Posted on 08/02/2008 9:55:49 AM PDT by B4Ranch
THE GREEN BERET COURT MARTIAL Written by To The Point News Friday, 01 August 2008
US Army Green Beret James T. (Smokey) Taylor was awakened in the early morning hours of November 5, 2007, when an intruder broke into his home in Knoxville, Tennessee. He investigated the noises with one of his many weapons in the house.
"It was just after Halloween, on Monday morning at 4:30," Taylor testified in his trial. "I heard this commotion at the door and grabbed my fishing gun, a little .22 revolver, to see what was going on.
"I got to the front door and this fellow had ripped my security door out of its frame. He said, 'You're going to have to kill me. I'm coming in'."
When a warning to leave went unheeded, Taylor brought his .22 caliber pistol to bear and shot him right between the eyes.
"I was about four feet away from him when I shot," Taylor testified. "Looking back now, I'm glad he didn't die but that boy had the hardest head I've ever seen. The bullet bounced right off."
The impact knocked the would-be thief down momentarily. He crawled out of the house then got up and ran down the street.
Taylor dialed 911 and Knoxville police apprehended the wounded man hiding in a hedgerow about 200 yards away. The offender was released on bail but failed to appear for his court date. Knoxville police said the man was homeless.
Nonetheless, Smokey was court martialed for his actions. He was placed on trial by his fellow members of Chapter XXXIII of the Special Forces Association, who found him guilty of "Failing to use a weapon of sufficient caliber."
His sentence, however, was suspended given the extenuating circumstance of his being retired and 79 years old.
Apparently smelly, homeless fish.
Someone should take up a collection to at least get him a .38
LOL. Good story. I liked the part of the acquittal due to using a weapon of insufficient caliber.
Big ole Tennessee attack catfish. Very dangerous.
oops I meant conviction not acquittal.
Why was he found guilty of anything? Was it inhumane to not kill the guy and only cause him pain? I would think they’d be happy that the guy wasn’t killed.
Good thing it was suspended though especially since he was 79.
You do realize this was a mock trial for fun don’t you? Here is a link of the story.
http://bluestarchronicles.com/greenberet.html
The PC Free Zone is reporting that an 80-year-old retired Green Beret has been tried by his peers after shooting an intruder in his Knoxville, Tennessee home. He is the oldest member of Chapter XXXIII of the Special Forces Association.
BREVARD, Jan. 19, 2008 Retired Army Green Beret Smokey Taylor got his court martial this weekend and came away feeling good about it.
Taylor, at age 80 the oldest member of Chapter XXXIII of the Special Forces Association, was on trial by his peers under the charge of failing to use a weapon of sufficient caliber in the shooting of an intruder at his home in Knoxville, TN, in December.
The entire affair, of course, was very much tongue in cheek. Taylor had been awakened in the early morning hours of Dec. 17, 2007, when an intruder broke into his home. He investigated the noises with one of his many weapons in hand.
When the intruder threatened him with a knife, Taylor warned him, then brought his .22 caliber pistol to bear and shot him right between the eyes.
That boy had the hardest head Ive ever seen, Taylor said after his trial. The bullet bounced right off. The impact knocked the would-be thief down momentarily. He crawled out of the room then got up and ran out the door and down the street. Knoxville police apprehended him a few blocks away and he now awaits trial in the Knox County jail.
The charges against Taylor were considered to be serious. He is a retired Special Forces Weapons Sergeant with extensive combat experience during the wars in Korea and Vietnam.
Charges were brought against him under the premise that he should have saved the county and taxpayers the expense of a trial, said Chapter XXXIII President Bill Long of Asheville. He could have used a .45 or .38. The .22 just wasnt big enough to get the job done.
Taylors defense attorney, another retired Weapons Sergeant, disagreed. He said Taylor had done the right thing in choosing to arm himself with a .22.
If hed used a .45 or something like that the round would have gone right through the perp, the wall, the neighbors wall and possibly injured some innocent child asleep in its bed, he said. I believe the evidence shows that Smokey Taylor exercised excellent judgment in his choice of weapons. He did nothing wrong, and clearly remains to this day an excellent weapons man.
Counsel for the defense then floated a theory as to why the bullet bounced off the perps forehead.
He was victimized by old ammunition, he said, just as he was in Korea and again in Vietnam, when his units were issued ammo left over from World War II.
