by Bill Mesce
Joyce was flustered. “Well, I, um, one goes where the Army – ”
“Major Joyce, remember how good it felt to give me an honest answer before? Wouldn’t it be nice to have that feeling again? Ambition’s not a sin, Major. You came into the war a captain. You didn’t want to go out the same way, did you?”
From Pietrowski: “Son, we’re all grown–ups here. We all know the facts of life.”
“I flatter myself to think I could earn a promotion at some future time.”
“Good. As I see it – and if I’m off base here, straighten me out – that wasn’t going to happen as long as Colonel Porter remained in command. It didn’t look like he’d ever get promoted out of the battalion, and as long as he kept running the show the way he was, you’d never get a chance to, let’s say, ‘display your wares.’ Is that a reasonable picture of the situation?”
Still reluctant to badmouth Porter: “I, um, I…more or less, I suppose so, Sir.”
“When Colonel Porter approved the nomination of Dominick Sisto for a battlefield commission…you disagreed?”
“I was not completely comfortable with it, Sir.”
“Because by then there’d already been the Article 96, and the incident at the Rapido, and he did have that attitude problem you’d mentioned.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“And he was kind of rough around the edges.”
Nothing.
Harry flipped to a fresh card. “According to the officer fitness report that Colonel Porter filled out on Lieutenant Sisto just before the unit shipped out of England, well, a lot of this is what you’ve already told us today: ‘Excellent combat soldier…has a problem showing proper respect…’ Also says here, ‘…reliable under demanding circumstances…despite some abrasive conduct, undeniable leadership qualities…’” Harry looked up from his cards and studied Joyce for a long moment. “Do you agree with the colonel’s assessment?”
“The colonel was entitled to his opinion.”
“Then I take it you disagree?”
“Not completely. I’ve said the lieutenant was a good combat soldier. But I’m not in complete agreement with that report.”
“You felt he had a, um, I think the word that came up earlier was ‘tendency’…to disobedience. Or at least insubordination, a problem with authority.”
“I’ll say I wasn’t as sure of his reliability as the colonel.”
“You think the colonel’s judgement was questionable on Dominick Sisto?”
“I think the colonel tended to be overly generous in his evaluations. As I said; he was very non–confrontational. I think he sometimes tried to gain the good favor of his subordinates in ways that were, ultimately, not supportive of good order and discipline.”
Harry grinned. “He buttered them up.”
“I guess that’s a way of putting it, Sir.”
Harry flipped to another card, studied it a long moment. “Says, ‘…loyal, diligent, intelligent…prone to take issue with orders he finds disagreeable…’”
“I’m not sure how diligent the lieutenant was, though he could be – ”
Harry looked up, contrite. “Oh, I’m sorry, Major. This isn’t from Dominick Sisto’s fitness report. This is from yours.”
Red–faced: “Oh.”
“Was the colonel being overly generous with your evaluation? Or was he just trying to butter – ”
“Objection!” Courie looked thoroughly peeved. “Not only is the question argumentative, but I have to keep coming back to the issues of relevance and materiality. I don’t even see how this relates to the question of credibility that the defense keeps hiding behind! The defense questions Major Joyce’s conduct! He questions Colonel Porter’s conduct! The issue, here, however, is Lieutenant Sisto’s conduct and that never seems to come up when defense counsel has the floor! It doesn’t matter if Colonel Porter was Sad Sack with oak leaves! The colonel was dead when the issue at trial occurred! It doesn’t matter if Major Joyce’s fitness report indicates he was a prince among men or Captain Bligh! He gave an order and the lieutenant refused to obey! Why in God’s name are we wasting the Court’s time on all this other material?”
“All right, Colonel Voss!” Ryan said, now evidently in irate sympathy with Courie. “Let’s hear it; and you’d better make it good.”
Harry bowed his head a moment, tucked his hands behind his back, seeming to properly arrange his thoughts. When his head rose and he turned about, he seemed to be facing the jury as much as Ryan. “Every time the Judge Advocate has objected on the basis of relevancy and scope, he keeps saying the issue at trial is simple: an order was given; the order was disobeyed. And put that way, the issue at trial is that simple. But there’s a third element to this case that the prosecution consistently refuses to acknowledge: that Dominick Sisto says he was under Colonel Porter’s orders.”
Courie stepped forward to interject, but Harry held up a hand and kept on:
“We’ve been over this before: the jury is entitled to make a judgment as to the likelihood that such an order may have been given, and that does mean examining the competence of Colonel Porter. As far as the defense is concerned, this issue was settled yesterday. I apologize if that means this trial is a bit of a slog for the Judge Advocate. Perhaps if he had as much at stake as Lieutenant Sisto, he might not be so bored. So now the Court either has to reverse its previous ruling on the admissibility of this testimony, or allow the defense to continue along this line.”
Ryan closed his eyes as if suffering a severe headache and rested his head on one hand. Harry’s trump card – and I was acquainted enough with Ryan’s sense of do–no–wrong amour–propre to know this to be so – was that Ryan would never demonstrate a mea culpa by reversing himself. What he would decide, however, was fuel for suspense.
