European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 5, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday october 19s8 the stars and stripes Page 5 multimillion Dollar Mia suit opens Pensacola Fla. A the wife of an air Force officer whose plane crashed during the Vietnam War Testi fied monday   some Bone fragments As his was like giving him a death sentence if he is still alive in Southeast Asia. The message went out to Hose coun tries Don t you Ever return that Guy by cause this would be a real humiliation " to the . Government Anne Hart told a Federal judge hearing a multimillion Dollar lawsuit brought by Hart her Daugher Gillian and her Mother in Law Vcra Hart the 45-year-old Pensacola woman was the first witness in the trial Over the Mili tary s  of seven Bone fragments found at a plane crash site in Laos As being the remains of la. Col. Thomas Hart Iii. The military withdrew the identification after an outside expert hired by Anne Hart said it was impossible to Tell if the fragments belonged to her husband or anyone else. The lawsuit claims the three suffered emotional distress As a result of the mis identification which they contend was intentional and they Are seeking an unspecified amount put Only in the Multi million Dollar Range. Five other children originally listed As plaintiffs have been dropped from the suit. Senior . District judge Winston Arnow ruled Jan. 12 that Anne Hart suffered from severe emotional distress leaving Only the matter of damages to be decided in her portion of the Case. Lawyers for the plaintiffs will try to show Hart s Mother also was emotionally distressed and that his daughter suffered from bulimia an eating disorder that caused tier to lose 30 pounds. It s very similar to living without any skin Anne Hart said of her life since the dispute Over the Bones identification begun in 1985. She described the initial news of her husband s plane crash dec. 21, 1972, and then the identification of the re Mains More than 13 years later As like being hit with a  she said she recovered enough to Lead a relatively Normal life after the crash but she has been unable to do so follow ing the  of the remains and the military s insistence on burying them As her husband. A self proclaimed army brat whose father was a military physician she accused army and air Force officials of lying to her and causing her to become so disillusioned with the government she once revered that she had to seek professional counselling for emotional distress. She said she has had trouble sleeping and gave up activities with the National league of families a support group for families of servicemen who Are missing in action or had been prisoners. She testified she spends most of her Lime As a Volunteer worker at the Pensa Cota veterans Center where she can be with people who feel the same Way. She also testified she has left her Chil Dren to fend for themselves failed to pay Bills although she had the Money to do so and can Sec no reason for living Al though she said she lacks the courage to commit suicide Hart was one of 16 Crew members aboard an ac-130 gunship when it was shot Down near Paksec Laos. Two crewmen were rescued and one was immediately identified As killed but the other 13 has been listed As missing until the crash site was excavated by . Army and laotian authorities in 1985, stay of execution upheld for Missouri killer j Efferson c1ty, to. A the . Supreme court on monday refused to lift a Federal appeals court order blocking the execution of a convicted murderer who wanted All appeals dropped. Gerald Smith who was scheduled to be the first inmate put to death by Missouri since 1965, had asked that no appeals be in do to delay his execution by lethal injection scheduled for 12 01 . Tuesday. Smith was sentenced for the 1980 bludgeoning death of a former Girlfriend in St. Louis. The supreme court upheld the 8lh . Circuit court of appeals which voted 8-2 late monday to Block Smith s execution rejecting the state s efforts to lift a stay issued earlier in the Day by a three judge panel of the court. Stale attorney general William Webster s office filed a petition with the nation s highest court late monday asking that the stay be lifted said spokesman John Baker. Smith telephoned the associated press to complain about the stay he said lawyers and judges were need Lessly questioning his competency and putting him and his wife through More turmoil by delaying the exec  s not me they re concerned about. They just Don t believe in the death penalty Smith said. They May end up being sorry. I won t elaborate on that. Whatever happen from Here on out would be their responsibility i was ready to go Smith said. I was ready to meet my maker and 1 was at peace with myself. I m not sure i will be at peace with myself when my time comes  the three judge panel issued a slay in response to a petition by the Missouri Public defender commission claiming Smith May not be competent to decide on making appeals. The execution was scheduled to be carried out at one minute after Midnight