STATEMENT OF FACTS

The Secretary of War transmitted a request (together with draft of a bill) to the chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs for the introduction of this legislation. The facts will be found fully set forth in the following letter:

Hon. ROBERT R. REYNOLDS,

WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., May 16, 1944.

Chairman, Committee on Military Affairs, United States Senate.

DEAR SENATOR REYNOLDS: There is enclosed draft of a bill to authorize the payment of the sum of $4,070.85 to Jon Sigurdsson as attorney in fact for his parents, Sigurdur Jonsson and Thorolina Thordardottir, of Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, for damages caused them by an enlisted soldier in the military forces of the United States Army, which the War Department presents for the consideration of the Congress with a view to its enactment into law.

The facts relating to the incident resulting in the injury and subsequent death of Thordur Sigurdsson are substantially as found by Foreign Claims Commission No. 16, Iceland Base Command, and are herewith set forth: On November 8, 1941, at approximately 8 p. m., Pvts. Charles H. Cox and Everett L. Farmer left their station at Camp Clayton, Iceland, and proceeded to the town of Hafnarfjordur. These soldiers were absent without leave at that time and were armed with service pistols, in violation of orders which had been conveyed to their organization and posted on the camp bulletin board to the effect that they should not leave the camp armed. They were accompanied at the time by Privates McGinnis and Johnson, all four of the soldiers having taken a taxi to town. When they arrived at the town of Hafnarfjordur, the soldiers went to a hotel where a dance was being held and were advised that the hotel was closed. They then went across the street to a cafe where a number of local citizens were present. The soldiers ordered beer and were in the act of drinking it when the deceased. Thordur Sigurdsson, either accidentally or intentionally, stepped on the foot of Private Cox, who was sitting at a table. There ensued an argument, in the course of which the soldier told Sigurdsson to get off his foot and the Icelander stated that they did not like American soldiers there and in effect told the soldiers to leave. There is also evidence that Sigurdsson had a beer bottle in his hand with which he pounded the table and made threatening gestures directed at the American soldiers. At this time Private Cox, who had a loaded pistol in his possession, took it out and showed it to the deceased. The record does not disclose that any of the 8 or 10 Icelanders who were in the cafe had firearms in their possession. The evidence is in conflict as to whether the soldiers requested Sigurdsson to follow them out of the cafe. However, the soldiers left and the deceased followed them. There is some evidence that at the time the soldiers left the cafe Private Cox motioned to the deceased to follow. All the natives of Iceland in the cafe followed the deceased out of the cafe and a number of the natives who were coming out of a nearby theater joined the crowd. The number of Icelanders in the crowd at that time is estimated at between 20 and 50. There is evidence to the effect that this crowd was closing in on the soldiers and acting in a threatening manner. Privates McGinnis and Johnson circumvented the crowd, left the scene of the occurrence and were not involved in any of the incidents that took place thereafter. Privates Cox and Farmer continued up the street, and as the crowd came closer and acted more threateningly both soldiers took out their pistols and between them fired some 5 or 6 shots. The evidence is to the effect that the first shots were fired at the ground, and that probably some were fired in the air, for the purpose of frightening the local citizens. However, the shots did not have the desired effect and the Icelanders continued to follow the soldiers. At that time both soldiers fired into the crowd, with the result that the deceased, who was then at a distance of about 9 feet, received a wound in the abdomen from which he died a few days later. There were powder burns about the wound of entry. Sigurdun Larus Eiriksson received a superficial abrasion of the left foot and Sigurgeir Gislason sustained a slight scratch on the finger or thumb of his hand. The evidence as to whether the deceased still had the beer bottle in his hand at the time of the shooting and whether at that time he was attempting to use it as a weapon is in conflict.

After the shots had been fired, Private Cox was caught by members of the crowd, who were manhandling him when two British military police stopped the fight and took the American soldiers to the civilian police station. In the meantime Private Farmer got away but was later apprehended and brought to the police station. Privates Cox and Farmer were tried by general court martial,

found guilty of assault with a pistol with intent to do bodily harm, and sentenced to be dishonorably discharged from the Army, to forfeit all pay and allowances due or to become due, and to be confined at hard labor for 5 years in the United States Disciplinary Barracks, Fort Leavenworth, Kans. The sentences have been approved and ordered executed.

