Sergeant Roy E. "the Bummer" Bumgarner was a soldier who served with the 1st Cavalry Division and later the 173d Airborne Brigade. According to a former commander, "the Bummer" was rumored to have "personally killed over 1,500 people" during a forty-two week stretch in Vietnam.
Even if the number was exaggerated, clues on how Bumgarner may have obtained high "body counts" came to light in the course of an Army criminal investigation of an incident that took place on February 25, 1969.
According to investigation documents, Bumgarner and a subordinate rounded up three civilians found working in a rice paddy, marched them to a secluded area and murdered them. "The Bummer" then arranged the bodies on the ground with their heads together and a grenade was exploded next to them in an attempt to cover-up their crime. Assorted weapons were then planted near the mutilated corpses to make them appear to have been enemy troops.
During an Army criminal investigation of the incident, men in Bumgarner's unit told investigators that they had heard rumors of the sergeant carrying out similar acts in the past. Said one soldier in a sworn statement to Army investigators:
"I've heard of Bumgarner doing it before -- planting weapons on bodies when there is doubt as to their military status. I've heard quite a few rumors about Bumgarner killing unarmed people. Only a couple weeks ago I heard that Bumgarner had killed a Vietnamese girl and two younger kids (boys), who didn't have any weapons."...
..."The Bummer" was charged with premeditated murder and tried by general court martial. He was convicted only of manslaughter and his punishment consisted merely of a demotion in rank and a fine of $97 a month for six months. Moreover, after six months, Bumgarner promptly re-enlisted in the Army. His first and only choice of assignments -- Vietnam. Records indicate he got his wish...
Bumgarner, who remained in the Army until 1981 and died in 2005, was a bigger-than-life figure at the 173rd Airborne base near the South China Sea.
He had spent 10 troubled years in the Marines before joining the Army. Marine records show that he had been busted down in rank, court-martialed and served brief periods of confinement at California’s Camp Pendleton, in the Philippines and in Japan.
Records indicate that in the Army, he pleaded guilty to assault and disorderly conduct in 1961 and was sentenced to three months’ confinement. Four years later, he went to Vietnam. There, he earned a reputation as a talented and prolific killer with a competitive zeal for boosting his personal body count...
LINKS:
The Vietnam War Crimes You Never Heard Of | History News Network
Lasting Pain, Minimal Punishment
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/charlotte/obituary.aspx?pid=3093472
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/charlotte/obituary-preview.aspx?pid=3102693
Even if the number was exaggerated, clues on how Bumgarner may have obtained high "body counts" came to light in the course of an Army criminal investigation of an incident that took place on February 25, 1969.
According to investigation documents, Bumgarner and a subordinate rounded up three civilians found working in a rice paddy, marched them to a secluded area and murdered them. "The Bummer" then arranged the bodies on the ground with their heads together and a grenade was exploded next to them in an attempt to cover-up their crime. Assorted weapons were then planted near the mutilated corpses to make them appear to have been enemy troops.
During an Army criminal investigation of the incident, men in Bumgarner's unit told investigators that they had heard rumors of the sergeant carrying out similar acts in the past. Said one soldier in a sworn statement to Army investigators:
"I've heard of Bumgarner doing it before -- planting weapons on bodies when there is doubt as to their military status. I've heard quite a few rumors about Bumgarner killing unarmed people. Only a couple weeks ago I heard that Bumgarner had killed a Vietnamese girl and two younger kids (boys), who didn't have any weapons."...
..."The Bummer" was charged with premeditated murder and tried by general court martial. He was convicted only of manslaughter and his punishment consisted merely of a demotion in rank and a fine of $97 a month for six months. Moreover, after six months, Bumgarner promptly re-enlisted in the Army. His first and only choice of assignments -- Vietnam. Records indicate he got his wish...
Bumgarner, who remained in the Army until 1981 and died in 2005, was a bigger-than-life figure at the 173rd Airborne base near the South China Sea.
He had spent 10 troubled years in the Marines before joining the Army. Marine records show that he had been busted down in rank, court-martialed and served brief periods of confinement at California’s Camp Pendleton, in the Philippines and in Japan.
Records indicate that in the Army, he pleaded guilty to assault and disorderly conduct in 1961 and was sentenced to three months’ confinement. Four years later, he went to Vietnam. There, he earned a reputation as a talented and prolific killer with a competitive zeal for boosting his personal body count...
LINKS:
The Vietnam War Crimes You Never Heard Of | History News Network
Lasting Pain, Minimal Punishment
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/charlotte/obituary.aspx?pid=3093472
https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/charlotte/obituary-preview.aspx?pid=3102693
