Son Thang: An American War Crime [Hardcover]

Gary D. Solis (Author), Edwin H. Simmons (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1997

Three months after Army lieutenant William Calley was charged with the infamous massacre of civilians at My Lai, the Marine Corps had to deal with a savage war crime of its own. Although the incident received little of the media attention focused on Calley's crimes, the murder of sixteen women and children by five Marines at Son Thang-4 raised serious questions for the Corps and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Gary Solis, a Marine combat officer in Vietnam and later a judge advocate, draws on his considerable experience to describe the horrifying crime, its problematic investigation, and the complex courts-martial. It is an engrossing true courtroom drama, complete with unpredictable outcomes and the involvement of both Oliver North and James Webb. Were the five Marines of the self-styled killer team sent to Son Thang-4 on 19 February 1970 carrying out orders to punish the hamlet or reacting to snipers when they opened fire on noncombatant civilians at point-blank range? Were their actions simply a consequence of weeks of unrelenting combat in which fellow Marines were killed by the invisible Viet Cong and their boobytraps? Using trial records and extensive interviews, Solis brings to life the host of military and civilian attorneys, judges, and juries who wrestled with these and other thorny questions in the midst of a combat zone. His riveting courtroom narrative is every bit as fast-paced and readable as the best legal fiction, and his authoritative assessments of the principals' performances, explanations of the peculiarities of military justice, and analysis of issues that rocked the very foundation of the military code of justice assure the book's long-lasting value. Herefor the first time is the full story of what happened at Son Thang-4, including the controversial deliberations and verdicts - a study as pertinent today as it was in 1 Corps, Vietnam, more than twenty-five years ago.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In 1970, a five-man marine night patrol, dubbed a "killer team," entered a Vietnamese hamlet and killed 16 women and children, apparently without provocation. It was the village's entire population. The members of the patrol, the eldest being 21, were jailed and tried for war crimes. Four of the soldiers testified that they were under orders by their patrol leader to shoot the villagers. Civilian trial lawyers and character witness testimony by a young Oliver North helped acquit the leader of all charges. Of the other team members, only the two who were also defended by civilian, rather than marine, lawyers were found innocent. Solis, a marine judge advocate who served in Vietnam, examines what happened the night of the patrol, the subsequent military investigation, and the court-martial process. Beyond just looking at this particular incident, Son Thang is a well-considered and compelling glimpse into military justice in a combat zone. Appropriate for midsize and larger collections. Eric Robbins

From Kirkus Reviews

A detailed recounting and insightful analysis of one of the worst war crimes of the Vietnam War. On the night of February 19, 1970, a five-man patrol from Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines entered the hamlet of Son Thang, about 20 miles south of Danang. The patrol was known as a ``killer team,'' sent to hunt down and kill the enemy in an area heavily infiltrated by Viet Cong guerillas. In the previous week nine men from B Company were killed in the vicinity; that morning one Marine had died after he set off a booby-trap. The patrol found no enemy soldiers in the hamlet. Not a shot was fired at them. Nevertheless, they roused 16 women and children from three of the hamlet's huts and shot them. The next day the incident was discovered and, to the Marine Corps's credit, an investigation was immediately begun. Four of the Marines were charged with premeditated murder (one, who claimed he did not participate, cooperated with the investigation). Four months later the general courts-martial began. Two of the men were convicted; two were acquitted. Solis is the ideal chronicler of the incident: A retired Marine lieutenant colonel, he commanded troops in Vietnam and holds three law degrees. In a blunt narrative style he provides in-depth looks at the crime, the events that led up to it, and the complex legal wranglings that followed. His solid account includes on-target appraisals of the actions of all the participants. He characterizes the trials as ``a failure'' because of significant ``deficiencies'' in the military justice system, the main one being that some of the Marine Corps prosecutors tapped for the trial were relatively inexperienced, and were consistently outmaneuvered by high-powered civilian defense lawyers. Nevertheless, Solis says, the Marines received ``fair trials.'' A first-class job of reporting on a little-known atrocity of the war. (23 b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press; 2nd edition (May 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557507430
• ISBN-13: 978-1557507433
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,008,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping war story/provocative lesson in war crimes trial, September 18, 1998

By 

John Paul Jones ([e-mail]) (Richmond, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Son Thang: An American War Crime (Mass Market Paperback)

