In Memoriam: Remembering Recently Departed Members of the Regiment

Then-Major Michael Downes. (Photo courtesy of Mike Downes Jr.)

In Memoriam

Remembering Recently Departed Members of the Regiment

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By Fred L. Borch III

The following members of our Regiment, in alphabetical order, passed away in 2021.

Jessy J. Branham (1973–2021)

Chief Warrant Officer Four (CW4) Jessy James Branham died on 3 October 2021. He was 47 years old.

Born on 23 November 1973, he enlisted in the Army after high school as a paralegal specialist (MOS 71D). He subsequently received an appointment as a Warrant Officer 1 Legal Administrator. Jessy served in a variety of locations, including Fort Bragg, Fort Campbell, and Fort Leavenworth. He also served overseas in Germany. He retired as a CW4.

Chief Branham is survived by his three children.1

Jon C. Cieslak (1949–2021)

Jon Chester Cieslak died from complications of spinal surgery on 11 October 2021. He was 72 years old.

Born in Minneapolis, he graduated from Princeton University in 1971 and earned his law degree from Lewis and Clark Law School. Jon subsequently served on active duty as a judge advocate before transitioning to the Army National Guard. Before retiring as a lieutenant colonel, his last assignment was as the legal counsel to the Adjutant General of Minnesota.2

Dennis T. Chapman (1944–2021)

Dennis “Denny” Chapman, who served as a judge advocate at Fort Dix, New Jersey, from 1969 to 1975, died on 15 August 2021. He was 77 years old and was suffering from dementia and cancer at the time of his death.

Born in Nebraska in 1944, Denny graduated from Creighton’s law school in 1969 and returned to Nebraska after his active duty tour as a judge advocate. He then practiced law in private practice in Omaha before joining Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska in the early 1980s. He was the general counsel and corporate secretary for more than 25 years when he retired in 2007.3

Michael Downes (1935–2021)

Michael McCahan “Mike” Downes died of cancer on 12 May 2021. He had a distinguished career as an Army lawyer, including serving as the staff judge advocate for XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and the U.S. Army Signal Center, Fort Gordon, Georgia. Colonel Downes ended his active duty career as a trial judge at Fort Bragg.

Born in Philadelphia on 31 August 1935, Mike “graduated from the Peddie School, a college preparatory and boy’s boarding school in Hightstown, New Jersey.”4 He then attended the University of Georgia, where he received his undergraduate degree in 1957 and his law degree in 1959. Having participated in Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) at the University of Georgia, Mike was commissioned as an infantry second lieutenant. He went on active duty in 1960 after passing the bar exam, and subsequently completed the Airborne, Ranger, and Pathfinder schools at Fort Benning.

After transferring from the infantry to the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps in 1963, Colonel Downes served in various assignments and locations, including Germany, Korea, and Vietnam. After retiring from active duty in January 1990, Mike joined Westinghouse Savannah River Company, which managed the Savannah River Site nuclear facility in South Carolina. In this job, he created an ethics program for contractors that became a model for others Department of Energy facilities.

Colonel Downes was 85 years old at the time of his death. He was predeceased by his wife, Barbara. His son, Michael Jr., and daughter, Samantha Poehlman, survive him, along with four grandchildren.5

Joseph A. Dudzik, Jr. (1931–2021)

Colonel Joseph A. “Joe” Dudzik, Jr. died on 7 June 2021. He was 89 years old.

Born on 19 July 1931, he graduated from Fordham University School of Law in 1956 and then served as an enlisted legal clerk in the 1st Armored Division at Fort Polk before transferring to JAG Corps. Joe Dudzik subsequently served in a variety of assignments and locations in the Corps, including the Procurement Law Division, Office of The Judge Advocate General, from 1960 to 1963, and the Procurement Law Division (today’s Contract and Fiscal Law Division) at The Judge Advocate General’s School, from 1966 to 1969. That year, he deployed to Vietnam, where he was the head of the Army Procurement Office in Saigon until 1970.

