A Few Good Men Page #25

MCGUIRE:

Robert C. McGuire, Special Agent,

Naval Investigative Service.

ROSS:

Mr. McGuire, did your office receive

a letter from PFC William Santiago

on 3 August of this year?

MCGUIRE:

We did.

ROSS:

What did the letter say?

MCGUIRE:

That a member of Private Santiago's

unit had illegally fired his weapon

over the fenceline.

ROSS:

Was that marine identified in the

letter?

MCGUIRE:

No sir. I notified the barracks C.O.,

Colonel Jessep, that I would be coming

down to investigate.

ROSS:

And what did you find?

MCGUIRE:

For the shift reported, only one

sentry returned his weapon to the

switch with a round of ammunition

missing.

ROSS:

And who was that?

MCGUIRE:

Lance Corporal Harold Dawson.

ROSS:

(continuing; to KAFFEE)

Your witness.

ROSS goes back to his table. KAFFEE stands.

KAFFEE:

Mr. McGuire, have you questioned

Corporal Dawson about the fenceline

shooting?

MCGUIRE:

Yes. He claims to have been engaged

in some manner by the enemy.

KAFFEE:

But you don't believe him.

MCGUIRE:

It's not my place --

KAFFEE:

Corporal Dawson's been charged with

a number of crimes, why wasn't he

charged with firing at the enemy

without cause?

MCGUIRE:

There wasn't enough evidence to

support such a charge.

KAFFEE:

Thank you.

KAFFEE sits.

ROSS:

Mr. McGuire, I don't understand what

you mean when you say there wasn't

enough evidence to support such a

charge. You had Willy Santiago's

letter.

MCGUIRE:

Santiago was the only witness, but I

never had a chance to interview him.

So I don't know what he saw.

ROSS:

And now we won't ever know, will we,

Mr. McGuire?

MCGUIRE:

No.

ROSS:

No more questions.

CUT TO:

HAMMAKER, a young marine corporal, is being sworn in.

HAMMAKER:

Corporal Carl Edward Hammaker, Marine

Barracks, Rifle Security Company

Windward, Second Platoon Charlie.

ROSS:

Corporal, were you present at a

meeting that Lt. Kendrick held on

the afternoon of August 6th with the

members of second platoon.

HAMMAKER:

Yes sir.

ROSS:

Would you tell the Court the substance

of that meeting?

HAMMAKER:

Lt. Kendrick told us that we had an

informer in our group. That Private

Santiago had gone outside the chain

of command and reported to the NIS

on a member of our platoon.

ROSS:

Did that make you mad?

(pause)

You can tell the truth, corporal,

it's alright. Did it make you mad?

HAMMAKER:

Yes sir.

ROSS:

How mad?

HAMMAKER:

Private Santiago betrayed a code

that we believe in very deeply, sir.

ROSS:

Were the other members of the squad

angry?

KAFFEE:

Object --

ROSS:

Were Dawson and Downey?

KAFFEE:

Please the Court, is the judge

advocate honestly asking this witness

to testify as to how the defendant

felt on August 6th?

RANDOLPH:

Sustained.

ROSS:

Corporal, did Lt. Kendrick leave a

standing order at that meeting?

RANDOLPH:

Yes sir.

ROSS:

What was it?

HAMMAKER:

Well it was clear that he didn't

want us to take matters into our own

hands, sir.

ROSS:

What was the order?

HAMMAKER:

Sir, he said that Santiago wasn't to

be touched.

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