Chapter 3
Going, Going….Gone! Before leaving Base San Juan, I managed to meet all the requirements of promotion to Boatswain Mate third-class so when I arrived at Air Station Borinquen, I became the only boatswain mate that was stationed there. There was not a single vessel for me to command here at the air station so I began wondering about the wisdom of such a transfer. I mean I probably trained on boats for at least nine months at considerable expense to Uncle Sam, and after becoming a certified rescue boat coxswain, they send me to an air station!
I
accepted it as blessing however, since I figured I was closer to an aviation career than I was ever before.
At first I was assigned to the Public Works section under the supervision of man who would one day put an end to my aviation dreams. His name was Howard Ledbetter a Lt. Commander from South or North Carolina I believe. It took me less than a week working for him that he didn't have any use for "niggers", "spies", "chinks", or "jewboys".
He did little to hide his racism and
when I started dating a local Puerto Rican girl I saw and heard a lot more of it. Like Chief Bass, I tried like hell to avoid this guy but one day I couldn't help ignore the way he was treating one of the Puerto Rican civilian workers on the base whose English was not the best. Using my Spanish I intervened and tried to soften the insults Ledbetter was unleashing on the man. His sin was calling in sick so he could go to his kid's first communion. I basically coached the guy what to say to save his job since I had a gut instinct he was about to be fired. I managed to save his job but not my hide. 'From that day forward, I was on Ledbetter's shit list and spent a lot of time doing "make busy" details - painting fences, curbs, and just about anything that didn't move.
I felt I was doomed
to this hell for the rest of my term, but along came an angel named Lt. Rob Ritchie, an ace helicopter pilot who pulled a tour of duty in Vietnam.
29
I don't
know whether
he took
pity on me or really
needed
my help.
Ritchie was the security office for the base which we shared with Army and Air Force personnel.
The Coast Guard air station was located on
a huge Air Force Strategic Air Command Base that once housed a dozen B-52 bombers during the Cold War.
As the Air Force pulled out and
reduced their personnel there, the Coast Guard took over responsibility for 1,000 acre base, which stores,
post office,
university.
was
it's only little city - complete
beaches,
golf course, nightclubs,
The Coast Guard also
own security.
with
and
it own
even
a
had to become responsible for it's
And unlike San Juan, this station was located out in the
countryside with miles of fence line.
Even though Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, security was still an issue in the 70s and early 80s as their were political factions on the island who favored independence
from the U.S., and their followers often resorted to minor
acts of terrorism to get publicity for their cause. Because Force
Base was
isolated
in the country,
it was by it's
Ramey Air
nature
quite
vulnerable to such threats, and considering that the U.S. had some very expensive
aircraft
stationed
here, they took base
enough to actually have a three man FBI contingent
security
seriously
on the base full-
time which at the time was headed by Special Agent Armand Lara.
Rob Ritchie asked me if I wanted to work in the security office with him and DC1 Bill Shockey. I jumped a t the c ha nc e e v e n t ho ug h Howard Ledbetter
protested.
took place but somehow
I don't
know what
Ritchie prevailed
arguments
or discussions
and I got myself reassigned
to the Security Office where I became responsible for issuing pass stickers, clearing overnight visitors, keeping
drunk
vehicle
drivers
gate
off the 30
road,
issuing
ration
cards
and occasionally
catching a stray dog. I was
on call 24/7 and responded to an assortment of calls to quell domestic disputes, silence blairing stereos, and escorting unauthorized guests and hookers off the base.
I still wasn't flying helicopters but I was getting closer and was told I could fly as an aircrewman if I took the basic aircrewman course. course
I ever received from the
myself
into as well
Coast
as my Boatswain
passed them both with flying colors.
It was
Guard institute
AvCad
(Aviation
I buried
I soon began flying on the giant H3
aviation specialty.
