THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

"THE SUICIDE FILES"

SECOND OF FOUR PARTS

David Zucchino staff writer-------------------------------THIER SONS WERE DEAD. PERSONAL EFFECTS WERE MISSING. WHEN FAMILIES TRIED TO TRACK DOWN THE BELONGINGS, THEY CAME TO QUESTION THE MILITARY'S ENTIRE ACCOUNTS OF HOW THE MEN HAD DIED.

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT ALLOWED CPL. JOHN MACCASKILL'S HEART AND LUNGS, HIS LIVER AND INTESTINES TO BE CUT FROM HIS DEAD BODY AND BURIED IN AN UNMARKED GRAVE AFTER HE DIED IN EL SALVADOR, 2,400 MILES FROM THE HOME HE LEFT ON LONG ISLAND TO BECOME A MARINE EMBASSY GUARD.

THE ARMY COULD NOT TELL THE MOTHER OF PVT. SEAN ALLISON WHERE HIS BODY WAS UNTIL THREE DAYS AFTER HE DIED IN GERMANY, THEN SENT HER A LETTER REFERRING TO "YOUR WIFE'S REMAINS."

THE AIR FORCE LOST AIRMAN GAR ROSENLEAF'S BIBLE AND SILVER ROSARY, PLUS THE LIGHTER FROM VIETNAM HIS FATHER HAD GIVEN HIM-THEN SENT HIS MOTHER HIS OTHER BELONGINGS, WHICH HAD BEEN RIFLED AFTER HIS DEATH IN THE NETHERLANDS.

THE NAVY DISCARDED THE CLOTHES THAT ELECTRICIAN'S MATE WILLIAM "TIM" HARRISON WAS WEARING WHEN HE DIED IN TEXAS, THEN MAILED HIS MOTHER SOMEONE ELSE'S CLOTHING. ALONG WITH HARRISON'S BROKEN FURNITURE.

AND THE NAVY LOST MACHINIST'S MATE MARTIN ESSARY'S CLASS RING, WALLET AND RADIO AFTER HE DIED ABOARD A SHIP DOCKED NORFOLK.

FOR DOZENS OF AMERICAN FAMILIES ALREADY IN SHOCK AFTER BEING TOLD THEIR SONS HAD KILLED THEMSELVES, THE MISHANDLING OF THE DEAD MEN'S PERSONAL EFFECTS OR REMAINS ADDED A PAINFUL NEW DIMENSION TO THEIR ORDEAL. THEIR QUEST TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THEIR SONS' BODIES OR BELONGINGS EVENTUALLY LED THEM TO QUESTION THE MILLITARY'S ENTIRE ACCOUNTS OF HOW THE MEN DIED.

"IF THEY CAN'T EVEN HOLD ON TO HIS PERSONAL BELONGINGS, YOU HAVE TO WONDER WHAT KIND OF INVESTIGATION THEY'RE DOING," SAID KATHLEEN KOCH, THE GRANDMOTHER OF AIRMAN ROSENLEAF, WHO THE AIR FORCE SAID HANGED HIMSELF IN OCTOBER 1992.

IN MANY CASES, FAMILIES' DOUBTS WERE TRIGGERED BY SMALL INDIGNITIES: A LOST FAMILY PHOTO, A MISSING DIARY, A WALLET THAT CAME HOME EMPTY. BUT AS THE FAMILIES BEGAN TO ASK QUESTIONS, THEY ENCOUNTERED MORE PUZZLING CIRCUMSTANCES:

CONFLICTING VERSION OF HOW AND WHERE THEIR SONS DIED. THREATENING PHONE CALLS. UNEXPLAINED BRUISES ON THEIR SONS' BODIES. MISSING OR MISHANDLED EVIDENCE. TAINTED CRIME SCENES. BLANKET DENIALS BY THE MILITARY. SERVICEMEN ORDERED NOT TO SPEAK TO SURVIVING FAMILY MEMBERS.

IN ALL, 40 FAMILIES HAVE TOLD THE INQUIRER THAT THE MILITARY HAS GIVEN THEM FALSE OR CONTRADICTORY INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR SONS' DEATHS-ALL RULED SUICIDES OR ACCIDENTALLY SELF-INFLICTED. THE NEWSPAPER'S SEVEN-MONTH REVIEW OF THE CASES HAS FOUND A PATTERN OF CONTRADICTORY OR INCOMPLETE INVESTIGATIONS, RAISING DOUBTS ABOUT THE VALIDITY OF THE MILITARY'S FINDINGS.

