President: Has the Defense Counsel any opening remarks?
Defense Counseclass="underline" I have not.
President: The TJA will proceed with his case.
TJA: I call as my first witness Sgt. William Dunn.
(Sgt. William Dunn 3xxxxxxx was seated, sworn in, and gave his name, serial number, and unit in prescribed fashion)
TJA: Sgt. Dunn, where were you on the morning of June 6th, 1945?
Sgt, Dunn: Sir, I was somewhere on top of Xxxxx Ridge.
TJA: And what were you doing?
Sgt. Dunn: Well, sir, we spent most of the morning fighting with the Japs.
TJA: Did anything unusual occur that morning?
Sgt. Dunn: Well, yes, sir. At one time when we were engaged in a fire fight with the Nips, Cpl. Chandler here picks up his gun and shoots two shots right into Lt. Graham’s head.
TJA: What did you do then?
Sgt. Dunn: Well, sir, as it happened, a lot of us had been knocked out, and when Cpl. Chandler killed Lt. Graham...
Defense Counseclass="underline" Objection. It has not yet been proven that Cpl. Chandler killed Lt. Graham. It is only an opinion of the witness. I want his last remarks stricken from the records.
TJA: Sir, the witness is testifying on actual facts, not on opinions.
President: Objection overruled. The witness will continue.
Sgt. Dunn: Well, I went up and tried to help Lt. Graham, but he was dead; so I took over command of the platoon as I was the second in command.
TJA: What did you do then?
Sgt. Dunn: I figured something must be wrong with Chandler. You know people go off their rockers sometimes when things get hot and it was plenty hot up there; so I ordered him back to the aid station.
TJA: Did he go?
Sgt. Dunn: Yes, sir. Sure, he went right back.
TJA: That’s all I have.
President: Has the defense counsel any questions?
Defense Counseclass="underline" Yes. Sergeant, you say things were quite hot up there. Now tell me, do you have much time to look around when you’re in the middle of a fire fight and see what other people are doing?
TJA: Objection. The defense counsel is trying to imply that Sgt. Dunn, wasn’t doing his job and thus incriminate him.
Defense Counseclass="underline" If it would please the court, I am merely trying to show that in a battle it’s hard to determine who is shooting at whom.
President (after conferring with legal member): Objection overruled. Proceed.
Defense Counseclass="underline" Now, Sergeant, will you tell me how you could tell in the middle of a battle whether Cpl. Chandler was shooting at Lt. Graham or shooting at the enemy?
Sgt. Dunn: Well, sir, as second in command of the platoon I was helping Lt. Graham, and we were just trying to find out how many men were left and I was checking up when I saw Cpl. Chandler shoot Lt. Graham.
Defense Counseclass="underline" And was there any of the enemy standing near or in front of Lt. Graham at that time?
Sgt. Dunn: No, sir. That’s why it surprised me so.
Defense Counseclass="underline" One more question, Sergeant. When you sent Cpl. Chandler back to the aid station, did he seem upset or at all like combat fatigue cases you have seen?
Sgt. Dunn: No, sir.
Defense Counseclass="underline" The defense has no further questions.
President: Any rebuttal?
TJA: No, sir. As my next witness, I call Pfc. Wilfred Glickman.
(Pfc. Wilfred M. Glickman 3xxxxxxx was seated and sworn in, and gave his name, serial number, and unit in prescribed fashion)
TJA: Glickman, did you see Cpl. Chandler under any special circumstances on June 6th last?
Pfc. Glickman: Yes, sir.
TJA: Under what circumstances?
Pfc. Glickman: I saw him shoot Lt. Graham, sir.
TJA: Will you please describe the incident in your own words?
Pfc. Glickman: Well, about twenty or thirty Nips had just launched a counter-attack against our position. There was a lot of shooting going on and Lt. Graham was up in front trying to organize things. Cpl. Chandler was about ten yards behind him, and, well, he just took his rifle and plugged him twice in the head.
TJA: Now, Glickman, perhaps the Defense Counsel would like to know how you happened to be looking at Cpl. Chandler.
Pfc. Glickman: Well, sir, I was a messenger for Lt. Graham and I had a message for Cpl. Chandler which I was to tell him.
TJA: And what was that message?
Pfc. Glickman: He was to take a squad and try and divert the enemy from one flank.
TJA: Isn’t that rather dangerous?
Pfc. Glickman: I wouldn’t like to be doing it.
TJA: No further questions.
President: Has the defense any questions?
Defense Counseclass="underline" Yes, sir. Glickman, did you give that message to Cpl. Chandler before or after the time you said he shot Lt. Graham?
Pfc. Glickman: I never got a chance to give him the message, sir.
Defense Counseclass="underline" You mean he never was actually told by you about this order?
Pfc. Glickman: That is right, sir.
Defense Counseclass="underline" No further questions.
President: The TJA will call his next witness.
TJA: My next witness is Capt. Wesley Lane, the battalion surgeon.
(Capt. Wesley M. Lane O-xxxxxx was seated and sworn in and gave his name, serial number, and unit in prescribed fashion)
TJA: Capt. Lane, did you see Cpl. Chandler on last June the 6th?
Capt. Lane: Yes. He reported into my aid station in the late morning, and said he had been sent back for combat fatigue.
TJA: What did you do?
Capt. Lane: I examined him and sent him back to the Station Hospital.
TJA: In your opinion, what was his condition?
Defense Counseclass="underline" Objection. Unless Capt. Lane can show he is a qualified psychiatrist, he has no right to give an opinion on a man’s mental condition.
President: Objection sustained.
TJA: No further questions.
President: Any questions, Defense Counsel?
Defense Counseclass="underline" No, sir.
(The witness was excused and Maj. Anthony Bertelli O-xxxxxx was called to the stand, seated and sworn in. He gave his name, serial number, and unit in prescribed fashion)
TJA: Maj. Bertelli, what is your position with the XXth Station Hospital?
Maj. Bertelli: I am the psychiatrist.
TJA: Have you ever had occasion to examine the defendant, Cpl. Robert Chandler?
Maj. Bertelli: Yes. He was brought in the afternoon of the 6th of June as a combat fatigue case.
TJA: And what was your diagnosis?
Maj. Bertelli: The man was perfectly normal.
TJA: Could he have been a combat fatigue case a few hours before?
Maj. Bertelli: I would say not. If that had been the case, he would still have shown some of the effects.
TJA: Do other people come in that claim to be combat fatigue cases and are not?
Maj. Bertelli: Yes. I’ve had quite a bit of experience with these cases. TJA: No further questions.
President: Defense Counsel?
Defense Counseclass="underline" Yes, sir. Maj. Bertelli, where did you get the experience which qualifies you as a psychiatrist?
Maj. Bertelli: I was a psychiatrist at the Medical Center in New York for twelve years.
Defense Counseclass="underline" How, Major, are you able to remember this man and what day he came into your hospital?
Maj. Bertelli: We keep records of all incoming patients.
Defense Counseclass="underline" Couldn’t some other man come in and give Cpl. Chandler’s name?
Maj. Bertelli: No. In this type of case we check the man’s dog tags.
Defense Counseclass="underline" That’s all.
TJA: I have one more question. Maj. Bertelli, is it not true that your testimony in previous court-martial cases has been used in determining whether a man is really mentally ill or whether he is a malingerer?