Cadet) program
but
biggest
Mate Second class course and
rescue helicopters and was advised by the education focus on an enlisted
the
which
officer Lt. Perry to
But my sights were fixed on the took
enlisted
men with
high
academic marks and aviation skills and turned them into ensign pilots. But Perry broke my heart when he told me that due to budget the AvCad program was discontinued
indefinitely.
cut-backs,
I was truly depressed
over this for over a month and felt I was somehow cheated out of my aviation career because it was the AvCad program that the Coast Guard recruiter in Parma used as bait to lure me to the dotted line. disappointment
I shared my
with Bill and Lt. Ritchie but they could only offer me their
sympathy and a cold beer.
I was really starting to grow a bad attitude when Rob Ritchie sat me down with some positive advise and reinforcement "Well, you can still fly if you get yourself a college degree - it will just take a little longer that's ali". I took Ritchie's advice to heart and decided it was my last chance Guard
helicopters
and
I would
pursue
to fly
Coast
it, especially since the G.!. Bill
would cover the expense of my college education.
But in the mean time
I'd finish all my Boatswain Mate training and completed
the Boatswain 31
Mate first class course and was surprised to learn that I had the highest academic average on the base of 300 men and women.
But because
I
only had about 20 months of service, I could not be promoted for another four months. In the interim something
would happen that would kill my
hopes of further advancement.
It was an incident which I thought was no bid deal, but I later learned that because of a letter I wrote, our Commanding
Officer
Captain Thomas
Lutton would get passed over for promotion to Vice Admiral. Had I known that I probably would not have written the letter.
The letter I speak of was
one I wrote to the American Civil Liberties Union in Miami and New York after I noticed of
military
unlisted
that the base telephone directory distributed to hundreds
and
civilian
telephone
families
number,
on the base, not only contained
but my date
of birth, and even
security number, none of which I authorized for publication.
my
my social I was angry
that complete strangers had my full legal name, date of birth, and social security number along with a phone private.
number
that
I paid extra to keep
This information would be sufficient for anyone with larceny in
their heart to obtain a credit card in my name.
I was not the only one upset,
but I guess I was the only one dumb enough to protest. letter
to
the
C.'O. asking
disclosure and asking
him to
explain
the
him to recall the directory.
he did not even give me the courtesy of a reply.
At first I wrote a purpose
of such
But after two weeks, That's when I sent the
letter of inquiry to the ACLU asking if it was legal and proper to give away a person's private data in such a public manner.
Little did I know that the ACLU turned my letter of inquiry into a formal complaint letter that was sent to the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard in Washington, D.C.
In short order the Commandant issued a letter of 32
apology to me and a formal letter of reprimand to Captain Lutton's service jacket for his administrative blooper. I could not believe that this one letter held him back from promotion. And I would soon feel the full force of his wrath and power of his four gold bars.
Over the next six months I found myself being placed on report for a lot of minor infractions like failing to wear my hat, (something that everyone did in the
hot Puerto
Rico sun), driving
a buddy's motorcycle whose
sticker had expired, and for even being out of uniform on my day off!
I
didn't catch on for quite some time, but when my time came to be promoted to Boatswain Mate 2nd class, the Commanding Officer refused to endorse my promotion and used these "incidents" to hold me back even though I had high performance marks for my work. Keep in mind that I would not know about the reprimand letter for yet another four or five months. I was growing angry but I didn't know who to be angry with, I just knew something wasn't right and resentment at the administration began brewing inside me.
I dealed with the bitterness by distracting myself with lots of scuba diving and sailing on my days off and by enrolling in night classes at InterAmerican University and I made a bad judgment that would come back to haunt me years later. When I went to register at IAU I was told that since I did not graduate from a local high school, I would not be admitted unless I had already started attending college elsewhere and had transcripts to prove it. Well, I obviously didn't qualify for enrollment under those terms even though Padua High School was a college prepatory school held in high esteem back in Ohio. But in Puerto Rico nobody even knew what an Ohio was.
I explained my dilemma to a young registrar's clerk at IAU and
told her that if I could go to college, I would never be able to become a 33
Coast Guard pilot.
She took my information and told me she would see
what she could do. Two days later she called me and asked me to meet her for dinner because she had good news for me. I met her at La Cima restaurant and she told me that for $300 she could arrange for my admission to IAU. the details.
