a man yet who deserted for political reasons." The Chaplain is one of three at the center who have talked to more than 229 Army, Navy and Marine deserters being processed under President Ford's amnesty program. The center was opened Monday in weathered World War II barracks. 1974. AP Wire |
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The clemency program would cover offenses
that took place between the Senate ratification of the Gulf of Tonkin
resolution on Aug. 4, 1964, and the day the last United States combat
soldier left Vietnam, March 28, 1973.
Officials said that clemency would not be considered for deserters or evaders who faced other, unrelated charges. Draft evaders would be required to "execute an agreement" acknowledging allegiance to the United States and pledging to fulfill the period of alternative service. Deserters would be required to take an oath of allegiance to the United States, as well as agreeing to fulfill the term of alternative service. Officials estimated the cost of the program at about $2-million, most of this for processing and administrative details. The salaries for deserters or evaders would be paid by the employer. (New York Times, September 16, 1974) |
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ABC Evening News for
|
Abstract: | (Studio) Ford to meet with
Defense Secretary James Schlesinger and Attorney General William Saxbe
with regard to amnesty. Army considers 2 Midwest bases to process
deserters. REPORTER: Harry Reasoner (DC) Army chooses Fort Benj.
Harrison and Camp
Atterbury,
both in IN, for their central location. 28,000 deserters on military
rolls. |
---|---|
Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Header Link | 33045 |
Record Number: | 33053 |
Begin Time: | 05:10:40 pm |
End Time: | 05:11:50 pm |
Duration: | 01:10 |
Reporters: | Reasoner, Harry; Tomlinson, Frank |
Abstract: | (Studio) Ford to decide on extent
of leniency soon. Defense Secretary James Schlesinger and Attorney
General William Saxbe to present views to Ford Saturday Army
recommends 2 IN bases: Fort Benj. Harrison and
Camp
Atterbury where
returning deserters or evaders might be processed. Group demanding
total amnesty at White House REPORTER: John Chancellor (DC) Group claims petition for
total amnesty with 52,000 signatures. President assistant, Dr.
Theodore Marrs, meets group. [Gold star mother Mrs. Louise RANSOM -
says total amnesty won't dishonor her dead son.] [MARRS - says lost
father in World War I. No doubt Ford to search diligently for answer
with conscience.] No one in group felt Ford would grant total amnesty.
|
---|---|
Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Header Link | 478586 |
Record Number: | 478593 |
Begin Time: | 05:35:20 pm |
End Time: | 05:37:30 pm |
Duration: | 02:10 |
Reporters: | Chancellor, John; Cochran, John |
Abstract: | (Studio) Ford to meet with
veteran's groups on conditional amnesty. Pentagon suggests IN Army
center for processing deserters. REPORTER: Howard K. Smith (Camp
Atterbury,
IN) Old facility only used now for summer training. Believed
camp could hold
5000 deserters. [Info. ofr. Major Tom KALLUNKI - is against appearance
of concentration camp.
Depends on how lenient program is to be.] Army has 8000 deserters. |
---|---|
Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Header Link | 33347 |
Record Number: | 33351 |
Begin Time: | 05:05:20 pm |
End Time: | 05:07:20 pm |
Duration: | 02:00 |
Reporters: | Miller, Ron; Smith, Howard K. |
Abstract: | (Studio) Under terms of President
Ford's conditional amnesty plan, many men temporarily freed from jail
for serving time for draft dodging. Attorney General William Saxbe
orders prisoners' release; Defense Secretary James Schlesinger sets up
review system for 700 deserters in military prisons. Clemency board
expected to review convictions during furlough period. REPORTER: Roger Mudd (Lompoc, California) [Released
draft evader Gregg DAVIS - thinks his imprisonment uncalled for.]
[Christopher MUSSER - says he wanted to perform alternate service when
be was 1st drafted.] Questioned about his activities during days of
freedom. [MUSSER - plans to visit friends and relax.] (Studio) From evaders and
deserters still at large, very few respond to Ford's amnesty plan. (San Francisco, California) John
Barry was 1st to surrender. [Evader, BARRY - wants everything
straightened out between himself and government] [US attorney James
BROWNING - advises other resisters to follow Barry's action.] (Studio) Initial response to
clemency plan mainly in form of telephone inquiries. (DC) Calls from draft evaders are
all similar; details given. Very few of eligible deserters and evaders
have called special information ctrs. Deserters and evaders to be sent
to Camp
Atterbury, IN.