After retiring from active duty, Colonel Dudzik settled in Oklahoma, where he engaged in the private practice of law.6

Jeffrey S. Forman (1963–2021)

Chief Warrant Officer Four Jeffrey Stephen “Jeff” Forman died on 9 August 2021. He was 58 years old.

Born in Denver, Colorado, on 7 July 1963, Chief Forman enlisted in the Army Reserve as an infantryman in 1985. Five years later, he transferred to the Corps as an MOS 27D paralegal specialist and served with the 87th Legal Operations Detachment. In 1998, he was appointed as a Warrant Officer 1 and served as a legal administrator in 2007 in Afghanistan. He also deployed to Iraq, where he was the senior warrant officer in the Law and Order Task Force at Forward Operating Base Shield.7

Peter A. Garcia (1961–2021)

Lieutenant Colonel Peter A. Garcia died on 3 August 2021 at the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He was 60 years old.

Born on 25 June 1961, Pete graduated from Rutgers University and earned his law degree from Widener University Law School. He subsequently served 29 years as an Army lawyer in both the active component and Army Reserve, from which he retired as a lieutenant colonel.

Pete Garcia’s assignment included service as the deputy command judge advocate at the 314th Civil Affairs Brigade. He later served as the deputy staff judge advocate at the 153d Legal Operations Detachment. Lieutenant Colonel Garcia also served two tours of duty in Afghanistan.

“As a civilian attorney, [Garcia] worked in both the private and public sector.”8 He was an Assistant Counsel to the Governor of New Jersey and also served as Acting Public Defender for New Jersey. Pete Garcia is survived by his wife, Diane, and a son and daughter.9

Herbert Green (1941–2021)

Colonel Herbert Green, who served as an Army lawyer in Vietnam and retired from active duty while serving as a trial judge, died at his home in Texas on 27 December 2021. He was 80 years old.

Born on 11 December 1941, Herb graduated from Queens College in 1963 and the University of Texas Law School in 1966. He then worked briefly as a staff attorney at the Federal Communications Commission before entering the Army as a judge advocate in October 1966. Colonel Green subsequently served 27 years on active duty. He had eleven assignments in the United States and three overseas tours in Germany. Then-Captain Green also served in Vietnam as an Army lawyer with II Field Force; his time in that assignment was featured in an American Bar Association article.10

Colonel Green’s expertise was in criminal law. He taught at The Judge Advocate General’s School and “served as a trial judge for sixteen years, culminating his military judicial career as Chief Judge, 3d Judicial Circuit, Fort Hood, Texas.”11

After retiring from active duty in 1994, Herb Green “began a second career as an Administrative Law Judge for the Social Security Administration. He retired from that position in January 2019.”12

His wife, Mary, survives him, as well as a daughter and two granddaughters.13

Robert Dean Hamel (1937–2021)

Colonel Dean Hamel died in Windcrest, Texas, on 26 December 2021. He was 84 years old.

Born in Hays, Kansas, Dean graduated from high school at age 17 and then earned a degree from Fort Hays State University before earning his law degree from Washburn Law School in 1961. While in law school, Hamel “worked at the Boys Industrial School, a youth correctional institution. He considered this one of the highlights of his life because . . . it taught him a great deal about human nature”—and the experience helped him later in life when he was prosecuting and defending soldiers at courts-martial.14

Colonel Hamel entered the Army in January 1962 and served in a variety of locations as a judge advocate, including Fort Carson, Fort Leonard Wood, and Fort Sam Houston. During his career as an Army lawyer, Hamel served as a trial and defense counsel, and as a procurement and claims attorney.

After retiring from active duty in August 1990, Dean was the chief of Acquisition Law, Fort Sam Houston Medical Command. He retired as an Army civilian in August 2000.

