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P.O.W.s On Trial

By VVAW

The masquerade of POW solidarity concerning support for Nixon's war policies has been smashed. Colonel Guy, a former POW, has charged 8 other former POW's with aiding the "enemy," i.e. making anti-war statements, disrespect toward a "superior,' (Colonel Guy) and asking for political asylum in a socialist country.

The man making the charges is an Air Force career officer with 23 years active service. He was shot down in 1968 while on a bombing raid over Laos and taken to a camp known as the Plantation. A clue as to the why of the charges comes from this and the fact that he was a senior POW at the campe and thus, the man in charge. He was responsible for the conduct of the men under him; any lack of discipline would reflect on him. Therefore, anti-war statements made by other detained military personnel would reflect on his military record.

So what is the difference between those eight charged and the many other POW's who made statements against U.S. involvement in Indochina?

First, all 8 charged were either in the Army or the Marines. They were the ground troops; the infantrymen who fought a dirty war, who saw who they killed, whose homes they burned, who slept on the ground and who ate out of cans. They were the men who saw the war face up. Colonel Guy and the others were in the Navy and Air Force. They were the pilots; airmen who ran milk-runs, who killed from thousands of feet up, who destroyed with their bombs but never got their hands dirty. At night they went back to their bases to eat steak and sleep between sheets. This difference was pointed up by Staff Sergeant Young who said, ?The fliers don't experience it. They cant' know. They are up there and they don't hear anything. All they see is a little flash. They don't see the destruction of hear the screams."

Second, all those who were charged were enlisted men. This produces a contradiction in itself for Colonel Guy, in that enlisted personnel were totally separated from the officers. As a matter of fact, the Colonel didn't meet the eight until after the signing of the agreement and just a few weeks before they were released. The fact that there were no charges brought against any officer, even though many officers made statements against U.S. involvement points to the protection, again, of higher ups. This does not come from believing that officers can make anti-war statements, but from the position of not causing conflicts in the officer class.

It is easier to place the blame on lower ranks, the ones who carry out the dirty work, whether it is ground fighting in Indochina or car-polishing and grass-cutting here in the U.S. It is interesting that the charges come at this time. They come when the government is having charges brought against itself at Watergate. They come at a time when there is a growing movement for amnesty for all war resisters. They come at a time when people are questioning who are the real persons responsible for prolonging the Indochinese conflict.

It is important that people being to move in support of these brothers; that letters are written to them personally offering encouragement and support; that letters are sent to Congressmen and the military questioning the charges. That articles are sent to local papers, raising the real issues. That actual outreach through pamphleting, petitioning and speaking engagements be started to build real support in the community.

Nixon first used the POW's to tell of horror stories about the communists and condemn the anti-war/anti-Nixon movement as those responsible. They are now being used to silence the growing call for amnesty. They are also being used to diver attention away from the real criminals, the ones who instituted and prolong the genocide in Indochina to the ones who called for an end.

SSG Alphonso Ray Riate
6075 Priory St.
Bell Gardens, CA 90201
(attached at Pendleton)

SSG John A. Young
302 E. Belvedere
Grayslake, Ill 60030
(attached at Fitzsimmons)

Sp4 Michael Branch
2302 Wilson Road
Highland Heights, KY 41076
(attached to Ft, Knox, KY)

Sgt Abel L Kavanaugh
7340 N. Dakin St. #B-308
Westminster, Colo 80030
(attached at Pendleton, CA)

Pvt. Frederick L. Elbert Jr.
471 Mayflower
Brentwood, NY 11717
(attached at St. Albans, Queens)

SSG James A. Daly, Jr.
532 Madison Street
Brooklyn, NY 11224
(attached to Ft. Monmouth, NJ)

SSG King David Rayford, Jr.
c/o Lovie May Rayford
3547 S. Federal
Chicago, Ill 60609
(attached at Fitzsimmons, Denver)

SSG Robert P. Chenoweth
c/o Crown
7227 SE Flavel Street
Portland, Oregon 97206
(attached to Letterman Army Hospital, San Francisco)