Something Stinks In
Justice Department
(CPS) - For Private Billy Dean
Smith, the Vietnam war ended
on March 15, 1971. That was
the day he found out that a
portion of the U.S. Army had
given up fighting the North
Vietnamese, and began fighting
him.
Smith, a 24-year old black
G.I., was arrested at 2:30 a.m.
on the Bien Hoa airbase in
Vietnam for "fragging" (Killing)
two officers and wounding a
third.
Actually, it may be that
Smith did not even know the
two officers, as it was their first
night in the officer's barracks
into which a hand grenade was
thrown. The barracks, however,
had been the quarters previously
used by Smith's commanding
officer, Captian Randall Rigby.
When Rigby heard the
explosion, he assumed Smith
was responsible and had the
military police pick him up.
The case against Smith is
mostly circumstantial: a grenade
pin found in Smith's pocket
when he was arrested and the
running feud between the soldier
and his commanding officer.
Shortly after the incident, a
Japanese ballistic expert,
consulted by the Army, said that
the pin taken from Billy Smith
did not match the grenade
fragments at the site.
Since Billy Smith was
politically active in the Army,
which he considered a racist
institution, the case has stirred
much publicity. His defense
team has pointed to the nature
of the Army's treatment of
Smith since his arrest as proof of
the political handling of the
case: he has spent the last 14
months in jail, mostly in solitary
confinement.
Luke McKissack, one of
Smith's attorneys, has pointed
to the treatment of Lt. William
C alley at the same time Smith is
languishing in jail. Calley had
already been convicted of the
murder of 22 Vietnamese men,
women and children, but is
presently living in a 4-room
apartment with full visitation
rights and privileges.
McKissack charges that this
difference in treatment is
because Calley is white and an
officer, while Billy Smith is
black and an enlisted man. In
addition, Calley's victims were
Vietnamese, while Smith is
accused of killing Americans.
Attorney McKissack wrote
President Nixon calling his
attention to this discrepancy,
and received an answer from a
high military official, "on behalf
of President Nixon."
The government reply: "A
great deal of concern has been
voiced by the American people
regarding the conviction of Lt.
William Calley, Jr. The public
interest has gone far beyond the
innocence or guilt of Lt. Calley
with respect to the specific
charges. It is due to these unique
circumstances that President
Nixon deemed it within the
national interest to take the
action. . .following the
sentencing of Lt. Calley."
The government concluded
that it was "inappropriate to cite
the Calley case."
Smith's trial began in early
September at Ft. Ord,
California, and a verdict is not
expected for several weeks.