Smaller wars, bigger war crimes seems an apt description of the New World Order. Brutal atrocities by members of armed forces of questionable pedigree and dubious professionalism have been the stuff of numerous front page stories since the deconstruction of the Soviet empire. The apparent intransigence or inability of particular governments to punish genocidal rapes and murders, reprisals, and pillaging have prompted collective reaction in the call for establishment of an international court for the trial of war crimes. To the consternation of our friends and the comfort of our enemies, the military establishment of the United States has opposed such a tribunal, asserting ,on the one hand, that our domestic military law affords sufficient deterrence for U.S. forces, while, insisting on the other that an international court offers too great a risk of railroading innocent Ameican soldiers, sailors, and aviators.

For the contemporary study of these issues, Gary Solis offers an excellent historical lesson in Son Thang: An American War Crime. He recounts the story of the killing of several women and children during one night operation by a small band of U.S. Marines in Viet Nam, not long after the more notorious massacre of non-combatants by Americans at My Lai. Within earshot of their commanders, the Marines pulled women and children from their homes, gunned them down, and then tried to cover it up. From the story of the atrocity, he unfolds the story of its exposure by other, relentless Marines, and then the story of its legal accounting, in a series of courts martial right there in the field. When Solis has finished his report, he leaves readers to judge the effectiveness of the American process of military criminal justice for the prosecution of war crimes. For a former Marine with combat experience himself, Solis the story-teller excels in making the context intelligible for the rest of us. He seems to know just what needs explaining, from the art of night patrolling to the atmosphere of the ramshackle huts in which court was held so close to the continued fighting. He tells a gripping and tragic story clearly. Having heard it, we are the better to judge whether even as distinguished and professional a fighting force as the U.S. Marines can be left to police its own. Son Thang: An American War Crime is not only a fine read, it is an excellent lesson.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Work on Military Justice in a War Zone, October 10, 2007

By 

A. Courie "Treb" (Freedom's Fortress) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Son Thang: An American War Crime (Mass Market Paperback)

Professor Gary Solis' "Son Thang: An American War Crime" is an excellent account of the courts-martial of four Marines for the murder of 16 Vietnamese civilians during the Vietnam War. Drawing from the transcripts from the courts-martial, the appellate record, the historical record, and interviews with many of the participants, Solis - a Vietnam veteran who served as both a military prosecutor and military judge in the Marines and who now teaches military law at West Point - gives a complete picture of the story as only a true insider can.

Although this book is history, it reads like a novel. Solis brings the tension of the battlefield and the drama of the courtroom alive in this book. And he also brings alive the legal maneuvering before each court-martial as the prosecutors, defense counsel, and - in some cases - civilian defense counsel, all "prepared the battlefield" before each court-martial.

As a former practitioner of military justice, Solis understands the nuances and intricacies of military justice, staff work on a division staff, and the actual role of commanders in the process. He methodically explains how military justice works in a deployed environment (the rules are the same, but there are many "real-world" problems such as witness production and transportation that can threaten an otherwise sound case).

Finally, Solis also gives glimpses of the bigger picture of the Vietnam War in 1970: the USMC manpower problems with Project 100,000, law of war training issues, the moral problems dealt with by Marines facing women and children fighters, etc. And, after telling the full post-trial stories of the convicted Marines (that went on for over 10 years), Solis wraps up with some conclusions about what went wrong, what went right, and suggestions for improving the military justice system (which are especially relevant now that we are again trying important courts-martial in deployed environments).

"Son Thang" is an outstanding book and a very easy read. Anyone interested in the Vietnam War, military justice, or in trial work in general should read it.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Justice in the Field, August 10, 2001

By 

Smoten (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Son Thang: An American War Crime (Mass Market Paperback)

"Son Thang" is both an important work of legal scholarship and a compelling, well-written story. Col. Solis documents, step by step, exactly how the Marine Corps treated its own suspected of war crimes in Vietnam-they were quickly tried, and if convicted, imprisoned. There were no coverups and no excuses. Marines accused of killing non-combatants were swiftly brought to book and the chips allowed to fall where they may. Here, it appears that several of the Marine Corps prosecutors were out-lawyered by civilian attorneys. That doesn't matter; a trial is, after all, a contest. What matters is that the Marine Corps had-and has always had and will always have-the will to try those accused of atrocities.