FOUR EX-MILITARY INVESTIGATORS WHO REVIEWED 19 OF THE CASES SAID THE INVESTIGATIONS DID NOT FULLY SUPPORT FINDINGS OF SUICIDE OR SELF-INFLICTED DEATHS. THEY CHARACTERIZED MOST PROBES AS PERFUNCTORY AND CONTRARY TO ESTABLISHED INVESTIGATIVE PROCEDURES.

THE FORMER INVESTIGATORS SAID SOME SUSPICIOUS MILITARY DEATHS WERE PREMATURELY RULED SUICIDE BY INVESTIGATORS UNDER PRESSURE TO CLEAR UP CASES. CALLING SUCH DEATHS SUICIDES IS A SWIFT WAY OF RESOLVING THE CASES AND RELIEVES INVESTIGATORS OF THE BURDEN OF FINDING EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT PROSECUTION OF A MURDER CASE, THEY SAID.

AMONG THE 40 CASES, CONTRADICTIONS ABOUND. TRYING TO RECONCILE THEM HAS PITTED THE FAMILIES AGAINST A MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT THEY SAY BLOCKS THEM AT EVERY TURN. MANY SAY THEY HAVE LOST NOT ONLY THEIR CHILDREN BUT THEIR FAITH IN THE VERY MILITARY THEY HAD ENTRUSTED WITH THEIR SONS' SAFETY.

"I'M SORRY, BUT MY PATRIOTISM IS SHOT."-SAID KATHRYN MADDASION, WHO SAY THE ARMY TOLD HER IT EITHER LOST OR DESTROYED SOME OF THE PERSONAL EFFECTS OF HER SON, GUY MADDASION, AFTER HIS DEATH IN 1991. " I COULD TAKE THE AMERICAN FLAG AND BURN IT IN FRONT OF THE FEDERAL BUILDING. I'M SO DISGUSTED."

OFFICIALS OF THE THREE MILITARY INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES SAID INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE 40 DEATHS WERE THOROUGH AND PROFESSIONAL. THEY SAID THEIR AGENCIES WORK WITH FAMILIES TO ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS AND TO ENSURE THAT PERSONAL POSSESSIONS ARE TURNED OVER TO FAMILIES BY OTHER MILITARY DEPARTMENTS.

"OUR GOALS ARE THE SAME AS THE FAMILIES'-TO FIND ANSWERS," SAID CMDR. KEVIN MUKRI, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE NAVAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIVE SERVICE (NCIS) . " AS A PARENT, I SYMPATHIZE WITH THEM. WE REALIZE THAT A DEATH IN THE SERVICE IS A VERY, VERY DIFFICULT THING.....SO TRUST IS PARAMOUNT TO US."

MUKRI SAID FAMILIES OF DEAD SERVICEMEN OFTEN BECOME SUSPICIOUS OF THE MILITARY BECAUSE IT CANNOT, BY LAW, REVEAL DETAILS OF INVESTIGATIONS UNTIL THEY ARE COMPLETED. AND THE LAW ALSO REQUIRES FAMILIES TO FILE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) REQUESTS TO RECEIVE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS, SAID ROBERT J. FINAN 3D ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE NCIS .

ON AVERAGE, MUKRI SAID, IT TAKES AT LEAST SIX MONTHS FOR A FAMILY TO RECEIVE AN NCIS INVESTIGATIVE REPORT.

"WHILE IT SOMETIMES HINDERS FAMILY MEMBERS, NCIS IS BOUND BY THE FOIA LAW REQUIREMENTS," FINAN SAID.

DOZENS OF FAMILIES SAY THE MILITARY HIDES BEHIND THOSE REQUIREMENTS TO DENY THEM ESSENTIAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEATHS OF THEIR LOVED ONES. SOME MAINTAIN THAT THE MILITARY DISREGARDS EVIDENCE THAT THEIR SONS POSSIBLY WERE MURDERED.

