Posted on 12/04/2006 6:59:30 AM PST by Broker
U.S. Marine Convicted in Philippines
MANILA, Philippines — A U.S. Marine was convicted Monday of raping a Filipino woman and sentenced to 40 years in prison, ending an emotional trial that has strained U.S.-Philippine ties and tested a joint military pact.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
"Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith, 21, from St. Louis, was the first American soldier convicted of wrongdoing in the Philippines since the country shut down U.S. bases here the early 1990s. "
One bad apple. Not a bad record for the US military though.
As a former Marine....I say this guy is a sh*tbird, not a real Marine. And 40 years is not enough. He has no honor.
Meadow Muffin
as one with experience in a variety of asian theatres on active duty and plenty of experience (long ago, admittedly) with the "ville" and b-girls, I remain very skeptical that this was an actual "rape".
This kid and his entire unit (for that matter) were there on temporary duty, and few if any of them were used to the b-girl routines or the scams, esp the ones that exploit "SOFA charges". My guess is that he was set up for a SOFA payoff and he refused, which resulted in the filipino court fiasco.
You can read whatever you want from the filipono court and press, but remember this.....the woman was a b-girl working is a bar that exists almost solely to get as much GI money by whatever means available.....this kid is surely guilty of being naive, possibly not paying her, and then stupidly not going for the SOFA (or SOFA-type) payoff.
Please don't bother to give me a "no woman deserves" speech unless you are a GI who has firsthand experience with asian culture and realities in the actual outside-the-gate-village-rat atmosphere.
Way too high a sentence, given the extenuating circumstances.
They do not like foreigners in Philippine prisons.
That being said, don't be too sure this wasn't a set up. It has happened before and will happen again.
Exactly, you have hit the nail on the head. Any woman, bar girl or not, who lives in Subic knows how the scam works.
I doubt he was a s-bird I thing he was in Recon.
My interest in posting this news comes from 8 years in the PI with the USN, Graduate School and employment in Makati.
Subic Bay INDOC orientation tour of OLONGAPO featured a visit to the City Jail. It was 1975 and a US Marine was there in a prison made of steel runway matting. He was covered with tattoos given him by the rival prison gangs.
Over the years, filipinas and their lawyers have done great damage PHIL-AM relations. Just like in Japan. It is tragic for all involved, especially Corporal Smith who will always be a marine. Never leave a comrade behind.
No joke there. I was at Clark as part of the Pinatabo cleanup and the word of these kinds of scams got around. One guy in our unit hooked up with a bar girl, went up to a room and got an iron pipe to the head for his trouble. They left him naked, broke and with a concussion and a big scar he lied about for the rest of the time I knew him. I'd bet anything this was a scam looking for a payoff. When in the P.I. keep you trousers up.
When our military men do crimes, they do hard time.
When the UN Blue Helmets do crimes, they get sent home with a nice pension.
I would think that that could apply to any Second or Third World country.
Crime pays. The Corporal is convicted yet his circumstance needs careful appraisal. He will do very hard time. His family in Missouri was not mentioned in the AJC article. Would you surrender your son to this fate?
This case is not over til all are paid and satisfied. The PI press had their hay-day. A more subtle conclusion is required with a pay-day sufficient to get this grunt back on the farm where he belongs.
Recon....lol.....
"It is tragic for all involved, especially Corporal Smith who will always be a marine. Never leave a comrade behind."
While he may bave gone through the process to be a Marine, he had no honor...remember the Marine Corps Hymm..."first to fight for right and freedom, THEN TO KEEP MY HONOR CLEAN"....he may have worn the uniform, he may have done the drill, he may have even shot expert, but he was no Marine if he raped.
Meadow Muffin
You obviously have not a clue about bar girls in Third World countries.
You'll get no argument from me. I am a woman vet and I heard plenty of stories while I was in Japan. Thanks, for your service. I guess the pilippinos are saying, "All your a** are belong to us."
WRONG....I spent a year in the far east from Okinawa to the Phillipines to Vietnam....
Meadow Muffin
"..........if he raped......."
was that "if" freudian, perhaps?
No it was not...it allows that there could have been a miscarriage of justice ( I have been in the "bars" there)...BUT if he did rape, THEN he is not a Marine becasue he has no honor.
Meadow Muffin
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