WASHINGTON,' D.C. (CPS)
"War crimes In Vietnam are
not isolated actions but a way
of life . . (representing) the
logical consequence of our war
policies . . . Ask any Vietnam
veteran."
So concluded former UJS.
Army Captain and West Point
graduate Robert Johnson. He
Veterans
farce in face of other
spoke for the National Veterans
Inquiry into U.S. War Crimes
at the close of their D.C. hear
ings. In three days ol testimony
over 40 witnesses, most of them
Indochina War veterans, gave
raw description to the human
reality often clouded in the
style of military speech. Terms
like "pacification' and "free
fire zone elude emotional
recognition.
Account after account, fre
quently of a confessional
nature, related the regular
random murder of civilians and
the routineness of torture.
Stories ranged from the
employment of electric shock
equipment to the use of python
snakes.
What emerges is a pattern of
brutality almost surrealistic for
its level of inhumanity; a pat
tern into which the events of
My Lai fit comfortably.
The testimony suggests the
Calley trial is a farce, another
element in the national Illusion
created to deal with the War. If
he Is sentenced, commented
one veteran, then so should be
20 to 30 per cent of all ex
GIs. For the American soldier in
Vietnam, all Vietnamese are
potential executioners and
therefore immediate enemies.
What is chronicled in the
veterans' accounts is a com
plete disregard and contempt
for Vietnamese life.
This disregard is sanctioned
at the highest level. In fact,
claim the veterans, the policy
makers who conceived of the
search and destroy mission, the
practice of saturation bombing
and the yardstick of the body
count demand it.
Testimony was regularly
given of civilian massacres.
William Mar hound, a field
radio mechanic, related the '
killing of 24 women near Bong
Son in July, 1968.
Ed Barbour, a medic,
testified to the killing of ap-.
proximately 27 civilians when a
U S. tank fired into a peaceful
village meeting at Au Lo in
August, 1968.
Kenneth Campbell, a Marine
Lance-Corporal, testified to the
"unprovoked killing' of ap
proximately 20 civilians in a
random artillery strike.
The systematic use of
saturation bombing over highly
populated areas was reported
by Gary Thamer of the 173rd
Airborne and Larry Rottman of
the 25th Infantry Division. In a
1? F-4 bomb raid of Lan Vel
village, at least ISO civilians
were estimated as killed or
seriously wounded by former
Captain Don Engel who visited
the site.
Former First Lieutenant Bro
Adams testified that: he was
under orders to have at least
two air strikes a day whether
or not there was any military
reason.
It seems to have been stan
dard operating procedure for
air and artillery units to ran
domly dispose of any extra ex
plosives on the countryside,
populated or not. Hugh Scanlon
of the 68th Assault Helicopter
la In
Lai
say
V
Unit testifies to having wit
nessed door gunners drop C.S.
cannisters on villages "for
laughs."
In interrogation there were
no limits, reported men who
themselves had beaten and
otherwise mis treated
prisoners.
Peter Martinsen recounted
the systematic use of electrical
torture. The wires of his
groups field phone were com
monly attached to the sensitive
parts of suspects' bodies. They
were then treated to what one
unit called "The Bell Telephone
Hour."
Former Sgt Edward Murphy
testified to the unleashing of
scout dogs on reticent suspects.
Nathan Hale, a specialist in
volved with military in
telligence, described the fre
quent drowning of prisoners,
who for fun had been tied to the
splash boards, of armored,
personnel carriers as they
rumbled through the rice pad
dies. Steve Noetzel, attached to the
special forces, testified to the
use of snakes in order to ter
rorize suspects and the placing
of detainees in coffin-shaped
barbed wire cages. The
slightest movement resulted in
the punctnring and gouging of
their flesh. The captives in the
cages were often sprayed with
bug attractor.
In numerous cases the
suspects and detainees were
little more than randomly col
lected civilians, veterans
said.
According to the testimony,
brutality became a way of life.
In one company it was reported
that nearly 20 per cent of the
men at one time or another
wore the pickled ears of dead
Vietnamese around their
In another unit the soldiers
were issued extra insignia
patches for the understood
purpose of jabbing them Into
enemy corpses.
Testimony was given involv
ing missions into Laos and
Cambodia long before the
publicized invasion. One one
occasion a unit's information
officer testified to the altera
tion of battle coordinates in the
unit's records the day after the
operation.