Film of camp
shown. |
---|---|
Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Header Link | 236204 |
Record Number: | 236205 |
Begin Time: | 05:30:30 pm |
End Time: | 05:35:40 pm |
Duration: | 05:10 |
Reporters: | Drinkwater, Terry; Meyer, John; Mudd, Roger; Threlkeld, Richard |
Abstract: | (Studio) All imprisoned draft
evaders released yesterday pending review of cases by clemency board 1
prisoner refuses to leave jail without full pardon. Report follows
from military installation set up to receive draft deserters. REPORTER: Harry Reasoner (Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN) Very
few deserters call installation requesting clemency plan information
After January 31, 1975, information received from deserters now may be
used by Army to apprehend deserters if clemency plan not taken
advantage of during allowed period. Those deserters returning under
amnesty plan will be sent to
Camp
Atterbury, IN.
|
---|---|
Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Header Link | 33300 |
Record Number: | 33307 |
Begin Time: | 05:07:40 pm |
End Time: | 05:09:00 pm |
Duration: | 01:20 |
Reporters: | Miller, Ron; Reasoner, Harry |
Abstract: | (Studio) Army has processed 132
deserters at Camp
Atterbury.
REPORTER: Harry Reasoner (Camp
Atterbury,
IN) Most deserters taking advantage of clemency plan already in prison
for desertion. [Arthur SENTER - says if alternative service suitable,
he'll take it, but if not, he may keep dishonorable discharge.]
[Eugene WADE - doesn't plan to take alternative service.] [John
McARDLE - explains reason for deserting Army.] [James HATCHER - says
petition to make rank refused, so he deserted.] Other deserters voice
reasons for desertion. |
---|---|
Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Header Link | 33452 |
Record Number: | 33463 |
Begin Time: | 05:12:10 pm |
End Time: | 05:14:20 pm |
Duration: | 02:10 |
Reporters: | Dobbs, Greg; Reasoner, Harry |
Abstract: | (Studio) President Ford grants
full pardons or conditional clemency to 18 former Vietnam draftees.
REPORTER: Walter Cronkite (White House) [President FORD -
says American won't forget those who served and died in Vietnam, but
in that same spirit, formal clemency underway.] Amnesty program
generally ignored. Clemency board chairperson Charles Goodell says
very few men eligible for amnesty program have come forward. (Studio) Only 118 draft dodgers
turn themselves in, but number considerably higher for draft
deserters. (La Jolla, California) Jim Dobbins
deserted Army in `69; discusses his decision to return to United
States from Canada. [DOBBINS - says decision very hard to make.] Plans
to clean up records in United States then resume life in Canada.
Dobbins processed at
Camp
Atterbury, IN; length of Dobbins alternative service depends
on several factors. By evening, Dobbins learns he'll serve 21 mos.
alternate service. Dobbins flies to San Francisco and visits draft
board; must find alternate service job within 30 days. Dobbins visits
ocean and family for 1st time in 6 years [DOBBINS - doesn't feel
extremely comfortable yet,although it feels good to be on familiar
ground.] After processing and orientation back in Army, Dobbins
decides to do alternative service and to stay in US. |
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Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Header Link | 232142 |
Record Number: | 232155 |
Begin Time: | 05:41:10 pm |
End Time: | 05:47:20 pm |
Duration: | 06:10 |
Reporters: | Cronkite, Walter; Schieffer, Bob; Young, Steve |
Abstract: | (Studio) At midnight, President'
amnesty program for Vietnam era war deserters and resisters expires.
REPORTER: Harry Reasoner (DC) [On March 29, 1973, President
NIXON - urges American not to dishonor Vietnam war vets by granting
amnesty to those who deserted American] [On August 19, 1974, President
FORD - believes amnesty justified to give young men 2nd chance.] On
September 16, amnesty proclamation signed to help bind up American's
wounds. Film of Camp
Atterbury,
IN, shown. Majority of those eligible for clemency reject or ignore
President' offer. Telephone numbers of clemency board shown on
television screen. |
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Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Header Link | 36489 |
Record Number: | 36503 |
Begin Time: | 05:22:50 pm |
End Time: | 05:25:50 pm |
Duration: | 03:00 |
Reporters: | Reasoner, Harry; Reynolds, Frank |
by Harold Jordan
As the Vietnam War fades into the past, the struggle for reinterpretation continues. One area that has received insufficient attention is war resistance. The script offered in public circles often reads like this: the war has ended for resisters; isolated numbers of people resisted military service, most of them "draft dodgers"; all of the legal issues surrounding military resisters were resolved - they eventually "got off"; and people only refuse military service when they face a draft.
