Navy Secretary Clears Admiral on War Booty
Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman Jr. has reviewed the case of an admiral who brought home war booty from Grenada and has decided to take no disciplinary steps after finding his action appropriate, the Navy said Friday.
The announcement came after low-ranking servicemen were court-martialed for bringing weapons home.
But Deputy Defense Secretary William H. Taft IV is launching his own investigation of Vice Adm. Joseph Metcalf III and demanded “a complete report” from Lehman, the Pentagon said.
The Navy’s statement asserted that when Metcalf, commander of the Navy’s 2nd Fleet during the Grenada invasion of October, 1983, was trying to bring captured Soviet AK-47 automatic rifles home as souvenirs after the invasion, he was not familiar with the regulations on war trophies. The admiral believed that the rifles could be brought back if they were disabled, the Navy said.
Two of three Marines who have been court-martialed stole Soviet rifles from stockpiles on Grenada, the Navy said. They smuggled them into the country and tried to sell or “improperly dispose” of the weapons, the Navy said.
A third court-martial, disclosed Friday, involved a Marine who pleaded guilty to stealing U.S. hand grenades during the invasion.
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