Confessions of A Middle Aged Retired Military
"Felon"
Judge William O'Neill
11th District (
Note: This story ran in the News Herald and Youngstown Vindicator
I recently read with horror the story of the
You see, as a retired Army Officer and
In defense of today's soldiers I believe a little honesty on the part of my
generation is needed. And it should start with my confessing to a crime
which occurred in
The small five-man unit I had the privilege to command in 1971 had been
"dispatched" to travel overland north to the DMZ and then West to the
Laotian border. We were "attached" to the 101st Airborne Division as
they "supported" the Vietnamese Army's final, and fatal, incursion
into
We had left DaNang in our beloved Korean War vintage
Dodge truck but it was monsoon season and the canvas on the back of the truck
was missing. By definition, that makes for a very wet trip. As any
Army person knows, when a piece of canvas is missing, you have two
choices. You can "requisition" its replacement and remain wet;
or you can "scrounge" one and continue on your mission. In fine
Army tradition we "found" a piece of canvas and supporting bows
which were then "liberated" from the top of a sailboat which truly
had been "stolen" from the Navy compound several years earlier.
By the way, even Army scroungers have rules. As we left for the North,
the specific instructions we gave to the "new kids" were the same
ones we received: "The last person out of DaNang
was to burn the stolen sailboat lest it fall into the hands of strangers
or the Navy."?but I
digress.
Somewhere between DaNang and the Laotian border we
fell behind the convoy and found ourselves in deep sand. Yes sand, like
you would imagine in the
Our unit of five souls, with less combined mechanical skills than your average
knitting class, found ourselves with a dilemma not usually addressed in Army
memos and manuals. Our choices were simple. Get the vehicle moving
again or learn a foreign language quickly. They say God takes care of
fools and drunks, and I have proof they are right.
As I said, by this time we were not only behind the invasion, we were behind
the support unit behind the invasion! And then luck played its
role, as it always must. We literally found an "abandoned" Army
outpost in a place called Quang Tri. Abandoned because everyone had left to "support" the
invasion west of Khe Sahn.
But not deserted. For in the middle of the compound we found a make-shift
garage with shelves full of government parts. No people. Just parts and tools. And lo and behold we located what
clearly looked like a Dodge transfer case, which in today's market would have a
value in the $2,000 range.
Over a case of Budweiser which we always carried for emergencies and driven by
the
In the morning we were once again on the way to complete our mission. But
in reflection, I now see that I, as the Officer in charge, have clearly been
guilty of a felony for all these years. We stole those parts! I
need to find Donald Rumsfeld's phone number so that I
can turn myself in.
Amusing? Maybe. But in reality, the story is
tragic. For that was then, and this is now.
Donald Rumsfeld says you go to war with the Army you
have, not the Army you want. And I say, how dare you, sir. Placing
volunteer soldiers in jail for doing their job is a national disgrace. It
is time we all?every one of us?start asking the hard questions. Like who is
minding the store? Free those soldiers and let them return to civilian
life with the benefits they have earned.
One last thought. The Army certainly has the right to fire any soldier
that does not perform up to their "expectations." So do
it. But good luck finding a replacement.
Maybe you could "requisition" a whole new generation of bean
counters. But you won't get your mission done. History is on my
side.
Judge William O'Neill
South
(440) 897-1286
Editor's Note: Judge O'Neill currently sits on the 11th District Court of
Appeals in