MADDASION, FOR INSTANCE, CONTENDS THAT HER SON WAS KILLED SHORTLY AFTER TELLING HER HAD STUMBLED ACROSS ILLEGAL GUN RUNNING AT FORT BRAGG, N.C. SHE SAID HE WENT ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE AND CAME TO STAY WITH HER IN FLORIDA, TELLING HER: "MA, MY LIFE IS IN DANGER. DON'T TELL ANYBODY. THIS IS BIG."

THE ARMY AND LOCAL POLICE SAID MADDASION SHOT HIMSELF IN THE HEAD INSIDE A ROOM WHERE HE WAS LIVING NOT FAR FROM HIS MOTHER'S HOME. THEY SAID NO FOUL PLAY WAS INVOLVED.

MADDASION SAID HER SUSPICIONS WERE HEIGHTENED IN MAY 1992 WHEN SHE SAYS SOMEONE BROKE INTO HER HOME IN ALTA MONTE SPRINGS, FLA. THE ONLY ITEMS STOLEN, SHE SAID WERE HER FILES ON HER SON'S CASE- ALTHOUGH A TV, VCR AND JEWELRY WERE CLEARLY VISIBLE.

MADDASION ALSO SAYS SOLDIERS AT FORT BRAGG TOLD HER THAT HER SON HAD INADVERTENTLY OVERHEARD A GROUP OF SOLDIERS DISCUSSING PLANS TO ILLEGALLY SELL MILITARY WEAPONS.

OTHER FAMILIES SAY THEY BEGAN TO QUESTION THE MILITARY AFTER BEING GIVEN DIFFERENT ACCOUNTS OF HOW OR WHERE THEIR SONS DIED.

MARENICOLA WHITTLES, AN ACCOUNTING CLERK FROM BLOOMFIELD, N.J. , SAID SHE WAS GIVEN THREE VERSIONS OF HOW HER SON DIED AT A NAVY BASE IN 1989. SHE SAID OFFICERS FIRST TOLD HER THAT MARINE CPT. CORNELIUS WHITTLES, 22 SHOT HIMSELF WHILE PLAYING RUSSIAN ROULETTE. LATER, SHE SAID, SHE WAS TOLD HE HAD BEEN CLEANING HIS GUN , AND FINALLY THAT HE HAD BEEN TOYING WITH THE GUN AS HE COMPARED IT WITH ANOTHER SERVICEMAN'S WEAPON.

"I WAS ALWAYS A BELIEVER IN, "IF THE MILITARY SAYS IT, THEN IT'S TRUE." NOT ANYMORE," SAID WHITTLES, WHO MAINTAINS THAT HER SON WAS SHOT BY SOMEONE ELSE.

SOME PARENTS CANNOT AFFORD TO HIRE INVESTIGATORS OR EXPERTS TO UNCOVER EVIDENCE THAT CONTRADICTS MILITARY FINDINGS.

MOST OF THE FAMILIES SAY THEY WAITED MONTHS = AND IN SOME CASES MORE THAN A YEAR- BEFORE OBTAINING INVESTIGATIVE FILES THROUGH FOIA REQUESTS. PORTIONS OF THOSE FILES ARRIVED CENSORED BY THE MILITARY.

IN SOME CASES, THE REPORTS CONTAIN INFORMATION THAT LITERALLY IS UNBELIEVABLE.

A COAST GUARD INVESTIGATIVE REPORT CONCLUDED THAT WILLIAM M. SHORT, 18, A COAST GUARD CREWMAN, HAD HANGED HIMSELF ABOARD A SHIP DOCKED IN CAPE MAY IN FEBRUARY 1992. THE DEATH CERTIFICATE DESCRIBED HIM AS A BLACK MAN. SHORT WAS WHITE.

THE AUTOPSY REPORT SAID THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO SHORT OTHER THAN TO HIS NECK. BUT AT HIS FUNERAL, HIS PARENTS SAID, THEY NOTICED A BRUISE ON HIS FOREHEAD, A CONTUSION ON HIS CHEEK AND SCRAPES ON HIS KNUCKLES.

RICK SHORT, A DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AUDITOR IN LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, AND HIS WIFE, KATHY, SAY THEY NOW HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT THE SUICIDE RULING.

"WHEN I READ ALL THESE REPORTS, IT'S LIKE I'M READING ABOUT SOMEBODY OTHER THAN MY SON," SAID SHORT, AN AIR FORCE VETERAN.