When I asked how, she told me not to worry about
I felt uneasy about this proposal and told her I had to think
about it. The registration deadline was only two or three days away and I lay awake debating with my conscience. Ultimately I agreed to her payment with the rationalization that this would help me overcome the AvCad loss and negate my setback climbing the Boatswain Mate ladder. Without that college degree, I would never fly a helicopter in the U.S. Coast Guard. The following week I was enrolled as a full time night student with a full 12 credits per trimester.
I was now back on track and I
calculated I'd graduate within three years if I kept attending full-time. I was excited about my future again. Unfortunately, there was an unknown factor I could not have known to include into my calculations - revenge.
34
At about this time, I got one helluva nice surprise. Ohio named Ken Lastafka had himself
stationed
Technician.
also joined
at Air Station
Borinquen
A buddy of mine from
the Coast Guard and got as an Aviation Electronics
Since we were both single we chose to become
on the base.
Back in Ohio, Ken and
roomates
I had attended" classes together
in a vocational drafting class for two years. We both had aspirations in our youth to become architects and had a lot of good times together the tutelage
of professor
Mike Yackin our drafting teacher.
under
The odds of
us running into each other like this 2,000 miles away was mind boggling. His arrival really cheered me up. We hung out with each other a lot until he found his future wife JoAnne
One day at the security office I got a rather strange call from none other than good old Mr. Ledbetter.
It was strange for two reasons - the first
being was that he was actually speaking to me nice and polite like - not his usual snap-to-it-now
voice.
But what really made the call strange to
me was that it was Saturday (not a normal work day) and he wanted to borrow the pick-up truck from the Security office "for about an hour" and he wanted
me to pick him up at his house on base with the truck.
was the first time he ever "asked" me for
anything
flattered
I picked him up at his house and
but
curious
and suspicious.
so
I was
This
not only
he directed me to drive him to the officer's club which was being renovated. Upon arrival we were
greeted
by DCC Bob
Polson a 15 year Coast
Guard veteran whose gray hair and beard made him appear older than his forty something years. as I sat in the truck.
The two exchanged some words out of earshot
A few moments later the two went inside the club and
came out with a huge crystal chandelier that used to hang inside the club. They gingerly
loaded
it in the back of the truck and Ledbetter then
told me to go back to his house at idle speed so as not to damage the 35
chandelier.
We delivered the chandelier to his house and I was dismissed.
Old Ledbetter even gave me $20 for my trouble. acquisition back
of this
then)
weeks
was
very expensive chandelier somehow authorized.
later in the security office
chandelier
were
who
drove
(about
assumed
a
$5,000
his value
But when I saw a memo three
that a number of items
reported stolen,
reporting Mr. Ledbetter lest
I just
I knew better.
I myself one day
including
the
I made the mistake of be accused
the chandelier away in the security truck.
as the guy
I don't know all that
took place behind closed doors but I later heard that the chandelier was taken off the "stolen" list and I was back on people's shit list for doing my job.
Hell if they didn't want to report thefts then why did they put me in
the security office?
I must admit though, it felt good seeing Ledbetter
getting some of the grief who was so good at giving to others.
But once again when it was time for me to be promoted CO's blessings despite having good performance grades on base. ravaged
I did not get the
marks and the highest
During all this time life went on and Puerto Rico was
by tropical storms David and Eloise, During one of them (I don't
recall which)
winds were whipping
the islands in excess of 95mph
sheets of rain made driving impossible.
and
It was the worst storm I had
seen to date and everyone was hunkered down in their quarters except the duty air-crews which were standing by for search and rescue work. At the peak of the storm my phone rings and I am told that Commander Ledbetter wants me to report for duty at the air station.
For a moment I
think that perhaps they may be short of air crewmen and they need an extra hand at the hangar, but when I arrived soaking wet at the hangar, Ledbetter
is there
in a poncho telling
are very bad and he believes connection
on the
150 foot
the radio
me that the radio communications
wind tower,
must and
have he
damaged
wants
me
to
the go 36
inspect and repair the damage.