By the act of January 2, 1942, as amended (55 Stat. 880; 31 U. S. C. 224d, as amended by Public Law 39, 78th Cong.), the War and Navy Departments were authorized to settle administratively service-connected claims arising in foreign countries not in excess of $1,000 occurring on or after May 27, 1941, and not in excess of $5,000 occurring on and after December 6, 1941, and to report to Congress for consideration any such claims arising after December 6, 1941, as are in excess of $5,000. As this claim is in excess of $1,000 and arose prior to December 7, 1941, the claims commission is without authority to settle it and it cannot be reported to Congress under the above statute. Iceland granted the United States permission to use her territory for purposes of defense long prior to our actual entry into the war. One of the fundamental considerations for this permission was that the United States would "grant compensation for all damage occasioned to the inhabitants by their (United States) military activities" (par. 5, p. 3, Executive Agreement Series 232, July 1, 1941). Under the terms of this agreement we would appear not only to be morally bound but also to be bound by principles of international law to pay reasonable compensation for such damage and injury as our forces may have caused.

The regulations promulgated by the War Department under the act of January 2, 1942, as amended, supra, provide that claims may be paid regardless of whether the members of the military forces of the United States were acting within the course of their employment or were guilty of negligent or criminal acts. The art applies to death as well as to personal injury, and the regulations authorize payment of actual and reasonable expenses, medical care and treatment, hospitalization, and burial as well as reasonable compensation for pain, suffering, loss of earning capacity and, in connection with death claims, loss of prospective support, taking due account of local standards.

The evidence discloses that at the time of his death the deceased was not quite 22 years of age, in average health, and had an earning capacity of Kr. 7,000 ($1,081.47), annually, part of which he contributed to the support of his parents, the amount contributed by him constituting about one-third of their support. He was single and lived with his parents, Sigurdur Jonsson, his father, who is 71 years of age and is a fish sorter by occupation and employed only part time, and his mother, Thorlina Thordardottir, who is 56 years of age, a housewife by occupation and has no income of her own. The annual income of the father for the year preceding this occurrence was in the sum of Kr. 1,200 ($185.39). The claimants also have a daughter, Svanhavit Sigurdurdotter, who is 27 years of age, single, and a saleslady in a ladies' garment shop. This daughter also lives at home and it is reasonable to suppose that she contributes to the expense of the maintenance of the home. The claimants have three other daughters, all of whom are married and none of whom live at home. The father of the deceased is also the father of four sons and one daughter by a previous marriage. The following items of expense were incurred because of the death of Thordur Sigurdsson: For medical care and attention due Dr. Bjarnison Sneabjounsson, Kr. 150 ($23.174); for hospital care and attention at St. Joseph's Hospital, Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, Kr. 150 ($23.174), for funeral and burial expenses, Kr. 1,048.57 ($162), or a total expense of $208.35. In addition to their claim for these items of expense the claimants at first asked the sum of Kr. 50,151.48 ($7,742.15) for loss of support resulting from the death of their son, or a total claim in the amount of Kr. 51,500 ($7,956.49).

According to the general principles of compensation under Icelandic law, a person who in a blameworthy manner has been the cause of another's death shall defray all direct pecuniary expenses resulting from that person's death, including hospital expenses, doctor's fees, and funeral costs. He may also be ordered to pay compensation because of the loss of a breadwinner (art. 264, Penal Code, Act No. 19/1940), and in Iceland children are under a duty to contribute to the support of their parents (Maintenance of Relatives Act No. 52/1940, art. 6). Although self-defense may be a defense to an action, it is subject to the general limitation that resort must not be made to means of defense obviously more dangerous than justified by the assault. The United States Claims Commission, supported by an able and very complete study of the claim by a committee consisting of Thordur Egjolfsson, Justice of the Supreme Court of Iceland, and Ragnar Jonsson, judge of the criminal court of Reykjavik, who at the request of the commanding general were appointed by the Icelandic Ministry of Justice to act as advisers to

