Warning: These pages contain a poor war story, and war stories are usually not very exciting. I want to discuss with you, in a round about way (which is pretty much the way I write) about the time I and three other Privates in this man’s Army went out on a limb and, without knowing the possible consequences for what we were doing, but feeling we were doing the right thing, came this close (I’m holding fingers an inch apart) to a kind of mutiny (More like Gilligan’s Island than Caine’s Command). Stay tuned.
In recent weeks, a lot of controversy came about among my retired Military friends because of how that Lieutenant Colonel conducted himself when he testified before Congress in full dress uniform, complete with ribbons and other awards on his chest, including the Combat Infantry Badge and the Purple Heart. This soldier had been working in a valuable and sensitive position within the highest levels of government. He had been a first hand observer of certain events and had been called to testify.
It looked to many just like any other witness testimony, the swearing an oath and then the questioning. He gave a good accounting of what he saw and heart. And, I confess that as a retired U..S. Army Officer, I was very interested in his testimony because of the nature of the events going on all around him, but I was not prepared for the varied reactions of others, especially my retired friends.
Most had little to say, and some commented on his excellence as a witness. But a few were upset, and confused about his legal rights and obligations of all military personnel when called to such situations under civilian laws.
However, I was not concerned with any thing the Officer was doing, because there is no requirement under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for a military person to NOT testify in a civilian court or before Congress. And, contrary to the belief of some, no military member can be compelled to obey any illegal order by a superior. If he does obey such an order, he is subject to suffer the consequences.
Anyhow, the arguments got pretty heated, with a couple saying his testimony was an act of insubordination, and one even calling it treasonous. That’s when I said, “Hold it “ – and “WE soldier boys do not give up every single right the moment we take the oath!”
I am right in this matter – I had done a little of that minor legal stuff, prosecuting and defending in minor law stuff while on active duty, and I had had to look up and read about it. That Lieutenant Colonel did absolutely nothing illegal or wrong. But it got me to thinking. Bear with me.
For those of you who are older than the average may remember an Army Lieutanent of questionable judgment had an entire village of civilians murdered, then claimed at his Court Martial to have been “following orders.” It didn’t work, if anyone had been in the dark about legal and illegal in the Military, it vanished.
Still, Military laws around the world are clear on chain of command and on proper and improper orders. And that puts me in mind of my own particiption in a teeny –weeny act of make believe “mutiny.” This is it:
NORTH KOREA, November 1950. Five of us -A Sergeant (not me) and four Privates on our M-19, a light tank with an armored, open turret and twin 40mm Cannons, awesome twin 40mm weapons, coveted by the Marines in close support. My Batalion had been divided up among Battalions of one Marine Regiment, and my Battery was under a Marine Major somewhere in the area with his Battalion. Through our Battery Commander, he had ordered our little convoy to split up and for .my tank to take a narrow, icy trail up a mountain top and set up a position to cover the advance and to remain for more orders.
NECESSARY BACKGROUND – HOW WE GOT TO THIS POINT APPROACHING INSURRECTION
We five – Squad Leader, Driver, Gunner and two Cannoneers- (One was me) had been together for just one month – part of a unit hastily put together by taking the rawest Air Defense Privates, those with the longest time to serve, and located at Fort Bliss, Texas, (I had just arrived to serve in a 90mm Gun Battalion when I was “deflected” to this new one loading up for deployment to Korea. The other three Privates were brand new also. We were loaded up and sent quickly by rail to Seattle where we were loaded aboard an old troopship hastily taken out of mothballs to Japan. Arriving in Yokohama, we spent ten days getting acquainted and learning to shoot our 40mm’s, which were new to us. In that short time, we had to get to know the guns and the tank itself – that is how to drive the tank, how to load it and fire the guns accurately. Our Driver, Sammy Plaines from Monticello, Florida, got pretty good in the time allowed.
When our mighty force was ready, we reloaded, transferred at sea to LST’s and were told that we had been detached to elements of the First Marine Division for the invasion of Inchon. We did the landing thing, went with the Marines through Seoul and up the roads for a few miles, then loaded on a tiny, primitive flatcar and went to the East coast and up for another landing at Wonsan, North Korea. Up ‘til then, we had been along with Marines.
(A near-fatal flaw in our adventures to come was not having learned about the gaping holes in our Sergeant’s training. and experience.)
Anyhow, after we got our Marine orders, Sammy tried by trial and error, to get the us up the right hill, but our Sergeant couldn’t find it, once taking us up a narrow lane that ended, requiring a dangerous series of maneuvers to get us out of there. We finally got back to a wide road where the Marine major had arrived in a tiny spotter plane, and told us how to find our way. He also exchanged a few testy words with our Sergeant It was still a hairy drive, but we arrived atop a cold mountain top.
Here is where the Insurrection begins to fester. Next morning we found out the scoop on our Sergeant and the sum was less than zero. Seems that he had been a senior enlisted man IN THE NAVY during WWII and had found out the Army would take him in as an E-5 just for signing up…They took him and then they had dumped him on us!
When our Platoon leader….a Second Lieutenant.. came to check on us, Sammy called him aside and told him, “This man is going to get us all killed.” He then told the Lieutenant about the inept guy with the stripes. One by one the Lieutenant talked to the Privates, Afterwards, he said nothing to us as he drove down the mountain.
Next day, he came back, and he brought us a gift – Sergeant Gratton F. Karns, who had been, until that day, “D” Battery’s Motor Sergeant! Our boyish Lieutenant took away our ex-leader and we never saw him again
Sergeant Karns was one of those Army men who could just DO IT! A man who is recognized immediately as a leader. We loved him and trusted him. He got us up some more mountains and he got us back down every one. Next March, Sergeant Karns took a promotion and moved to Battalion Headquarters, and I, Corporal Brady, took over his job.
Later when we four talked with others from our Battery Headquarters, we wee told about what happened when the Lieutenant got back and told the Captain about the “gang of kids” who told him take their Sergeant, the Captain told him to find a replacement and go get that sucker.
