Fort Lawton tribute brochure (PDF)

Justice, 64 years later Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2008

Court-martialed in 1944, Fort Lawton veterans finally exonerated Seattle Post-Intelligencer, July 27, 2008

Army apologizes to soldiers convicted after 1944 Fort Lawton riot Seattle Times, July 27, 2008

New history for an old lynching NPR, July 26, 2008

Army apologizes for WWII convictions of black GIs Associated Press, July 26, 2008

JULY 26, 2008

Almost 63 years after their ancestors were captivated by the largest Army court-martial of World War II, a large crowd of Seattle residents, elected officials and Army brass returned to Fort Lawton to offer belated apologies and thanks.

At a podium perched near Fort Lawton's historic chapel, Assistant Army Secretary Ronald James said, “I grieve for an Army that failed to honor its own values at Ft. Lawton.”

“The Army is genuinely sorry. I am sorry. Sorry for your husbands, loved ones, fathers and grandfathers, for the lost years of their lives,” James said, calling the ceremony a “long-overdue vindication.”

Families of seven of the 43 Fort Lawton court-martial were represented: Luther Larkin, Arthur Hurks, William Jones, John Hamiliton, Booker Townsell, Samuel Snow and Willie Prevost. James presented each family with two plaques: the soldier's belated honorable discharge and a letter explaining why the US Army had erred during the 1944 trial.

“We knew absolutely nothing about [my father’s] Army career," said Walt Prevost."It was something he was really impacted by in an adverse way, so he would never talk about it.”

“But I would say my family suffered severely as a result of the Ft. Lawton tragedy,” Prevost said. His mother was forced to raise her four children with no income or Army benefits while his father was in prison, he said.

Joining James on the podium were U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, who led the charge in Congress to demand that the Army review the decades-old case. "No amount of money can ever repay you for the sacrifices you made," Rep. McDermott told the families, "but your stature and patriotism have established you as role models for every generation to come. We must not forget." [full text of Rep. McDermott's remarks]

Rep. McDermott also acknowledged Howard Noyd, who served as assistant defense attorney for all 43 Fort Lawton defendants. Noyd and his co-counsel, the late William Beeks, "believed in a system where justice is blind," said Rep. McDermott. "That is the system we all want to believe in. And if the incident at Fort Lawton teaches us anything, it is that every American has a duty and responsibility to protect and defend the fundamental freedoms of our nation."

Also delivering remarks were King County Executive Ron Sims, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, King County Councilman Larry Gossett, Ms. Lashell Drake, granddaughter of deceased defendant Booker Townsell, and On American Soil author Jack Hamann. Vivien Phillips served as Mistress of Ceremonies; the I-Corps Command Honor Guard presented the colors, and DaNell Daymon and Royalty Gospel Choir provided music and song.

At the time of tribute, only two of the 43 defendants were known to be alive. One of them, Samuel Snow of Leesburg, FL, had attended the week's festivities with his family, but fell ill in the early morning hours before the ceremony, and was resting in Seattle's Virginia Mason Hospital.

“My father never held any animosity,” Snow’s son, Ray, told the crowd.

“He said, ‘Son, God has been good to me. If I hold this in my heart, then I can’t walk in forgiveness.’ Really, it energized him. It was the fuel that drove him: ‘Bring on all the things that are supposed to stop me from achieving.’ This was all liquid oxygen for him.”

Assistant Army Secretary Ronald James concluded his remarks with a declaration that he would not end it as most such speeches conclude.James, the assistant Army secretary, ended his calm but emotional address with a declaration that he would not end it as most such speeches conclude.

“The usual closing is something like ‘God bless the Army, and God bless the United States of America,’ but frankly that doesn’t seem right or appropriate for this time -- I have unpaid debts and unpaid dues,” James said.

“Therefore, I would like to close by saying: God bless Samuel Snow, God bless the Ft. Lawton 28, and God bless your family and friends.”

Note: Samuel Snow died later that evening. Please see: Samuel Snow (1923-2008)