These myths, like most others about the war, are designed to influence future generations of potential warriors. The reality of the Vietnam Era is that large numbers of people resisted military service in different ways. Some were facing the draft while others resisted after enlisting in the military. Universal amnesty was never granted to war resisters. Here are the facts:
Draft Law Violators - During the entire Vietnam War, 209,517 young men were formally accused of violating draft laws. Government officials estimate that another 360,000 were never formally accused. Of the former group, 25,000 indictments were handed down; 8,750 were convicted; and just under 4,000 served jail time.
Military Resisters - It is difficult to say how many military service members were prosecuted for offenses growing out of opposition to the Southeast Asia War. Most estimates consider the rates at which service members went AWOL (absent without leave) or deserted – commonly referred to as "absence offenses." AWOL and desertion rates hit an all-time high during the Vietnam War, 1971 and 1972 being the peak years. The Pentagon documents 1,500,000 instances of AWOL and desertion during the war. Official estimates of the actual number of service members who went AWOL or deserted run between 500,000 (Pentagon) and 550,000 (officials in the Ford Administration). It is important to remember that not all service members who received bad discharges for offenses related to the war were absentees. Adding other types of anti-war activities for which service members were prosecuted significantly increases these figures. Many went to jail and/or received bad discharges.*
Estimates of the number of draft and military resisters who went into exile during the Vietnam Era vary widely. The best estimate is about 100,000, at least 90% of whom went to Canada. How many are still living abroad is unknown. The New York Times estimates that 25,000 draft resisters still live in Canada, an estimate which seems high by most accounts. (This figure does not include active duty service members who went into exile.) There are no reliable estimates: it is most likely still in the thousands.
Today military resisters who return to the United States may still face the possibility of punishment in the form of criminal prosecution or a bad discharge. GI resisters, including those living in exile, remain in legal jeopardy. No universal amnesty was ever granted them. The two 1970s limited relief programs expired decades ago. Every year a small number are arrested upon returning to the US. For example, Richard Allen Shields, who went AWOL from an Army base in Alaska in 1972, was arrested March 22, 2000 on the US-Canadian border (in Metaline Falls, WA) by U.S. Customs agents as he was attempting to drive a lumber truck across the border. Shields was taken to Fort Sill, Oklahoma and discharged from the Army with an "Other Than Honorable" discharge in April of 2000.
Two programs providing limited legal relief for draft and military resisters were implemented in the 1970s. Military resisters and draft evaders were treated differently from each other in both Ford and Carter programs.
In 1974, President Ford established a program of partial relief for war resisters. This clemency program was considered a complement to President Ford's pardon of President Nixon, who had resigned from office in lieu of likely removal by Congress. The program covered the following categories of persons: convicted draft violators, convicted military deserters and AWOLs, draft violators who had never been tried, and veterans with less than honorable discharges for absence offenses.
The Ford program was widely regarded as a failure, even by people who administered it. The conditions under which a person could receive relief were onerous and discriminatory. Persons receiving clemency were required to do up to 24 months of alternative service and were required sign broad oath of allegiance to the United States.
In addition to these measures, military deserters automatically received bad discharges ("Undesirable"), although they could later apply to get them changed to "Clemency Discharges" (considered "Other Than Honorable") after performing 24 months of service. Under the plan, GI participants would automatically lose all veterans benefits, unlike many other veterans with less than honorable discharges.
The program was widely regarded as a failure, even by people who administered it. Only 27,000 of the 350,000 eligible persons applied; 21,800 were granted clemency, mostly men living in the U.S., not exiles. Those granted clemency were almost equally divided between "draft offenders" and "military offenders." Most exile groups based in Canada, Sweden, Britain and France endorsed a boycott of the Ford program because of its punitive nature. The "oath of allegiance" requirement was considered especially offensive given the generous treatment of Nixon. Nixon received a pardon, pension, and was not required to swear allegiance to the U.S. despite his role in undermining democracy. Program administrators estimated that about 566,000 military "offenders" were still in need of relief after the Ford program ended, an ultimate indicator of the program's failure.
In 1977, President Carter established two programs to assist war resisters. In January of 1977 he declared an unconditional amnesty for draft resisters, both accused and those who could face possible prosecution. Later that year, he set up the two stage "pardon" process for military absentees.
Once again, draft evaders and military absentees were treated differently.
Draft evaders were granted unconditional amnesty automatically if there were no other legal charges pending. They would not have a criminal record. Young men who were Unfortunately, universal and unconditional amnesty was never granted to military resisters.considered draft evaders did not have to apply (in any formal sense) to get amnesty. It was a blanket amnesty granted to all draft evaders whether they had been engaged in a legal process or not. This is why no figure exists for the real number of draft evaders who benefited from the Carter program. This includes people who were never prosecuted, people who were investigated and not prosecuted, people who were indicted, people for whom charges had been brought, etc. The only restriction is that the person not have other (non-draft evasion) charges pending against them. So a draft evader who had criminal charges pending for participating in a protest would not have those protest-related charges dropped, only the draft evasion charges.
