U.S. Recalls All 28 Marine Guards at Moscow Embassy : Follows Spy Allegations Against 2

All 28 Marine guards at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow will be returned to the United States next month to help in the investigation of two Marines accused of allowing Soviet spies into the building, the Marine Corps said today.

The contingent of Marine guards “will be replaced by Marine security guards stationed in other posts around the world or by Marines drawn from the Marine Security Headquarters in Quantico, Va.,” the State Department and the corps said in a joint statement.

“This measure is precautionary in nature and is intended to facilitate an investigation of the security program at the U.S. Embassy,” the statement added.

“There’s no evidence that any of the returning Marines are implicated in any wrongdoing.”

2 Guards Suspected

The move follows last week’s word that the corps suspects two former guards of allowing Soviet agents to roam through the embassy at night on “numerous and diverse occasions” last year, poking through sensitive communication facilities and offices.

The corps has charged Sgt. Clayton J. Lonetree with 24 spying-related counts of misconduct, including two capital charges of espionage. Cpl. Arnold Bracy is being held in confinement pending the start of a pretrial investigation.

Earlier today, the Marines sent Lonetree, 25, of Chicago from his cell at the Quantico, Va., barracks to Bethesda Naval Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation to determine his ability to stand trial in a court-martial, the corps said.

Lonetree’s mental examination is in accordance with Rule 706 of the court-martial manual to determine if there is “reason to believe that the accused lacks mental responsibility for an offense charged or lacks the capacity to stand trial,” the Marine statement said.

Ordered to Headquarters

The Marine Corps said the 28 returning embassy guards will initially be ordered back to their headquarters command at Quantico, where they would receive new assignments.

“They’re not suspected of any involvement,” stressed Maj. Tony Rothfork, a spokesman.

The rotation of the guards comes at a time when the State Department has ordered a wide-ranging investigation of its security procedures in Moscow. It also comes at a time when the Pentagon has ordered the Navy to conduct an inquiry into the procedures used in selecting, training and deploying Marine embassy guards.

The Marine Corps last Friday charged that Lonetree had escorted Soviet agents through the embassy on numerous occasions between January and March, 1986. It also charged that Bracy, 21, had served as a lookout for Lonetree, helping to shut off internal alarms that were triggered by the Soviet agents.

Sexually Involved

Pentagon sources also have disclosed that both men became involved sexually with Soviet women employed at the embassy, which allegedly led to their recruitment by Soviet agents.

Lonetree’s father, Spencer Lonetree, said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” show that he believed his son’s “uniqueness as an American Indian . . . was the reason why they were attracted to him.”

The younger Lonetree told investigators he spied for the Soviet Union because of “what the white man did to the Indian,” according to today’s New York Times.

Lonetree gave that and conflicting explanations for his alleged actions at the embassy in three interviews late last year with military investigators, the newspaper said, quoting declassified memos.