A Soldier's Shame

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Five months later, Green was honorably discharged with a "personality disorder." In fiscal 2005, 1,038 soldiers--or 0.21% of those on active duty--were discharged with this classification, which used to be referred to as Section 8. (Corporal Klinger was always trying to get one on M*A*S*H.) An Army spokeswoman says such cases can take weeks or even months to process and require a psychiatric evaluation followed by an opportunity for the soldier to modify his behavior as well as the option to file an appeal.

The Pentagon won't say how long it took to process Green's case. But even if his possible instability helped lead to the atrocity, that doesn't explain why his fellow soldiers allegedly participated in the incident--including one who reportedly joined Green in the rape--and helped him cover his tracks. The names of these other soldiers have yet to be released.

Green, meanwhile, is scheduled to be arraigned next month in Kentucky--home to Fort Campbell, where he was most recently stationed--and could end up facing the death penalty. Close relatives won't talk about him. Even distant ones are reluctant. In tiny Denver City, Texas, where he spent a couple of years with his mother's ex-husband and which he claimed as his hometown on Army paperwork, Green's former stepgrandfather thought back about the meals they had shared. "He always seemed a little bit different," B.J. Carr said, before his wife interrupted, "We don't know that boy."