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General Won't Punish G.I.'s for Refusing Orders

General Won't Punish G.I.'s for Refusing Orders
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March 23, 1971, Page 1Buy Reprints
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KHESANH, South Vietnam, March, 22 — A command ing general said today, he did, not plan to take disciplinary action against 53 of his men who refused an order to move forward to secure a damaged helicopter and their command ing officer's armored vehicle.

“I suppose if I went by the book, we could take them out and shoot them for refusing an order in the face of the en emy,” said Brig. Gen. John G. Hill Jr., “but they're back in the field, doing their duty. don't think it should be blown out of proportion.”

The commander of the relue tant armored cavalry troop, Capt. Carlos A. Poveda, was relieved of his command. Gent eral Hill, commander of the First Brigade, Fifth Infantry Division (Mechanized) said the captain had “made an error in tactics” that resulted in his los ing control of his unit when he became separated from it.

The men who refused to carry out the order were mem bers of two platoons of Troop B, First Squadron, First Caval ry, Ainerical Division. They are temporarily assigned to Gener al Hill's division in the north west corner of South Vietnam, supporting the South Vietna mese invasion of Laos.

A similar incident occurred in the Americal Division in Au gust, 1969, when an infantry company refused to go for ward after five days of heavy casualties on a mountain held by the North Vietnamese.

General Hill told newsmen the incident occurred late Sat urday night. Informed sources gave this account:

The armored unit had tried for several hours to move for ward and dislodge an enemy ambush force on Route 9 be tween Langvei and the Laotian border nearby. Three times the two platoons of Troop B moved up, ran into heavy resistance and pulled back to wait for their heavy weapons and air support to weaken the enemy.

On the third move forward, the troop commander's armored personnel carrier hit a mine as the unit was pulling back, and the platoons became separated and disorganized. Just before dark, two other armored per sonnel carriers moved up the highway and picked up the troop commander and his crew, including one wounded man. Shortly afterward, a helicopter made a forced landing behind the abandoned command ve hicle, but the crew of the heli copter moved out safely.

At about 8:30 P.M., Troop B was ordered to move forward again to obtain the helicopter and the command vehicle, but the men refused to go. General Hill was informed and sent the squadron commander, Lieut. Col. Gene L. Breeding, to talk to them. The colonel spoke with the men of the two pla toons, but 53 of them—not in cluding their officers or platoon sergeants—still refused to go forward.

Colonel Breeding decided not to take further action at that time. Another armored unit was sent out yesterday morn ing, and it secured the armored personnel carrier and the heli copter. Troop B remained in the field yesterday, but General Hill replaced Captain Poveda with one of his own officers.

Troop B later was pulled back and attached to a unit of, the Fifth Division. The rest of. Colonel Breeding's squadron from the Americal Division was pulled back for refitting to give the colonel a chance to strengthen his control over the unit. He took over the squadron 12 days ago.

One of the men who refused the order to move forward was Specialist 4 Randy Thompson of Evansville, Ind., who had volunteered for the earlier mission to rescue the captain and crew from the disabled armored personnel carrier. He said he refused to go back be cause “the reason given wasn't a very good one.”

“It was after a piece of ma chinery that could have been replaced,” he said. “I didn't see any sense in risking any more lives.”

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