Colonel Hamel is survived by two sons, one daughter, twelve grandchildren, and one great grandchild.15

Walter Henderson (1931–2021)

Colonel Walter Henderson, who served as an infantry and Special Forces officer, and as a civilian attorney in the Army General Counsel’s office, died in Washington, D.C., on 25 May 2021. He was 89 years old.

Born Walter Turner Chandler III in Kansas, City, Missouri, on 14 July 1921, Walter Henderson took his stepfather’s surname after his mother remarried Army officer Morris King Henderson. Walter Henderson grew up in a military family and, after graduating from Yokohama High School in post-war Japan, he entered West Point in 1949.

Commissioned in the infantry in 1953, he completed both Airborne and Ranger training and then served in the Old Guard and 25th Infantry Division. Henderson left active duty in the late 1950s to work for General Electric. He completed law school at night at George Washington University and graduated in 1961.

After working briefly for a law firm, Henderson joined the Army General Counsel’s office as a legal advisor. He subsequently served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he worked as an analyst in defense acquisition and procurement policy.

While serving as an Army civilian attorney, Henderson remained in the Army Reserve and later became Special Forces qualified. He retired from the Army Reserve as a colonel in 1983. Walter Henderson is survived by a brother, daughter, and two sons, as well as grandchildren and one great grandchild. He will be interred in Arlington National Cemetery.16

W. Hays Parks (1941–2021)

William Hays Parks, who was the first Marine Corps lawyer to serve on the faculty at The Judge Advocate General’s School, and who later served as a civilian attorney in the Office of The Judge Advocate General, died after suffering a stroke on 11 May 2021. He was 80 years old.

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Hays was commissioned in the Marine Corps after graduating from Baylor University’s law school in 1963. He subsequently served in a variety of locations and assignments, including Vietnam, before leaving active duty. In 1979, Hays was appointed Special Assistant to Army Judge Advocate General for Law of War Matters. In this position, “he regularly represented the United States in law of war negotiations in Geneva, Vienna, and The Hague, as well as in Washington and New York.”17 He also repeatedly testified as a law of war expert in U.S. and international criminal trials.

In 2003, Hays left the Army to join the International Affairs Division, Office of the General Counsel, Department of Defense (DoD). In that job, he chaired the DoD’s Law of War Working Group until his retirement in October 2010. He had earlier retired as a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve.18

Hays is survived by his wife, Maria Lopez-Otin.

Denise Johnson (1953–2021)

Jane Denise Johnson, a long-time civilian employee in the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Fort Stewart, Georgia, died on 24 January 2021. She was 67 years old and admired and respected by all who knew her.

Born on 26 November 1953, Denise Johnson lived in Hinesville at the time of her death. Her Army civilian career spanned 35 years, and included service as the legal clerk for the U.S. Army Trial Defense Service, legal library technician, victim witness liaison, and special victims witness liaison. Ms. Johnson’s excellence was recognized with the Army Civilian Achievement Medal and the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service.

Denise Johnson is survived by three children and twelve grandchildren.19

Gary Lockwood (1935–2021)

Colonel Gary Lockwood, who served as both an active duty and Army National Guard judge advocate, died on 29 July 1921. He was 85 years old and suffering from Parkinson’s disease at the time of his death.

Born in Medford, Oregon, on 1 October 1935, Gary earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Willamette University. He then entered the Army as a judge advocate, and served active duty assignments at Fort Riley, Kansas, and Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

After leaving active duty, Gary returned to Oregon, where he was an attorney in private practice, a civilian judge, and a judge advocate in the Oregon National Guard. Lockwood would later serve as Oregon’s selective service officer.

Colonel Lockwood is survived by his wife, two daughters, and four grandchildren.20

Clarence D. Long III (1943–2021)

Lieutenant Colonel Clarence D. “Hugh” Long III, who was decorated with the Silver Star, Soldier’s Medal, Bronze Star Medal, and two Purple Hearts while serving as an infantry officer in Vietnam, and who finished his active duty career as a judge advocate, died on 28 October 2021. He was 78 years old.