Similarly, military deserters and AWOLs could apply for a limited pardon if there were no other charges pending. Under the Carter program deserters would automatically receive a less than honorable discharge ("Undesirable"), but could apply for an upgrade later. The upgrade would not be automatic and few veterans received them. They were barred from receiving veterans benefits, unlike many other vets with less than honorable discharges. Military resisters had to apply for relief within a certain time frame, about 5-6 months, during 1977. Only 4,200 of them were considered eligible for the program; less than 25% of them were processed and received the less-than-honorable discharge. The program allowed for a case-by-case review of potentially another 430,000 cases of veterans with bad discharges; yet only 16,277 benefited from this procedure.
The Carter program was more successful than the Ford program despite its serious limitations. Many of the resisters (especially military absentees) had trouble surviving in other countries. Exile groups urged people to take advantage of the Carter program and work from within the US for a full amnesty.
One factor leading resisters to remain in exile was the poor advertising of the details of the Carter relief program (1977) in the aftermath of what was regarded as a highly discriminatory and defective Ford Clemency program (1974). Congress refused to fund the Carter program fully. Both relief programs had conditions many exiles found hard to accept. Finally, the period of time under which one could apply for relief was sharply limited.
Unfortunately, universal and unconditional amnesty was never granted to military resisters. It is estimated that only 28,420 Vietnam Era military resisters received any form of legal relief – many of them received bad discharges – while another 550,000 never received any form of relief. To place this figure in perspective, the number of ex-GIs who never received legal relief roughly equals the number of soldiers who participated in the Gulf War of 1990 and 1991. This is another way in which our country has yet to fully come to terms with the legacy of the war in Southeast Asia.
Sources
Leonard Baskir and William Strauss, Chance and Circumstance: the Draft, the War and the Vietnam Generation, New York: Random House, 1978.
New York Times (3/5/00)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (4/10/00)
David Surrey. Choice of Conscience: Vietnam Era Military and Draft Resisters in Canada, New York: Praeger, 1982
About the Author
Harold Jordan founded American Friends Service Committee's National Youth and Militarism Program and acted as its Coordinator from 1986 - 2002. Currently, he is the Executive Director of the National Coalition of Education Activists. He can be reached at hjordan@edactivists.org. The author wishes to thank Jack Colhoun for his insightful comments.
* The term "bad discharges" refers to several categories of discharge from the military (such as "Undesirable," "Other Than Honorable," etc.) that may result in post-service job discrimination, the loss of veteran's benefits, or both.
http://www.afsc.org/youthmil/conscientious-objection/Vietnam-war-resisters.htm
Abstract: |
(Studio) Ford to meet with veteran's
groups on conditional
amnesty. Pentagon suggests IN Army
center for processing deserters. (Camp
Atterbury, IN) Old facility only
used now for summer training. Believed
camp could hold 5000 deserters.
|
---|---|
Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Program Time: | 05:05:20 pm - 05:07:20 pm. Duration: 02:00 |
Record Number: | 33351 |
Link to this page | http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=33351 |
Context |
|
Reporters: | Miller, Ron; Smith, Howard K. |
Abstract: |
(Studio) At midnight, President'
amnesty program for Vietnam era war
deserters and resisters expires. (DC) [On March 29, 1973, President
NIXON - urges American not to dishonor Vietnam war vets by
granting
amnesty to those who deserted
American] [On August 19, 1974, President FORD - believes
amnesty justified to give young men
2nd chance.] On September 16,
amnesty proclamation signed to help
bind up American's wounds. Film of
Camp
Atterbury, IN, shown. Majority of
those eligible for clemency reject or ignore President' offer.
Telephone numbers of clemency board shown on television screen.
|
---|---|
Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Program Time: | 05:22:50 pm - 05:25:50 pm. Duration: 03:00 |
Record Number: | 36503 |
Link to this page | http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=36503 |
Context |
|
Reporters: | Reasoner, Harry; Reynolds, Frank |
Abstract: |
(Studio) Ford to meet with Defense
Secretary James Schlesinger and Attorney General William Saxbe
with regard to
amnesty. Army considers 2 Midwest
bases to process deserters. (DC) Army chooses Fort Benj. Harrison
and
Camp
Atterbury, both in IN, for their
central location. 28,000 deserters on military rolls. |
---|---|
Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Program Time: | 05:10:40 pm - 05:11:50 pm. Duration: 01:10 |
Record Number: | 33053 |
Link to this page | http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=33053 |
Context |
|
Reporters: | Reasoner, Harry; Tomlinson, Frank |
Abstract: |
(Studio) Ford to decide on extent of
leniency soon. Defense Secretary James Schlesinger and Attorney
General William Saxbe to present views to Ford Saturday Army
recommends 2 IN bases: Fort Benj. Harrison and
Camp
Atterbury where returning deserters
or evaders might be processed. Group demanding total
amnesty at White House (DC) Group claims petition for total
amnesty with 52,000 signatures.
