Sunday, January 15, 2006 6:19 PM
By DIANNE BATES
Jack Hamann started with a reporter’s hunch that “something wasn’t right” about a
43- year-old story he discovered while covering a routine assignment in 1987.The end result of his obsession with the story of the hanging in 1944 of Italian prisoner of war, Private Guglielmo Olivotto, in Washington State is the recently published book, American Soil: How Justice Became a Casualty of WW II. Hamaan’s quest also opened an inquiry into the resulting trail and court martials – bill HR 3174, now before Congress, demands that the Secretary of the Army reopen the case.
The Emmy winning veteran TV reporter spun the fascinating tale of his first book for Press Club members on February 1st. On American Soil is a complex story that involves racism, military practice during WW II, and notable characters, including future Watergate prosecutor Leon Jaworski. Hamann dug up records, personal papers and letters to reveal the young Jaworski as an ambitious attorney who was not above engaging in unethical practices to further his own agenda and career.
