attempted murder and possession of heroin,
he would receive a sentence capped at a dis-
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at hard labor, total forfeitures of all pay and
allowances, and reduction to the lowest en-
listed grade.
The pretrial agreement, however, con-
tained a curious provision: Maj. Gen. Mor-
gan. G. Roseborough, who had sent Cornett’s
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tence, agreed that any “sentence in excess ...
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[would] be suspended for such period of
time as the Convening Authority [Rosebor-
ough] deems appropriate.”
It apparently was the understanding
among the parties that no matter how much
jail time might be imposed by the court-mar-
tial jury—Cornett and his defense counsel
must have thought it would be considerable,
given that he had tried to kill a superior
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serve more than one year behind bars.
On Jan. 12, 1973, Cornett pleaded guilty to
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means of throwing an M-26 fragmentation
grenade into a bunker which the said Lieu-
tenant Colonel Bongers occupied.” He also
pleaded guilty to having 0.16 grams of heroin
in his possession. But Cornett denied being
a drug user. He told the judge that a “friend”
might have sewn the heroin in his uniform
pockets so Cornett could say that he was “on
drugs” at the time of the incident and perhaps
not be responsible for his actions.
The following day, Cornett was sentenced
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one lieutenant colonel, two majors, one lieu-
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nett could have asked for a court-martial
jury consisting of at least one-third enlistedpersonnel (senior in rank to him), but most likely did not
because he had a good plea agreement.
The prosecutors were certain that the guilty plea to
attempted murder and unlawful possession of hero-
in would make the rest of the case go smoothly.
However, events did not proceed as expected—
and from the government’s perspective, the case
went awry.
At the sentencing hearing, the prosecutor
called Bongers to testify. His testimony presum-
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severe sentence. But Cornett’s defense lawyers
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been mistreated by his superiors.
Lt. Col. Thomas C. Lodge said Cornett was “an out-
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fendant had been “treated unfairly” by Bongers and Gilligan when
they denied Cornett’s request to bring his wife into the Team 40
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had, on more than one occasion, voiced their prejudices against
Vietnamese women to the accused and to other soldiers.
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tails of his 6½ years in Vietnam and other aspects of his Army ca-
reer, he told the seven soldiers sitting in judgment of him that he
was sorry for what he had done.
An hour after the court-martial members adjourned to deliber-
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to be reduced to the lowest enlisted grade,
forfeit all pay and allowances, and be con-
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however, no “dishonorable” or “bad con-
duct” discharge. On March 31, 1973, Rose-
borough approved the sentence handed
down by the court-martial.Cornett, in the Long Binh stockade during
the trial, was shipped to the Disciplinary
Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Be-
cause his sentence did not include a punitive
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UMV\+WZVM\\_I[WЄMZML\PMWXXWZ\]VQ\a
to go to the U.S. Army Retraining Brigade at
Fort Riley, Kansas, where prisoners are pre-
pared for civilian life or a return to duty. The
brigade “housed soldiers who had made mis-
takes and were given the opportunity to
make amends,” Cornett explained in his au-
tobiography. “If they straightened out, they
could stay in the Army.”
Francoise moved to the United States
and, accompanied by Cornett’s parents, vis-
ited him at Fort Riley. The couple had an
American wedding in the jail church, and Cornett got one night to
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child, a boy. (They also had another boy and a girl. Later, Cornett
says in his autobiography, the couple “started to drift apart,” and on
the dedication page thanks “my wife, Lori.”)
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Cornett’s memoir,
Gone Native, recaps
the sergeant’s long
service in Vietnam—
leading up to to the
fragging of Bongers in
1972—and explains
how he was able to
revive his Army
career afterward.