President assistant, Dr. Theodore Marrs, meets group. [Gold star
mother Mrs. Louise RANSOM - says total
amnesty won't dishonor her dead
son.] [MARRS - says lost father in World War I. No doubt Ford to
search diligently for answer with conscience.] No one in group
felt Ford would grant total
amnesty. |
---|---|
Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Program Time: | 05:35:20 pm - 05:37:30 pm. Duration: 02:10 |
Record Number: | 478593 |
Link to this page | http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=478593 |
Context |
|
Reporters: | Chancellor, John; Cochran, John |
Abstract: |
(Studio) All imprisoned draft evaders
released yesterday pending review of cases by clemency board 1
prisoner refuses to leave jail without full pardon. Report
follows from military installation set up to receive draft
deserters. (Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN) Very few
deserters call installation requesting clemency plan information
After January 31, 1975, information received from deserters now
may be used by Army to apprehend deserters if clemency plan not
taken advantage of during allowed period. Those deserters
returning under
amnesty plan will be sent to
Camp
Atterbury, IN. |
---|---|
Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Program Time: | 05:07:40 pm - 05:09:00 pm. Duration: 01:20 |
Record Number: | 33307 |
Link to this page | http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=33307 |
Context |
|
Reporters: | Miller, Ron; Reasoner, Harry |
Abstract: |
(Studio) Under terms of President
Ford's conditional
amnesty plan, many men temporarily
freed from jail for serving time for draft dodging. Attorney
General William Saxbe orders prisoners' release; Defense
Secretary James Schlesinger sets up review system for 700
deserters in military prisons. Clemency bd expected to review
convictions during furlough period. (Lompoc, California) [Released draft evader
Gregg DAVIS - thinks his imprisonment uncalled for.]
[Christopher MUSSER - says he wanted to perform alternate
service when be was 1st drafted.] Questioned about his
activities during days of freedom. [MUSSER - plans to visit
friends and relax.] (Studio) From evaders and deserters
still at large, very few respond to Ford's
amnesty plan. (San Francisco, California) John Barry was
1st to surrender. [Evader, BARRY - wants everything straightened
out between himself and government] [US attorney James BROWNING
- advises other resisters to follow Barry's action.] (Studio) Initial response to clemency plan
mainly in form of telephone inquiries. (DC) Calls from draft evaders are all
similar; details given. Very few of eligible deserters and
evaders have called special information ctrs. Deserters and
evaders to be sent to
Camp
Atterbury, IN. Film of
camp shown. |
---|---|
Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Program Time: | 05:30:30 pm - 05:35:40 pm. Duration: 05:10 |
Record Number: | 236205 |
Link to this page | http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=236205 |
Context |
|
Reporters: | Drinkwater, Terry; Meyer, John; Mudd, Roger; Threlkeld, Richard |
Abstract: |
(Studio) President Ford grants full pardons
or conditional clemency to 18 former Vietnam draftees. (White House) [President FORD - says
American won't forget those who served and died in Vietnam, but
in that same spirit, formal clemency underway.]
Amnesty program generally ignored.
Clemency board chairperson Charles Goodell says very few men
eligible for
amnesty program have come forward.
(Studio) Only 118 draft dodgers turn
themselves in, but number considerably higher for draft
deserters. (La Jolla, California) Jim Dobbins
deserted Army in `69; discusses his decision to return to United
States from Canada. [DOBBINS - says decision very hard to make.]
Plans to clean up records in United States then resume life in
Canada. Dobbins processed at
Camp
Atterbury, IN; length of Dobbins
alternative service depends on several factors. By evening,
Dobbins learns he'll serve 21 mos. alternate service. Dobbins
flies to San Francisco and visits draft board; must find
alternate service job within 30 days. Dobbins visits ocean and
family for 1st time in 6 years [DOBBINS - doesn't feel extremely
comfortable yet,although it feels good to be on familiar
ground.] After processing and orientation back in Army, Dobbins
decides to do alternative service and to stay in US. |
---|---|
Broadcast Type: | Evening News Segment Type: News Content |
Program Time: | 05:41:10 pm - 05:47:20 pm. Duration: 06:10 |
Record Number: | 232155 |
Link to this page | http://tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/program.pl?ID=232155 |
Context |
|
Reporters: | Cronkite, Walter; Schieffer, Bob; Young, Steve |
ROBERT K. MUSIL
President Ford’s re-entry program for Vietnamese War resisters is part of a continuing cover-up of the terrible
costs and consequences of this nation’s intervention in
Indochina. It is designed to discredit resistance to the
war and, along with the Presidential pardon of Nixon,
bring to an and our long “nightmare” of bickering over
Indochina.
