The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell Page #7

by his friends,

so I'll stay

for the funeral.

Come on, Colonel.

Ah, why don't I give up?

What am I

struggling for?

If we could only get

one witness on the stand...

to punch one air disaster

into the record,

we'd punch a hole

in the dike.

Impossible.

Margaret Lansdowne.

It's against procedure.

It's perfect.

It's the other half

of our case.

Don't you see? It wasn't

only the army Billy accused.

It was the navy too.

The navy wouldn't

listen to Lansdowne...

any more than the army

would listen to Mitchell.

Perfect justification.

Mr. Reid, the court

has ruled repeatedly

on this.

They won't allow her

to take the stand.

The widow of a naval hero?

Huh. When the papers

print her story...

and spread it in headlines

across the country,

no court on earth can refuse

to put her on the stand.

I'll see you in court

tomorrow.

Mrs. Lansdowne?

Yes.

I'm Congressman Reid.

I know.

I've seen your picture

in the papers.

May I come in?

I know what

you're here for, sir,

and my answer is no.

I'm sorry.

May I talk to you

a minute, please?

If you wish.

Do I understand you

correctly, that you...

don't want to testify

for Col. Mitchell?

That's right.

But why?

You must have a reason.

I wish you'd tell me

what it is.

I'm sorry. I can't.

May I sit down,

please?

I don't think

we have very much to say

to each other, Mr. Reid.

I think we have

quite a bit to say.

Please?

All right, if you don't

want to tell me,

I won't ask you why

you don't want to testify.

Maybe you have a reason.

Maybe somebody got to you

and convinced you not to talk.

Maybe you think you ought

to protect somebody.

I don't know,

and I don't care.

But one thing

I must know though.

Please don't think

I'm impertinent,

Mrs. Lansdowne.

- I assume that you loved

your husband. Am I right?

- Of course.

All right. And you know that

he died fighting for a cause.

Yes.

That his sense of duty

was so strong...

that he took up a ship

that he knew was unsafe...

and that he fought

in every way possible

to keep grounded.

- How do you know

all this?

- That's immaterial.

I'm trying to tell you

that Billy Mitchell...

is fighting the same fight

your husband fought.

And if your husband

were alive today,

he'd be right in there

with Billy helping him

in every way he could.

[ Crying ]

Please, I wish

you wouldn't.

The only way to avoid such

needless, futile sacrifices

as your husband made...

is for the people

to know the truth.

[ Crying ]

Billy Mitchell has staked

his entire military career

to get it to them.

And I know that your husband

would want you to help him.

[ Sniffling ]

You know he would too.

Mrs. Lansdowne, may I ask

why you have waited until now...

to spread this tale

in the newspapers?

- Nobody asked me before.

- And who asked you now?

It was my own decision.

As I understand it,

Mrs. Lansdowne,

you and Col. Mitchell

have been close friends

for a long time.

That's right.

Isn't it possible

that you came here

to aid an old friend...

at the expense

of the exact truth?

- I object!

- Sustained.

Very well.

You say, Mrs. Lansdowne,

that Col. Mitchell did not

ask you to testify here.

That's right.

Did someone else ask you?

Yes.

Who?

Congressman Reid.

Congressman Reid?

And did Congressman Reid

suggest...

that you tell the story

as it actually happened,

or did he perhaps suggest

that you emphasize

elements in it...

which would prove favorable

to Col. Mitchell?

I object!

I object most violently...

the suggestion that I

suborned this witness.

I am only trying to find out

why this witness--

You are trying to imply

that I put pressure

on Mrs. Lansdowne...

to come here

and perjure herself.

I think, sir, that

my reputation in the Congress

of the United States--

- I am not impugning

your reputation.

- Order in the court.

Allow me

to rephrase my question.

Prior to your appearance here,

was pressure brought to bear

on you?

Yes.

Very strong pressure.

Well.

[ Spectators Murmuring ]

Suppose you tell us

about it.

- I was told

not to testify.

- Not-- By whom?

I'd rather not say.

Go ahead. Tell them.

Tell them who told you

not to testify.

Some friends of my husband--

naval officers.

- Objection! I withdraw--

- Let her speak.

Let her speak.

Tell the court what they said.

[ Guthrie ]

Just a moment, Mr. Reid.

Mrs. Lansdowne,

you're making

a very serious charge.

Are you telling this court

that you were approached

by naval officers...

who asked you

to withhold information?

Yes, sir.

Tell the court

who they were.

I object! This is irrelevant

and-and immaterial!

Objection overruled.

I would rather not

identify them.

They thought

they were doing it

for the good of the navy.

- What did they say?

- They said it was the duty

of a navy wife...

to protect the service

at all costs.

Didn't you

agree with that?

Yes.

They told me that my husband

was a naval hero...

and that I owed it

to his memory...

not to drag his name

through the mud of a trial.

Then what made you

change your mind?

Because

I realized...

that by

telling the truth,

I would be doing my duty

to the navy and to Zach.

If Zach were alive,

he would be here to

testify for Col. Mitchell.

I am testifying

in his place

and telling the truth.

He tried everything.

He wrote letters,

made phone calls,

protested to everyone.

He knew it wasn't safe

to take that ship up.

On the last day, I drove out

to the mooring mast with him

to say good-bye.

Everything was ready

for the takeoff,

but he kept delaying

the departure.

He was waiting, hoping

for some last-minute word

from Washington.

We walked to the communication

shack together,

and he asked the chief on duty

if a message had come for him.

There was none.

And when the ship was ready,

he kissed me good-bye

and climbed into the cabin.

He waved to me

through the window once,

and then he gave the order

to cast off.

I never saw him again.

Zach and his men were

sent to their deaths

by indifference!

Zach was too young

to be insubordinate,

too young and too brave

to save his own life.

I see no need

of prolonging

your appearance here.

Thank you, madame.

You are excused.

The prosecution moves

that Mrs. Lansdowne's

testimony...

be stricken from the record

as irrelevant...

and as a violation of

the court's previous ruling

on justification witnesses.

The defense considers

Mrs. Lansdowne's testimony

to be of extreme relevance.

Moreover, I request

the court to reconsider...

its prior ruling about

justification witnesses...

and allow the defense

to call the witnesses whom

it has previously requested.

In my opinion,

the entire court should

vote on this objection.

Court will be closed.

[ Bailiff ]

Stand up!

Sit tight.

Keep your fingers crossed.

Thank you.

I'd say

that this changes

the whole picture.

I don't see how.

She's just

an emotional woman.

Emotional or not,

I think we ought

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