Chapter 9

Finally Jack addressed the court and said, "Gentlemen, I have here a list of seventy-three additional witnesses who are prepared to testify similarly. Admiral, you did not believe Susan Jennings could have been crucified. There are thirty-five more witnesses who will say that she was and testify that they saw her dying on that cross all day long. Of course, the testimony is highly repetitive."

With a deprecating little smile he asked, "It may be presumptuous of me, but may I ask the Court if it needs to hear any additional witnesses testify to the pattern of prisoner abuse?"

Adams looked at his colleagues on the court. All were senior officers with extensive combat experience. All looked ill. Every officer shook his head, no. "Mr. Smithson," the admiral replied, "you have made your point. Do you wish to recall Miss Cameron at this time?"

"No, sir," Smithson responded. "Before I do that I would like to introduce testimony on her physical condition at the time she was liberated and testimony bearing on her starvation. I would like to call the senior medical officer who examined the freed prisoners when they were returned to Saigon, Lt. Col. Douglas Evans."

Colonel Evans was called and sworn. Jack asked him about the general condition of the repatriated prisoners. His reply was that, with three exceptions, all were emaciated. He took out a table from his pocket and said that, based on the time of imprisonment compared to estimated weight at the time of capture, the prisoners were losing five to ten pounds per month of captivity.

"Doctor, you said there were three exceptions. Who were they, and in what way was their condition exceptional?" Jack asked.

"The exceptions were the three people sitting over there: General Black, Colonel Simon, and Major Harrison. They were all, to a significant degree, overweight. There was one other factor. Those three were quite pale. The fact stood out because all of the other ex-prisoners were sunburned. If their skin tanned, they were burned nearly black. If it did not they were severely sun blistered. Several required lengthy hospitalization for burn treatment."

"Doctor," Smithson asked, "did you examine Lt. Virginia Cameron?"

"Yes, sir, I did," he replied.

"What did you find?"

Consulting his notes Evans said, "Miss Cameron weighed seventy-one pounds when she returned to Saigon. Her normal weight is in the 115 to 120 pound range, and it could be more."

"Doctor, did you inquire about her condition? And how was her morale?"

"Her morale was incredibly good," he replied. "She had a single all-consuming interest: the whereabouts of Lieutenant Susan Jennings. She told me how Susan had 'fattened her up' — her words, sir. Her physical condition, though, was appalling. She said that she had gained perhaps five pounds in the few months prior to her rescue and there were medical signs that supported her statement. If it was so, however, I find it hard to believe that she remained alive."

After questioning Evans about his education and professional qualifications to establish him as an expert witness, he asked, "Doctor, in your professional opinion what would Miss Cameron's condition have been had she weighed five pounds less — or sixty-six pounds?"

"She would have been dead, sir. Or so close to it, it wouldn't make any difference. The short answer is that she would have been dying. Death would have been a matter of minutes — at most a few hours — away," he replied.

"Thank you, Doctor," Jack said. "There is just one more question. I show you a uniform shirt and ask if you recognize it?"

"Yes, sir, I do," Evans replied. "It is the shirt Miss Cameron was wearing when she was returned to Saigon. I remember the identification, JENNINGS, marked inside the collar."

"Doctor have you seen this shirt since that day in Saigon?"

"Yes, sir, I did. "I saw it again a few weeks ago when you brought it to me. You asked me to have tests run on some stains that I had not noticed before."

"Doctor Evans, did you have the tests run, and, if so, what did you learn?"

"The tests were run, sir. These stains — he showed the inside of the shirt to the members of the court — are human blood. It has been tested by the FBI laboratory in Washington. There is a positive match and a positive identification. The blood is Susan Jennings'. The lab dated the stains to a period of time centered on the date of the prisoners' release."

"Thank you, Doctor. Are there any other questions?" Jack asked.

A member of the court asked, "Doctor, is there any doubt about this identification? What is the chance for error?"

"Essentially none, sir," the doctor testified. "The FBI lab is certain the blood is Miss Jennings'."

Next, Jack recalled Ginny to the stand. She testified how, while Susan was being whipped while shielding her body, she was aware of blood dripping onto her body from Susan's lacerated back. "I didn't realize until a short time ago that the shirt had mopped up the blood that dripped from Susan onto me."

"It has come out in previous testimony that you weighed seventy-one pounds at the time of your rescue. Could you describe for the court you appearance at that time?"

"I can do a lot better than that," Ginny replied with a little smile. "Photographs were taken of me at the time and I have copies with me." She produced a set which were labeled for identification and then accepted into evidence. "If the court wishes," she continued, "I am willing to strip here now so the members can see the difference in my appearance, then to now."

The pictures were passed from hand to hand among the court members. Jack could see the looks of revulsion as the officers saw the pictures of Ginny as just skin and bones. Jack asked if there were any other questions.

After checking with the other members, Adams shook his head. Then he said, "Thank you, Miss Cameron. On behalf of the court, I want to thank you for coming in to testify. I also want to express our pleasure that you have recovered so well from your experience. There is just one more thing: When did you next see Miss Jennings?"