Born on 7 February 1943 in Princeton, New Jersey, Hugh graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1965. After finishing Airborne and Ranger training, then-Lieutenant Long commanded a Long-Range Reconnaissance Platoon in the 502d Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. On 31 December 1966, “he bravely exposed himself to enemy fire in order to rescue a wounded soldier from an unprotected position and carry him to safety.”21 Long would “later be awarded the Silver Star for his heroism that day.”22

After leaving active duty, Hugh attended law school and graduated in 1971. Four years later, he returned to the Army as a judge advocate. He first served at the 82d Airborne Division before joining the Army Contract Appeals Division. After retiring from active duty in 1992, Lieutenant Colonel Long took a position as a civilian attorney in the Air Force Office of General Counsel.

Hugh Long is survived by his wife, JoAlice, and five children from his first marriage. He was living in Warrenton, Virginia, at the time of his death.23

Heather A. Masten (1964–2021)

Lieutenant Colonel Heather Ann Masten died on 2 November 2021. She was 56 years old.

Born on 27 December 1964 in Grand Island, Nebraska, Heather enlisted in the Army after graduating from high school. She married Kelly Stahlnecker in 1984 and had a son, Dustin Dakota Stahlnecker, in 1987.

In 1993, Heather graduated from Creighton University’s law school and began a career as an active duty and reserve judge advocate. She served in a variety of assignments and locations, including deploying to Afghanistan as part of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.

In 1996, Heather met “her soulmate,”24 Nancy Williams. They were married in Canada in 2006 and lived together in Colorado, Texas, and Germany.

In 2000, Heather and Nancy settled in San Antonio, Texas, where Heather subsequently obtained a position as a civilian attorney at U.S. Army Medical Command, Fort Sam Houston.

Heather Masten is survived by her wife, Nancy, son Dustin, and granddaughter, Analeese. Her father, mother, and brother also survive her.25

Toby McCoy (1970–2021)

Toby D. McCoy died at his home in Tomah, Wisconsin, on 31 July 2021. He was 50 years old at the time of his death.

Born on 25 October 1970 in Huntington, West Virginia, Toby graduated first in his high school class in 1988. He subsequently earned both his undergraduate and law degree (Order of the Coif) from Washington and Lee University. Colonel McCoy served in the Corps for approximately twenty-six years, and retired as a colonel. At the time of his death, he was the deputy director, Civilian Personnel, Human Resources Agency, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.

Colonel McCoy is survived by his wife and two sons. His parents also survive him.26

Edith M. “Edyie” Rob (1959–2021)

Known to all her friends and colleagues as “Edyie,” Colonel (retired) Rob was killed on 2 July 2021 when she was struck by an automobile while biking with her husband, Sam, in the countryside near her home in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. She was 61 years old.

Born in Chicago on 18 November 1959, Colonel Rob was commissioned as a Military Police (MP) Corps second lieutenant after graduating from Campbell University in 1981. She served in an MP battalion at Fort Ord, California, before being selected for the Funded Legal Education Program. After completing her law degree at Notre Dame, Edyie served in a variety of assignments and locations including: 2d Infantry Division (trial counsel); CID (legal advisor) Special Assistant US Attorney; PPTO (plans officer); 82d Airborne Division (chief of justice; deputy staff judge advocate); Government Appellate Division (branch chief; deputy chief); Office of the Inspector General (deputy legal advisor); and U.S. Army Recruiting Command. (staff judge advocate). She retired in 2005.

Following her husband’s retirement from active duty in 2010, the Robs moved to Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania. While Sam served as the civilian contract/fiscal law attorney at the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Edyie served as the Boiling Springs High School debate coach, a member of the school board, and in a multitude of other volunteer capacities that made her a pillage of the community. The Robs raised two sons, Samuel and Jacob, who both graduated with honors from Princeton University (Samuel also graduated with honors with a master’s degree from the University of Oxford) and are now serving as commissioned officers on active duty in the Army. 1LT(P) Sam Rob is an engineer officer and 2LT Jake Rob is an infantry officer.

