Word: platooner
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Calley appeared very much in need of luck as Prosecutor Aubrey Daniel rested his case last week in the military courtroom at Fort Benning, Ga. He had constructed his case well; but with the appearance of Turner and two other former Calley platoon members, Charles Sledge and James J. Dursi, it became obvious that Daniel, in the best tradition of courtroom dramatics, had saved some of the most graphic testimony to wind up his presentation...
...afternoon and the following morning, Thomas Turner, the prosecution's 34th and next to last witness, had described in measured tones how Calley had directed and participated in the slaughter of scores of women, children and old men. Turner was a fireteam leader in Calley's platoon at My Lai. His testimony had been the most damaging thus far, methodically lacing together the events described by earlier witnesses. But as he left the stand, Turner approached Calley and placed a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of encouragement. Then he whispered, in a barely audible voice, something...
Then the prosecution's last witness took the stand. He was James Dursi, 23, a rifleman in Calley's platoon, who recently applied for a job as a New York City cop. He reinforced the testimony of both Sledge and Turner, then added a weird example of the kind of transformation that men in combat can undergo. At one point, Dursi related, having rounded up a group of civilians, "Meadlo had them sitting on a dike [near the trail]. He was playing with the kids, giving them C-rations and candy like we always did." Calley arrived...
Against such damning testimony, Defense Attorney George Latimer faces an uphill battle. But as he opened his defense late last week, he appeared to be arguing on a level different from that of the prosecution. In his opening speech, Latimer pointed out that Calley's platoon was inadequately trained and instructed, that the men were bent on avenging the buddies they had buried the afternoon before, and that although "higher commanders were in the area . . . not until after lunch were there any orders to cease firing." His choice of initial witnesses seemed designed to bear out these contentions...
Vast Confusion. Chances are that Prosecutor Daniel is no longer counting on Meadlo's testimony. Daniel plans to conclude his case this week by calling to the witness stand other members of the Calley platoon. The defense has in cross-examination tried to raise the possibility that artillery fire or helicopter strafing inflicted the casualties. Also, two witnesses said that they found a rifle near the body of one Vietnamese. Another, contradicting all the other testimony, said that he believed that some hostile fire was directed at the G.I.s. But the defense has not begun to make its real...