Ally Distributor Busted

The following letter was sent to the editors of Fatigue Press, the underground paper by GIs at Ft. Hood Texas.

Dear Fatigue Press
I was busted for distributing The Ally, an antiwar paper from Berkeley California. There is a new Fort Hood regulation dated 17 Jan, 1969, that says you have to have written permission from the General before you can distribute any kind of paper, for or against the war.

I had a Special Court Martial on March 15 which started at 10:30 am. I had two civilian lawyers from Austin and an appointed counselor from 1st A. D. SJA. The court martial lasted ten long hours. My civilian lawyers were not ready to go to court on the 15th and asked for an extension till the 18th to better prepare my case. The board of fine Army robots said no. So on we went.

From 120:30 to 3:10 they argued about freedom of the press and freedom of speech which are promised in the FIRST AMENDMENT to the Constitution of the United States which all of us in the green machine were inducted to fight for. My lawyers said that my charges should be dropped and the motion was denied.

At 3:10 they started to bring in witnesses against me. First my platoon sergeant got on the stand and blew it. He said that I gave him the paper (I had two witnesses who saw him pick it off my bed), and that as soon as he noticed that it was antiwar and anti-army, he ran over to our Bn. HQ and turned me in. He explained that it was his duty as an NCO (No Chance on the Outside). Of course before the Court Martial, he had told me that he hadn’t turned me in and that he didn’t know how this all came about. So believe the old saying, “Don’t trust a lifer no matter how cool you think he is.”

Then my CO and XO came in. They couldn’t say much because they illegally searched my locker and removed my own personal property –– 13 copies of The Ally and one copy of Fatigue Press which they still have. So they were pissed off, but they couldn’t say much to hang me. In the end my lawyers got up and said the whole court martial was stupid because I am in the Army and I am supposed to be fighting for the constitutional rights of each American.

Well I was found guilty of course, and sentenced to three months confinement at hard labor (suspended) and 2/3 of my pay for three months. I am getting a 212 Discharge for Unsuitability and I sure am glad because if I had stayed in the Army any longer I would freak out. If you think you’re a soldier fighting for the freedom of America, keep thinking that — but don’t try to exercise your freedom or you might go to jail. Help protect your country so it can screw YOU!
Signed
Ed Hovarth

The Ally, no. 17

Library - Reading Room

Ally Distributor Busted