Taylor said nothing in his own defense, choosing instead to allow his peers to debate the matter. After the trial he said the ammunition was indeed old and added the new information that the perp had soiled his pants as he crawled out of the house.
I would have had an even worse mess to clean up if it had gone through his forehead, Taylor said. It was good for both of us that it didnt.
Following testimony from both sides, Taylor was acquitted of the charges and was given a round of applause.
Meanwhile, back in Knox County, the word is out: Dont go messing with Smokey Taylor. He just bought a whole bunch of fresh ammo.
Tribune Editor Bill Fishburne is a member of the Larry Thorne Chapter XXXIII of the Special Forces Association.
The US Army Green Beret are not known for allowing their attackers to escape with insignificant wounds. They certainly don't want retired troops to start a trend that liberals could expect to carry over to the battlefield.
Before modern trauma units, it was powerful enough to ensure the well-shot perp would eventually die, but a light enough load to ensure they suffered for a long time before they did.
No good for a bad gator, but not much less than a 12 Ga. is.
Thanks for locating this research.
An adequate delay in calling the ‘authorities’ will guarantee the same results. I would understand if someone told me that they were “too stressed” to place a call immediately after a shooting.
A .22 cleaning wad fired through a Beeman Crow Magnum air rifle would have also given the perp cause to soil his pants.
How big was the Sturgeon? I thought Indians killed fish with knives.
Only in Tennessee (LOL)
I’ve seen some pretty mean gar here, we call them Smoky Mountain Sailfish.
The right to a trial by your peers exists all across America.
I don’t know the weight but it was about 4 feet long. He caught it with rod and reel...
Them’s the ones you use your .357 magnum on.
You’re right. I was just commenting on this great thread, and thanks for posting it, I’ve sent it to some special forces friends.
Oh ha, this fake stories get me a lot. Probably because they’re almost believable in this day and age... I don’t think that’s a good thing.
I hope he was just using up some old ammo.
I didn’t know if I could put /sarcasm after such a serious sentence.
We had something similar happen here in Columbus MS.
A 79 year old Army Ranger caught his much younger wife meeting one of our former city councilmen. The old guy shot the cheating wife and the crack-head cheating former councilman. Then he shot one of our reserve police officers and had a running gun battle with the police chief. He stole the officer’s patrol car and made a run for it. The cops caught up with him after he had stopped in at the local Walmart, bought more ammo and changed clothes.
As he was trying to escape thru a fence one of the officers shot the man from a distance of about 50 feet. The 45 cal bullet hit him in the back of the head. The local news said that he was taken by chopper to Jackson for his injuries.
Turns out that the local authorities arranged to get him out of town because the 3 he shot and their families were all taken to the local hospital. He was returned to our county jail the next day.
The bullet (again, this was a 45 cal police round) broke the skin and gave him a slight concussion. He suffered no other injuries. THE BULLET BOUNCED OFF THE OLD RANGER’S HEAD.
All 3 who he shot survived and have recovered.
Officer Taylor returned to work at his paying job and as an unpaid reserve officer.
The cheating crack-head former councilman (former because of a felony conviction for selling his city cell phone for crack) has been sent to Parchman Penitentiary to serve out what was a suspended sentence. Seems his blood tests revealed that he violated his probation by still being a crack-head.
No word on what happened with the cheating wife or when the trial will be held.
Should get more than a .38.True story from the late 70’s in Ohio.A cop friend of mine got called to a bar fight/shooting in progress.He gets to the scene and confronts the perp.Perp starts to raise his gun so John fires-striking the perp in the forehead.Guy goes down instantly then starts to get up.The round from John’s .38 failed to penetrate the skull!
[who found him guilty of “Failing to use a weapon of sufficient caliber.”]
That was delightful. Here I was worried that we had another “Pendleton 8” mess.
That’s right, Smokey. Don’t play with pop guns next time. But it was a good shot.
Read post #24. In it, a .45 bounces off a mans head. What would you suggest if .45’s don’t do the job?
“What kind of fish need shooting?”Maybe for the other “critters” you may run into along the way?Yrs ago i was fishin one of the coves in Tierra Verde(near Fort Desoto in StPete)and one of the biggest diamondbacks i’ve ever seen very casually slithered right past me and swam out to a small mangrove island about 30yards out.He was so close i could have spit on em.Talk about shook up.BTW-up to that day i’d been under the impression rattlers had an “aversion” to salt water-not true.
