Video: Army to apologize to black WWII Fort Lawton soldiers

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SEATTLE - It's an apology that's been 64 years in the making to 43 African Americans who were wrongly court-martialed during World War II.

It followed a riot and the lynching of an Italian prisoner at Seattle's Fort Lawton in 1944. Now the U.S. government is set to officially apologize for mishandling the cases.

The apology is expected to come during a four day tribute to the soldiers and their families which starts Thursday at Fort Lawton in Seattle's Discovery Park.

It is a bittersweet moment for those involved, coming back here after decades to finally be vindicated.

In the summer of 1944, Fort Lawton was packed with Italian prisoners of war who were allowed to move freely mingling with U.S. troops waiting to ship out and African American soldiers consigned to mostly heavy lifting in the segregated U.S. Army at the time.

A volatile mix that on the night of August 15, 1944, exploded in a riot and ended with the murder of Italian prisoner of war Guglielmo Olivotto, lynched and found hanging by cable wire from a tree.

Forty-three African America soldiers were court martialed in connection with the violent lynching death. All were dishonorably discharged.

Former KING 5 reporter and author Jack Hamann investigated the murder and questioned the outcome.

"The only time in American history then and now black soldiers were accused of lynching, of all things," said Hamann, author of On American Soil: How Justice Became a Casualty of WWII.

Hamann and others traced the mistakes to an ambitious prosecutor, who withheld crucial evidence. In October last year an Army review board overturned the first four Fort Lawton convictions, restoring rank, honorable discharges and back pay-full relief.

Now those men and their families are invited back to Seattle. For the first time they will hear the admission from the U.S. Government, who will apologize for the miscarriage of justice.

Of course, 64 years have passed. Many of the soldiers involved have died but some are expected as well as family members. The tribute begins Thursday night with a symposium followed by a mass for the murder victim Private Olivotto.

The biggest event will be on Saturday at Discovery Park with the Assistant Secretary of the Army who is expected to formally apologize.

A few years ago, one of the African American soldiers, Samuel Snow, talked with KING 5 News. He was convicted and dishonorable discharged, but always maintained his innocence.

He said he was not bitter and was in fact grateful that the Army has changed and is no longer segregated. But he still feels more could be done. He is expected to attend this weekend's events.