Biography
Captain Howard Levy was an Army dermatologist at Fort Jackson, South Carolina who in 1966 refused orders to train Green Beret medics for deployment to Vietnam, arguing that doing so would make him complicit in war crimes and violate medical ethics. He also publicly opposed the war and made statements supporting Black resistance to the draft. Court-martialed in 1967, he was convicted of willful disobedience, promoting disloyalty, and conduct unbecoming an officer. Sentenced to three years at Fort Leavenworth's military prison, he served 26 months before parole. His case, Parker v. Levy, 417 U.S. 733 (1974), reached the Supreme Court on First Amendment grounds; the conviction was ultimately upheld. After release Levy resumed medical practice in New York.
The Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors’ November–December 1968 News Notes lists Howard Levy among its current prisoners at Fort Leavenworth disciplinary barracks. This contemporary roster corroborates actual confinement during the issue’s reporting period. It is a dated custody observation, not an admission, release, transfer date or measure of total time served.