THE COAST GUARD SAYS BILL SHORT, WHO WAS DRUNK WHEN HE DIED, LEFT A SUICIDE NOTE THAT READ: UPON ARRIVAL OF MY DEATH, I (BILL SHORT) WANT YOU TO: CALL (HIS FATHER AND GIRLFRIEND)," FOLLOWED BY THEIR TELEPHONE NUMBERS.

THE SHORTS SAY THEIR SON WROTE THE NOTE MONTHS EARLIER AND CARRIED IT IN CASE OF AN ACCIDENT. IT IS WRITTEN ON A PAMPHLET TITLED "SUICIDE AND HOW TO PREVENT IT," WHICH WAS HANDED OUT AT A SUICIDE-PREVENTION SEMINAR ALL CREWMEN WERE REQUIRED TO ATTEND.

LESS THAN 12 HOURS BEFORE HIS SON DIED, RICK SHORT SAID, HE PHONED HOME TO COMPLETE PLANS FOR HOME LEAVE THE COMING WEEK. SHORT SAID BILL WAS HIS USUAL SELF, COMPLAINING ABOUT AIRLINE TICKET PRICES AND WHAT HE HAD JUST PAID FOR NEW UNDERWEAR.

A COAST GUARD OFFICIAL, LT. JAN PROEHL, SAID: "WE ARE SATISFIED WITH THE INVESTIGATION AND HAVE NO INTENTION OF REOPENING THE CASE."

THE SHORTS SAY THEY PLAN TO EXHUME THEIR SON'S BODY. THEY HAVE HIRED A LAWYER AND ARE CONSIDERING A LAWSUIT.

"OF ALL THE NIGHTMARES I'VE EVER HAD," KATHY SHORT SAID, "I NEVER THOUGHT I'D LIVE THROUGH ONE LIKE THIS."

ANOTHER AUTOPSY REPORT, PREPARED NEARLY 20 YEARS AGO, STILL BAFFLES ESTHER SALEM. IT DESCRIBED HER DEAD SON, SAILOR GARY GLASS, AS 6-FOOT-2, WITH BROWN EYES AND HAIR, SHE SAID. HER SON WAS 5-FOOT-7, WITH BLUE EYES AND BLOND HAIR.

SALEM SAID THE NAVY TOLD HER THAT HER SON DROWNED ACCIDENTALLY NEAR CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, IN 1974. HIS MOTHER CONTENDS THAT GLASS, 18, WAS AN EXPERT SWIMMER WHO WAS BEATEN BY SHIPMATES ANGRY THAT HE HAD TURNED THEM IN FOR DEALING DRUGS.

"IT'S A FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE THAT TEARS YOU APART," SAID SALEM, OF BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, WHO SAID SHE GAVE UP AFTER 11 YEARS OF TRYING TO HAVE THE CAUSE OF DEATH CHANGED.

TWO AUTOPSY REPORTS WERE SENT TO SARA AND MICHAEL MARUSA IN HOMER CITY, PENNSYLVANIA, AFTER THE DEATH OF THEIR SON IN 1989. THE NAVY RULED THAT SEAMAN MICHAEL MARUSA, 20, ACCIDENTALLY FELL FROM THE USS CHARLESTON AND DROWNED WHILE THE SHIP WAS DOCKED IN ROTA, SPAIN.

THE FIRST AUTOPSY REPORT, BY A SPANISH MEDICAL EXAMINER, SAID MARUSA DIED OF HEAD TRAUMA, NOT DROWNING. HIS REPORT NOTED HEMATOMAS ON BOTH SIDES OF MARUSA'S HEAD AND A SKULL FRACTURE, WHICH HE ATTRIBUTED TO BLOWS TO THE HEAD. AN AMERICAN PHYSICIAN'S ASSISTANT WHO ATTENDED THE AUTOPSY AGREED.

A SUBSEQUENT AUTOPSY REPORT, BY TWO AMERICAN PATHOLOGISTS WITH THE ARMED FORCES INSTITUTE OF PATHOLOGY (AFIP), SAID THE CAUSE OF DEATH WAS DROWNING. IT SAID NO HEMATOMAS WERE FOUND, AND IT NOTED THAT A SMALL CRACK IN THE SKULL WAS CAUSED BY THE SPANISH AUTOPSY.

