MYLAI PROBER SEES INJUSTICE, COVER-UP

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-01208R000100100089-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 2, 2011
• Sequence Number: 89
• Publication Date: December 2, 1974
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

1 1 -
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/03/02 : CIA-RDP90-01208R000100100089-5
yr ybnt.1 :t JA xvz)'.u
2 DECEMBER 1974
i
To Peers. who waited fivei.. frith day after d
y or
By Leroy Aarons ??ll'e have two forms of.
n?asl.:aa'cn Post Staff wrttr Justice." he said during a re-
KENTFIELD. Calif--\I'il-' cent interview, "one for the
Liam R. Peers crew up in the en1my and -one for out, own
people.
worked his way . I don't think we
. showed the same kind of
~liroug4. college' and ab-? sympathy toward the Ger-
sorbed a set of strong 'moral mans. for example. or the.
principles from a mother ?iapanese, in the case of war
whom he adored, and who c, imes, but we turn around
and we have an incident like
died while he was a young' this, which I consider a hor
man.. rible thing; and we find we
Peers carried his r?invihave only one man finally
Years for his report to sc'e.eemingly endless testimony
the light of day, "there is of atrocities, even Gen.
great deal of the same kind Peers' sensibilities became
r,f coloration. in different dulled. "As time goes on you
regrees, that you alight find sort of Set numb' to this
ut ?`ater;ate." whole thing." he confided.
He added. "If people had "You hear of all these atroc-
been concerned. that [Water- ities from all these people . .
gate] wouldn't have happen- it's drudgery even to hear
ed either . . .I think we about it."
need a tightening up of our . It was not until toward
judicial system. I think we the end of the investigation
are seeing a tightening 111) that the extent and nature
. It is being forced by the of the post-Jiylai cover-up
American public, who are' became clear. "We came, to
just getting jolly well fed up with this kind of stuff." see that people itad,11't.done
Peers was chief of Pe- i all they- were. supposed to
pies tnrougn a muuar; c^?: after doing a relatively pentagon, barisaw him seise as a s o just tom shown any interest in this
reef that sa mall part of his sentence. pleted a two-year tour in Vi-
:- est at the
member of the Reserve 0ffi-' Peers looks and lives in .'etnam. when he was sum- thin, any inter
ers Training Corps. an Of-` the genteel manner of rc ::honed to l estmoreland's and had Seri of pushed the
fir-e of S-rateoic services in tired. military _-officers. .Hc'. office on the evening of; button, the ;\hole, thin,,
'i' wwould have been uncovered.
telligence agent in Burma?
-and China during World
,Var II. a.founding m^mberI
of the CIA and a command
ing officer in Vietnam bp-
,fore his retirement in July'.'
1373, as a lieutenant gen-'
era.l.
in late 1969 and early
?970. under orders from
faint Chiefs of' Staff chair-
man William C. Westmore-
land. Peers compiled a ntas-
livc secret report on. the
n
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t ?i
i
b
d
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o
a
,
ase
laughter a
. ? CV1t1l?nr:..., 1\1,3j. _._...
trn f-f imony of 401 about the incident once it h
'
`
e w o
played football. rugby a;tf: persons and covering 20.000 was known. uei I:uster to bri a(It cot.
pages of transcripts and doe wrestled at UCLA. Peets~.?;t working against a 3'z mander Oran h. Henderson.
uments, 60 is almost the centcaI-cot Henderson's probe,
report. part of \eh ch ir. image of ail ',r ots n . month deadline, the time. said. "was not a prope
that r ir.
recently ort declassified cr al by which the statute of limi vestigation ... An investiga-
and part of which remains tations would expire, Peers .tion should include sWorn
Characteristically a: vve1L assembled a small staff and statements, testimony from
secret, found that ',both wit- Peers feels he owes no ai o1-
tinaly and unwittin,fly'?'? o`y for _ nierican involve- began questioning. lie soon the people. and should gn
high-level officers sou"iii- to into very cons;(,erable depth
n1clit in Vietnam zind Ire discovered-that the Job v.,- The fact \vo= ]tom haci not
l:crer un rite llylai hich17 strongly rejects su,_e..tiui1 far bi;,er than he had :nevi- looked into it to the depth
~f. March. 106o'. in which 17,i that'Mylai symbolize(: nio? t-
to :100 ietnaiitese noncom ran d 1eggeneratiot eitl1e,1 , i1 signed. 110 added two c?ivi, lie should hare."