Testimony was also given
regarding the massive use of
defoliants and chemical
warfare. Reports were given
that defoliation now marks
about ten per cent of the Viet
namese countryside.
Persistently members of the
press and audience confronted
the veterans as to why they did
not report these crimes to their
commanding officers. In
variably the reply Indicated
that the officers were already
aware of the practices, often
witnesses to them and oc
casionally co-participants.
What emerges from this
testimony is .the veteran's
belief that the U.S. has adopted
terror as the cardinal element
of our counter-insurgency.
Ultimately what is seen
behind the "search and
destroy" mission which
be
may
atrocities
systematically' yet randomly
obliterates villages, behind the
response of "saturation bom
bing" to minimal provocation,
behind the "harrassment and
Interdiction Cre? which often
amounts to random murder in
order "to keep the enemy off
balance," behind the In
telligence campaigns like
Operation Phoenix which
equate to a covert program of
assassination, and behind the
"pacification" program which
amounts to a system of con
centration camps, is the aim of
destroying a society.
In military language this
process is termed, "Forced
Draft Urbanization."" As
described by Professor
Chomsky, its goal is to
eliminate the guerilla's
nourishing sea in the coun
tryside by eliminating the
countryside.
According to Chomsky's
figures nearly seven million
Vietnamese have been directly
affected by this program of
brutal resettlement.
Throughout the hearing the
veterans documented that the
overriding concern of our
military presence was with the
body count.
There were numerous
references to a system of
rewards that offered beer and
leave passes for confirmed
kills. With this as the final
definition of our presence, its
tendency- towards atrocity
seems inherent
New brew for the nsw
Help
Student Activities urgently
needs volunteers frr the
following projects:
Co-ed student group to give
Christmas party for men's
ward (15-20 men) at Regional
Center (State Hospital). Call
Zoya Zeman, Student Volunteer
Off ice 472-2484.
Three tutors for Juvenile
Court Probation Tutoring. Call
Chuck Rucker, County-City
Bldg., 475-5611 or Bill Janike,
County-City Bldg., 475-5520.
Volunteer Rock Band for
ASUN action
Kurtenbach
Continued from page 1
resolution he wanted to in
troduce which dealt with the
Rozman case in far greater
detail than the statement which
"was approved.
. . if Rozman is not rehired
through just procedures by the
Regents such action will have a
disturbing adverse effect on the
University community and the
structure of the University
itself," Kurtenbach's proposed
resolution read.
'If Rozman Is arbitrarily not
rehired, an injustice will have
been committeed by the
Regents. Such action would
compromise the basic freedoms
and responsibilities of the
University," his statement
c o n t inued. "Consequently,
AAUP censorship, litigation,
demonstrations, civil disobe
dience, and-or violence could
understandably happen in the
face of such an arbitrary and.
unjust act."
Senators seemed, to agree
with the gist of Kurtenbach's
statement, but decided to hold
off discussion and possible ac
tion on it until next week's
meeting.
Kurtenbach said he was so
disturbed about the Rozman
wanted
teenagers at; Macy, Nebr.
(Omaha Indian Reservation).
Help them raise funds for a
recreation center. Call Steve
Strasser 472-2589, or Zoya
Zeman 472-2484:
Office workers at Nebraskans
for Peace. Needed Thursdays 9
10:30, 1-5; Tuesdays 3:30-5. Call
Nick Meinhardt 475-1400.
Volunteers to work with In
dian youngsters: on Monday
nights (transportation, needed
to help pick up the kids). Call
Karen Swihart; YWCA,
2802.
432-
resolution
case that he was considering
staging a hunger strike outside
the Chancellor's office in the
Administratioa Building if the
Regents do not act properly in
the Rozman case.
Questions for
junior women
In order to have a complete
record on all junior women for
the purposes of recommenda
tions, available scholarships,
and academic honors, Helen
Snyder, Associate Dean of Stu
dent Affairs is requesting that
every junior woman pick up a
questionnaire in 309 Ad
ministration Bldg. and return it
immediately.
All Junior women who have
not filled, out such a form
should do so as soon as possi
ble, she said;
Faculty hearing
The faculty hearing on the
Stephen Rozman case is to be
held before the Academic Priv
ilege and Tenure Committee,
rather than the entire Faculty'
Senate as reported Wednesday.
breed
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1970
THE NEBRASKAN
PAGE 7