Word Of Honor Page #5

even against yourself.

You won't let me do that,

find yourself another attorney.

My family is my life, J.D.

This is destroying them.

lf l don't end this now,

my life's not gonna be worth a damn.

l don't know.

Maybe l just have a broader

definition of life than you do.

Well, l'm gonna ask you to narrow it.

Just this once.

Help me.

Congratulations. Let's go celebrate.

What's going on?

Tyson....

He dropped his appeal.

He wants immunity for his soldiers.

Why is he doing this?

Hold up. All right, go ahead.

Death wish.

Okay, away you go.

Lieutenant Tyson reports.

You're supposed to show

up in uniform, lieutenant.

l don't own a uniform, sir.

-You know a barber, then?

-Yes, sir, l do.

So, you show up down here

in civvies, no tie, long hair.

We run a nice, quiet post here,

Lieutenant Tyson.

We do not enjoy the prospect of having

the media nosing around here.

Curiosity-seekers and demonstrations,

those people make me sick.

-l'll try not to add to your problems, sir.

-Well, see that you don't.

Now, l've been instructed

to offer you family housing.

Thank you, but my family won't

be joining me.

l've made arrangements at a hotel.

Well, let me be a little more

precise then, lieutenant.

You will be at base housing

from 2400 to 0600 hours.

Any off-duty travel is restricted

to 1 5 miles from your post.

-l was told l would not be restricted.

-l don't give a damn.

You're back in the Army now. An army upon

which you've shown nothing but dishonor.

Now, get out of my face.

You're dismissed.

Lieutenant.

Major.

That's right.

l am a major.

Why does Farley hate you so much?

-Ask Farley.

-l have.

Why does Brandt hate you?

l don't know for certain

what happened at Misericorde.

Brandt and Farley's version

are all over the map.

But l do know your version

isn't credible, either.

-Maybe the truth is irrelevant, major.

-No, no.

No, lies are destructive, you know.

They spread like a malignancy

to the innocent and guilty alike.

l want the lies to stop.

And l want you to put an end to them.

lf not for your own sake,

then for the sake of the innocent...

...and for the sake of your country.

Just end this nightmare for everyone.

lf those men mutinied, lieutenant....

lf those men are responsible

for this crime against humanity...

...put an end to this now.

They don't deserve your loyalty.

You see that guy over there?

Would you die to save his life?

Right now, no time to think.

Boom. He's dead.

And you're probably dead too.

The legal system....

They're more concerned about winning

than they are about justice.

My God, we've got a news media

that is an international disgrace...

...owned by behemoth corporations

that profiteer on human tragedy.

And they try and pass it off

as some sort of crusade for the truth.

Well, that's a bunch of crap.

And you couldn't penetrate

the truth of Misericorde...

...in a million years.

l like you, Tyson.

l even admire you...

...which is one of the reasons

l can't let this go.

Every account of Misericorde, including

your own, mentions a surviving eyewitness.

Sister Teresa.

Major, if you like me so much,

leave her out of this.

l'll take my chances against

Brandt and Farley.

No, you'll take your chances against me.

General Van Arken has ordered

me to prosecute this case.

Mrs. Tyson, apologies, apologies. l was

detained. Did they get you anything?

-Can l get you anything?

-No.

But thank you for seeing me

on such short notice.

l hope that l didn't sound

too anxious on the phone...

...but l am confused about all this.

He met with his soldiers, you know.

He asked them to release him

from his obligation.

When?

Last week.

l gather it didn't go

quite the way he was hoping.

-He never told me.

-Well....

Against my very expensive

and well-considered advice...

...he's determined to do this thing, to fight

this thing the best way he thinks he can.

By confronting his accusers

in the courtroom.

He believes the only way he can end

this thing is with a court-martial.

He also believes that if he doesn't...

...he's gonna lose you...

-...and your boy. David, is it?

-Yes.

And as he said to me...

...his wife and family are his life.

You guys look...groovy.

We were on our way to Hue...

...when the lieutenant said we're gonna

take a quick detour into this village.

The village of An Ninh Ha.

And we're gonna stop at this hospital.

-Misericorde Hospital?

-Objection. Counsel gonna testify as well?

Sustained. Major, have your witness

respond in full.

Why were you going

to Misericorde Hospital?

The looey said we got a couple guys

that were still in bad shape...

...after we got ambushed.

And they needed more help than Brandt

could give them in the field.

Please tell us what happened

at the hospital.

So the lieutenant ordered Beltran...

...to pull the gook off a table

and put Peterson on it.

Then Tyson said--

Somebody said, ''Peterson's dead.''

And then Tyson said,

''Waste them. Waste them all.''

And then he shot Cane.

Why did they kill the doctors,

nurses and other patients?

We saw them running.

ln Nam, you see someone running,

you kill them.

-What about Corporal Larry Cane?

-Like l said, Tyson shot him.

-Why?

-Because Cane was trying to stop it.

At no time did you hear or see Lieutenant

Tyson try to stop what was going on?

Well, why would he do that?

He begun it.

Thank you, Mr. Farley.

l have no more questions.

-Mr. Runnells, do you wish to inquire?

-Yes, l do, Your Honor.

Good afternoon, Mr. Farley.

How's the Army been treating you?

No complaints. Major Taix even

took me out for breakfast.

He did?

l bet it's better than the breakfast

at the Our Lady of Perpetual Mercy shelter.

Oh, much better. l had Belgian waffles.

Are you currently in treatment

for substance abuse?

-Objection. Relevance.

-Goes to memory, Your Honor.

-Answer the question, Mr. Farley.

-Off and on.

When l go to a session at the V.A.,

then l'm under treatment.

For what substances?

Barbiturates and alcohol and heroin.

-How long you been under treatment?

-Since '75-- Seventy-three.

Mr. Farley, while you were in Vietnam,

did you use illegal substances?

l'll just remind you you're under oath.

Grass. Morphine.

Dropped a little acid.

Before you took the stand this morning...

...while you were eating your waffle...

...did you go over your testimony

with Major Taix?

-To freshen me up, he said.

-How much time did you spend doing that?

You mean this morning...

...or counting the weekend?

Was Major Taix helpful?

He sure knew a lot more about it

than l did.

-Your Honor, l object.

-No further questions, Your Honor.

On February 1 5, 1 972...

...did you help carry PFC Arthur Peterson...

...to an operating room

in Misericorde Hospital?

-l did.

-What happened next?

Lieutenant Tyson was demanding

the doctor treat Peterson.

And the doctor wouldn't...

...so Lieutenant Tyson shoved him.

And then PFC Sadowski hit the doctor

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