Plantation Memories

The order is set forth clearly in The U.S. Fighting Man's Code, which is issued to all U.S. servicemen. An American prisoner of war must "continue to resist by any means available," and "obey the lawful orders" of senior U.S. officers in the P.O.W. camp in which he finds himself imprisoned. Last week the senior officer at one of those camps in North Viet Nam, Air Force Colonel Theodore W. Guy, filed charges with the Defense Department calling for courts-martial of eight former P.O.W.s --none of them from the Air Force, and all enlisted men.

Colonel Guy's F-4 fighter-bomber was shot down over Laos in 1968, and he was imprisoned in the "Plantation Gardens," a camp on the outskirts of Hanoi. Guy, 44, a stiff-backed professional officer, was appalled by what he found: more than 100 polyglot prisoners, Americans and others, civilians and servicemen. Though he was held in solitary much of the time. Guy issued orders by tapping in code on his cell walls. Men who, under torture or duress, had been cooperating with the enemy by making antiwar statements were told to taper off and eventually to desist completely.

Yet eight men,* according to Guy and other former prisoners, continued to make statements and otherwise collaborate. Guy asserts that these men failed to adhere to the code of conduct, undermined efforts of fellow prisoners to set up an organization, and sought the cooperation of their fellow prisoners in collaboration. As a result, they allegedly secured favors--including beer, peanuts and popcorn, and trips to Hanoi. Guy said that partly because "certain people talked," he was beaten by guards--"I had some teeth knocked out and I had my stomach muscles kicked loose." All eight of the men he has accused, said Guy, disrupted his command by failure to cooperate, and also by revealing what he was doing to organize the prisoners and by running their own counter-organization.

Forgive and Honor? Many former P.O.W.s and their wives voiced approval of the pressing of the charges, though some Pentagon and State Department officials had urged Guy not to do so. The Secretaries of the Army and the Navy will now decide whether the charges merit courts-martial.

Most of the accused themselves expressed surprise on hearing of the charges; at least two of them voiced public denials. They had relied on former Defense Secretary Melvin Laird's promise to "forgive and honor" returned P.O.W.s. Two men had been taking steps to reenlist, until Guy's charges hit them. One of these men, Private Frederick Elbert of Brentwood, L.I., made a telling remark: "Colonel Guy has been through a hell of a lot--and so have the rest of us."

* Three Marines: Sergeant Abel Kavanaugh, Staff Sergeant Alfonso Riate and Private Frederick Elbert; and five Army men: Specialist Four Michael P. Branch, Staff Sergeant Robert Chenoweth, Staff Sergeant James A. Daly Jr., Staff Sergeant King Rayford Jr. and Staff Sergeant John A. Young.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.