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“Nearly fourteen years.”
Battle flinched and looked over at Jack.
“What rank did you achieve?” DuBose asked Jeff.
“I was an enlisted man. I came out as a sergeant major.”
“Did you serve in Vietnam?” asked DuBose.
“Yes, ma’am, two years total in-country.”
“Were you a Green Beret?”
“Yes. Still consider myself one.”
Even Ambrose looked impressed by this.
“Were you wounded?”
“Twice. Knife to the leg. Bullet to the arm.”
“So two Purple Hearts?” said DuBose.
“Yes.”
“Any other medals?”
“Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, among others.”
“So you were quite brave?”
“I did my job.”
“You’re a hero,” noted DuBose.
“No ma’am,” Jeff said firmly. “The heroes are the men who didn’t make it back home. I was just one lucky SOB.”
DuBose glanced at the jury. The men were all nodding in agreement. “Were you issued weapons like this one in the Army?” she asked Jeff.
“I was.”
“For what purpose?”
“Well, for example, Vietnam’s a jungle, ma’am. And you have to cut your way through it with a machete. I’ve also used bayonets and combat knives. And in hand-to-hand fighting I killed many of the enemy with them. Before they could kill me,” he added.
The jurors were all staring and listening, captivated.
DuBose looked at Ambrose expectantly. “Will you accept this witness as an expert on equipment with which he is intimately familiar? A wounded Green Beret with Silver and Bronze Stars who served his country bravely for nearly fourteen years, and defended it with his own blood?”
Ambrose looked at Battle, who glanced nervously away. Then he stared at the jury who, to a man, were gazing in awe at Jeff Lee. “Mr. Lee is accepted as an expert witness for purposes of the examination of the evidence in question,” he said. “And thank you for your service, young man.”
DuBose handed Jeff Lee the weapon, and when their gazes met, they exchanged a brief smile. “Is this knife the same type that was issued to you while you were in Vietnam?”
“No ma’am, it’s not. Looks nothing like the bayonets we use today, or even the ones used in World War II.”
Battle rose. “I would like the record to reflect that I already pointed out this weapon is old but that the defendant may have had access to it while serving in the Army. Maybe he stole it from an armory or a museum or some such.”
“Duly noted,” said Ambrose.