I looked at him incredulously in disbelief
but he was just waiting for me to refuse, I could see it in his eyes. This was insane I thought to myself and I tried to reach Rob Ritchie by phone for some intervention but was unable to reach him.
Not wanting to be
placed on report again for refusing to obey a direct order, I grabbed my tool belt and some rain gear and asked Ledbetter to get me a rigger's safety harness so I wouldn't risk falling off the tower.
His reply was that he didn't
know where it was kept but that I should just tie a rope around my waist, which I ultimately what I had to do as I scaled the narrow metal ladder up to the top of the tower as the pounding wind tried to blow me off.
Although I was not afraid of heights, I was afraid of losing my grip and falling to my death.
I concentrated on my every deliberate move - it seemed like it
took me an hour to reach the top. I could hear the wind whistling me and felt the
tower
around
sway back and forth even though it was firmly
anchored by cables. In the distance I could lightning flashes and I started counting the seconds before the thunder.
The strikes were about two
miles away. I was just one bolt of lightning toast It was reminiscent joke.
away from becoming
burnt
of my buoy battery episode only this was no
I found the cable connections at the top of the red and white tower
and upon repeated connection
inspection
it looked just fine and when
with my hand it was just as tight as it could be.
I felt the So
I
followed the cable back down to the ground looking for breaks in the cable that
might
be
allowing
moisture
in
that
would
After spending almost a full hour on this tower, I came to conclusion
that
any
communication
problems
were
cause interference. the not because of a
broken cable or loose connection. And so I reported to Ledbetter. I slept very well that night. 37
About a week Reithmayer.
later, I just happened to be sailing with radioman
Craig
The two of us had chipped in together and bought a 16 foot
Hobie Cat. Somehow
we got around
to talking
asked him how long the radios were out.
about the storm and I
He looked at me kind of funny
and then told me that they never lost radio communications during the storm, only that there was some interference. When I then told him about my tower ordeal he told me what nobody else ever did- The antenna for aircraft radio communications was on the roof of the hangar and not on top of the tower.
Surely I thought Craig was mistaken and the very next day I
climbed on top of the hangar to see for myself. Sure enough, just as Craig told me, I found the UHF and HF and VHF radio antennas just where he 38
said they were.
I thought long an hard about this whole episode and
realized that reporting it to the CO would accomplish would care I asked myself and mother
ultimately
decided
nothing. Who else no one
except my
and girlfriend and so I let this incident pass with regret.
That
bastard wanted to kill me. But things would even get worse in just a few months.
One day as I saw Ledbetter walking towards and privately explaining
confronted
his office I approached him
him about the tower
fiasco
and instead of
why he sent me up that tower, he glared at me and with flared
nostrils told me that he was going to make my life a living hell until I begged for a transfer.
I can only assume he .caught some heat for that
much like the CO caught for the telephone directory.
chandelier
I steered clear of
Ledbetter and would not even enter a room or an aircraft hangar if he was in it.
The single men and women of Air Station Borinquen were provided with duplex housing units on the base with two men or women being assigned to each half of the duplex. While at Air Station Borinquen, I had two roomates over two years, Cecil Hixon and Ken Lastafka. We did not have to pay for this housing, but we were responsible for keeping it maintained and keeping the surround
yard area groomed. In fact the houses would get inspected
on a regular basis by the housing officer who would then send notes to people advising them what needed to be cleaned up or repaired.
We got a
notice that our house needed painting. The normal procedure now would be for us to put in a requisition to Public Works for the supplies needed to paint the house and that's exactly what I did.
But our request was being
ignored and we had only thirty days to comply with the housing officer's notice. For a moment I thought the requisition delay was just another ruse to get 39
me put on report by the Housing Officer but I then reassured myself I was just being paranoid.
As luck would
have it though,
I got a call from
Polson
who was still
supervising the renovation of the officer's club and he told me to get a detail of two guys to help load a truck full of trash down at the club. As we were throwing construction waste into the truck, I came across about ten cans of paint that were partially full to some extent. pouring
one
can into
another
enough
to paint our house
I could
It was a whitish color and buy get about six gallons out of it -
I thought. Keep in mind that these cans and
about fifty others were destined for the trash yard. Also keep in mind that both this paint and the house we live in are government on government
property. Every single
is a government building government brushes.
that
building
is painted
property
on Air Station
with
government
located
Borinquen paint
and
I spent about $45 of my own money, drove to the
local hardware store in town and bought a brush, roller, a tube of green paint tint,
and some emerald green paint which I would use for the trim of
our house.
