AMERICAN DESERTER FACES COURT MARTIAL - LISTEN TO HIM

PBS NewsHour

PBS NewsHour EXCLUSIVE: For the first time, read Bowe Bergdahl's explanation for why he walked off base.

‪#‎BoweBergdahl‬ now faces a court-martial on charges of desertion and endangering troops. Still unclear: what motivated Bergdahl to leave his comrades? PBS NewsHour and The New York Times were recently provided with the transcript of Bergdahl's only interview with the army's top investigating officer, in which the sergeant lays out what made him do it. Our correspondent Jeffrey Brown has the story.

More here: http://to.pbs.org/1S4QN3L

Phyllis Carter - The American people should pay attention to what this soldier has to say. Such things are usually covered up by the powers that be. I was a Pinkerton in Montreal in the 1970's. I joined Pinkerton, founded by Abraham Lincoln's body guard and creator of the first national detective agency in America, because I wanted to be a part of that great historical agency. I joined as a guard and then my captain recommended that I apply to become an investigator. The officers did not want to hire a woman, even though the founder, Alan Pinkerton, esteemed his first female investigator, Kate. They did not want to hire an English speaker - even though I am bilingual. They did not want to hire a Jew. I was interviewed again and again and they could find no excuse to avoid hiring me. I loved my work. But I refused to play some of their games - such as singling out Negroes that I was investigating among the applicants for guard work. I was excellent at my job, and I say so without hesitation. In my presence on the elevator one day, the President of Pinkerton Quebec at Montreal, Paul St, Amour, told a client that I was "the gem of the company." Part of my work was writing reports. The client said that when he read my reports, it was as if he had been right there on the scene himself. I was also required to rewrite the reports for the male investigators who could not put together three coherent sentences in either English or French. But I would not play the games that involved cheating customers. When a mole had a job at a customer's plant and solved the crime in a few days, the company would not tell the customer who was guilty of theft or sabotage because that would end the contract. So the customer kept the under cover operative in place for months, even years, paying Pinkerton for security, when the case had been solved long ago. I would not be a part of it, so I was under pressure all the time. It's a long story. But I am telling this to point out that an honest person can have a very hard time when the powers that be are not honest. After I resigned, it was months before I gathered up the courage to report these things to head office in New York City. I was afraid I might be shot. Months after I sent my report to head office, I received a letter saying they were surprised and saddened to read it and they would look into it. I did not pursue it. I doubt they did either.