The late Air Force Gen. John D. Lavelle has finally had his name cleared by the Obama Administration and Congress. In 1972, Lavelle was made the scapegoat for bombing missions in North Vietnam by President Nixon who lied to the public and trashed the career of Lavelle who was following orders.
Recently reviewed records show that Nixon and Henry Kissinger openly discussed destroying the career of this innocent man. Nixon had qualms over blaming Lavelle but went ahead and did so. Kissinger, who is still alive, never came forward to admit that they lied.
In one exchange, Nixon says “I just don’t want him to be made a goat, goddamnit, You, you destroy a man’s career. . . . Can we do anything now to stop this damn thing?” In another exchange, he brings it up again with Kissinger, stating “Frankly, Henry, I don’t feel right about our pushing him into this thing and then, and then giving him a bad rap,” the president said. “I don’t want to hurt an innocent man.” That didn’t seem to be a particularly great burden for either man. In a public press conference, Nixon lies and says that no orders were given and “it was proper for him to be relieved and retired.” Lavalle was demoted and forced into retirement. Lavelle took the betrayal like a soldier and walked into retirement in disgrace.
The total lack of integrity and decency shown by Nixon, Kissinger, and others in this matter is a national disgrace. If Kissinger had a ounce of integrity, he would have resigned. It is hardly news that “Tricky Dick” lacked honesty. However, to destroy the career of such a man reaches a new low in my view.
The entire Lavelle family deserve this change and an apology from an ashamed nation.
Source: Yahoo
There actually *is* a courageous sergeant at the center of this story, and he *did* bring down Lavelle and stop the bombing.
Lottakatz posted this link:
http://www.albionmonitor.com/0210a/jensenpathsofglory.html
Here is the story:
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Staff Sergeant Franks was a 23-year-old intelligence specialist assigned to debrief Air Force pilots and crews on their return from missions. At the time, the Air Force was under strict orders not to fire upon the enemy unless they were threatened. During one such debriefing session where they acknowledged bombing the enemy, Franks asked the aircrew if they had received any anti-aircraft artillery fire. They said, “No, but we have to report it.”
Franks went to his Officer in Charge, Captain Doug Murray, and told him the aircrew’s reports were being falsified to justify the bombing over North Vietnam. The officer told him to report only what the crew told him to report. He was ordered to lie. The false information was then used in the official operational reports and slides for the morning staff briefings.
Franks agonized over the deceit for several weeks before he could no longer stand it. He made copies of several of the reports and sent them along with a letter to his U.S. Senator in Iowa, Harold E. Hughes. Franks’ letter went from Sen. Hughes to Gen. John “Three-Fingered Jack” Ryan, Air Force Chief of Staff. Within 24 hours, Ryan sent Lt. Gen. Louis J. Wilson, the Air Force Inspector General (IG) to Seventh Air Force headquarters at Tan Son Nhut to investigate the allegations. Franks said Wilson was belligerent in his interview but the IG finally confirmed that “irregularities existed in some of the 7th Air Force’s operational reports.”
General Lavelle immediately stopped all the bombing strikes and the media rushed to print with information about the illegal bombing runs.
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Franks didn’t actually get into that much trouble, considering.
Sorry, that should be RMK-BRJ.
LBJ was even a bigger crook than Nixon. My father’s company was part of RMJ-BRK, which did the construction work in Viet Nam. LBJ was the lowest of the low.
frankdawg,
I am unsure under the same circumstances if I could have done what the gentleman is claimed to have done. Would I kill someone else to save my own life, for me its rhetorical. But would I kill to save my own daughters life, you bet ya.
This is where even though, I am firmly against what occurred during WWII and I think the US had a secret agenda. I do not blame the solider that was following orders. I blame those that were giving the orders.
In the US Military, you can be court Martialed for failure to follow the Orders of a Direct Superior and Following Orders which Violate the Constitution and other Articles of Military Regulation.
