Sponsored by the Western District of Washington FBA, the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society, and the Northern District of California FBA.

WATCH THE PROGRAM RECORDING HERE

During World War II, more than 20,000 soldiers were stationed at, or passed through, Seattle’s Fort Lawton (now Discovery Park). On August 14, 1944, a brief scuffle between a Black enlisted man and an Italian prisoner of war quickly escalated into a bloody riot. Sometime that night, Private Guglielmo Olivotto was murdered, lynched with a rope attached to an obstacle course. After months of investigation, JAG Col. Leon Jaworski (later of Watergate fame) brought charges against 43 African American soldiers, the only time in American history that Black men have stood trial charged with a mob lynching. The largest and longest Army court-martial of the war ended with the conviction of 28 soldiers for rioting, and of 3 of those soldiers for the killing of Private Olivotto.

In 1986, journalist Jack Hamann produced a documentary about the riot, lynching and trial. Years later, Hamann and his wife, Leslie, uncovered previously-classified documents that raised alarming questions about Jaworski’s prosecution. The publication of their 2005 book, On American Soil: How Justice Became a Casualty of World War II, launched investigations by the US Congress and by the US Army. The book’s many disclosures ultimately prompted the Army to set aside all convictions, to overturn the soldiers’ dishonorable discharges, and to issue formal apologies. Congress authorized distribution of back pay to the surviving veterans and to the families of those who were no longer living.

Panelists:

MARY D. FAN | Jack R. MacDonald Endowed Chair, University of Washington School of Law
JACK HAMANN AND LESLIE HAMANN | Authors, On American Soil
NICHOLAS BROWN | U.S. Attorney, W.D. WA
HON. ROBERT S. LASNIK | Moderator

DATE: Friday, March 10, 2023  |  1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Pacific

LOCATION: The U.S. District Courthouse, 700 Stewart St., Seattle, WA
& virtually over Zoom.