hatants were stain by son- ur cut of t fait lawyers and extra mini- 't'ile same iaxity, Peers
country.
cliers of the Americal Divi But a visitor learns tilr?Y pcrsonnc,; ultinrltcly silid, carried up through t'ae
Mott. chain of coninland. I-lcntirr-
quickly that Gen. Peers Itas the staff totaled about 40. on's repent. say the !'rr-rs
Only one than. Lt. William a ri_3id personal standard of They began to take sworn
L.. Calley -It-.. n'as ever con shldv'. vr:(I acccuted "at face
tiered for'\I,,!ni or its after tsticc. tcsllmon anti made a t'.\lr value gad n'ithuut alt ea:c
math. To i ref':. non, lisin In Ills report lie named 30 wee% irip to Vietnam. visit- rive rev:c;c" by Gen. host(!.
quietly tiara F'r nci~c,t1 indi\ iduals v,ho h ill, the sit( of the incidetlt? In , Id!tiun, it : !le(
tint ort or c?(tmmi;siu::
t;lillire of th' ... Soon. file C!01'illtiv ff In' Ill( (nnsp!1'a(: In faithe''
t.tburb.
Itt!lltar'.' t., I',' tin'?`?" . iiCL:r!tj' $lturC r! 1't:lt`?blhi: tt'1'"I'nl---'rat tl r(!'1', rape. `n? ct, ttt`I("i illt0l'nlation in
t li r:'.'' f i;lai tc. 1-r;:1?. fur tilt.- cut'!?up. !.?nly Iti tiamy"-hccatn;' ccirlcn;? iiriei':e th( divisinn t'nn:?
.. .., r. ,.i,o, .,.. in11r \rr,t :u t,,. r, X11? 1 (I dn't iulir?.r .., ,..1..?
ac
th
a
t
raw
e
Oltlr
q,... 1 Ii?:: t1111r:, 11.11 I I ru
ll ra
ter!. 't'he ca~,s a';:liltsi 1? ta':e:t place " said Pen':. "i
(,thc'rc weer cG.imisted th !:h 1 \': resi tic' it
n;'. ?:11. But alter a wecc.
lire mo ni.turl;? Iil::tily
ri;IV. 11!,(: on n:. I
nn coven,-tl;\ char ;es anti .
rluit"ed It a, rile !'ail.;rr 1.n
pl'0 (f:UiC .hr ot(ter?s !t?1' of
the cover'up? c;nt'; ~:1-
swtI- that qu(?-'ial. f:al;:;
paid f'ccr;. ..0:hc' ! cu:?i?
ucf;cc! anti borriticcl? \; ho v: err: :tmy' contempo! a
r... ,'t ?,Iop:!red. I'I) 1%a5 its had to r,a!;?: t 1t p.
o;,t"ni ,n1['t t:il'ficu'.t 11 mcnt of ii-il:'ii;cr in t,n'?'
, - 1 \ r (c (1' ^_ n tl P \ 11 I ran c n'
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/03/02 : CIA-RDP90-01208R000100100089-5
fires with Ins wile ill a coin-.: \ov. 24, 1969. By that t:me,;
Portable two-story.honte dec? I the Mylai scandal had bro. -right then acid there. Eut
orated with Oriental art and ken in the press and investi- nobody was that it:terested."
urniture and other me mo- Sanctus were under way at. Peers said ilia conunission
f
l several levels, including one found that reports of the
rabilia of his 36-year career. by tilt military's Criminal. :llylai massacrt> were filter-
Il.e works part time as a con- lrlvcstig,ations . D vision ing in within days of the in-
sultant for the missiles' divi- (CiDI. - : cident from the V ietnamese
lion of Rockwell Interna- Put. Peers related, West-' district chiefs; from Viet-
, moreland wanted a probe roil;; propaganda :nn tram
comp, g his his leisurd that would focus not only on ail American helicopter war-
but on what rant officer who had \dit-
compiling his puuers and the
atrocities
,
.
playing golf. Six feet tall. fire responsible officers and nessed some or the car'ua'e.
white haired and the ~M"1? Order. to inve ti%ate a crc
- _., leaders did or failed t0 d(1 ....-,t A-- From AIII E`t?ical