the United States Claims Commission, has concluded that the acts of the decedent were not of the nature or involving such provocation as to justify the use of weapons dangerous to life or to reduce the liability to payment of compensation for the consequences of that use of weapons. The Commission, supported by the committee, has also arrived at an amount they consider fair reasonable compensation. The contribution of the deceased to the support of his parents was estimated to be Kr. 2,400 per year during the lives of both of them and Kr. 1,500 per year after the death of one. Such sums, based on a life expectancy of 8.25 years for the father, aged 70, and 21.15 years for the mother, aged 55 years, have been computed to have a present value, if paid in a lump sum, of Kr. 25,170. In two recent similar cases the British Government has paid awards of Kr. 25,000 each. The parents have now modified their claim for loss of support to Kr. 25,000, which, added to the sum of Kr. 1,348.57 for medical, hospital, and burial expenses amounts to a total of Kr. 26,348.57. The report of the Claims Commission states that in accordance with Icelandic law interest on such sum from the date of death is a proper item. Interest has been computed to December 31, 1943, making the total claim Kr. 29,510.033 ($4,559.30). The War Department, however, does not recommend the payment of interest on an unliquidated claim.

The parents of the deceased have executed a power of attorney duly authorizing their son, Jon Sigurdsson, to file the claim in their behalf, to accept the amount of compensation to be paid by the United States, and to receive the money to be paid as compensation.

After a careful examination of the record in this case, it is the opinion of the War Department that the claim presented is meritorious for the reason that the American soldiers used excessive force in assaulting the deceased with a deadly weapon under the circumstances herein disclosed. It is therefore believed that the United States should compensate the parents in a reasonable amount for loss of support by their son. The amount recommended, exclusive of the item of interest, appears to be fair and reasonable and to be in accordance with Icelandic standards. The sum of Kr. 26,348.57 at the established rate of exchange ($0.1545) equals the sum of $4,070.85.

The commanding general, Iceland Base Command, states that favorable public opinion will result from a prompt settlement of the Sigurdsson case and he recommends that the matter be presented to the Congress and that eɛery effort be made to expedite payment of the claim as modiied and approved.

Accordingly, it is recommended that a bill be introduced in the Congress, substantially as per draft enclosed, authorizing and directing the Secretary of the Treasury to pay the sum of $4,070.85 to Jon Sigurdsson as attorney in fact for his parents, Sigurdur Jonsson and Thorolina Thordardottir, of Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, for and on their behalf, in full settlement of all claims against the United States for the death of their son, Thordur Sigurdsson, who was shot and killed by an enlisted soldier in the military forces of the United States on November 8, 1941, at Hafnarfjordur, Iceland; provided the claimants accept such sum in full settlement of all claims against the United States for the death of their son. A similar letter has been addressed to the Speaker, House of Representatives. The fiscal effect of the bill is manifest.

The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of this proposed legislation for the consideration of the Congress.

Sincerely yours,

JULIA PETERSON MILLS

FEBRUARY 9, 1945.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed

Mr. McGEHEE, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 234]

The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 234) for the relief of Julia Peterson Mills, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

An identical bill was favorably reported by your committee during the Seventy-eighth Congress, but was objected to and recommitted to this committee.

The facts will be found fully set forth in House Report No. 390, Seventy-eighth Congress, first session, which is appended hereto and made a part of this report.

[H. Rept. No. 390, 78th Cong., 1st sess.]

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to pay to Julia Peterson Mills, of Detroit, Mich., the sum of $1,500 in full settlement of all claims against the United States, for personal injuries sustained to her husband, who fell from a tree and was injured on September 18, 1937, while performing assigned work on United States Public Health Service reservation, Lexington, Ky.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Mr. Mills was assigned to the United States Public Health Service hospital at Lexington, Ky., for the reason that he was found to be addicted to the use of certain habit-forming drugs, for which proper care and treatment is received until cured or until term of sentence expires.

