Don Brown - Travesty of Justice : The Shocking Prosecution of Lt. Clint Lorance

TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE

THE SHOCKING PROSECUTION OF LIEUTENANT CLINT LORANCE

DON BROWN

WildBluePress.com

TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE published by:

WILDBLUE PRESS

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Denver, Colorado 80250

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Copyright 2019 by Don Brown

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ISBN 978-1-948239-11-0 Trade Paperback

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To the paratroopers of First Platoon, Charlie Troop, of the 4 th Squadron/73 rd Cavalry Regiment, 4 th Brigade Combat Team,

nd Airborne Division, United States Army

for their Gallant Service in Afghanistan 2012

All the Way!

In memory of:

PFC MARK L KERNER, 82 nd Airborne Division

November 19, 1991 ~ March 1, 2015 (age 23)

&

CPL MATTHEW HANES, 82ND Airborne Division

June 27, 1991 ~ August 7, 2015 (age 24)

A Special Salute to:

1LT Don Latino and PFC Samuel Walley

Both Awarded the Purple Heart

With Special Gratitude to

THE UNITED AMERICAN PATRIOTS

For supporting

Our nations warriors

falsely accused of war crimes.

To help American soldiers like Clint Lorance,

go to

WWW.UAP.ORG

Introduction

Landmines,

Suicide Bikers

and the Bloody War in Afghanistan

On July 2, 2012, two days before Independence Day in America, a young Army lieutenant, a decorated member of the elite 82 nd Airborne Division, took charge of his platoon in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. First Lieutenant Clint Lorance was one of the most decorated junior officers in the United States Army.

With an impressive seven Army Achievement Medals on his chest, most of them earned as an enlisted man, Clint had served overseas on two separate tours before Afghanistan. First, he was assigned to the Eighth Army in Korea in Pusan, where he was often near the dangerous and volatile Demilitarized Zone on the border between North and South Korea. After that, he served in Iraq, during the Iraq War, at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, 20 miles south of Baghdad. During his tour in Iraq, Clints post came under heavy rocket and mortar fire from the enemy on a daily basis. He often led dangerous convoys outside of the post while in Iraq, frequently drawing rocket fire, mortar fire, and gunfire.

Clint put his life on the line for his country. Many soldiers, coming under the type of constant fire that Clint had endured in Iraq, elected to do their time and get out. That is understandable. Combat is a living hell that most Americans will never be forced to witness up close and personal. For those who served and then got out, their service is no less diminished, and should be greatly appreciated by all Americans.

At the end of his dangerous tour in Iraq, Clint could have left the Army. A number of his buddies did. But Clint elected to stay. Service to his country was in his bloodstream and ran through his veins. Clint Lorance wanted to continue to serve, even if it meant giving his life for America.

The Army recognized his hard work, dedication, and service to his country, and offered him the opportunity to earn a commission as an officer. He responded to the challenge, and entered the Armys Green-to-Gold program, competing to become an officer in the United States Army. Clint excelled in the officer candidate program, soon earned his commission as a second lieutenant in the infantry, and then became a paratrooper in the elite 82 nd Airborne Division.

Now, as a young officer, he had been called to serve his country in a third dangerous overseas tour, this time in Afghanistan.

On the morning of July 2 nd , Clint had been on the job as platoon leader for only three days when he called his men together at 5:55 a.m. to brief them on the days mission.

Lorance had been called in to take command of First Platoon, Charlie Company, when the platoons previous commander, First Lieutenant Dom Latino, was wounded by an exploding improvised exploding device (IED), which blew the hell up when another American soldier stepped on it, a couple of weeks before Clint Lorance would take command. Shrapnel had torn through Latinos face and abdomen, and they rushed him off the battlefield to try and save his life. Like Latino, many of the soldiers in First Platoon had taken a beating from the IEDs. Some were injured, some maimed, others killed.