Mr. Ford’s August 19th speech announcing leniency
at the VFW Convention in Chicago came as a surprise
to many and was widely reported as a courageous step.
It was neither. With substantial numbers of the Nixon entourage in jail or awaiting
trial, leniency was on
the way in; law and order on the way out. Melvin Laird
and Robert Froehlke had run up trial balloons for conditional amnesty and the weather was fine—a little flak
from the VFW, but otherwise just fine. Meanwhile, in the wake of
Watergate, sentiment for amnesty was growing. In March, a majority of Americans favored conditional
amnesty.
Robert Musil, a former Army captain who refused to serve
in Vietnam, is associate secretary of the Central Committee
for Conscientious Objectors and a member of the steering
committee of the National Council for Universal and Un-
conditional Amnesty. He testified at the House Judiciary
subcommittee hearings.
International amnesty, and more than a
third were for unconditional amnesty. And at the House Judiciary hearings
on amnesty, it became clear that at least a conditional
amnesty might soon be in the works in Congress. [See
Musil: “Amnesty—What Kind and When?” The Nation, April 20.
Mr. Ford’s speech to the VFW is a classic example of
the kind of cynical manipulation that we have come to
expect of Presidential speeches. “Unlike my last two
predecessors, I did not enter this office facing the terrible
decisions of a foreign war.” This from a man whose first
complaint against Defense Secretary Schlesinger was that
he wasn’t effective enough at peddling aid to Indochina
to the Congress, and who was heard emerging from his first National
Security Council meeting as President singing the praises of a Congressman who stands “firm and
tail on the war.”
The speech was vintage Nixon “peace with honor,”
rewritten into Jerry Ford’s “straight talk.” It contains
the same self-serving analogies to Lincoln and Truman, the same
ritualistic invocation of Medal of Honor recipients, the same vilification of war resisters, those “few
citizens” who committed the “supreme folly of shirking
their duty at the expense of others.” But the worst was
yet to come. First came the “full, absolute and unconditional” pardon of Richard Nixon, and then in sharp
contrast, on September 16, the detailed White House announcement of the reentry plan.
As Atty. Gen. William Saxbe said earlier, persons
returning under the plan would have to show “contrition.”
So much, in fact, that the program looks as if it were
designed to fail. It provides for clemency for persons
convicted, charged, under investigation, or sought for
violations for portions of the Selective Service Act or
Articles of (desertion), 86 (AWOL), or 87 (missing
movement) of the Uniform Code of Military Justice
(UCMJ). Those not yet convicted of an offense must
turn themselves in by January 31, 1975, reaffirm their
allegiance to the United States, and agree to perform
two years of alternate service in the national interest.
Draft violators report directly to the U.S. Attorneys and will be relieved
of prosecution upon completion of alternate service. Military absentees
return to a central processing point, first located at Camp Atterbury,
Ind., and now
at Fort Benjamin Harrison, sign their oath, agree to do
alternate service and, then receive an undesirable discharge (UD). If and when they complete alternate service
they receive a new clemency discharge.
Those already convicted of offenses eligible for amnesty
apply to a nine-member Presidential Clemency Board
which reviews theft case and may recommend clemency
to the President contingent on up to two years of alternate service. Draft violators may have theft civil rights
restored, but their records will not be expunged. Veterans
holding undesirable or punitive discharges for desertion offenses will
receive a clemency discharge upon completion of alternate service. That is a simple explanation
of the program, and even on its face, it is insulting and
unacceptable to most war resisters. On closer examination, the plan is even worse—conceived in bad faith and
riddled with traps, inconsistencies, illegalities and inequities.
To begin, the plan does not even cover
most war
resisters. According to official figures, there are eligible
about 15,500 draft resisters, 12,500 deserters-at-large (of
whom about 10 to 20 per cent will be ineligible because of other
offenses), and about 200,000 veterans who. received undesirable or
punitive discharges because of offenses under Articles 85, 86 and 87 of the UCMJ. Apparently ineligible are any draft fugitives who are aliens
or who have become citizens of another country. That
is ominous, since in the year 1972-73 more than 3,000
American males became Canadian citizens, an increase
of 82 percent over the previous year. Also ineligible are
eighteen draft resisters not furloughed from prison at the time of the
announcement because of other charges, persons charged with a variety of other violations stemming
from opposition to the war in Vietnam (destruction of
government property, tax refusal, conspiracy, riot, and
so on) and more than 300,000 veterans with other than
honorable discharges that stem from charges or actions
other than desertion (refusal of orders, disrespect, disloyalty, etc.). Ford’s plan, in short, ignores some of the
most principled opposition to the war in Indochina and
the military. Those not included comprise a roster of well-known resistance cases: the Berrigan Brothers; the Chicago 15; the Milwaukee 14; the Presidio 27; Capts.