On September 18, 1937, he was ordered to assist in removing dead limbs from a tree on the hospital grounds; that while carrying out this assignment, he fell from the tree, breaking his right leg. The break was a very serious one, which exposed the bone, and presented extraordinary problems in its treatment.

Mr. Mills' sentence expired on October 20, 1938, 13 months after the accident, but as his leg had not at that time healed satisfactorily, he was retained, at his request, as an ex-prisoner-patient. By July 1939 it appeared that Mr. Mills'

leg could not be expected to heal satisfactorily, and after careful consideration and consultation with outside specialists, his right leg was amputated below the knee on July 7, 1939.

The Federal Security Agency, in a report to the committee dated July 29, 1941, makes the following recommendation on the merits of the bill:

"Of course, the late Harry Mills suffered permanent injury in the loss of his right leg as a result of his accident. Probably, except for that accident, he would have returned to some gainful employment immediately after the expiration of his sentence on October 20, 1938. Accordingly, it would appear that some compensation is in order regardless of whether his death is considered in determining the amount to be paid."

Your committee, after carefully considering the merits of the case, are of the opinion that Mr. Mills' wife and only heir, Julia Peterson Mills, should be compensated in the amount of $1,500. Your committee do not feel that the Federal Government is in any way responsible for the death of Mr. Mills, and the payment of $1,500 is merely compensation in full for pain and suffering resulting from the loss of his leg, and also salary lost by him had he been able to return to private employment. Appended hereto is the report of the Federal Security Agency, together with other pertinent evidence.

FEDERAL SECURITY AGENCY,
Washington, July 29, 1941.

Hon. DAN R. McGEHEE,

Chairman, Committee on Claims,

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Reference is made to your letter of June 16, 1941, to the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, requesting a report on H. R. 5048, a bill for the relief of Julia Peterson Mills.

This bill would authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to Julia Peterson Mills, of Detroit, Mich., an amount not to exceed $5,000 in monthly installments of $100 each in full settlement of all claims against the Government on account of the death of her husband, the late Harry Mills, who fell from a tree and was injured on September 18, 1937, while performing assigned work on the United States Public Health Service hospital reservation at Lexington, Ky.

Information contained in the files of this Agency indicates that the said Harry Mills died in the United States Public Health Service hospital at Lexington, Ky., on August 18, 1939, the immediate causes of his death being appendicitis and peritonitis with pneumonia as a contributing cause.

As you know, the United States Public Health Service hospital at Lexington is an institution for the care and treatment of drug addicts. Any individual serving a sentence in a Federal penal institution who is found to be addicted to the use of certain habit-forming drugs is transferred to this institution, where he receives proper care and treatment until cured or until the term of his sentence expires. Such patients may stay beyond the expiration of their respective sentences if they so desire and their condition requires it.

The late Harry Mills was a prisoner-patient of this institution and was apparently being successfully treated for drug addiction when, on September 18, 1937 (23 months before his death), he broke his right leg while assisting in removing dead limbs from a tree on the hospital grounds. The break was a very serious one which exposed the bone and presented extraordinary problems in its treatment. Mr. Mills' sentence expired on October 20, 1938 (13 months after the accident), but as his leg had not at that time healed satisfactorily, he was retained, at his request, as an ex-prisoner-patient. By July 1939, it appeared that Mr. Mills' leg could not be expected to heal satisfactorily and, after careful consideration and consultation with outside specialists, his right leg was amputated below the knee on July 7, 1939. The operation was successful and was healing satisfactorily when, on August 8, 1939, Mr. Mills complained of some pain in the right lower quadrant of his abdomen. The symptoms were those of acute appendicitis, but the patient stated that his appendix had been removed several years before and a scar indicated that he had undergone such an operation. His condition grew steadily and alarmingly worse and he failed to respond to treatment for 48 hours when it was determined to perform an exploratory operation. The operation was performed on August 10, 1939, and a gangrenous appendix was found but was in such condition that it could not be removed. Drains were inserted and the would closed. Mr. Mills appeared to grow better until, on August 16, 1939, he developed pneumonia and passed away at 5:25 p. m. on August 18, 1939.