so that if it was blocked Gerald Smith named All appeals dropped. House passes a appeals Bill prosecutors would have More than 23 hours under the tuesday death warrant to try to have the slay lifted. Authorities at the Missouri state Penitentiary proceeded monday As though the execution would take place said spokesman Dale Riley. In their order slaying the execution the three judges said More Lime was needed to review an affidavit from a psychiatrist questioning whether Smith was compe tent to make decisions on his Fate. In an interview Friday at the prison. Smith said he considers All further appeals hopeless and criticized outside efforts to Slop the execution. Asked How he would react if a court stepped in and blocked it. Smith said they can Only Block it for so Long. Everything s been resolved. They re going Over the same things because they have nothing else to go  complained Friday about the Public defender Appeal saying it inaccurately said his wife had influenced him to drop appeals. Smith ruled competent by a Federal judge two years ago said he had made the decision before he met his wife whom he married in prison last year. Smith was convicted of using an eight Pound Iron bar to beat to death Karen Roberts a woman he said had Given him a venereal disease and caused him to lose Bis Fiancee. He was Given a second death Penally for his part in the 1985 stabbing murder of fellow death Row in Malc Robert Baker. The slate s emergency motion filed in response to the stay noted thai last week a different three judge panel of the both circuit had refused to Block the exec  panel should nol allow such a collateral attack upon their opinion the slate s motion said. . John Ashcroft issued a statement saying that a review of Smith s record by the stale. Board of Proba Tion and parole provided no new information that would prompt him to step in and Block the execution. Sarias of time Washington a the House voted 400-0 monday for legislation thai would allow veterans to Appeal to a new Federal court when their Benefit claims Are denied. Sponsors said the Vole will Send the measure to a conference with the Senate which has passed its own version of the legislation. The Bill would give veterans for the first time in 170 years the Chance to Lake their appeals outside the veterans administration by establishing a new court of veterans appeals. The House Bill would abolish the existing Board of veterans appeals Pun of the a and currently the last resort for veterans unhappy with decisions to deny Ihm benefits. But rep. Don Edwards d-calif., said agreements have been reached for a Compromise with the Senate which would keep the Board bul make it Independent of the a. The new court would still be established but it number of judges would decrease from the 65 envisioned in the House Bill to seven under the pro posed Compromise. Decisions of the new court could be appealed to the existing . Court of appeals for the Federal circuit on any Legal matter but not on factual findings. The legislation also would end a civil War Era Law thai limits attorney s fees for veterans claims to $10 per claim. The $ 10 fee made in difficult for veterans to hire lawyers other than those provided by the a the House Bill would prohibit attorneys from charging any fee in connection with an application for Bene fits. However once the a denies a claim a Veteran could hire and pay a reasonable fee to a lawyer. A copy of the fee agreement must be filed with the new court which could order a fee reduction if a judge finds the amount excessive. The chairman of the veterans affairs committee rep. . Sonny Montgomery d-miss., said the House panel panel has been trying to work out a new judicial review process since 1952. Attempts were unsuccessful because there was no consensus among vet Erans groups. The House Bill he said has the support of the major veterans organizations and the judicial con Ference the policy making body of the Federal Judic iary. Montgomery said veterans would receive a better review in the specialized court than in overburdened . District courts which might Render inconsistent decisions from one state to another. In the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. Oct. 5, 1948 Field marshal Viscount Bernard Montgomery chief of the British Imperial general staff was appointed military chief of the five nation Western european military Alliance. 30 years ago today. Oct. 5, 1958 the Rev. Martin Lush or King or. Was released from Harlem Hospital in new York City after recovering from a Stab wound he received two weeks earlier while signing autographs. 20 years ago . 5, 1968 the Senate passed a j7l.9-billion defense appropriation Bill that included for the first Lime a $4.5-million provision guaranteeing tuition free kindergarten for All children of . Military personnel overseas. I0 years ago today. ,. Oct. 5,1978 Gold Bullion prices Rose to a record High in european markets closing at $223.125, while the . Dollar reached a new Low against the West German Mark trading at 1.8955 Marks to the Dollar