The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell Page #8

to listen to her...

and to anyone else who may

have pertinent testimony.

I agree with MacArthur.

Well, I don't.

We're here to try Mitchell

for insubordination.

We're not here to listen

to a lot of wailing

about the navy...

or to hear people try to

justify his behavior.

You just said it.

We're here to try Mitchell.

And to give him a fair trial,

we have to listen

to every bit of evidence...

whether or not it's

technically called

a justification.

Did you hear

what that girl said

about theShenandoah?

Suppose other witnesses

had equally positive

testimony.

The trial would go on for weeks,

and the publicity would be bad

for everybody.

Well, that's the chance

we have to take.

The whole foundation

of our legal system

and of our country...

rests

on the right of a man

to defend himself,

on his right

to use every means

to defend himself.

He may be wrong, but

at least he's entitled

to tell his story.

And the minute

we forget that,

we're in grave danger.

I mean that, gentlemen.

Very grave danger.

I agree wholeheartedly

with General MacArthur.

Anybody else

have any thoughts?

I haven't.

No.

I think not.

Then I suggest

we vote on it.

[ Guthrie ]

Court will

come to order.

Under the 31st

Article of War,

it's the court's ruling...

that the motion to strike

Mrs. Lansdowne's testimony

is overruled...

and that the defense

may proceed with

its witnesses.

[ Spectators Chattering ]

Order in the court.

- Are your witnesses

present?

- Yes, sir.

One witness, Mr. Reid,

will not be here.

The president has declined

your kind invitation

to appear at this court.

The defense wishes

to thank Mr. Coolidge...

for his gracious

consideration

of our request.

Our other witnesses,

however, I'm sure,

will compensate

for his absence.

[ Man ]

Major Hap Arnold.

Major Arnold,

how many pilots have we lost

in peacetime flying?

The total is 517,

sir.

That is from

January 1919

to date.

How many of them

met their deaths

in modern planes?

In machines built

since the war,

To your knowledge, Major,

have there been

any recommendations...

made to the general staff

with respect to safety measures

for the air service?

Yes, sir. Dozens of them,

most of them

by Col. Mitchell.

Do you know

what became of them?

Yes, sir.

They've beenfiled.

[ Spectators Murmuring ]

Captain Rickenbacker,

will you tell the court...

how many enemy planes

you brought down

in the last war?

Yes, sir.

Twenty-six.

Approximately how many hours

did you spend flying

over enemy lines?

About 300.

Now, based on your experiences

in the World War,

I should like to ask you

three questions.

First, is it proper

to send an aviator up

without a parachute?

It's suicidal. It's like

sending a man to sea

without a life preserver.

Second, what is your opinion

of the aircraft presently

being used by our flyers?

The graveyards

around our airfields

prove their worth.

Third, do you happen to know

what the aviation rank

of the United States is...

in comparison

with other nations?

According to the latest

information I have,

we're now in eighth place.

[ Spectators Murmuring ]

Thank you,

Capt. Rickenbacker.

Your witness.

Would it surprise you

to know, Captain,

that the latest

official reports contradict...

most of your so-called

informedstatements?

I wouldn't be surprised

at anything in the official

reports you refer to.

I would be surprised

if anybody believed them.

No further questions.

Major Spaatz,

what is your present

military assignment?

I am chief of the

tactical unit section

of the training command.

Now, Major Spaatz,

can you inform this court...

as to how many planes

our armed forces presently

have for combat purposes?

Yes, sir. Nine.

But the War Department

carries on the army list

That is technically

correct, sir.

But of that number,

which are obsolete

and of little

serviceable use.

And the remaining 400?

were flown in France

in 1917...

and have not

been modified

or improved since.

And the remaining 69?

Sixty are used

for training purposes.

That leaves nine

for use against

a possible enemy.

And of that number, not one

pursuit ship is equipped

for wartime service.

So you believe the organization

of the tactical unit

of the air service...

is being retarded

by the War Department.

- I do.

-Thank you, Major.

Thank you very much.

Is it your experience,

Mr. La Guardia,

as a member of the Congress,

that younger officers

invariably want to carry out

the wishes of the general staff?

Well, let me put it

this way.

When the army testifies

before Congress,

it operates like

a self-greasing axle.

[ Spectators Laugh ]

Thank you, Congressman.

Your witness.

Mr. La Guardia, is it true

you made a speech in New York...

in which you said Col. Mitchell

is not being tried

by a jury of his peers?

- That is correct.

- By what logic do you

arrive at the conclusion...

that general officers

in the United States Army

are not equals to Col. Mitchell?

That's easy. Their feet

are stuck in the mud.

[ Spectators Laugh ]

Not one of them has ever

flown in an airplane.

Isn't it possible, Congressman--

having flown a plane yourself--

that your judgment is clouded

by the natural sympathy

you feel...

for another man

who also flies a plane?

I have no more

natural sympathy

for an airplane pilot...

than I do for some

of my colleagues

in Congress.

[ Spectators Laugh ]

Yet you say that officers

who have never flown...

are not equals

to Col. Mitchell.

In that respect only.

It's as reasonable

to have them judge him...

as it is for you

to run for Congress.

[ Spectators Laughing ]

No further questions.

Admiral Sims, how does

the United States Navy

handle its aircraft?

What is its policy?

Well, it has no policy.

It bumps along

from day to day.

[ Spectators Laugh ]

Does the navy

consider the airplane

a major weapon?

The Navy Department

is ignoring the airplane...

in the hope that,

if they don't notice it,

maybe it'll disappear.

[ Laughter ]

Thank you, Admiral.

Your witness.

Admiral, how do you account for

this difference of opinion...

between you and your

colleagues of the navy?

Well, they are just not

educated about the air.

Surely,

they're capable officers...

who can inform themselves

on the problems of aviation.

Reading a lot of golf books

doesn't make a man

a good golf player.

[ Laughter ]

As I understand it, Admiral, you

are no longer in active service.

- Is that right?

- Yes, sir.

I am retired.

But I can still think for

myself, and I'd like to tell

this court one thing, sir.

This row on air power

is not a row between

the army and navy.

It is a clash between

men who love to fly

and men who don't,

men who think

in terms of air power...

and men who can't

think at all.

Col. Moreland,

this Mitchell business

is getting out of hand.

It looks as though

he's put the army on trial.

Mr. President, the army

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