View From d'Isle
Last Week's Column
   

Return to:

Military Justice
by Jean d'Isle

ver the course of a long military career, one inevitably becomes involved in the military justice system in one way or another. Too much involvement on the wrong side of the system can lead to a quick return to the civilian world, or worse. A limited clash with authorities, however, need not be a career-ending event. Were that the case, I would not have survived beyond my second year of active duty.

I blotted my copybook, where else, but in Hawaii -- an innocent led astray by a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. Nelson B., when sober and at sea, flew helicopters off USS Iwo Jima. When ashore, Nels was a party guy. In the summer of 1962, for reasons that escape me to this day, I found myself "beach crawling" with old Nels, finishing up an extended evening at the Monkey Bar in Pearl City. The live monkeys behind the bar (not tending bar, just doing monkey things behind the glass enclosure), provided the live entertainment for this popular watering hole. With the proper blood alcohol level, one could while away many hours observing the social interaction of these sometimes shameless primates (this may be how Jane Goodall got her start).

On this particular evening (probably early morning by then), having finally tired of the simian follies, Nels went to call us a cab to return to Pearl Harbor. After what seemed like an awfully long time, I suspected he had run into problems and went to track him down, arriving just in time to see him rip the last of three pay phones from the wall. Marines just want to have fun. My arrival coincided with that of the HASP (Hawaii Armed Services Police), summoned by the manager after phone number one bit the dust. The HASP was a select group of military police, established specifically to deal with miscreant service members. They were all big, no-nonsense, intimidating guys, selected primarily for their size and inability to smile.

"They did it," yelled the manager, pointing at a grinning Nels and an innocent Jean d'Isle. A short walk later, encouraged along the route by our stone faced escorts, we found ourselves at HASP Headquarters, being fingerprinted and photographed. We barely escaped an overnighter when Nels arranged to reimburse the phone company and wrote a check on the spot.

That brush with the law had a permanent, and not necessarily negative impact on the rest of my career in the navy. Although from that day forward, whenever I was required to answer the question "Have you ever been arrested?" I had to check the "yes" box, and attempt to explain away in great detail my association with fun-loving Nels and the Monkey Bar incident.

On the positive side, I think the experience made me more understanding and receptive to pleas of "extenuating and mitigating circumstances" when I was later in a position to pass judgement on people accused of disciplinary infractions or violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. As a Commanding Officer, with Article 15 (Captain's Mast) powers and authority to refer cases to courts martial, I think having been on the wrong side of the system, however briefly, stimulated a compassion that might not otherwise have been there.

As for Nels, we never crossed paths again; and after only a few years I was able to say "Marine" without adding any colorful adjectives. The Monkey Bar (also known as the Pearl City Tavern) closed its doors a couple of years ago and reopened as a Japanese restaurant, sans monkeys. I think the monkeys were moved to a small island in Kaneohe Bay (appropriately named Monkey Island) and are the subjects of behavioral research by the University of Hawaii. The HASP was disbanded many years ago, and some say former members have been spotted on Monkey Island trying to intimidate the inhabitants into more socially acceptable behavior.

__________________________________________________

Jean d'Isle is a retired naval officer living in Hawaii.During his military career he served in a number of overseas assignments, including Germany, England, Spain, Viet Nam and Puerto Rico. Following his retirement, he was an adjunct faculty member of Hawaii Pacific University and is currently under contract with the U.S. Navy at the submarine base in Pearl Harbor.

Jean's column, View From d'Isle, is a regular feature of VegSource On-Line Magazine.