The colonel was silent a long time before his eyes opened, he removed his head from his hand and issued a long, tired sigh. He shot a bitter glance at Harry and I could tell he was not likely to forget that he was now corralled by the ruling his friend had coaxed from him the day previous. “Both counsel have a point,” he said, assuming an air of judicial sagacity. “We have established the relevance of Colonel Porter’s conduct and the defense can present testimony accordingly. But the Judge Advocate also has a point in that this does not allow the defense to roam willy–nilly through the life stories of the concerned parties.
“So. Colonel Voss, you can continue to ask questions about Colonel Porter but only in so much as they connect directly – I repeat – directly to the events surrounding the action at question here. Now: do you understand? Or do I have to make it plainer? Because if I do, I’m going to ask the lady in the courtroom to cover her ears.”
I was lucky enough to be positioned so as to see Harry’s face when he responded. While his, “I understand, Sir, and I appreciate the Court’s patience,” was humble enough, it was clear from his look (and thankfully neither the jury nor Courie could see it) that he was enjoying Ryan’s discomfiture. After all, the shoe was – as the proverb goes – usually on the other foot.
Harry set that second deck of note cards on his table. There was yet another quick conference with Ricks, before he scooped up the last deck and turned back to Joyce who was looking rather fagged by this point.
“All right, Major,” Harry began, “it’s time to talk about Hill 399.”
I think the only thing that kept Courie from standing on his chair and shouting “Huzzah!” was an anticipating Ryan’s warning glare.
“Major Joyce, we’ve heard testimony that Corps had commanded the hill be taken, and those orders were relayed through General Cota’s division to Colonel Bright and Colonel Porter and yourself. But the actual tactical approach to taking the hill on that third assault – this idea of knocking out the bunker covering the approach to the top of the hill, then attacking up a seam in the German defenses – who came up with that plan?”
“Well, we were all huddled – ”
“‘We?’”
; “Colonel Porter, myself, Lieutenant Schup, and the rifle company COs.”
“Acting COs, right?”
“Well, yes, they’d all had to assume command.”
“Because the regular COs were dead or wounded?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Who said, ‘You do this and I’ll do that.’ I mean, who worked out the specifics?”
“As I said, all of us sat down together – ”
“Wasn’t it the three acting rifle company commanders, Major?”
“Objection,” Courie said. “He asks the question, doesn’t give the witness a chance to answer, then supplies his own answer.”
“Sustained. Colonel Voss, I understand you may want to take issue with an answer from the witness, but you can’t do that until the witness gives an answer you can take issue with.”
“I’m afraid I was a little eager there, Sir, I’m sorry.” He turned to Joyce. “I didn’t mean to jump on you like that, Major, sorry. Now: to the question.”
“The, um, company commanders were the ones who were going to have to carry out the attack, so it’s understandable they’d work out the, you know, particulars, specifics…”
“Among themselves.”
“We were all there, Colonel.”
“Yes, but those acting COs, they were the only ones in that huddle who had first–hand knowledge of what it was like on the hill.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“So, it was not Corps, it was not Division, it was not your own battalion planning and operation officer, it was not you and Colonel Porter. You may have offered some guidance and counsel, but the three acting company COs worked out the plan of attack – two platoon lieutenants and a company sergeant.”
“You make that sound small, somehow, Colonel. I think they did a respectable job.”
“You misunderstand me, Major. I think they did a hell of a job! They didn’t get their promised air support, or the fire support from the tank destroyers that never made it, and they didn’t have fire support from their own mortars because of an ammo shortage, yet those three guys got the battalion it’s furthest advance up that hill. True?”
“True, Sir.”
“Now, as you say, you were there when they were putting the plan together. You approved the plan?”
“It was not my place. Colonel Porter as the CO – ”
“Didn’t ask your opinion?”
“It seemed workable.”
“So, for once, you and the colonel agreed on something.”
Courie: “Objection.”
Ryan: “Sustained. Behave, Colonel Voss.”
“Major, I want to talk about Colonel Porter’s leading the assault team that made the drive to the top of the hill. The words we’ve used so far about Colonel Porter’s tactical ‘style’ have been conservative, tentative, and so on, and you’ve agreed with that characterization, correct?”
“In general, yes, Sir.”
“So you didn’t think he was a rash commander? Impetuous? Somebody who got some half–cocked idea in his head and went running off with it?”
“No, Sir, nothing like that.”
“So you must’ve been surprised when the colonel decided to lead that push on the hill?”
“I was, yes, Sir.”
“Before the colonel decided to personally participate in the attack, didn’t he meet privately with the three company commanders?”
“There were several briefing sessions – ”
“I’m thinking of one particular session. Things got a bit heated. Didn’t the commanders – particularly Lieutenant Sisto – make remarks that might be considered insulting about the colonel’s leadership?”
“I was not party to that meeting.”
“Wasn’t Colonel Porter shamed into leading that attack?”
“Objection!” howled Courie. “The witness has already testified he was not party to that meeting! And even if Colonel Porter only went up that hill because someone held a gun to his head, that has nothing to do with the issue the defense has been instructed to confine itself to: the likelihood of his having given the withdrawal order.”
