First Cavalry Disobedience, 1965

Sdelano898 (Sdelano898@AOL.COM)
Fri, 24 Apr 1998 17:10:05 -0400

I'm writing a book about the antiwar movement in the American military
during the Vietnam war and am trying to locate more information on an
early case of disobedience involving three or possibly four African
American soldiers. According to a report in the New York Times
(Oct. 30, 1965) on October 29, three African American soldiers
assigned to the First Cavalry Division, which had recently arrived in
South Vietnam from Georgia, were court martialed for disobedience.
Pfc. Percy L. Green, 24, of Chicago, Pfc. Harold J. Brown, 22,
Stanford, FL, and Pfc. David Clark, 26, of Coral Gables, FL were among
the 16,000 men in the Division who arrived at Qui Nhon. The three
soldiers first got into trouble when they refused to obey orders to
board a troop train at Fort Benning, GA and then "while aboard
ship, refusing to eat for their own personal good." The three
soldiers were court-martialed in Vietnam and sentenced to prison terms
of two to ten years, demoted to privates, ordered to forfeit all pay
and allowances. The Central Committee of Conscientious Objector's
bi-monthly publication News Notes (Sept.-Oct., 1965) reported that
four African American soldiers at An Khe were charged with refusing to
fight in September. One received a six month sentence but no more
details were reported.

I'd appreciate any help in locating more information on this incident,
especially any contemporary newspaper accounts. Thanks. Skip Delano