Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1922-01-06
Former Members of Com.
mand Strongly Deny
Alleged Killings
OFFICER IN TEARS
Many Witnesses Testify in Behalf of
Distinguished Virginia Ex-Major.
Hearing Continued

Washington, Jan. 5.-A soldier and
an officer who earned the decorations
Of his own and other governments for
bravery in. battle lost his composure
and cried today before the Senate
committee investigating the charges
of Senator Thomas E. Watson, OF
Georgia.
The former soldier who cried was
Major Heirome L. Opie, of Staunton,
Va, battalion commander of the One
Hundred and Sixteenth Infantry,
Twenty-ninth Division, accused OF
killing two or more Of his own men.
His breakdown, followed by his own
denial after he had regalned the spirit
of man fighting for his name, came
when a former associate in the
Twenty-ninth Division voluntarily ap-
peared before the committee to at
test to the valor and justice OF Major
Opie. That associate was Representa-
tive John Philip Hill. of Maryland,
who was with Major Opie north OF
Verdun in October, 1918.
1t was distinctly Major Opie's day
before the committee. He spoke in
his own behalf and about dozen men
and officers of his former command
also testified that the charges against
him-involving the alleged shooting by
Opie of courier, an orderly and an
other private-were imaginary hap
penings.
Several witnesses mentioned by the
accusers of Major Opie as being III
position to furnish corroborative evil
dence came before the committee and
declined to corroborate. Instead, they
defended 4opie unreservedly.
Just before Major ,Opie left the
stand, Senator Brandegee, chairman.
asked him if he could suggest any
hypothesis upon which the men who
had testified against him could have
builded their claims that he killed his
own men. With reluctance he said
there was only one incident in the
long fighting to the north of Verdun
in October, 1918, which might have
been twisted by an imaginative and
over-wrought mind into such charge.
Thnt he said, was when lieutenant
ofshis command had accidentally kill
ed himself in extracting revolver
from pile of captured weapons.
Il Major Opie said he ran to this man,
felt his heart and rushed him to a
first-aid station The command was
not in combat at the time and the
lieutenant was reported "killed in ac-
ton" rather than the victim of an ac-
cidental death in respect for his fam
ily. Major Opie furnished the name
of the lieutenant and several witness
ses who were with him Mt the time.
From that incident alone, he sug-
gested, may have come one Of the
charges-that he shot a courier and
then bent over him and took his or
ders from him.
The testimony of both Major Opie
and others of the Third Battalion to-
day was at the commanding officer
had never shot soldier. The near
est approach to sucn a thing, they
said, was when he fired into the air
after a number Of stragglers, retreat
ing toward the rear when they should
have been going forward to battle,
had refused to obey command to
halt. Nobody was killed, they said,
by these two shots into the air, but
the halt command was obeyed and the
stragglers avere reformed into a
fighting unit. '..
"I have never shot man in my
life" said Major Opie, except some
times l may have shot an enemy at
grips in battle. | have never shot a
soldier of my own, nor have ! ever
killed man in civil lie. never pull
ed my pistol or rifle against any
man in my command"
Major Opie was testifying under
oath at the time. When told by Chair.
manBrandegee to raise his right hand
and swear, Major Opie recalled that
he had already been sworn yesterday
when he started to make defense
against the Watson charges, but the
committee had decided then that his
accusers should be heard first.