THE NAVY'S INVESTIGATIVE REPORT CONCLUDED THAT THE AFIP AUTOPSY WAS "MORE CREDIBLE," IT REJECTED THE SPANISH AUTOPSY BECAUSE "IT IS INCONSISTENT WITH THE AFIP RESULTS."

THE OFFICIAL NAVY REPORT OF CASUALTY, DATED EIGHT DAYS AFTER MARUSA'S DEATH, COMBINED THE TWO. UNDER "CAUSE AND CIRCUMSTANCES," THE REPORT SAID: "HEAD TRAUMA/DROWNING."

* ARLENE BALL WAS SHOCKED BY SOMETHING SHE READ IN A NAVY INVESTIGATIVE REPORT SHE RECEIVED EIGHT MONTHS AFTER THE DEATH OF HER SON, MARINE PRIVATE JAMES GARDNER, IN OCT 1991.

ALTHOUGH THE REPORT SAID GARDNER SHOT HIMSELF WITH A BROWNING 9MM PISTOL, IT ALSO NOTED THAT THE BLOOD-SPATTERED WEAPON WAS FOUND WITH ITS SAFETY ON.

BALL HIRED A WEAPONS EXPERT TO TEST FIRE A BROWNING 9MM. THE EXPERT CONCLUDED, SHE SAID THAT THE GUNS DESIGN MADE IT VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR GARDNER TO HAVE SOMEHOW KNOCKED THE SAFETY INTO THE ON POSITION AFTER SHOOTING HIMSELF, BALL, OF ENOCH, UTAH, SAID THE NAVY HAS BEEN UNABLE TO EXPLAIN THE DISCREPANCY.

FREDERICK R. MCDANIEL, A FORMER ARMY INVESTIGATOR AND SUPERVISOR WITH THE ARMY'S CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION COMMAND (CID) WHO REVIEWED THE GARDNER CASE, SAID INVESTIGATORS SHOULD HAVE CONSIDERED THE POSSIBILITY THAT GARDNER WAS MURDERED.

"HE KILLED HIMSELF AND PUT THE SAFETY ON? THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE," SAID MCDANIEL, A RETIRED KANSAS CITY POLICE CAPTAIN.

ARLENE BALL SAID SHE HAS NOT RULED OUT THE POSSIBILITY THAT HER SON KILLED HIMSELF. "BUT THE NAVY STILL HASN'T EXPLAINED TO ME HOW OR WHY," SHE SAID.

IN OTHER CASES, IT HAS BEEN SOMETHING THAT WAS INCLUDED AMONG A DEAD SON'S POSSESSIONS THAT TRIGGERED A FAMILY'S SKEPTICISM.

RICHARD CARNEVALE IS STILL PUZZLED BY A LARGE, SMASHED BLACK ONYX RING THE NAVY SENT HIM WITH HIS SON'S BELONGINGS. THE NAVY RULED THAT MARINE CPL. RICHARD CARNEVALE JR., DRUNK AND DESPONDENT OVER A BREAKUP WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND, HANGED HIMSELF WITH A NECKTIE IN HIS ROOM IN NORTH CAROLINA IN 1982.

CARNEVALE, OF CLIFTON HEIGHTS, SAID THE RING WAS NOT HIS SON'S. HE SAID HE SUSPECTS IT BELONGED TO SOMEONE WITH WHOM HIS SON STRUGGLED AS HE WAS BEING CHOKED.

"MY SON LOVED TO FIGHT, ESPECIALLY WHEN HE WAS DRINKING," CARNEVALE SAID. "I THINK HE GAVE SOMEBODY SOME LIP AND THEY KILLED HIM."

SOME EVIDENCE SUGGESTS A STRUGGLE. THE NAVY INVESTIGATIVE REPORT SAID CARNEVALE HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN TWO DRUNKEN FISTFIGHTS HOURS BEFORE HE DIED. IT ALSO NOTES THAT FURNITURE IN CARNEVALE'S ROOM HAD BEEN OVER TURNED AND OTHER ITEMS HAD BEEN DISTURBED.

"THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY QUESTIONS THAT WEREN'T ANSWERED," SAID CARNEVALE'S FORMER GIRLFRIEND, DEBBIE JOHNSTON, WHO SAID THEY HAD RECONCILED BY THE TIME HE DIED.

