For the complete listing of Lavelle documents and White House recordings, visit: http://www.mbklaw.com/events/lavelle

Secretary of the Air Force’s 1972 Dismissal of Court-Martial Charges

In mid-1972, a junior officer and a group of enlisted men separately preferred court-martial charges against General Lavelle.  The Air Force Judge Advocate General reviewed the charges and recommended that they be dismissed.  That advice was contained in a memorandum prepared for the Secretary of the Air Force, who accepted the Judge Advocate General’s recommendation.  The Secretary’s decision was announced by a press release dated October 24, 1972.  The Judge Advocate General’s memorandum was discovered years after the Lavelle hearings and was submitted as newly discovered evidence related to the issue of false reports.  The memorandum indicates that all Senate and House of Representatives Lavelle hearing transcripts were reviewed in its preparation.  Additionally, the Inspector General Report on the Lavelle investigation, containing first-hand witness testimony from the entire chain of command below General Lavelle, was scrutinized.  In coming to the conclusion that criminal charges against General Lavelle would ultimately fail, the Judge Advocate General stated, “[T]here was no evidence that this type of falsification was caused, directly or indirectly, by anything General Lavelle said, and although he was shown the accurate ‘specat’ reports, there is no evidence that he was shown or was personally aware of the false reports in the OPREP-4.” Download the full memorandum here (PDF)

The Honorable Otis G. Pike

Former New York Congressman, Otis G. Pike, was primarily responsible for initiating an investigation into the events surrounding General Lavelle’s relief of command.  Congressman Pike pushed the House Armed Services Committee to hold a hearing and take testimony to determine the real reasons behind General Lavelle’s retirement.  Congressman Pike’s April 19, 2008 letter was relied upon by the Air Force Board in deciding to recommend that General Lavelle have his four stars restored.  Congressman Pike said, “If I had had the White House tapes at the time I would been even angrier at President Nixon and Secretary Kissinger for turning General Lavelle loose and then hanging him out to dry by denying they had done so.” Download the original letter (PDF)

The Honorable R. James Woolsey

In a August 28,2010 letter to the New York Times, R. James Woolsey publicly reiterated his support of the rehabilitation of General Lavelle. In  the Lavelle Application to the Air Force Board of Correction of Military Records, former Director of Central Intelligence, R. James Woolsey, offered first-hand evidence of the Senate investigation and an opinion based upon the recently released exculpatory material.  Mr. Woolsey was, at the time of the Lavelle hearings, the general counsel of the Senate Armed Services Committee.    He was charged by the Committee with the responsibility for investigating, taking testimony and producing evidence in the Lavelle hearings.  Mr. Woolsey took deposition testimony from witnesses in Vietnam and up through the chain of command to Washington.  In a letter dated June 11, 2008, Mr. Woolsey explained his role in the 1972 Senate investigation and reviewed the newly disclosed evidence.  He closed his letter with the following:  “Had I understood this in 1972 I would have recommended to the Committee that General Lavelle should have been advanced on the retired list to his full rank.  I feel confident that such a recommendation would have been approved by the Committee.” The Air Force Board of Correction of Military Records took great consideration of these comments, referencing them and their weight in their findings. 

Download the original Woolsey letter (PDF)
Download the Record of Proceedings Air Force Board of Correction of Military Records, 10/30/2009 (PDF)

For more information about this matter, including the Nixon White House Recordings, visit: http://www.mbklaw.com/events/lavelle

For more information, including press materials and primary source information, click here.

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