In the Media

FAMILY OF WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED SOLDIER SEEKS COMPENSATION/SAYS ARMY DID NOT FULFILL DUTY

January 23, 2008 - (Annandale, VA) --Today, the family of the late Army Private Booker Townsell is petitioning the Secretary of the Army for compensation after Townsell’s unjust imprisonment and shameful treatment.

Townsell, along with 42 other African-American World War II soldiers, was tried simultaneously in 1944 at an Army base in Seattle, Washington, in what has been regarded as the largest and longest courts-martial of World War II. The charge? Rioting at Fort Lawton, resulting in the hanging of an Italian prisoner of war. Townsell was convicted of rioting, dishonorably discharged, and sentenced to eight years in prison. In October 2007, the Army Board for Correction of Military Records overturned the conviction on the grounds the trial was exceedingly unfair. But NO compensation was provided.

Today, Townsell's daughter, Marion Williamson, in conjunction with the Committee to Restore the Honor of Private Townsell, requested the Army Board to reconsider its decision. The group is represented by Howard G. Cooley, Director of the Military and National Security Law Group at the national law firm of Patrick Henry LLP. Cooley explained, "My clients are immensely appreciative of the Army's prior grant of relief and assistance, but they do not believe the Army is completely out of gas in terms of remedies. The main issue is to what degree does the military compensate service members for unjust injuries it inflicted on those service members.” Cooley added, "the Army Board is one of the most powerful administrative boards in the nation with equity power delegated by Congress. My clients are having a hard time understanding why such a powerful board cannot use its great power to make Private Townsell whole."

Today’s petition comes on the heels of an impressive weekend memorial service dedicated to restoring Booker Townsell’s legacy in his native Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On January 19, 2008, in a collaboration between the Secretary of the Army and the Committee to Restore the Honor of Private Townsell, he finally received the burial honors he was denied.

At the Milwaukee County War Memorial, overlooking Lake Michigan, Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA), considered a pivotal force behind the Army’s reversal, lamented that “too often the color of skin defined fate and denied due process.”

Ronald James, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, categorically denied that the improper treatment received by Townsell was a reflection of “Army values.” James added, “The Army is sorry…I am sorry. Your father lost two years of his life, two years of his freedom and I suspect a measure of himself as a man.”

Cooley said that the Army’s treatment of Townsell did not strip him of his honor. “Rather it was the United States which lost its honor in how it handled the case: suppressing evidence, giving all 43 African-American defendants only two lawyers, and forcing them to trial in a mere nine days. “

The Townsell family began their search for justice after they looked for his name online and found a reference to him in a 2005 book about the incident, "On American Soil: How Justice Became a Casualty of World War II." The family then contacted the author, Jack Hamann. Speaking at Saturday’s memorial service, Hamann said Townsell's family was instrumental in pursuing the case. "This family legitimately loved Booker Townsell and he just sounds like an amazing guy. They knew he carried this burden with him his entire life."

For further information contact:

Howard Cooley
Patrick Henry LLP 703.256.7754 hcooley@patrickhenry.net
Secretary of Army Reverses Conviction in the Largest Courts-Martial of WWII

Updates:

• Nearly 63 Years Later, Army Rules That Army Prosecutor Leon Jaworski Committed "Egregious Error" By Withholding Crucial Evidence in the Murder and Rioting Trial of 43 U.S. Soldiers, All of Them African-American --<
• Counsel for the Townsell family, Howard G. Cooley, of the law firm Patrick Henry LLP, says he is hopeful that the ruling will "serve as a springboard" to similar relief in other courts-martial...Read More
• NPR interview with Howard Cooley regarding this trial
• WMCS 1290 AM Radio Station in Milwakee, WI interviewed Howard Cooley regarding this trial.
  Black Military World | News and Information Relative to African Americans in the Military.

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