Incident on Hill 192
The incident on Hill 192 refers to the kidnapping, gang rape, and murder of Phan Thi Mao, a young Vietnamese woman,[1] on November 19, 1966[2] by an American squad during the Vietnam War.[1] Although news of the incident reached the U.S. shortly after the soldiers' trials,[3] the story gained widespread notoriety through Daniel Lang's 1969 article for The New Yorker[4] and his subsequent book.[5] In 1970 Michael Verhoeven made the film o.k., based on the incident. The Visitors is a 1972 American drama film directed by Elia Kazan also based on the incident. In 1989 Brian De Palma directed the film Casualties of War, which was based on Lang's book.[1]
Incident
On November 17, 1966, Sergeant David Edward Gervase (aged 20) and
At approximately 05:00 on the morning of 18 November, the squad entered the tiny village of Cat Tuong, in the
Aftermath
Storeby initially reported the crime. At first, the chain of command, including the company commander, took no action. Despite threats against his life by the soldiers who took part in the rape and murder, Storeby was determined to see the soldiers punished. His persistence in reporting the crime to higher authorities eventually resulted in general courts-martial against his four fellow squad mates.[6] It was during those proceedings that the victim was identified by her sister as Phan Thi Mao.[9]
Thomas, Cipriano Garcia, and Joseph Garcia were each convicted of unpremeditated murder in March and April 1967. Gervase was found guilty on the count of premeditated murder.[10] At the trial of Thomas, who committed the actual stabbing and shooting, the prosecutor asked the jury to impose a death sentence.[6] The court, however, sentenced Thomas to life imprisonment with hard labor. This sentence was first commuted to 20 years, then reduced to eight, which made him eligible for parole after half that time. He was paroled on June 18, 1970.[11]
Likewise, Gervase's initial sentence of ten years with hard labor was reduced to eight.[12] He was paroled on August 9, 1969.[11] In 1968, Joseph Garcia was acquitted on the appeal of his initial 15-year sentence and his dishonorable discharge was reversed after it was determined that his Fifth Amendment rights were violated, and his confession was ruled as inadmissible. Cipriano Garcia's 4-year sentence was shortened to 22 months. All soldiers (excluding Storeby) were dishonorably discharged from the Army.[12][13]
Gervase died on March 23, 1981. He was 44 years old.
In 1992, former PFC Thomas gained further notoriety when he was charged with being an accessory after the fact in the murder trial of George Loeb, who was charged with the 17 May 1991 shooting death of an
References
- ^ a b c Fitzpatrick (1989), p.1.
- ^ Fitzpatrick (1989), p.2.
- ^ a b "GIs Convicted of Rape-Slaying" (1967), p.18.
- ^ Lang (1969a)
- ^ Fitzpatrick (1989), p.4.
- ^ a b c d Borch, p.71.
- ^ Lang (1969b), pp.26.
- ^ Lang (1969b), pp.28.
- ^ Lang (1969b), pp.13.
- ^ Lang (1969b), pp.101.
- ^ a b "Three Episodes in Military History".
- ^ a b Fitzpatrick (1989), p.3.
- ^ Lang (1969b), pp.110-119.
- ^ "Report:Sailor-trial witness was in Vietnam rape-murder", The Gainesville Sun, July 24, 1992
Bibliography
- Borch III, Frederic L. (2003). Judge Advocates in Vietnam: Army Lawyers in Southeast Asia 1959-1975. Darby PA: DIANE Publishing. p. 71. ISBN 9781428910645. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
- Fitzpatrick, Tom (1989-08-30). "There is yet more to Casualties of War". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on 2010-08-08. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- Lang, Daniel (1969-10-18). "Casualties of War". The New Yorker. p. 61. Retrieved 2010-07-25.
- Lang, Daniel (1969). Casualties of War. New York: Pocket Books.
- UPI (March 27, 1967). "GIs Convicted of Rape-Slaying". Tucson Daily Citizen. p. 18. Retrieved February 8, 2013.