Wednesday, December 6, 1967
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
11
Private discharged after long wait for missing order
OAKLAND, Calif. — (UPI) — Pfc. Joe Smith, who spent 18 of his 24 months in the Army at home waiting for orders that never came, was discharged honorably Tuesday.
"I want to thank the press for their help in getting me out of the service," he said.
He was greeted by a battery of newsmen and television cameras when he walked out of the U.S. Army Personnel Center at the Oakland Army Base waving his discharge papers and smiling.
Faced draft in '65
Smith, 23, who was drafted in June, 1965, climbed into a car and
'Nine Lessons will be presented
A community service of Nine Lessons and carols sponsored by the local chapter of the American Guild of Organists will be given at Plymouth Congregational Church at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10.
The lessons will be read by a number of representatives from various walks of life in the community. Chancellor W. Clarke Wescoe will represent KU and Mayor Richard Raney will represent the Lawrence city government. Representatives from the Chamber of Commerce, the Lawrence Ministerial Association, the city schools and the military will also participate in the service.
Carols will be sung by choirs from several Lawrence churches.
headed for nearby Antioch, Calif,
for a reunion with his wife.
The Army announced Friday it would give up its fight to force Smith to serve an additional 18 months and declared it would give him a "normal discharge."
On the same day, several lawyers entered U.S. District Court in San Francisco seeking a writ of habeas corpus on grounds Smith has being kept in the service unconstitutionally.
A 6th Army spokesman said Smith still must serve two years in the Ready Reserve and two more years in the Standby Reserve.
Sought discharge in June.
Sought discharge in June.
Smith first sought his discharge last June when his two-year tour of duty as a draftee was up. He donned a uniform and presented his papers with a request for discharge.
"You've got to be kidding," the Lieutenant in charge told him.
The soldier was sent to San Francisco, placed on active duty as a headquarters company runner and promoted to Pfc.
Meanwhile, the Army debated for almost six months whether to charge Smith with desertion, being AWOL or just being absent. Then, Smith took his case to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and news of the classic Army goof spread across the nation.
Followed orders
"I followed orders right up to the end." said a happy Smith who just Saturday completed his final "kitchen police" duty.
After receiving special engineer
training at Fort Hood, Tex., Smith went home on a 30-day leave, awaiting transfer to Southeast Asia.
Instead of orders, he got this terse telegram: "Your port of call date of 28 Dec. 65 has been canceled. Repeat, has been canceled. Special orders reflecting a new P-C date will follow."
The new orders never came. Smith tired of fishing and hunting and got a job as a logger at about $130 a week. His wife continued to draw an Army allotment of $95.20 a month.
Students chosen
Three foreign students at KU have been chosen to participate in Mid-Winter Leadership Training Seminars under the sponsorship of the Agency for International Development.
Ismail Adan of Somali will attend the Michigan State University program, while John Marshalla of Tanzania and Ahmed Mohamoud of Somali will go to the University of California at Los Angeles.
National Recreation and Park Association.
Both programs will be during the Christmas recess.
Heeb appointed to park board
Lawrence J. Heeb, associate professor of physical education and recreation and state recreation consultant at KU, recently was chosen to represent the Society of Park and Recreation Educators for a three-year term on the Board of Governors of the
He is immediate past president of the Society. The election came Monday at the annual meeting in Miami Beach, Fla.
Heeb currently is president of the Kansas Recreation Society.
PRIMARILY LEATHER
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