David Wilma Italian prisoner of war killed August 14, 1944, 2001 Photo by David Wilma image:40169:0::0

In the Fort Lawton Riot of 1944, nearly two-dozen of the tried 43 African American World War II Soldiers were convicted of murdering an Italian POW, Guglielmo Olivotto in Washington.

Now sixty-four years later, these men and their families are finally going to receive total financial payment for the horror of wrongful conviction in a time when racial tensions were at their height.

In what was deemed as the largest court martial of World War II, where according to story:

...two soldiers had charges dropped, 13 soldiers were acquitted, and 28 were convicted. One soldier was convicted of manslaughter in connection with the death of Olivotto despite no facts linking him to the hanging.

All of the men convicted were dishonorably discharged from the military.

In October of 2007, over sixty years later, the ruling in the case was overturned for reasons that substantiated that the convicted men were treated less than human and most likely the result of racial injustice. They also ordered that as restitution, the surviving members or their families receive back pay, including Cost Of Living adjustments and Interst as well as receiving their Honorable Discharges.

All but two of the men are still living, one being Samuel Snow, so when the check for $725 USD arrived, you can bet he knew that it was in err.

Congress will need to authorize the appropriate payment of $80,000 USD and the approval will be on the floor for vote next week.

As for the Guilty Party in the hanging of Guglielmo Olivotto, a book entitled On American Soil by Jack Hamann provided research that points to Clyde Lomack. Lomack was said to have murdered Olivotta and then have started the riot as a cover up.

Prosecuting attorney in the original case, Leon Jaworski, also showed to have withheld evidence from the defense that would have proven the innocence of the soldiers.

Lomack, a white man, was court martialed for his lack of accountability during the riot.

Jaworski went on to be the famed prosecutor during the Watergate scandal.

But most important, Hamann's research and book led to the financial payout and overturned verdict in 2007. Amazingly so, a journalist's research and publication aided in what equates to minor restitution compared to the suffering these individuals and their families endured for over sixty years.

It was even reported that Snow, now in his eighties, burned all of the court documents so that his children never found it.