Koster v. United States

General Koster (plaintiff) was a commander in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Koster had a long and distinguished military career and also served in various capacities during World War II and the Korean War. On March 16, 1968, a company of United States troops terrorized and murdered a large group of unarmed Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai hamlet of Vietnam. Although not directly involved in the incident, Koster subsequently became aware of several irregularities regarding the number of deaths and circumstances surrounding the incident that should have prompted him to inquire about the irregularities. In March 1970, court-marital charges were brought against Koster for failure to obey orders and dereliction of duty. The charges were later dismissed, but Koster received a number of administrative sanctions for failing to properly investigate the My Lai incident. Specifically, Koster’s status as temporary major general was vacated, he received a letter of censure, and his Distinguished Service Medal was withdrawn. As a result of these sanctions, Koster alleged that he lost the opportunity for permanent grade change and the retirement benefits that come with the higher grade. Koster appealed the administrative sanctions as well as a claim for improper retirement grade to the secretary of the army. The secretary upheld the sanctions as well as the retirement grade determination. Koster then appealed to the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (the ABCMR). While that appeal was pending, Koster sought review in the court of claims. The ABCMR subsequently upheld the sanctions as well as the denial of the retirement grade classification.