Report: Attorney says charge ex-soldier

TOLEDO, Ohio — A military attorney has recommended charging a former soldier in a 1967 rampage of alleged atrocities committed by U.S. troops against hundreds of civilians in Vietnam, a newspaper reported. The Blade, which won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on the elite Tiger Force platoon, said in its Sunday edition that the recommendation involved retired Maj. James Hawkins, 63, a former unit commander who now lives near Orlando, Fla.

Hawkins declined to comment on the military attorney’s recommendation, the newspaper said.

Army Reserve lawyer Michael Walther reviewed the original case and The Blade’s series and concluded that the evidence was strong enough to return Hawkins to duty for an Article 32 hearing, the equivalent of a military grand jury, the newspaper said.

The Army has not decided whether to prosecute Hawkins, according to the newspaper, which said questions remain whether Army lawyers have the legal power to charge him.

Hawkins was among 18 former Tiger Force soldiers accused by Army investigators of crimes ranging from murder and assault to dereliction of duty during an investigation in 1971-75. The case was dropped by the Pentagon and concealed from the public until revealed by The Blade.

The most serious allegation faced by Hawkins in 1975 was the fatal shooting of an elderly carpenter in the Song Ve Valley in July 1967. Army investigators recommended in 1975 that he be charged with murder.

In an interview with The Blade in 2003, he admitted killing the elderly man because "he was making too much noise" and might disclose the location of U.S. troops to the enemy.

Although Hawkins has long been out of the Army, his military pension qualifies him to be recalled to duty, under a rarely used but widely accepted military law.

Army spokesman Dov Schwartz said the case remained open.

Hawkins could not be reached for comment. The only phone listing under his name in Orlando has been disconnected or is no longer in service, according to a phone company recording. (AP)

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