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GIs Struggle

By VVAW

US Marines Support Korean Patriots
Iwakuni, Japan

The Special Court Martials of fine US Marines stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni, Japan, began on August 28th. The Marines are charged with violation of a local Marine Corps order which prohibits the distribution of a petition off base, by off duty personnel without prior command approval. They were arrested on July 12 and 13 for showing others a copy of an individual signature letter (not a "petition, publication, hand bill, flyer, or other similar printed or written material" as stated in the order) while off duty, out of uniform and off base.

The letter was to Senator J.W. Fulbright and protested the abuse of democratic freedoms in South Korea and especially the sentencing of 55 political prisoners (including students, professors, poets, and two Japanese citizens) to punishments reining from 20 years to death. These actions were the latest in a series of repressive acts carried out by South Korean President Pak Chung Hee under his Emergency Measure No. 4 of April 3, 1974. President Pak declared martial law in December of 1971 and has banned all criticism of his regime. To date more than 40 Marines have signed the letter.

The Iwakuni Five are: LCPL Gerald W. ManCauley, PVT Hugh G. Dalton, LCPL Robert A. Falatine-all of Hdqtrs and Maint. Sqdrn 17; PFC Patrick F. McDonald of H&MS 12; and LCPL Frank Huff of H&MS 15. All 5 Marines are members of the 1st MAW (Marines Against War), the Iwakuni chapter of Vietnam Veterans Against the War/Winter Soldier Organization. While the Iwakuni Five believed the order to be an unconstitutional abridgment of their First Amendment Rights, and in open violation of the right of service people to petition Congress, it was in an attempt to avoid open defiance of the order that they chose to show others a copy of an individual signature letter rather than a petition.

The Marine Corps thought differently. Not only did the Marine Corps decide to arrest the five, but they put four of them in restriction to base or barracks for periods up to 45 days. The four were informed that the restrictions (done without any judicial process or Article 15 punishment) were "for the protection of the government."

The Marine Corps seems intent in stifling any expression of an opinion contrary to their own, especially when it comes to the questions of Korea. South Korea is an excellent example of US imperialism in action. Twenty-nine years after the sending of US troops to Korea, the 'temporary force' is still there. Today over 45,000 US troops are stationed at over 50 bases throughout souther Korea, enforcing the artificial division. In addition, the US sends over $200 million each year to help maintain the army of Pak Chung Hee. Not content with all this support, however, Pak declared martial law in December of 1971, and has since ended any semblance of democracy.

The actions of the Iwakuni Five show that the military will be having a much harder time in the future in defending corrupt dictatorships like it did in Vietnam. The Iwakuni Five deserve the support of us all. For more information, contact: Iwakuni Five Defense Committee, PO Box 49, Iwakuni-shi, Yamaguchi-ken, Japan 740.

END ALL AID TO PAK!
SUPPORT REUNIFICATION!
FREE THE IWAKUNI FIVE!

Black Sailors Fight Back
Norfolk Naval Sta.

On April 4, ten Black sailors were busted on the Norfolk Naval Base, supposedly because they didn't have their hats on. The ten men were actually a delegation sent from a meeting of 35 to 40 brothers to talk to the base commanding officer about police brutality at the base.

During the arrest, the men were pushed and maced, and then held in the brig without charges for a week. Eight of the men were released, leaving only Reggie Wakefield, a fireman apprentice from the USS RALIEGH, and another sailor. Reggie is now being charged with twenty separate violations of articles of the UCMJ. These charges stem from three incidents in which Wakefield was beaten by base police, one incident in which he was maced so badly that the skin peeled off the right side of this face!

Captain Samuel G. Anders, the base commander, has played a major role in this whole development. He was personally involved in the arrests; it was his verbal order that kept the ten men in the brig for a week with no charges having been drawn up; he is now playing a major role in trying to keep information about the case from getting out to the public. People have been refused entrance to the brig to see Reggie and to help him publicize his case.