It all boils down to who is in charge and what you believe and what you don’t. I proved too high strung and well as bull headed for the Military Life….I did a lot of things my way……which, could or should I say, if I had not the balls to be oppositional defiant I would not have gotten away with as much as I did…..lol (now)
Life is a teacher and I have children…nuff said…
One of my favorite stories of personal courage is of a German Sargent in WWII. Ordered to execute civilian detainees during the invasion of Poland he refuses saying a German soldier would not kill unarmed civilians, He has his uniform taken from him & is ordered to stand with the civilians. His is again ordered to issue the command to shoot the civilians and again refuses. He was shot with the others.
If more men had his honor & courage there would be a lot fewer Nixons, Kissingers and Lavelles creating Hell here on Earth.
I hope when Kissinger reaches Hell Nixon has saved a few pineapples for him.
Aw, who am I kidding? There is no Hell other than the one we create here in this life. But these evil men (those who order killings without a thought & those who “do their duty” to kill without concern) deserve a Hell that they will never see. Meanwhile their victims suffer in a Hell evil men create.
Gee, how mighty white of Nixon to give this guy’s reputation a fleeting thought.
And, I won’t hold my breath that Kissinger would at least apologize to Lavalle’s family.
He was disciplined for “unauthorized” missions in violation of the president’s orders, and falsifying records concerning those missions. As to this, following the president’s orders is absolutely a defense. (As to the falsifying records, the news story suggest he was not involved in preparing the false records)
Has everyone forgotten that soldiers are expendable? All Lavelle lost was his job and reputation. How about those thousands of Americans that lost body parts, or their lives, in what some thought was our “national interest?” How about the millions of Vietnamese, Cambodians, Laotians, Chinese, etc?
War is about destruction, killing and sacrifice.
That it remains one of humankind’s favorite pastimes remains a sad fact.
bigkoala@verizon.net
Nixon? “Lied to the public”? You gotta be kidding. The next thing will be what…revelations about the existence of the tooth fairy?
FormerFederalNothing
1, August 6, 2010 at 10:30 am
“However, to destroy the career of such a man reaches a new low in my view.”
Really? You think this is the worst thing that Nixon or Kissinger ever did? Surely it’s terrible, but not as bad as say, sending thousands of Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laos to their deaths?
“Lavelle took the betrayal like a soldier”
What does that mean?
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I would also like to read an answer to that question.
That’s a pretty amazing story, lottakatz. I never heard it before. He wrote his Senator! That’s pretty amazing.
Kissenger integrity I tried to put the two words in the same sentence,but my keyboard refused to do it.
“However, to destroy the career of such a man reaches a new low in my view.”
Really? You think this is the worst thing that Nixon or Kissinger ever did? Surely it’s terrible, but not as bad as say, sending thousands of Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laos to their deaths?
“Lavelle took the betrayal like a soldier”
What does that mean?
“Lavelle who was simply following orders”
That’s not a defense for immoral and illegal action as you well know, Prof. Turley.
lottakatz,
If you are suggesting “birds of a feather” etc. … then I would agree
correction “likewise APPROPRIATE”. Too early and not enough coffee.
To be a semi-contrarian here I have to wonder about the ethics of Lavelle. Lavelle was a General and I presume he knew he was being given illegal orders. Did he not have the option of refusing an illegal order? His career would have been ended but that was the eventual outcome in any event along with the war being prolonged. Why did it fall to a glorified clerk to blow the whistle and be forced out of the service. How about rehabilitating his reputation with a medal of freedom or something?
Wouldn’t it be likewise for the President to retroactively remove some of the commendations and glory from the career files of the officers giving Lavelle the illegal orders to balance the scales?
Is some future President going to be rehabilitating the reputation of the Iraq veterans that went to jail for torturing prisoners?
“When one honest man made a difference”
http://www.albionmonitor.com/0210a/jensenpathsofglory.html
If anyone in the Nixon Administration had an Ounces I would not be surprised. If they had integrity in the Nixon Administration that would be, well what would you say a miracle. But I have heard, we won’t have dick to kick around anymore…..In this case we don’t.
What I am surprised in about the Republicans. In time it became anybody that wanted to get into National Politics had to get Dicks graces before the powers that be would agree to finance them….of course if they hadn’t already stolen enough to do it themselves….
“If Kissinger had a ounce of integrity, he would have resigned.”
If Kissinger had a ounce of integrity, I would be shocked beyond belief.