Edyie Rob was admired and loved by many, and she is greatly missed by those who knew her. In 2022, in her memory, the Edyie M. Rob Memorial Scholarship was established at Boiling Springs High School and the Colonel Edyie M. Rob Award for Mentorship was established by The Judge Advocate General’s School. She is interred in Arlington National Cemetery (Section 81; Grave 1023).28

Samuel Robles (1983–2021)

First Sergeant (1SG) Samuel Robles died on Christmas day after being struck and killed by a motor vehicle in Prescott Valley, Arizona. He had only recently retired from the Corps and was 38 years old at the time of his death.

Born in Edmonds, Washington, on 8 February 1983, Sam Robles enlisted in the Army as a paralegal specialist after graduating from high school in 2001. He subsequently served in the Ranger Regiment and took part in ten combat deployments while in that assignment. Then-Staff Sergeant Robles was the 2008 recipient of the Sergeant Eric L. Coggins Award for Excellence. In 2009, he joined the Noncommissioned Officers Academy as its operations noncommissioned officer (NCO). Three years later, Sam Robles moved to Camp Smith, Hawaii, where he assumed duties as the command paralegal NCO for Special Operations Command Pacific. He subsequently served as a senior paralegal NCO and senior military justice operations NCO in the 82d Airborne Division. In 2017, 1SG Robles assumed duties as the top NCO in the MOS 27D Advanced Individual Training Company, Juliet Company, at Fort Lee, Virginia. He completed his JAG Corps career as the chief paralegal NCO for First Army, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois.

After retiring in late 2021, 1SG Robles and his family relocated to Prescott Valley, Arizona, to be near family. There he began a new career as bailiff with the Yavapai County Juvenile Justice Center.

First Sergeant Robles is survived by his wife, Stephanie, and two children, Jackson and Tristan. His mother, father, and other family members also survive him.29

Then-Major Edyie Rob (right). (Photo courtesy of Colonel Sam Rob)

Charles W. Schiesser (1933–2021)

Colonel Charles William “Charlie” Schiesser died on 14 November 2021. He was 88 years old.

Born on 28 October 1933 in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Charlie was the youngest of nine children. After graduating from the University of Minnesota’s law school in 1958, he joined the Army as a judge advocate. Colonel Schiesser subsequently served in a variety of assignments and locations, including Germany, Hawaii, and Vietnam.

After retiring in 1978, Schiesser settled in Austin, Texas. He initially engaged in the private practice of law but ultimately became first the chief of staff and then the deputy commissioner of the Texas Rehabilitation Commission. After retiring a second time, Charlie Schiesser continued to work pro bono as a lawyer, “advocating for the rights of veterans and fighting to secure disability benefits on their behalf.”30

Colonel Schiesser is survived by his wife, Shubh, four children, and four grandchildren.31

Irving Starr (1932–2021)

Lieutenant Colonel Irving Starr died on 16 May 2021 after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer. Born in New York City on 13 October 1932, Starr moved to Uruguay when he was two years old. He moved back to New York when he was 16 years old and, despite having to learn English, he graduated from high school. He then graduated from Brooklyn College in 1955 and Boston College of Law in 1965.32

J. Rodman Steele, Jr. (1941–2021)

J. Rodman Steele, Jr., who served as a judge advocate in Vietnam and, after leaving active duty, emerged as a leading expert in patent, trademark, and copyright matters, died at his home in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 13 January 2021. He was 79 years old.

Born in 1941, Rod Steele graduated from Pennsylvania State’s Dickinson School of Law and entered the Corps as a judge advocate captain. He deployed to Vietnam for a twelve-month tour of duty and, after returning home, was assigned to the Pentagon. On his own initiative, Steele earned a Master of Laws in Patent Law and Trademark Regulation from The George Washington University.