“All I know officer is that
1: He
2: She
-
1: Was trying to break in through my
2: Had broken in to my
-
1: Door
2: Window
3: Home
4: Room
5: Child's room.
-
I had my
1: Shotgun
2: Pistol
-
And told them to stop or I would shoot. They didn't stop, but kept coming toward me and said “I'm going to kill you.” I believed them. I shot in self defense, and now, I'm too shook up to say anything more. Would you please call my lawyer and get any further statements from him.”
Thank you, officer
Repeat as needed.
A .22 will go thru walls as well. A shotgun loaded with birdshot or skeet load would take the guy down at close range without endangering people in the distance
>>>> What would you suggest if .45’s don’t do the job?
Zweihundert und eightly milimeter große Kanon.
(Atomic Annie)
zweihundertachtzig milimeter große Kanon
Charles Manson on crack with a knife
My ex. on a Friday night.
Half Hour Harrison. My Army Drill Sergeant. He could curse for 30 minutes without repeating himself.
LOL! And then they all bought him a beer.
Sounds like he didn’t need a larger caliber!
He may have been of the opinion that big guns are noisy and mess up the dry wall.
There’s nothing like an unexpected deadly snake to bring back a mans heightened observation powers of situational awareness.
SWORDFISH!!
Haven't you heard...never bring a sword to a gun fight!!! :)
This is a great story...It really makes me feel good when I think about all those (some not so) old War Horses sitting around and laughing at the beaten wannabe thief who crawled away with a load in his pants.
I bet a .22 between the eyes that doesn’t penetrate, really, really smarts. Think hitting your head at 1125fps on a sharp corner of your coffee table.
Agree:)
>What kind of fish need shooting?
SWORDFISH!!
Haven’t you heard...never bring a sword to a gun fight!!! :)<
girlangler, I would have bet cold, hard cash that you would have known the answer before anyone else. Instead, 41 Thunder marches to the front of the squad to collect the coveted cold beer.
I dunno-seems like there are some real boneheads walking around out there.Maybe my .357 would do the job?
I’m thinking that we need to lower our goals slightly and aim for the face or throat. We also need to stop being so cheap and fire at least two shots or go back to carrying rifles.
Ah, fess up. You shoot 'em just for the halibut.
We don’t have swordfish here where I live, except these monster gar.
But I have been wading streams and had some monster gar swim between, around my legs.
If I knew what they were, I’d of probably fell and my waders filled with water, and drowned. Have you ever seen the teeth on Southern Gar?
Instead, the very capable fishing guides I was with laughed, and assured me I had imagined it, and I believed them. They are probably still laughing, but I hung in there and had fun.
That’s what ice cold beer will do to you when you are wading a stream, stalking fish.
I was fishing for smallmouth, but after a few cold ones, they all had mouths I could put a fish hook in.
There’s no such thing as a bad fish, you just need to use your imagination. I have, believe me.
I could see myself shark fishing, minus an arm or two. I’d just have to use my toes. Anything to reel in the big one!!!
Great little story, although as I am sure you are aware, it has quite long legs and comes around in one guise or another from time to time.
I particularly like it because of the froth and foam-flecking effect the idea that rational men might both intelligently and legally defend themselves with deadly force has on those Shadow-Affective deranged manifestations of evil (AKA “socialist,” “fascists,” “communists,” “Stalinists” and “Democrats”) who project their psychopathology on the rest of us in the form of the kind of moronically mindless Cli’ton-Goresquely mumbled mendacities with which their present champion: the mobbed-up Marxist murtadd Muslim legend in his own lunchtime Arab-African, B Milhous bin B Milhous bin Hussayn Mahummid EGObama has become so well identified.
Love to the only member of your household with two votes.
Warmest - Brian
What would be considered a large one?
I use a .45 when I shoot for the halibut.
I have only seen pictures of gars. They look like alligators with no legs. I can’t think of any reason why I wouldn’t cut the line and release it. What good reason could there be that a sane person would want to inhabit the same space as an animal that is all teeth, looks like a wild eyed chainsaw blade and is capable of doing serious damage to you? No,thank you Ma’am. That’s not what I call fishin. That’s foolishness!
I have caught some fairly large pike and walleye that I would suppose if you brought them into the boat too quick could do some damage so I always chose to leave them hanging on the side for a few minutes to calm down.
LOL.
Chainsaws, alligators with no legs. That is a good description.
The one angry Musky I pulled in the boat (before I let it calm down) was also pretty scary. That thing hissed.
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