I then mixed the tint with the paint to obtain a light pastel mint green color and
painted
the
entire
exterior
normally be sailing and/or diving.
over
the weekend
- the time
The dark green trim around the windows,
doors, and roof line made it look spiffy and we got complimentary from all of our neighbors paint job would
I would
and even the housing officer himself.
comments But this
end my career in the Coast Guard and all those training
courses would be for nought.
Ledbetter
you see
knew that
his
Public
Works
department
had
not
approved my request for the painting supplies so he just assumed I must 40
have "appropriated" the paint which is very common on any military base. He used this opportunity to get some revenge as he convinced must be stealing
government
the CO I
property. Sure enough, when I went home
for lunch one fine day, Ledbetter, Mr. Ricthie, and few others were inside our house searching for "stolen government property".
Mr. Ritchie advised
me to keep quiet and talk with him later so I did. I stood there and watched them remove about 120 items of government property ranging from ink pens, to a broom, a fan, to two cans of paint left over from the paint job. NONE of the items removed from our quarters was ever reported stolen, and there was not an item they found there that would other government house on base.
not be found in almost any
In fact, most of the items like the broom,
dustpan, cleanser, etc. were already in the house when we moved in.
The entire duplex that housed four men was searched and similar items were found on both sides of the duplex yet, I was the only one charged with "stealing government property". on report for bullshit.
I was outraged. Once again I was placed
But this time I had had it with the bogus reports and
I swore I'd spend every minute and dime I had fighting this and I did.
When people in the military are put on report it is called an article 15 or "Captain's
Mast" where
the accused
stands
questions and tells his/her version of events. how to punish the accused
before
the
CO, answers
The CO then decides if and
ranging from extra duty details to losing a
stripe. Since the ACLU incident I never got a fair shake from Lutton so I certainly didn't expect one now.
I told my mom back in Ohio what had
happened and she put me in touch with a Cleveland lawyer named Gerald Gold. He told me what I already knew, they would use a Captain's Mast to find
me guilty of a charge that
expelled
was just
serious
enough
to
have
me
from the Coast Guard. But he told me I had other options, and 41
one
of
them
Captain's
was
to
decline
the
Mast and demand a trial by
court martial where an outside
officer
would be called in to prevail over the proceedings and would
determine
three
other
my fate.
officers
To defend
me it would cost me an entire
year's
salary that I didn't have. My mother put up the money and I demanded m y right to a court martial.
Overthe next two
weeks the CO and about five others of his staff tried to talk me out this but I remained firm in my determination
to
Captain Thomas Lutton
clear myself especially after talking with Captain
Lenny Barrow the base medical officer (now a flight surgeon at
Kennedy Space Station) who was a trusted friend and neighbor of mine. His son Lenny Jr. suffered from MS and I spent some spare time with him whenever
I could. Captain
Barrow
reminded
me that the administration
would never let me walk away from a Captain's
Mast because
I might
turn around and sue for harassment since there was a historical pattern of it. He was right and there were no second thoughts from then on.
A trial
date for the court martial was set four months away which gave my lawyer plenty of time to talk with witnesses
and prepare.
In the interim,
I was
amazed that they let me continue working in the security office.
About
a
month
after
they
charged
me with
the
stolen
government
property Mr. Ritchie drove over to my house late one night and asked me to go for a ride with him.
I jumped in his car and could smell that Rob had a
couple of drinks, but he certainly wasn't drunk.
He then proceeded to tell 42
me how much he liked me and admired me for standing up for myself and that he was worried that this court martial would the
Coast
Guard.