“Sir,” began Harry, “I don’t want the Judge Advocate claiming Colonel Porter was a hold–to–the–last–man kind of guy because he committed one completely out–of–character – ”
“The Judge Advocate can claim whatever he wants,” Ryan snubbed, “and so can you. It’s the jury’s responsibility to decide what the truth of the matter is. So, let’s not take their job away from them, shall we? And try to leave poor Colonel Porter alone if we can? Objection sustained. Strike it back to when the defense brought up the meetings between Colonel Porter and the company Cos. Ok, Colonel Voss, go ahead.”
“Major Joyce, earlier, Captain Courie asked you about Lieutenant Sisto’s conduct on the second assault on the hill; the day the lieutenant assumed command of Love Company. You said that Dominick Sisto’s first act having taken command of the company was to demand – that was the word you used: ‘demand’ – the battalion’s withdrawal from the hill. Do you remember saying that?”
“I remember, Sir.”
“And do you remember taking issue with the decision to withdraw at that time?”
“I don’t know that I’d use the phrase ‘taking issue.’”
“Let’s keep it simple. Dominick Sisto wanted to pull–out, Colonel Porter agreed, and you did not.”
“As I recall, I said that it would have been my preference – ”
Resolutely: “Lieutenant Sisto wanted off the hill; you wanted him to stay.”
Joyce straightened in his chair. “At that point, yes, Sir.”
“Did Lieutenant Sisto give any reason for his wanting the battalion pulled off the hill?”
“He said he believed the battalion couldn’t hold.”
“Did he say why he believed the battalion couldn’t hold?”
“I’m sure he did, but I’m having difficulty recalling – ”
“Didn’t the lieutenant say that he was short of men and the ones that were left were low on ammunition?”
“That sounds, um, yes, I believe that was the report.”
“Were they low on ammo? Were they short of men?”
“Obviously, we could only go by what was being reported.”
“Did you have any reason to doubt that the lieutenant was being truthful?”
“The decision to withdraw was Colonel Porter’s.”
“Major, I’m asking if you thought Lieutenant Sisto might have been lying – or, if you’re more comfortable with the word, exaggerating – about his situation to get a pull–back order from Colonel Porter?”
“My concern was that considering the confused situation on the hill, Lieutenant Sisto might not have been able to give an accurate report. What he could immediately witness would not necessarily have been an accurate overall picture. Do you get my meaning?”
“Yes, Major, I do. The ammo train that arrived late the next day – wasn’t part of its cargo small arms ammunition?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“And didn’t the battalion receive replacements the night before the last attack?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“So, at least by the time the ammo train and replacements were requested the night before the final assault, somebody on the CP staff agreed with the lieutenant and thought the battalion was low on ammo and men.”
Dryly: “Evidently.”
“All right, Major Joyce, let’s get down to cases; the meat of the thing. Let’s talk about that last attack on Hill 399.”
A gratified sigh from Joyce.
And a renewed interest from Courie and Alth.
“Yes, it has been a long time coming,” Harry said good–naturedly, bowing toward Courie, Ryan, the jury panel, and Joyce, “and I appreciate everyone’s patience. I’m going to try and deal with a number of issues in a loose kind of chronological order. I think that’ll make it easier for everybody here –” a humble shrug and smile “ – including myself – to follo
w. Let’s start with when the battalion command post lost the communication line to the forward observation post. You decided to leave the CP – your assigned post – and move up to the demarcation line.”
“Objection,” Courie called, though this time he seemed less sure of his ground. “The colonel’s use of the phrase ‘assigned post’ is obviously intended to prejudice – ”
“It wasn’t his assigned post?” Harry asked Courie innocently.
Courie looked helplessly toward Joyce, then toward Ryan.
From Ryan, coolly: “Was or was not the CP the major’s assigned post?”
Courie’s shoulders heaved in surrender. “Objection withdrawn,” he said, dropping back into his chair.
“Without that communication line we were blind,” Joyce volunteered. “I only moved up – ”
Harry nodded understandingly. “So you explained under direct. Did you take a radio with you when you moved up to the forward OP?”
“We had no working sets in reserve, Sir,” Joyce said.
“How long did it take you to get from the CP to the forward line?”
“How long, Sir? I’m not quite sure. I did it at the run. Ten minutes perhaps.”
“Maybe fifteen?”
“I wouldn’t think so. No more than that, I’m sure. Probably less.”
“Between ten and fifteen minutes, then.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“During which time you were out of communication with the CP, Lieutenant Tully’s reinforcement company, the Weapons Company, the rifle companies on the hill, and Colonel Porter’s assault detail.”
Joyce shook his head condescendingly. “Lieutenant Schup was quite capable of filling in for me at the CP until I reached the forward line. Remember: all I was supposed to do was coordinate cross–communications between – ”
“Why didn’t you send Lieutenant Schup forward while you remained at your assigned post?”
Joyce hesitated; he’d apparently never quite considered the point himself. “I, um, well, the phone line, communications with the OP were still out, there was no telling when it would be restored…If I’d sent someone else, I’d’ve had to wait for their report. I thought it was important that I should know, I should personally know what was happening on the hill as soon as possible.”