After leaving active duty, Rod went into private practice. He co-founded the law firm of Steele, Gould and Fried. With offices in Philadelphia, West Palm Beach, and Miami, the firm built an international law practice in patent, trademark, and copyright matters.

An avid triathlete, Rod Steele was a member of the U.S. National Team and competed in the triathlon in four overseas World Championships. He is survived by his wife, Karen, two sons, and three grandchildren.33

Jonathan Tomes (1945–2021)

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan P. Tomes, who was decorated with the Silver Star for gallantry in action prior to entering the Corps, died on 20 January 2021. He was 75 years old.

Born in Chicago on 24 October 1945, Jon graduated from the University of Cincinnati. Having participated in Army ROTC, he was commissioned as a Military Intelligence second lieutenant. Tomes then served in Vietnam, where he was decorated with the Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal, and Air Medal. Then-Captain Tomes was serving in Germany when he was accepted into the Funded Legal Education Program. After earning his law degree at the Oklahoma City University’s law school, Jon Tomes served in a variety of assignments and locations, including trial judge at Fort Knox, Kentucky; Command and General Staff College instructor at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; and attorney at the Army Claims Service at Fort Meade, Maryland. Lieutenant Colonel Tomes retired from active duty in 1988.

He “then joined the faculty of the Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law in Chicago, where he was the Dean of Students and taught legal writing, military law, health law, and criminal procedure, among others.”34 Tomes also was a prolific writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Among his many articles and books is JAGC-Off: A Politically Incorrect Memoir of the Real Judge Advocate General’s Corps,35 which he self-published in 2010. It is written in a style similar to that of John Mortimer’s Rumpole of the Bailey stories.36

Lieutenant Colonel Tomes is survived by his wife, two children, and one grandchild.37

Kyle C. Van de Water (1980–2021)

Major Kyle Christian Van de Water died on 7 September 2021. He was 41 years old and serving in the Army Reserve at the time of his death.

Born in Rhinebeck, New York, on 9 January 1980, Kyle graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Albany law School. He subsequently served active duty assignments in the JAG Corps at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) in West Point, New York; and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. Major Van de Water also deployed to Afghanistan, where he served as a contract and fiscal law attorney. After transitioning to the Army Reserve in 2014, Kyle served as the senior defense counsel at Fort Hamilton with the 16th Legal Operations Detachment. Most recently, he was an individual mobilized augmentee for USMA.

As a civilian lawyer, Van de Water worked for Corbally, Garland and Rappleyea LLP. He was a Republican candidate for New York’s 19th Congressional District Seat in 2020, but was defeated in the election by the incumbent. Kyle Van de Water is survived by his wife and four children.38

Richard S. Walker (1951–2021)

Sergeant First Class Richard Stoddard “Pops” Walker died on 21 October 2021. He was 70 years old.

Born on 13 June 1951 in Jacksonville, Florida, Walker served as a medic before reclassifying as an MOS 71D Legal Specialist. He subsequently served in a variety of locations, including Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Hawaii. Sergeant First Class Walker also taught as an MOS 71D instructor at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, and was the administrative NCO in the Office of The Judge Advocate General during the tenures of Sergeants Major John Nicolai, Howard Metcalf, and Cornell Gilmore.

An accomplished singer and songwriter, Pops Walker devoted his years after retiring from active duty to the music profession. He is survived by his wife Bobbi and son Zach Walker.39

Riggs L. Wilks Jr. (1946–2021)

Colonel Riggs Louis Wilks Jr. died on 6 December 2021. He was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease at the time of his death.

Born in Tennessee on 25 May 1946, Riggs earned his undergraduate degree from Trinity University. Having participated in Army ROTC, he was commissioned as a Regular Army armor lieutenant in 1968. Riggs subsequently was selected as one of twenty-five officers to attend law school under the newly created Funded Legal Education Program.