He seemed
genuinely concerned
upset when he tried to talk me out of the court speak with
Lutton
Coast Guard
personally
career
on my behalf
personality
enlisted
for me but I grew
martial
and
ostensibly
offered
to "save
and get me transferred somewhere new".
the conversation g r e w we both finally and
end my career in
admitted
that
my
But as
my character
would probably n e v e r be conducive
to
traits
to life as an
man. We had a long talk that night but Rob was a career officer
who could not let the plight of an enlisted man taint his record in any way. As I got out of his car he leaned over and said "I guess you should know that they're worried they don't have a real case against you so they're going to add a charge of misappropriating few months ago". set of unmarked
I was stunned. keys
that
those keys you had a
The keys he were referring to were a
I had found sitting
abandoned fork lift one day a few months back.
on the seat of an
I spent a good hour asking
around if anyone had lost a set of keys and nobody claimed them. I threw them on the seat of my car and would take them by the security my way home to drop off.
office on
But I got into an argument with my girlfriend
over something on the phone and totally forgot about the keys until the next day.
Someone at the morning public works meeting asked if anyone had
found a set of keys, and I announced
that
I had found
them
forklift and went out to retrieve and return them from my car. happy to have his keys back and that was the end of it, or
on the He was
so I thought.
Nothing had ever been mentioned about those keys for months and now Ritchie was telling me they would be used against me somehow.
In the
following
overheard
week,
a conversation
I was
working
in the security
of some expensive
office
and
electronics equipment that 43
was stolen, misplaced, or otherwise
unaccounted for from the Avionics
shop at the hangar, and whether or not a report had to be written
up.
Since I would probably get burdened with that task, I made myself look busy quick but Mr. Ritchie said he'd wait another month general
inventory
was
coming
up, and
because
a
the equipment which included
a radio, transponder, and ADF might show up. After all military guys are not the best record keepers.
Now it just so happened, that a handful of guys at the air base were either private pilots or in training to become one like myself.
Three of them had
actually bought some single engine aircraft and kept them on the base right in the hangar next to the three huge helicopters. Two Cesnas and a Citabria I believe.
These private planes were all owned by officers and
they were maintained by a few enlisted guys who made a little extra money on
the side for their efforts. One of the planes was owned by a Lt. Gaston
and one day I was walking by his plane when one of the mechanics was working under the cowling of the plane on the engine when he dropped a wrench.
I
picked it up and handed it to him so he wouldn't have to pull his arm out of the engine compartment where it appeared to be holding something. He thanked me and then asked to borrow some of my Scuba gear for the weekend. A short casual conversation developed about local dive spots where shells and lobster could be found and as we were talking, I glanced inside the cockpit of this Cessna. Lo and behold, there in the instrument panel of the plane were
brand new Coast Guard issue radios, transponder, and ADF!
continued to scan the interior of the plane,
I also spotted
even
As I more
government property including life jackets, fire extinguisher, headsets, firstaid kit, some flares, and an ELB (emergency not yet been installed. mechanic) and
locator beacon) which had
I said nothing about any of this to Mike (the
just walked
away.
I was
fuming.
Here
I am being 44
charged with stealing paint, brooms, and a fan, and this bastard has about $30,000 of government property in his private airplane!
I went back to the security office and told
Ritchie about what I just saw
and he did his best to calm me down and told me he would "check into it" and that I should just keep quiet. how Frank
Ballou
handled
Immediately I had flashbacks
the cigarette
going to count on Mr. Ritchie alone.
of
thief and decided I wasn't
That night when only the duty crew
was at the hangar and busy servicing one of the H3s, (tail number 1470, 1471, or 1472) I took my camera over to Gaston's and snapped
plane, opened
the door
away hoping my camera flashes wouldn't be noticed, but
45
they were.
One of the guys looked up and me so I just waved. He waved
back and went back to work.
The very next day I saw Rob Ritchie and Lt. Gaston talking with each other right
next to
inquiring
Gaston's
about
all
plane
the
and
I just
government
assumed
equipment.
that
Ritchie was
Ritchie a n d
I never
discussed the matter again. But about a week later, I had to walk by Gaston's plane again, and there wasn't a single instrument removed but now I noticed a piece of olive green canvas, perhaps a flight suit covering the other stuff in the back seat area.