As a result of this latest incident of racism and harassment, as well as the whole pattern of racism at Norfolk Naval Base, two GI organizing groups in the area have launched a campaign to remove Captain Anders. The Defense Committee/Tidewater and the Black Military Resistance League have joined in a call for the resignation of Anders as commander of the base. The following are their demands:

1. We demand the resignation of Captain Anders for his role as the leader of a racist, imperialist and anti-working class naval commanding;
2. We demand an end to racist attacks by base police against Black sailors. We demand an end to base police harassment of all enlisted men and women;
3. Drop all charges against Reggie Wakefield. Reggie goes to Special Court Martial on August 29th. Almost all of the eight charges and 23 specification pressed against him come from incidents in which he was beaten by base police. Captain Anders was personally involved in the April 5th "Hat Incident", in which ten black sailors, including Reggie, were beaten and maced at Ander's personal order;
4. We demand the right of Third World GI's to organize in our own national interests. We demand the right of all enlisted people to organize in our own class interests.

CONTACT: Black Military Resistance League, PO Box 6289, Norfolk, VA 23508; or the Defense Committee/Tidewater, PO Box 9870, Norfolk, VA 23505.

MIDWAY Trial Begins

Since the MIDWAY walk off on June 14th, more than 30 people have been court martialed for UA and Missing Ship's Movement. Most of the sailors took a military lawyer, pleaded guilty and got from 15 to 115 days in the brig plus fines. Eight of the brothers, however, decided to use a civilian lawyer and try to expose the ship's conditions during their trials. The first of the trials of the eight began on July 20.

Ozzie Washington, Danny Lang and Coy Anderson tried to tell about life on the MIDWAY during their trials through their own testimony and the testimony of witnesses. They brought out the racism, brig brutality, poor living and working conditions and the unfair punishments of the ship's commander, Captain Schulte. The defendants testified about racial discrimination in jobs. Many of the lower ranking Third World enlisted people went in the Navy with hopes of getting ahead in promotions and learning useful jobs. They have now realized that these rosy promises of recruiters don't apply to them. As they expected, though, the military was more interested in covering up the problem than doing anything about getting rid of it. One witness, speaking on behalf of the government, said, "Racial discrimination is common in the world, and it probably exists on the USS MIDWAY. But what the defense must prove is that there was extraordinary racism on the MIDWAY." A little racism, apparently, is OK.

Extra duty as punishment and illegal searches are another problem on the MIDWAY, especially for Third World people. Danny Lang testified that the Chief in this division wants to get rid of blacks, and is keeping a "shit list". The Chief, he said, would do anything to attack people on his list, even if it's illegal.

One of the main issues in the spontaneous walk off of the MIDWAY is the brutality in the brig. A veteran of time in the brig, brother Thomas, testified to the mistreatment in the brig. Physical brutality and constant harassment which borders on torture are common occurrences, especially for Third World sailors. The government tried to counter this testimony by making the ridiculous claim that prisoners were inflicting their own injuries and that the guards never used any profane language toward a prisoner!

By August 14th, all but one of the eight MIDWAY Brothers had come to trial. The seven who had chosen civilian lawyers to help them put up at fight in the court martial have gotten heavier sentences than the other sailors who walked off. Punishment has included brig time from 45 to 134 days; fines and pay forfeitures of $450 to $1000; and busts to E-1.

The military was taken off guard when Mike Hammond, the seventh MIDWAY brother, came to trial on August 14th. Mike is a 20-year-old sailor from California who enlisted after high school because he couldn't find a job. He had been in for two years before the walk off. When Mike's lawyer asked him why he walked off, he calmly listed the conditions that the other brothers had mentioned. But when he cited the fact that the MIDWAY was carrying nuclear weapons, the judge and prosecutor froze in their seats. The judge recessed the court. Upon returning and pointing out that the nuclear weapons were classified information, the judge continued the case to another day.

The real issue in these and the other trials is not whether the jury is more liberal than the judge, or whether 35 days is better than 75. The real issue is conditions in the Navy and why the Navy only responds to protest about bad conditions with courts martial. If the military was set up to protect the people of this country, it would always be looking out for the interests of this country's soldiers and trying to make the military a decent place to be. But under imperialism, the military is primarily concerned with protecting the interests of the big American corporations which are spread all over the world. It is not interested in how it does this, only that it gets the job done.

But there are ways of fighting back against this system, as shown by the brave actions of the MIDWAY Brothers. As Ozzie Washington said during his trial, "I had to sacrifice something to move things forward. It might make it easier for the next person. This has been proved throughout history." Action is the only answer to conditions like those on the MIDWAY.

CONTACT: VVAW/WSO, New Peoples Center, PO Box 26, Yokosuka-shi, Kanagawa-ken, Japan.