BY SAMUEL VITALI
During the Vietnam War, many thousands of individuals sought to avoid combat or perform alternative service because they refused to participate in that war.
One such person was the heavyweight champion of the world, Cassius Clay, known as
Muhammad Ali.
In 1966, I was employed by the Justice Department to review FBI field reports written by Special Agents who investigated those who claimed conscientious objector (CO) status. The agents interviewed, family, friends, neighbors, employees, fellow students and others, and do general background checks of those claiming CO classification.
The reports were filed at FBI headquarters and forwarded to our office for evaluation of the legitimacy of the claim. This was important because there were legal precedents and statutory procedures which had to be applied to the facts of each case.
The standards used to determine whether an individual was entitled to avoid active duty military service were found in U.S. Supreme Court decisions. For instance, a belief had to be “sincerely” held resulting from “a tenet” of an “established,” “recognized religion.” The applicant must also oppose all wars.
During World War II, many members of the Jehovah Witnesses faith were jailed because when they went before local draft boards facing induction, and were asked if they opposed all wars, they answered no, because they believed in the War of Armageddon. So too, Catholics, whose faith recognized “just wars,” were often denied CO status by draft boards.
Appeals ultimately ended up in the Justice office where I worked. Obviously, Ali’s case was no easy matter. His files were nearly 8,000 pages long, if my memory serves me. As part of my review, I was assigned weekly to read, Elijah Speaks, the official publication of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam, specifically the column, “From the Camp of the Champ” written by Ali.
My reading convinced me Ali’s beliefs were sincerely held. But the ultimate decision on his appeal was not mine to make. I showed up at my office one day to find the Ali file gone. I was told it that it had been transferred. Attorney General Ramsey Clark and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover were evaluating the materials.
As they say the rest is history. Ali was indicted as a “draft dodger.” More than three years later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor. The justices found that his beliefs were sincere and his claims of CO status was valid.
Looking back, I was fortunate to have had a small glimpse at part of our country’s history and was relieved that the nine justices of the Supreme Court were the ones who had the ultimate responsibility to decide such an important matter.
For what it’s worth, they got it right.
Samuel Vitali practices law in Lynn