As I was trying to make out what
was under the canvas through the window, I heard a voice ask "Don't you have enough problems of your own to worry about?" I turned around to find Lt. Gaston standing right behind me.
I didn't hear him walk up.
I didn’t
answer and just walked away thinking what balls this guy had.
I decided to put Gaston on report just as
I was
put on report for
"stealing government property" just to see if we both got equal justice from the Lutton administration.
But technically,
I would need more than my
photographs, I would need the serial numbers on all of the equipment. If nothing else, the one thing I learned in the Coast Guard
everything has a serial number! was always have
to
go
someone inside
This would not be an easy feat since there
working Gaston's
order to see the numbers
in the plane
hangar and
area and
remove
I'd actually
the instruments in
which are almost always on the
back
panel.
After four or five attempts, I gave up when I could never find the hangar unattended.
My report would only contain the photos, and the CO would
have to order that the instruments
be removed for inspection. But now
my summary court martial was to begin in only a few days so I turned my 46
attention to preparing for my case, making a list of points and question Mr. Gold mig ht want to address at trial.
A makeshift courtroom was made in the hangar's debriefing
room and
the Coast Guard flew in their court clerk, and presiding "judge" which I believe was a commander whose name I simply can't recall. Three local officers from the base were consigned to be the jury and my big trial took all of two days.
"Witnesses" as to what was found in my housing unit were
called and Gerry Gold managed to get them to admit, that out of all the stuff removed from the duplex unit, only a couple government pens, and a fan were actually removed from my bedroom,
and
that all of the
other stuff was actually found in the common areas of the house like the kitchen, living room, and various closet. questions- "Why was only Gorcyca occupants?" anything?"
and "Did anyone I never
Gerry also raised the obvious charged
actually.
from Ledbetter
be properly acquitted.
see
Gorcyca
steal
much appreciated lawyers much until that day when
I needed one. He did quite a good job endured
and not the other three
and
at exposing
his supervisors
the
and
harassment
I was
sure
I I'd
Eventually the issue of the keys came up and
when called to explain, I simply told the truth of how and where and when I found them. The "prosecutor" made his points that the keys were not issued to me, and
that they could
be some
critical
keys
that could
be
needed in an emergency. Gold retorted that if they were so valuable, why were they left laying around where anyone could have walked off with them. No one seemed to care that I returned the keys to their rightful owner the very next workday, o r that over two months passed before anyone even suggested I should be charged with anything. All in all,
I didn't
see the
keys issue as being a big deal of any consequence since they were not used by me nor anyone else while they were in my possession. Finally 47
Gold suggested that if the keys were so critical, they should have been tagged with some 10 and whoever was negligent to let them sit on the seat of a forklift in an empty parking lot should be charged - not me.
After the closing arguments Gold pulled me aside and said he never saw such bullshit in his life and suggested that I file a harassment suit against the Coast Guard. But at this point we both assumed that I would be fully exonerated
and we discussed
might be like after he's gone. As we debated whether
what life for me at Air Station Borinquen I surely anticipated even more harassment.
or not I should request a transfer to a new duty
station, we were called back into the court room to hear the verdict.
I was
found "not guilty as charged" and just as I exhaled a huge sigh of relief I was hit with a sledge hammer
as
the judge
continued
reading
accused is found guilty of misappropriating keys in question"
WHAT!
the
verdict
two gallons of paint and the
in a common area closet and
clearly used to paint a government building. There was at
all.
Gerry
leaned
over
$55
no personal use
and whispered
fucking you to save their ass from a law suit!" misappropriating
the
I was dumbfounded and so was Gold, especially
since the two gallons of paint were found
involved
"however,
of government property
to me "They're
Being found guilty of gnawed
at my stomach
24/7 for days to come, but slowly as complete strangers on the base came up to me and patted me on the back and told me they all knew it was bullshit,
I started losing the shadow of shame and embarrassment of the
whole mess.
Lutton and Ledbetter gloated over their victory because now
they'd have a "real" reason
to hold
me back from
promotion
a third
time. But the consequences would be even worse ...