"I saw her early last year, sir. Mr. Jackson brought her to my home."

"What was her condition at that time?" the admiral asked.

"There will be medical testimony on that point later. However, she weighed eighty-five pounds. She was still heavily scarred from the whipping years earlier. And she was the person who save my life and almost lost hers in the process. She was abandoned on the streets!" Ginny wailed.

Witness followed witness. Mike Chapman testified and introduced the photographs of Susan taken at Ginny's by the press photographer. The pictures clearly showed both the lacerations and the bullet wounds. He stressed that it was over four years after the event.

John Roberts told of the operation to remove the bullets from Susan's body and how the bullet removal had been greatly complicated by the length of time they had been allowed to remain there. Finally, he stressed in his testimony the continual excruciating pain Susan had been living with because of the bullets' presence.

Finally Jack called Rick Jackson. After being sworn, he testified that, as a Marine major, he had been in command of the Recon unit assigned to free the prisoners in the POW camp that reconnaissance had finally located. He described how he cut Susan free from the cross and carried her to the cave. He told how he had been hit in the leg during the escape, and then how, in spite of her appalling physical condition she had operated and removed the slug. Then he told how Susan had mined the bridge and the approaches to their cave, located their other defenses, and then how she had fought off repeated attacks. Finally he was excused.

The next witness was Marine Senior Master Gunnery Sergeant Horace Brown. Brown was now serving in the commandant's office as the senior noncommissioned officer (NCO) in the Marine Corps. He had been the senior NCO on the raid to free the prisoners and later on the pickup mission. He was the man who had carried Susan to the helicopter.

"Sergeant," Jack Smithson said, "would you please tell the court in your own words what you saw on the mission to pick up Major Jackson and Miss Jennings?"

"Yes, sir," Brown began. "We came in low in the choppers, in from behind the hill in which the cave was located. As we cleared the ridge, a person came charging out of the cave and attacked the enemy massing further down the hill for a final assault on the cave. But she hit them first. She — it was Miss Jennings, of course, sir — hit them with an Armalite and grenades. By the time we got on the ground it was all over. The enemy were all dead."

"Did you count the enemy casualties?" Smithson asked.

"Yes, sir, we did," he replied. "There were seventy-seven enemy dead at the location of her firefight. Then there were lots of other casualties all over the place. She had emplaced a light machine gun at the mouth of the cave that did a lot of damage. Then there was the characteristic pattern of exploding Claymores that took out a bunch more.

"I reached Miss Jennings as she started to collapse. The right side of the combat jacket she was wearing was just soaked with her blood. She was losing consciousness, but I could hear her say, 'Get Rick's body. It's in the cave.' A couple of my men went to retrieve the body, but then we found he was still alive. Anyway, we bailed out as fast as we could to get them both back to medical care. After all, sir, our primary mission was to get them out, not waste time counting bodies. So we did."

"What happened to Miss Jennings when you got back to Saigon?" Jack asked.

"She was rushed off in an ambulance. We thought she was being rushed to the hospital. It's certainly where they should have taken her." Brown shook his head like a bear and continued, "I expected to be a part of a big award ceremony for her, sir. We never saw or heard of anything like what she did that day."

Looking over at Susan he smiled and said, "Miss Jennings, I guess I'm not supposed to say this, but over the last few weeks I have heard from almost all of the men who were with me that day on the pickup mission. They all asked me to give you our very best wishes, and to express their pleasure that you look so good now."

In spite of his dark complexion, everyone in the court could see Horace Brown blushing as he added, "And, Miss, begging your pardon, convey our love."

Brown was a very big man — nearly six fee four inches tall and weighing 245 pounds. He joked about his name, claiming that it should be Black because he was as black as the ace of spades.

"Aside from her wounds, what sort of condition was Miss Jennings in?" Smithson asked.

"She was emaciated, sir. I swear, she didn't weigh much more than one of our combat packs. I didn't realize how light she was and almost threw her into the air."

Taking a chance with the court, Smithson asked, "Sergeant Brown, are you a good judge of weight?"

"I think so, sir," was the reply.

"Then, Sergeant, would you be willing to pick up Miss Jennings now and estimate her weight?" Brown looked at the admiral who looked back and forth at his colleagues. Then he shrugged and indicated it was all right. Brown got up from the witness chair and went to where Susan was sitting. She rose and smiled at him. Then he picked her up effortlessly in his arms. It was so effortless, he even bounced her a little.

Then Susan wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "I never had the chance before, Sergeant. Thank you for saving my life." Then she melted her lips against his. The power of her kiss almost caused the huge man to fall over.

Brown put Susan back on the floor, handling her as if she were made of the finest china. Then he just ran his fingers over his lips and stared at her. He put out his hand, Susan took it firmly and looked up at him. "Miss Jennings," he said, "thank you for coming back to us. And I'm so happy you're looking so well. You are the most beautiful woman in the whole world!" Brown returned to the witness chair.