Summary

Treasure Island – On the morning of September 14, 1944, Small and the other 49 men were taken to a barracks on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay, which had been converted temporarily into a courtroom presided over by Rear Admiral Hugh Osterhaus and six other high-ranking naval officers. These seven officers would decide the fate of the 50. All 50 answered “not guilty” to charges of mutiny. Coakley then proceeded with his case, seeking to methodically argue a conspiracy among the men to mutiny. Commander Tobin was called first for questions, then was cross-examined by Veltmann. Veltmann’s strategy was to undermine Coakley’s arguments, and he was courageous in doing so from the start. For example, he argued with Tobin over the following of orders, noting that the men said they would follow any order except loading ammunition, not that they would disobey all orders...