KAY ALLISON SAYS SHE SPENT THREE FRANTIC DAYS IN JULY BEFORE THE ARMY FINALLY FOUND HER SON'S BODY AND CASKET. IN AN AUGUST LETTER, AN ARMY COLONEL BLAMED BUREAUCRATIC GLITCHES AND SAID: "I CAN ONLY APOLOGIZE FOR THE ANXIETY CAUSED TO YOU."

ALLISON HAS SINCE MADE UP A PHOTO COLLAGE AND MAILED IT TO ARMY OFFICIALS AND HER CONGRESSMEN. IT SHOWS PHOTOS OF HER SON SEAN AT AGES 2 AND 4, AT 19 IN COMBAT FATIGUES --- AND LYING DEAD AT 20 IN A COFFIN WEARING HIS DRESS BLUES.

"PLEASE HELP ME," ALLISON WROTE NEXT TO THE CASKET PHOTO. "THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO REMEMBER MY SON BY NOW."

ALLISON SAYS THE ARMY HAS TOLD HER ONLY THAT SEAN DIED OF "UNKNOWN CAUSES" AT ANSBACH ARMY BASE IN GERMANY AFTER CONSUMING "AN UNKNOWN AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL AND DEPRESSANTS."

"I SENT THEM MY ONLY SON AND HE COMES BACK DEAD," SHE SAID. "AND THEY WON'T TELL ME WHY."

FOR MANY FAMILIES, THERE IS NO CLOSURE. INSTEAD OF GRIEVING OVER THEIR SONS' DEATH AND THEN GETTING ON WITH THEIR LIVES, THE LINGERING QUESTIONS FESTER.

"IT'S A HOLE IN YOUR LIFE YOU NEVER REALLY LEARN TO LIVE AROUND," SAID CASSANDRA ALLEYNE, WHOSE SON PAUL MAMBY DIED IN 1990 WHILE SERVING IN THE NAVY IN BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA.

WITH EACH INCONSISTENCY THEY ENCOUNTER IN THE INFORMATION DOLED OUT BY THE MILITARY, FAMILIES SAY, THEIR PAIN INTENSIFIES.

"IF THEY WOULD JUST TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED I COULD ACCEPT HIS DEATH," ALLEYNE SAID. "BUT THEY DON'T. IT JUST DRAGS ON AND ON."

THE NAVY RULED THAT MAMBY HANGED HIMSELF WITH A ROPE TIED TO A METAL HOOK ON A TELEPHONE POLE IN HIS BACK YARD. IT'S INVESTIGATIVE REPORT SAYS "NO SINGLE PRECIPITATING EVENT" PROMPTED THE SUICIDE. IT CITED A COMBINATION OF JOB STRESSES AND A POST-MORTEM PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION THAT FOUND EVIDENCE OF A "PASSIVE -AGGRESSIVE, OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE" PERSONALITY.

ALLEYNE WONDERS WHETHER HER SON'S DEATH IS RELATED TO PERSISTENT COMPLAINTS HE HAD MADE ABOUT RACIAL HARASSMENT AT HIS BASE. THE REPORT CONCLUDED THAT MAMBY, WHO WAS BLACK, HAD FABRICATED THE COMPLAINTS. THAT CONCLUSION IS BASED LARGELY ON A BRIEF INTERVIEW WITH A SUPERVISOR MAMBY HAD ACCUSED.

THE NAVY REPORT ALSO SEEMED TO DISCOUNT STATEMENTS FROM FRIENDS THAT MAMBY WAS IN GOOD SPIRITS HOURS BEFORE HE DIED. NEITHER DOES IT EXPLAIN HOW MAMBY HANGED HIMSELF WITH HIS FEET TOUCHING THE GROUND.

ALLEYNE SAID SHE BEGAN QUESTIONING THE NAVY'S STORY AFTER SHE NOTICED A LARGE BRUISE ON HER SON'S FOREHEAD AT HIS FUNERAL. THE NAVY REPORT SPECULATES THAT MAMBY'S HEAD BANGED AGAINST THE TELEPHONE POLE AS HIS BODY SWUNG FROM THE ROPE, CAUSING A BRUISE 5 INCHES WIDE.

"IT WAS A BIG BRUISE , A REALLY BAD BRUISE," ALLEYNE SAID. "ISN'T THAT A SIGN OF A STRUGGLE THAT WARRANTS AT LEAST SOME INVESTIGATION?"

