AN HISTORIC RULING

On October 26, 2007, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR) released its decision in a Congressionally-mandated review of the 1944 court-martial of 43 U.S. soldiers at Fort Lawton. The Board ruled that Army prosecutor Leon Jaworski committed “egregious error” in his prosecution of the case by intentionally withholding crucial exculpatory information from the defendants and their lawyers. The Board concluded that the defendants were denied their fundamental right to adequately prepare for trial and that defendants were deprived of due process to an extent that resulted in “fundamental unfairness.” [more]

THE ROLE OF "ON AMERICAN SOIL"

According to lawyers and staff of the Army Review Boards Agency, ON AMERICAN SOIL and its underlying research provided the blueprint for the Agency's year-long review. The Board's written decision closely mirrors the book's central conclusions.

THE RULING’S IMPORTANCE

By any measure, this was an exceptionally unusual and important ruling. The Army Board receives more than ten thousand requests a year for review of military records. Relatively few who apply are granted a remedy; those remedies are almost never as sweeping and unequivocal as this one. In effect, the Army has admitted that its longest and largest court-martial of World War II was fatally flawed, a rather astonishing concession of historic proportions.

THE REMEDY

The Board declared that the conviction should be set aside, and that “all rights, privileges and property lost as a result of that conviction” should be restored. The Board directed that honorable discharges be issued, and that “all back pay and allowances due as a result” of the corrections be paid to surviving defendants or the estates of those who have died. [Just as the result of this appeal is almost without precedent, so are the elements of this remedy.]

THE REMEDY’S SCOPE

Army spokespersons have not yet been able to interpret the breadth of the decision’s remedies. Several questions are still being asked: How much back pay? Will it include interest? What about benefits from the VA or under the GI Bill? Burial expenses and honors?

THE RULING’S BENEFICIARIES

Of the 43 original defendants, charges were dropped against two (Milton Bratton and John R. Brown) during the trial. Thirteen others (Nelson L. Alston, Willie C. Basden, Sylvester Campbell, James Coverson, Lee A. Dixon, Emanuel W. Ford, Ernest Graham, Walter Jackson, Herman Johnson, Henry Jupiter, C. W. Spencer, Freddie Umblance, and Arthur Williams) were acquitted at the end of the five-week court-martial. 28 men were found guilty; they are the men primarily affected by the Board’s ruling.

Note: The Army Board concluded that “The Army failed to provide [all] 43 Fort Lawton accused with due process by the standards in place at the time of their trial.” Back in 1944, the Army’s chief criminal investigator, Robert Manchester, admitted under oath that “no part of (the criminal investigation) was handled correctly.” It would be fair to conclude, then, that even those not ultimately convicted were harmed by these proceedings.

Of the 28 men found guilty, the families of four—Samuel Snow, Luther Larkin, William Jones and Booker Townsell—have filed the necessary paperwork and were specifically covered by the October 26 ruling (Mr. Snow is the only one of those four still living.) To date, the families of five other defendants have been contacted: John Hamilton, Arthur Hurks, Elva Shelton, Les Stewart and Roy Montgomery (Mr. Montgomery is still living.)

We still await the day we can hear from the families of the remaining nineteen defendants:

• Richard H. Barber, Chicago (1922-1997)
  
• John S. Brown, Sr., Lancaster, SC (1922-1954)
  
• Riley L. Buckner, Houston (1919-1981)
  
• Johnnie Ceaser, Chicago (1922-1950)
  
• James C. Chandler, Jr., Kansas City (1923-1990)
  
• Willie S. Curry, Houston (1924-1968)
  
• Russell L. Ellis, Los Angeles (1912-1977)
  
• Jefferson D. Green, San Antonio (1916-1994)
  
• Frank R. Hughes, Hearne, TX (1913-1983)
  
• Loary M. Moore, Houston (1920-1994)
  
• Willie Prevost, Sr., Houston (1917-1998)
  
• Robert Sanders, Chicago (1923-1992)
  
• Freddie L. Simmons, Macon, GA (1907-1973)
  
• Nathaniel T. Spencer, Detroit (1911-1973)
  
• Arthur L. Stone, Detroit (1920-1985)
  
• Richard L. Sutliff, Houston (1920- ?)
  
• Booker W. Thornton, Chicago (1908-1981)
  
• David Walton, Chicago (1910-1969)
  
• Wallace A. Wooden, Chicago (1908- ?)
  
  

HOW FAMILIES CAN ADD THEIR NAMES TO THE RULING

Please see families page for details.

• The Role of ON AMERICAN SOIL
• The Ruling's Importance
• The Remedy
• The Remedy's Scope
• The Remedy's Beneficiaries
• How Families Can Add Their Names to the Ruling

The ruling declares that “all rights, privileges and property lost as a result of that conviction” should be restored to the Fort Lawton defendants.

Who decides the scope of the remedy?
How much back pay is intended?
What about benefits that might have ensued from the GI Bill or the VA?

Army spokespersons say they still aren't sure. In the case of defendant Samuel Snow, the back pay award is just $725.

On January 23, 2008, Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) introduced HR 5130, and Se. Bill Nelson (D-FL) submitted S 2548. Both bills propose to change Army regulations to permit more appropriate remedies for Fort Lawton defendants.

As of Memorial Day, 2008, both bills had been approved by their respective Armed Services Committees, and were folded into the FY09 Defense Authorization Bills approved by each chamber.

HONORING THE DEFENDANTS

On January 19, 2008, from 10:30-4:00pm, the family and friends of Booker Townsell hosted a public celebration of his life at the County War Memorial in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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Various citizens of Seattle have enquired about establishing a permanent educational memorial at Seattle's Discovery Park, perhaps as part of a public celebration of the lives of all who were impacted at Fort Lawton during the 1944 court-martial.

"I hope that we can put a memorial on the Fort Lawton site to teach future generations about the sacrifices made by Booker Townsell, Sam Snow, and others, and to remind us that we must never foret that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," said Rep. McDermott on the floor of the House of Representatives.