The court-martial of Howard Levy occurred in 1967. Howard Levy (born April 10, 1937) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

doctor who became an early resister to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. In 1967, he was

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of mem ...

ed at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, for refusing an order to train

Green Beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of the Second World War. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF w ...

medics on their way to Vietnam. He said it "became clear to me that the Army

as using medics As, AS, A. S., A/S or similar may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * A. S. Byatt (born 1936), English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer * "As" (song), by Stevie Wonder * , a Spanish sports newspaper * , an academic male voice ...

to 'win hearts and minds' in Vietnamese villages - while still burning them to the ground in search-and-destroy missions." He considered the Special Forces (Green Berets) "killers of peasants and murderers of women and children".

Early life and education

Howard B. Levy grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, New York, the son of a salesman. He went to New Utrecht High School and then

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

. He got his medical training at the

SUNY Downstate College of Medicine The SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University (formally, The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn) is a public medical school in New York City and one of the three components of SUNY Downstate Medical Center: Universi ...

(1961) and interned at the

Maimonides Medical Center Maimonides Medical Center is a non-profit, non-sectarian hospital located in Borough Park, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. Maimonides is both a treatment facility and academic medical center with 711 be ...

. He was commissioned as a reserve officer in the Army Medical Corps in 1962, but was deferred until the end of his medical residency in July 1965, at which time he was sent directly to Fort Jackson.

Court-martial, Nuremberg Defense and appeals

A noteworthy aspect of this case was that Levy's attorney, Charles Morgan Jr., raised the Nuremberg Defense, arguing that U.S. troops were committing war crimes in Vietnam and that American soldiers could lawfully refuse to obey orders related to Vietnam service. The

Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded ...

of Nazi Leaders, which took place after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, held that soldiers involved in war crimes could be held liable even though under orders from a superior. A lesser known aspect of the case was that Levy "urged black enlisted men to refuse to serve in Vietnam because 'they are discriminated against and denied their freedom in the United States, and . . . discriminated against in Vietnam by being given all the hazardous duty and they are suffering the majority of casualties.'" Levy's defense became national news and a

cause célèbre A cause célèbre (,''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre ,''Random House Kernerman Webs ...

among opponents of the Vietnam War because it was based on "both the illegality of the Vietnam War and the Nuremberg principle requiring non-participation in war crimes." The military court disagreed, sentencing Levy to three years at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perman ...

for "conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman" and disloyal statements prejudicial to "good order and discipline." The court did, however, admit evidence of war crimes into testimony. The presiding law officer, Colonel Earl V Brown, surprisingly, allowed both the Nuremberg Defense and testimony in private session that Green Berets were engaged in war crimes in Vietnam. Despite this, because there was no testimony that Green Beret medics were involved in criminal activity or that their medical training was being used for such activity, the evidence was ruled irrelevant and, therefore, inadmissible in open court. Levy described this experience years later: "We tried to put the war on trial, but the military court said the truth is no defense." Howard-Levy-from-A-Matter-of-Conscience

Levy was released after serving more than two years in prison, but his case continued on through the courts.Reed, Roy
"Charles Morgan Jr., 78, Dies; Leading Civil Rights Lawyer"
''

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'', January 9, 2009. Accessed January 12, 2009. The first review by a

Federal District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

affirmed his conviction. Then, in April 1973,

The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts: * District of Delaware * District of New Jersey * East ...

reversed the decision on the grounds that the two key provisions of the

Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ, 10 U.S.C. §§ 801–946 is the foundation of military law in the United States. It was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constituti ...

that led to the conviction "were so vague as to be unconstitutional." The very next year, on June 19, 1974, in

Parker v. Levy Parker may refer to: Persons * Parker (given name) * Parker (surname) Places Place names in the United States * Parker, Arizona * Parker, Colorado *Parker, Florida *Parker, Idaho *Parker, Kansas *Parker, Missouri *Parker, North Carolina * Parker ...

the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

reinstated Levy’s conviction with a controversial 5-3 decision. Parker v. Levy remains the legal foundation for recognition of "military necessity" as "a weightier interest than First Amendment rights of individuals in the military." Justice William O. Douglas dissented, arguing that “Uttering one’s belief is sacrosanct under the First Amendment.” After hearing about the verdict, Levy was quoted as saying: "I was unjustly court‐martialed, unjustly sentenced, ...unjustly spent two and a half years in prison, and I believe the Supreme Court ruling was unjust.”

Later career and personal reflections

In 2002, ''

'' interviewed him and found he had "no regrets" over his actions, and that he still considered the Vietnam War "criminal, senseless mayhem." For many years he had been the director of dermatology at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

's Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx. He was "still critical of America's use of military force, as in Afghanistan and possibly in Iraq." He also told the Times that "he felt an affinity with those Israeli army reservists who have said they would refuse to serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip because of Israeli treatment of the Palestinians".

References

External links

''Sir! No Sir!'', a film about GI resistance to the Vietnam War

Howard Levy oral history from ''A Matter of Conscience - GI Resistance During the Vietnam War''

Waging Peace in Vietnam - US Soldiers and Veterans Who Opposed the War

A Matter of Conscience - GI Resistance During the Vietnam War

Waging Peace in Vietnam Interviews with GI resisters
{{Anti-Vietnam Anti–Vietnam War groups Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War New York University alumni People from Brooklyn United States Army Medical Corps officers New Utrecht High School alumni SUNY Downstate College of Medicine alumni Military personnel from New York City Court-martial cases

Early life and education

Court-martial, Nuremberg Defense and appeals

Later career and personal reflections

See also

References

External links