Court-martial at Parris Island : the Ribbon Creek incident / John C. Stevens III.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stevens, John C., 1939-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

McKeon, Matthew--Trials, litigation, etc.

McKeon, Matthew.

Trials (Military offenses)--South Carolina--Parris Island.

Trials (Military offenses).

Courts-martial and courts of inquiry--South Carolina--Parris Island.

Courts-martial and courts of inquiry.

Basic training (Military education)--United States.

Basic training (Military education).

United States. Marine Corps.

United States.

South Carolina--Parris Island.

Physical Description:

xv, 184 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Annapolis, Md. : Naval Institute Press, [1999]

Summary:

On April 8, 1956, drill instructor Matthew McKeon led Platoon 71 on a forced night march through the backwaters of the Parris Island recruit depot in an effort to restore flagging discipline. An unexpected and extraordinarily strong tidal current in Ribbon Creek swept over the recruits, and in the panic that followed six men drowned. This book is the story of that night, the recruits of Platoon 71, and especially Staff Sergeant McKeon and his court-martial.

The Ribbon Creek incident, as it came to be called, rapidly escalated into a national news story, replete with tabloid sensationalism. With the Marine Corps seeking a scapegoat, McKeon's fate seemed sealed until a skilled New York trial lawyer, sensing injustice, agreed to defend the sergeant without fee and mounted a massive public relations campaign to sway public opinion. The name of that defense attorney, Emile Zola Berman, is but one of a number of haunting parallels to the renowned Dreyfus court-martial in France fifty years earlier. The final verdict pits Marine Corps tradition against conscience in the pursuit of justice.

The author, a former marine and an experienced trial lawyer and judge, spells out in detail for the first time the strategies and tactics of the prosecution and the defense, while maintaining a sharp focus on the human side of the tragedy. Based on exhaustive research and interviews with the participants, including McKeon, his book presents an account of the incident from a wide range of perspectives. The riveting narrative rivals the best courtroom fiction.

Contents:

1 Death in the Boondocks 1

2 Time and Place 11

3 Platoon 71 15

4 Final Straws 20

5 "The Whole Marine Corps Has Had It, Too" 27

6 The Reaction 35

7 Inquiry 40

8 Media Feast 59

9 The Tide Turns 66

10 Trial Begins 79

11 Trial Continues

Week 2 97

12 The Defendant's Version 113

13 Pulling Out All the Stops 128

14 Seven Courageous Men 142

15 Closing the Book 155

16 Retrospect 162.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 175-178) and index.

ISBN:

1557508143

OCLC:

40193551