48
My mom just spent $10,000 of her $20,000 savings to defend me from these bogus charges and now Gold was trying to convince
me that we
could overturn the decision with an appeal that would cost my mom the rest of her savings.
I couldn't
put m y mom i n thatfinancial hole and I
only had about $3,000 of my own saved Lip so we let the matter drop out of pure economics.
The following week, Lutton called me into his office and for the first time I learned about the letter of reprimand
he received because of my ACLU
letter. With a smile on his face he cheerfully a n no unc e d "It is with sadness and regret that I must inform you that in view of your recent
conviction, I
think you are not suitable for further service to the
Guard,
I
have
recommended
your
Coast
and
immediate discharge." I was speechless.
I
expected to be transferred f o r sure. In fact I had just received orders to be transferred to a lifeboat station in Ocean C i ty, Maryland. He explained that it would take about two weeks for the paperwork if m y discharge would you
to go through. I asked
be an honorable or dishonorable
really think you deserve an honorable
honestly replied "Yes I
discharge?"
discharge.
"Do
he asked and I
do sir and you know I do". He just laughed
and dismissed
me.
I fo u nd
out
recommended
a d i s ho no ra b l e
from
a
yeoman
that
even
though
discharge
Lutton
had
I had the
highest academic average on base and had good to excellent job performance marks from Lt. Ritchie.
I shared the news with Gerry Gold in Cleveland who fired off some letters promising a law suit and pointing out the pettiness of the entire ordeal. Apparently, Gold's
the admiral at district headquarters
letters
and
reviewed
the
court
martial
in Miami, actually read transcripts because I got
a call from one of the Coast Guard lawyers in Miami asking me if I truly 49
wanted to stay in the Coast Guard knowing that I would from further advancement
no matter where
be blacklisted
I went. I said that I would
certainly p refe r to let the last year of my four enlistment run out than get a dishonorable discharge and lose my GI Bill benefits. received by courier a document to sign from said
I would
A day or two later I
District legal that
basically
be given an honorable discharge if I agreed not to sue the
Coast Guard or any member of it. with my mom and Gold.
Regretfully I conceded a f t e r consulting
What I really wanted to do was appeal the court
martial verdict but Gold did some research and told me that only a General Court Martial can be appealed
and mine was merely a summary court
martial which had no appeal rights.
On my last day in the Coast Guard, I dug out the report I wrote up on Gaston, stapled
the
photograph
to
it and
marched
up
to
the administration
office which was manned by Yeoman First Class Dick Kiser and Yeoman Third Class Rick Stewart. "I'm placing Lt. Gaston on and/or
misappropriation
of
government property".
report
for
the
theft
I handed them the
report and Dick just smiled as he shook my hand and wished me good luck. I would need it.
At the time I was truly heart-broken and depressed. I loved the Coast Guard and admired their mission.
Everyone tells me I should have just looked
the other way and ignored all the misdeeds I reported. But that is not how I was raised and I simply can't ignore such blatant stuff. In r e trospect, I met a lot of fine people in the Coast Guard and I thank those below and the many others whose names I simply can't recall now for their loyal friendship and support through my various Coast Guard "adventures".
50
Ken & joAnne Lastafka Luis Guzman Jan Shelton Capt. Wallace Harvey Larry Ryals Capt. Leonard Barrow Larry Watkins Craig Reithmayer Alfredo Lopez Jim Faw Fred Patterson Dick & Avis Kiser Mike Lipinsky John Henneman
Don Kayser Rick Gordon Rick Stewart Mike Blume Mike Mineo Bob Polson Ed Rothfuss Frank Ballou Eddie Villafaine Rick Southworth Bill Shockey Ron Milligan Perry Crosson Lt. Perry
Vince Brinker Cecil Hixon Bill Yoe Joe Diaz Rick Ceballos Mike Crye Tom Nagel Manny Crespo Brian Barbaris Jaime Segui Ivan Jurado Bill Nicholson Mike Blume Frank Patterson
A wise man never pulls the tiger's tail -
Confucius
© Cpyright 1995-2014 By Bruce A. Gorcyca – All Rights Reserved
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