Howard Levy and Dale Noyd; Seaman Roger Priest
(convicted by the Navy of “disloyalty” for publishing
his underground newspaper, OM, from within the Pentagon); Andy Stapp,
founder of the American Servicemen’s Union, and many, many more.
As for those who are included, the loyalty oath, with
its imputations of guilt and evasion, will prevent the
most consientious from using the program. The oath
and pledge required of deserters is so outrageous as to
deserve full inclusion here:
On or about, _______ , I voluntarily absented
myself from my military unit without being properly
authorized in contravention of the oath taken upon
entering the nation’s military service. Recognizing that
my obligations as a citizen remain unfulfilled, I am
ready to serve in whatever alternate service my country may prescribe for
me, and pledge to faithfully complete a period of _____ months service.
I do hereby solemnly reaffirm my allegiance to the
United States of America. I will support, protect and
defend the Constitution of ! the United States against
all enemies, foreign and domestic; and will hereafter
bear true faith and allegiance to the same.
I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
Such an oath alone has doomed the program to failure.
An editorial in the Christian Century sums up its implications:
To earn re-entry, a man would have to be contrite,
and to accept his country’s forgiveness for an act of
moral protest. In order to be contrite, he would have
to acknowledge that his moral protest was a mistake.
Ironically, then, a man’s willingness to accept earned
reentry will be inversely related to his conviction that
the war was immoral.
Draft resisters are required to sign a similar oath with
an even more outrageous and ominous addition—they must give up their
constitutional rights.
“I
also knowingly help to deepen the cynicism of the
young in this country.
Apparently, they were not supposed to take Senator
Gooddll’s utterances that the war was immoral seriously
enough to act on them. And what are they to make of
the principles of Father Hesburgh, who resigned from
the Nixon administration and came out for unconditional
amnesty after Spiro Agnew’s plea bargain? Only a few
days before his appointment, Hesburgh joined with other
religious leaders in an attempt to visit President Ford
and plead for amnesty. They were rebuffed, but their
message was, “If leniency excludes certain categories of persons or if
conditions are so strict that few take advantage of the leniency
offered, our nation would continue to have an exile community and an underground
community at home. Consequently, we would not be
united, but divided, and the wounds would remain.”
In a final ironic twist, the program places the alternate
work program under the direction of the Selective Service
System, an agency infamous for its misunderstanding and
abuse of objectors and resisters. It is precisely because
they were opposed to conscription and the punishment
of alternate service for obeying their consciences that
many of these men refused to have anything to do with
the draft in the first place. The rules for administering
alternate service are complex; it is perhaps enough to
note that those who will be subjected to it will lack the
right of appeal and will be subject to the whims of Selective Service for two years.
Given all this—the VFW speech, the Nixon pardon, the oaths, a Clemency Board that can offer no real
relief dressed up in liberal clothes, the legal traps, the imputations of
guilt—it is no wonder that the Ford announcements were met with outrage and disdain on the
part of war resisters. At a conference in Toronto on
September 22, exiles denounced the plan, demanded universal and
unconditional amnesty, an end to the war in Indochina, and called for a
boycott. At home, the National Council for Universal and Unconditional Amnesty
opened new offices in New York City, Atlanta, Denver
and San Francisco to warn resisters of the pitfalls and
get them involved in the total amnesty drive. The ACLU
denounced the program as “offensive in its assumptions
and outrageous in its implementation,” and promised legal
challenges as well as free legal counsel to those covered
by the program. It is their opinion and that of other draft
and military law experts that most men will be better off avoiding the
program entirely, seeking legal redress outside it if they return at all.
The rejection of the plan also took dramatic personal
forms. Draft resister Bill Meis, 29, originally of Decatur,
Ill., became the first exile to return in order to protest
and reject the plan. Meis, who had been in Canada for
six years, is married and has two small children. He
came back with the help of the Safe Return Amnesty
Committee, an effective group that had previously arranged the dramatic
returns of deserters John David Hemdon, Ed Sowders, Lew Simon and others. Meis’s return
was just as effective, with the media carefully recording
his joyful reunion with his parents in Chicago, and his
equally painful failure to gain admission to the Presidential Clemency Board to protest his case. Meis demanded
amnesty for all war resisters before turning himself in
to U.S. Attorneys to face trial. “I am home, but my
exile has not ended.”
