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Orthodox Marine Ousted
For Refusing To Fight
WIN fte,
4 E' MN,
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TOM TUGEND
Thu
Special to The Jewish News
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52
FRIDAY, JUNE
28, 1991
553-7111
t. Tony Homayoun
Moradian, a helicopter
pilot raised as an Or-
thodox Jew, will be dismiss-
ed from the U.S. Marine
Corps for refusing to fight a
war in defense of Arabs, a
military judge ruled last
weekend.
Lt. Moradian, who was
born in Iran, was found guil-
ty of leaving a troop ship at
Pearl Harbor on Dec. 10 that
was taking his light attack
helicopter squadron to the
Persian Gulf for Operation
Desert Storm. He was
sentenced to the equivalent
of a dishonorable discharge
and a $3,000 fine.
During his court-martial
at Camp Pendleton, near
San Diego, the 26-year old
Lt. Moradian said that
"being brought up as an Or-
thodox Jew, being aware of
the animosity of the Arab-
Israeli conflict and consider-
ing myself a Zionist, (I
couldn't see) going and
defending an Arab nation
that doesn't believe in my
right to exist. But I wanted
to be a Marine."
The Los Angeles Times,
which ran the story under
the headline "A Collision of
Faith and Duty," reported
that defense witnesses de-
scribed Lt. Moradian as an
outstanding and dedicated
Marine. His loyalty to the
corps was equaled only by
his deeply rooted religious
convictions, one witness
testified.
Religious faith and
military duty were never in
conflict until the escalation
of the confrontation with
Iraq, the defendant testified.
Even then, he said, he
believed that he could find a
solution and do his duty.
"I'm not a coward, nor am
I afraid to take part in any
battle," said Lt. Moradian,
who became a naturalized
U.S. citizen in 1985. "I knew
I had a duty to this country
and I thought I had come to
peace with myself. But once
I got aboard the ship, I found
those duties overwhelming."
After leaving the troop
ship, Lt. Moradian caught a
commercial jet to the
mainland and immediately
reported to the Marine base
at Camp Pendleton. He real-
ized he would be punished
for what he called a des-
perate decision, but he hoped
he would be allowed to con-
tinue his military career.
During the trial, the
government prosecutor, Maj.
Carlos Baldwin, upbraided
Lt. Moradian, charging that
"his tour in the Marine
Corps is remarkable only for
its selfishness. All he want-
ed to do was fly, under his
terms and conditions." Maj.
Baldwin added that many
female Marines had served
in the Gulf war to defend
Arab countries whose wo-
men do not enjoy equality.
The executive officer of
Moradian's unit, Maj.
George Trautman, testified
that its effectiveness was
weakened by Lt. Moradian's
absence and that all 43
helicopter pilots in the
squadron saw combat duty
in Kuwait.
"He tarnished the reputa-
tion of the unit and hurt
morale," Maj. Trautman
told the press outside the
courtroom.
In sentencing Lt. Mora-
dian, the judge, Col. Edwin
Welch, said that he had
decided against imposing a
prison sentence, in part be-
cause Lt. Moradian had
promptly turned himself in
after flying from Hawaii to
California.
After the trial, Lt. Mora-
dian said he was relieved he
was not going to jail but dis-
appointed that he will no
longer be a Marine.
❑
Peruvian Indians
Make Aliyah
Tel Aviv (JTA) — About
100 Peruvian Indians who
claim to be descendants of
Marranos will immigrate to
Israel in August.
They will be settled in
Elon Moreh, a settlement in
the West Bank near Nablus
founded by the Gush
Emunim. Their immigration
is being organized jointly by
the settlers and the Jewish
Agency.
A special rabbinical court
was sent from Israel to Peru
to supervise the group's con-
version.
The community, which
calls it self Bnei Moshe and
lives in northern Peru,
claims its ancestors were
Marranos, Jews from Spain
who converted to
Catholicism in the 16th cen-
tury to escape the Inquisi-
tion but secretly practiced
the Jewish faith.
The Bnei Moshe proclaim-
ed their background 40
years ago, cutting them-
selves off from neighboring
groups.