I don’t know how many days went by and everyone in the unit started talking about me and Steve Mooney and how we were going to be charged with attempted murder. We were sounding like two thugs right out of east Chicago or members of the mafia. But things were about to change, for the better. Out of the blue, straight from one of God’s little miracles, a witness came out of nowhere to clear us. It was another member of our unit, Battery B, that had the room right under Johnson’s room on the second floor. His remarks to Lt Lofgren saved us. He claims he had just heard about the whole story and he remembers leaning out his window on the second floor as Johnson was dangling from his window seal above. And he said there was no one pushing him out of the window because just before that dangling started, he heard someone talking and looked out his window to see who was outside. low and behold he saw Sergeant Johnson sitting on his window ledge just before his utterly drunk self fell out and onto the ground below. Johnson had held on to the edge of the window seal for quite some time as he dangled precariously. Then couldn’t hold on anymore. That’s how he managed out of the window and onto the ground below. If he hadn’t been drunk he may have killed himself. To say the least, Steve and I were absolutely relieved. Johnson and all his buddies who gave false testimony faced an Article 15 punishment for lying. When they were confronted by Lieutenant Lofgren they admitted they lied. Steve and I were called into the Commanding Officer’s office to hear full apologies from each one of them. Some lost their ranks and some lost money, and some lost both. But, it certainly taught me a lesson to never ever leave your post. And it also taught me to write down “any” incident that happens even if it involves your best friend. (I spoke to Mooney) in 2013, 41 years after we had this happen to us, and he remembered everything about it. In fact it was Mooney that brought it up to me on the phone.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Sep 2013 16:42:07 +0000