The Dilemma of the Code

DURING the Korean War, brainwashing of U.S. prisoners by Chinese and North Koreans produced alarming numbers of forced "confessions," collaborators and turncoats. As a result, President Eisenhower issued an executive order in 1955 establishing a Code of Conduct for U.S. servicemen. Among its provisions:

> I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender my men while they still have the means to resist.

> If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy. > When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am bound to give only my name, rank, service number and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies, or harmful to their cause.

Since the code was adopted, it has not been applied in a single case. It was not used, for example, against two captured soldiers who were cleared of charges that they made anti-U.S. statements before they were freed by the Viet Cong in 1965. The Navy's dilemma over the Pueblo incident sharply underlines the code's shortcomings. The code cannot be enforced, since it carries no penalties; such offenses as informing and revealing classified information to the enemy are indeed punishable, but under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, not under the Code of Conduct. But if the Code of Conduct cannot be applied, particularly in as well-publicized a case as Pueblo, it will soon become a dead letter.

The Defense Department insists that the Code of Conduct is "militarily binding." Most authorities, however, agree with a naval judge advocate, Captain Gale Krouse, who argued otherwise last week in San Diego. Pointing out that the Code of Conduct is not part of the U.C.M.J., Krouse said: "Failure to observe the guidelines of this executive order is not in my mind a criminal offense." In any event, finding a middle course between the needs of military discipline and compassion for the plight of prisoners of war will be a difficult job of legal navigation.

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