After graduating from St. Mary’s University School of Law, Colonel Wilks entered the JAG Corps. His first assignment was in Germany at the 8th Infantry Division. Riggs subsequently served in a variety of assignments, including: chief, Contract Law, U.S. Army, Europe; SJA, Fort Eustis and U.S. Army Transportation Center, Virginia; and chief, Contract Appeals Division, Office of The Judge Advocate General, Washington, D.C.

After retiring from active duty, Colonel Wilks worked in the Office of General Counsel, Defense Logistics Agency until he retired in 2011. Riggs is survived by his wife, Pamela, two sons, and five grandchildren.40

The Court-Martial of Lt. Calley by Richard Hammer. (Photo courtesy of author)

Of Note

Richard Hammer (1928–2021)

Richard Hammer, an award-winning author whose book The Court-Martial of Lt. Calley was praised as “an honest, penetrating account of a crucially significant military trial,”41 died in a hospice facility in the Bronx on 17 October 2021. Hammer was 93 years old. The cause of death was heart failure, according to Hammer’s son.

Born in Connecticut in 1928, Hammer was a former reporter and editor at The New York Times. He won two Edgar Allen Poe Awards from the Mystery Writers of America for “best fact crime book.”42 Hammer also was awarded an Oscar for “best documentary, short subject” for his film, Interviews with My-Lai Veterans.43

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Mr. Borch is the Regimental Historian, Archivist, and Professor of Legal History and Leadership at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia.

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Notes

1. See Jessy James Branham, Tribute Archive, www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/22640433/jessy-james-branham (last visited Apr. 22, 2022)

2. Jon Chester Cieslak, Star Trib. (Oct. 17, 2021), www.startribune.com/obituaries/detail/0000405825/.

3. In Memoriam, Dennis T. Chapman, Neb. Law., Sept.–Oct. 2021, at 100.

4. Colonel Michael Downes, U.S. Army, Ret., Legacy (May 22, 2021), https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/augustachronicle/name/michael-downes-obituary?id=23035353 (originally published in The Augusta Chronicle).

5. Id.

6. E-mail from William K. Suter to author (June 8, 2021) (on file with author); The Judge Advocate General’s School, Commandant’s Annual Report 1967–1968, at 51 (1968).

7. Jeffrey Stephen Forman, Horan Cares, www.horancares.com/obituary/Jeffrey-Forman (last visited Dec. 11, 2021).

8. LTC Peter A. Garcia, USA Ret., Evoy-Banasz Funeral Home, https://www.evoy-banaszfuneralhome.com/obituaries/LTC-Peter—A-Garcia-USA-Ret?obId=21974450#/obituaryInfo (last visited Dec. 11, 2021).

9. Id.

10. Irvin M. Kent et al., A Lawyer’s Day in Vietnam, 54 A.B.A. J. 1177, 1177–1180 (1968). For more on the Captain Green’s service in Vietnam, see Fred L. Borch, I Want That Man Shot: A War Crime in Vietnam?, in Lore of the Corps 244–47 (2019).

11. Herbert Jay Green, 1941–2021, Legacy (Jan. 2, 2022), www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/dfw/name/herbert-green-obituary?id=32047479 (originally published in the Star-Telegram newspaper).

12. Id.

13. Id.

14. Col. Robert Dean Hamel, D.W. Brooks Funeral Home, www.dwbrooksfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Col-Robert-Dean—Hamel?obId=23504258 (last visited Jan. 6, 2022).

15. Id.; Col. Robert Dean Hamel, Hays Post (Dec. 29, 2021, 5:48 PM), www.hayspost.com/posts/6bcef8af-b1d1-41be-9a7d-2e9d7c65cc77.

16. Walter Henderson, Wash. Post, June 13, 2021, at C13.

17. Gary Solis, Hays Parks—A Legacy, Lieber Inst.: Articles of War (June ٤, 2021), https://lieber.westpoint.edu/hays-parks-legacy/.