Equally dramatic was the refusal of draft resister Steve
Bezich, imprisoned at El Reno, Okla., to accept the
furlough granted those in prison while they await action
of the Clemency Board. Others of the eighty-three prisoners released have also stated that they will return to
prison rather than submit to the clemency plan. The entire
plan, in fact, seems to have stirred up further resistance
and demands for amnesty, rather than put an end to the
problem. The widely publicized first customer of the pro-
gram, John Barry, 22, of San Francisco, turned himself in to U.S. Attorneys, admitting that he had never registered for the draft. However, it was little reported that,
after weighing the implications of clemency, Barry is now
in exile in Canada. Also little reported were acts like
that of James A. Degal, director of the Spokane Center
for World Justice and Peace who, hearing of the plan,
mailed back his draft card and declared, “I stand in
solidarity of conscience with all the peoples of the world
who are oppressed, imprisoned, exiled and tortured for
their moral and political beliefs.”
By October 24, after more than a month of operation,
the clemency program was already clearly a failure. The
Presidential Clemency Board still had only a few hundred cases of those released from stockades and prisons
to consider. Few of the more than 200,000 others eligible
to apply to the board appear even vaguely interested.
President Ford’s re-entry program for Vietnamese War resisters is part of a continuing cover-up of the terrible
costs and consequences of this nation’s intervention in
Indochina. It is designed to discredit resistance to the
war and, along with the Presidential pardon of Nixon,
bring to an end our long “nightmare” of bickering over
Indochina.
Mr. Ford’s August 19th speech announcing leniency
at the VFW Convention in Chicago came as a surprise
to many and was widely reported as a courageous step.
It was neither.
And in Indiana, the Department of Defense closed
down its processing center at Camp Atterbury and moved
it to smaller quarters at Port Benjamin Harrison. They
had discharged 1,419 absentees, only 964 of whom had
surrendered voluntarily. The Pentagon tried as usual to
make it look as if these men were merely immature or
suffering from personal problems. [See Musil: “The Truth About Deserters,”
The Nation, April 16, 1973.1 However, lawyers and counselors familiar with procedures at
Atterbury and Harrison report that alternative service
sentences are lightest for those least opposed to the war or the military,
stiffest for those who take strong anti-war stands.
Whatever a man’s reasons for quitting the
Army, the .Joint Alternate Service Board perceives few
mitigating circumstances other than wounds and decorations. To date, 1,140
of the 1,419 discharged have received 19-to-24-months alternate service. And not all
have been happy about the opportunity. Thomas King,
27, a sheet-metal worker who left the service after basic
training in 1967, was turned in by his wife. “I was op-
posed to the Vietnam war, but I was not a pacifist. I
deserted because it was an illegal war. I don’t believe in
any limited amnesty, but you have no choice.”
There has been one happy outcome of the plan
so far—a list of indicted draft violators has finally been
obtained from the Justice Department at the prodding of
the Center for Social ,Action, United Church of Christ.
The existence of such a list had been denied for years,
but was revealed inadvertently by Justice in a conversation with UCC’s amnesty coordinator, the Rev. Barry
Lynn. Lynn and the United Church threatened a suit
under the Freedom of Information Act and the list was
finally handed over on October 24. The United Church,
ACLU. the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors and other groups hope to use the list to help fugitives
determine whether they have in fact violated the law.
Amnesty groups are gearing up for more action toward a universal
unconditional amnesty, even before the January 31st deadline. They will
huddle at a National Amnesty Conference in Louisville on November 16-17 to
plot strategy. They believe that Ford’s action has simultaneously appeased those who opposed any clemency at
all, and exposed the inequities and the administrative and
legal hopelessness of any conditional amnesty plan. Once
the dust settles after January 31, amnesty advocates are convinced that
the public will realize that the Ford program was a failure and that total amnesty is the only
feasible and fair solution.
As for President Ford, his attempts to pretend that
the war in Indochina was just’ and is over, that resisters
committed the “supreme folly,” that the draft and military
were free of discrimination, illegality and inequity, and
that our long national “nightmare” has ended, has clearly
misfired. As ‘with the Nixon pardon, President Ford underestimated the
depth and the seriousness, of the amnesty question and hoped it could be quickly and quietly
laid to rest. He is wrong. But like his “last two predecessors,” it may
take some time, and much effort, to convince him of the fact.
Page last revised
09/17/2018
James D. West
www.IndianaMilitary.org