Slain Major’s Body Brought Home

The body of Army Maj. Arthur D. Nicholson Jr., who was slain by a Soviet sentry in East Germany, arrived home to military honors Friday as Reagan Administration officials considered whether to take retaliatory action against Moscow for his death.

In a somber ceremony near here at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Vice President George Bush said Nicholson was “murdered” and warned the Soviets, “This sort of brutal international behavior jeopardizes directly the improvement in relations which they profess to seek.”

Nicholson’s widow, Karyn, and his 8-year-old daughter, Jennifer, were the first to emerge from the C-141 Starlifter transport as it rolled to a stop after a flight from the U.S. Rhein-Main Air Base at Frankfurt. The child walked out of the plane hugging a yellow-haired Cabbage Patch doll and clutching her mother’s right hand. Both mother and daughter were composed and dry-eyed.

Minutes later, the rear cargo door of the low-slung transport opened and pallbearers in Army dress blues carried Nicholson’s flag-covered coffin to a gray hearse as an Army band played a hymn.

“Maj. Arthur Nicholson was an outstanding officer, murdered in the line of duty,” Bush said. “We grieve with his wife and small daughter. . . . May he rest in peace. “

To Be Buried Today

Nicholson, 37, is scheduled to be buried today in Arlington National Cemetery.

The major, a member of a U.S. military liaison team in East Germany, was shot Sunday near a Soviet military installation about 100 miles northwest of Berlin and 30 miles from the West German border. The Soviets charged that he was taking photographs in a restricted military zone. U.S. officials protested the shooting as unjustified and said Nicholson was denied medical attention before he died from his wounds.

State Department spokesman Edward P. Djerejian said Friday that the Administration is still considering what it should do in response to the incident. Some officials said that the U.S. government may boycott a commemoration in East Germany of the linkup of Soviet and American troops at the end of World War II but added that no final decision had been made. A group of U.S. veterans of the meeting at the Elbe River 40 years ago said it still planned to attend.

“We are continuing our discussions with the Soviets,” Djerejian said. “I cannot speculate in any detail what future actions we might be contemplating.”

He added that the United States considers that the tone of Soviet statements on the incident has improved. “We’ve noticed . . . a diminution of some of the highly pitched rhetoric that was in the Soviet press and media on this,” he said. “Whether or not that represents a basic change will have to be seen.”

Avoiding More Shootings

“We have made clear to the Soviets how strongly we feel about this incident and we are seeking ways to make sure such incidents do not recur,” Djerejian said.

The State Department spokesman also acknowledged that parts of the Administration’s initial account of the shooting may have been incorrect. “We are looking at the record of temporary restricted areas, but let me repeat that Maj. Nicholson was not shot while in a restricted area, temporary or permanent,” he said. “In any event, none of these points changes the essential fact that there is no justification for Maj. Nicholson’s death.”

Officials said it now appears that the area Nicholson was in had not been restricted at any time, contrary to their earlier accounts.

Sgt. Jessie G. Schatz, who was with Nicholson when he was shot, reportedly told investigators that the major intended to inspect a military storage shed but never reached the shed, never opened a window and did not take any photographs of it, as the earlier account had said.

State Department officials said they want to analyze Schatz’ statements fully before deciding on a U.S. response to the shooting.