18. Id.

19. Jane Denise Johnson, Dorchester Funeral Home, www.thedorchesterfuneralhome.com/obituary/Jane-Johnson (last visited Dec. 11, 2021); Notice of Passing—Denise Johnson, JAGCNet (Jan. 26, 2021, 2:36 PM), https://www.jagcnet2.army.mil/Sites/jagc.nsf/homeContent.xsp?open&documentid=1CBDC1DBAE702A8885258669006BA0F1.

20. Gary Lockwood, Obituary, Statesman J., Aug. 5, 2021.

21. Clarence D. Long III, Esq., Wash. Post, Nov. 22, 2021, at B5.

22. Id.

23. Id.

24. Notice of Passing—Heather Masten, JAGCNet (Nov. 10, 2021, 11:11 AM), https://www.jagcnet2.army.mil/Sites/jagc.nsf/homeContent.xsp?open&documentid=8D2A666F5AA01B4F852587890058336C.

25. Email from Lieutenant General Stuart W. Risch, The Judge Advoc. Gen., U.S. Army, to author, subject: Notice of Passing, Heather Ann Masten (Nov. 12, 2021, 8:41 AM) (on file with author).

26. Notice of Passing—Colonel (Retired) Toby D. McCoy, JAGCNet (Aug. 5, 2021, 12:08 PM), https://www.jagcnet2.army.mil/Sites/jagc.nsf/homeContent.xsp?open&documentid=2DF31F923EB85E02852587280057D1CB.

27. South Middleton School Board Member Killed in Bicycle Crash in Monroe Township, Sentinel (July 6, 2021), www.cumberlink.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/south-middleton-school-board-member-killed-in-bicyle-crash-in-moroe-township/article_6516fc3c-b0b1-5dd8-9c71-b707a28f0064.html.

28. Brochure, Mass of Christian Burial for Edith M. “Edyie” Rob, Colonel, U.S. Army, Retired, 10 July 2021, at 4.

29. Notice of Passing—First Sergeant (1SG) (Retired) Samuel Robles, JAGCNet (Jan. 6, 2022, 1: 33 PM), https://www.jagcnet2.army.mil/Sites/jagc.nsf/homeContent.xsp?open&documentid=B4ADB78AABDC9E6F852587C20065F1B3.

30. Col. Charles William Schiesser, US Army (Ret): Obituary, Statesman (Nov. 16, 2021), www.statesman.com/obituaries/p0164779.

31. Id.

32. Irving Starr, Obituary, Wash. Post, May 23, 2021, at C10.

33. Steele, Rodman J., Jr., Phila. Inquirer, Jan. 20, 2021, at B5.

34. Jonathan P. Tomes, Longview Funeral Home & Cemetery, https://www.longviewfuneralhome.com/obituary/Jonathan-Tomes (last visited Dec. 11, 2021).

35. Jonathan P. Tomes, JAGC-Off: A Politically Incorrect Memoir of the Real Judge Advocate General’s Corps (2010).

36. John Mortimer, Rumpole of the Bailey (1978) (a series of short stories that were published over the course of several years).

37. Jonathan P. Tomes, supra note 34.

38. Van De Water, Candidate for House in 2020, Dies at Age 41, Daily Star, www.thedailystar.com/news/local_news/van-de-water-candidate-for-house-in-2020-dies-at-age-41/article_c784b59b-285b-5596-9e00-0b15645e51fe.html (Nov. 5, 2021).

39. Notice of Passing—Sergeant First Class (SFC) Retired Richard “Pops” Stoddard Walker, JAGCNet, https://www.jagcnet2.army.mil/Sites/jagc.nsf/homeDisplay.xsp?open&documentId=49D5BDC374E63E9A85258787004FE23E (last visited Apr. 22, 2022).

40. Obituary: Riggs Louis Wilks Jr., Dignity Memorial, www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/richmond-va/riggs-wilks-10475666 (last visited Jan. 9, 2022).

41. Sam Roberts, Richard Hammer, Author Who Illuminated the My Lai Massacre, Dies at 93, N.Y. Times, Oct. 31, 2021, at 23.

42. Id.

43. Id.