ALLEYNE, OF SOUTH COVENTRY, PENNSYLVANIA, SAID SHE WILL NOT STOP PRESSING THE NAVY UNTIL IT REINVESTIGATES HER SON'S DEATH.

"IN THE PRIVACY OF MY HEART," SHE WROTE RECENTLY, "I HAVE BEEN APOLOGIZING TO MY SON FOR MY INABILITY TO DEFEND THIS INJUSTICE AGAINST HIM.."

IN SOME CASES, FAMILIES' SUSPICIONS WERE AROUSED WHEN THEY RECEIVED THEIR SONS' PERSONAL DIARIES WITH PAGES REMOVED.

WILLIAM AND DONNA DIGMAN, A CALIFORNIA COUPLE WHO CONTEND THAT THEIR SON WAS MURDERED, SAID THEY RECEIVED HIS JOURNAL WITH MOST OF THE PAGES CRUDELY CUT OUT. BOTH CIVILIAN AND NAVY INVESTIGATORS RULED THAT MARINE CAPT. JEFFREY DIGMAN, 30, SHOT HIMSELF IN THE HEAD IN JANUARY 1989 WHILE ON HOME LEAVE IN CALIFORNIA.

LUCY GARCIA, DIGMAN'S GIRLFRIEND IN PUERTO RICO, WHERE HE WAS BASED, SAID SHE FOUND THE JOURNAL THERE WHEN A TEAM OF MARINES WAS HELPING HER PACK DIGMAN'S BELONGINGS. SHE SAID IT CONTAINED NAMES, NUMBERS, ADDRESSES AND NOTATIONS.

"I GAVE IT TO ONE OF THE MARINES, AND HE LISTED IT ON THE INVENTORY LIST AND PACKED IT UP," GARCIA SAID.

ALSO MISSING FROM THEIR SON'S POSSESSIONS, THE DIGMANS SAID, WAS A SMALL SAFE JEFFREY HAD KEPT HIDDEN INSIDE A DESK AT THE CALIFORNIA HOUSE WHERE HE DIED. THEY SAID THE DESK DOOR HAD BEEN REMOVED AND THE SAFE TAKEN.

THREE MONTHS BEFORE HE DIED, DONNA DIGMAN SAID, HER SON HAD SHOWN HER PAPERS LOCKED INSIDE THE SAFE ---- DOCUMENTS HE SAID WERE DRUG-TESTING RESULTS FROM HIS JOB AS A MARINE SUBSTANCE -ABUSE CONTROL OFFICER.

"HE SAID HE WAS SAVING THEM TO COVER HIS A--," DONNA DIGMAN SAID.

LATER, THE DIGMANS SAID, THEY LEARNED THAT JEFFREY HAD TOLD FRIENDS THAT SOMEONE HAD BEEN TAMPERING WITH TEST RESULTS TO CHANGE POSITIVE TESTS TO NEGATIVE.

THE DIGMANS SAID THE NAVY HAS NOT EXPLAINED WHAT HAPPENED TO THE JOURNAL ENTRIES. THEY SAID LOCAL AUTHORITIES TOLD THEM THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO THE SAFE.

IN ANOTHER CASE, THE MOTHER OF A SAILOR WHOSE GUNSHOT DEATH IN GUAM IN SEPTEMBER 1991 WAS RULED SELF-INFLICTED BY THE NAVY SAID SEVERAL JOURNALS HER SON KEPT WERE NEVER RETURNED. ROBYN HALL, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, SAID HER SON HAD TOLD HER HE WAS KEEPING JOURNALS ON ALLEGED THEFTS AND CORRUPTION AT HIS NAVY BASE IN GUAM.

" HE TOLD ME HE WAS GOING TO BLOW THE WHISTLE WHEN HE GOT BACK TO THE U.S.," HALL SAID HER SON, NAVY SECURITY OFFICER MICHAEL J. LESLIE, TOLD HER A SUPERVISER HAD INSTRUCTED HIM TO KEEP THE JOURNALS AS PROOF OF WRONG DOING.

LESLIE,25, WAS FOUND SHOT INSIDE HIS SECURITY VEHICLE. ONE OF HIS HANDS WAS HANDCUFFED TO THE STEERING WHEEL.

AFTER HIS DEATH, HALL SAID, SHE RECIEVED ONLY ONE JOURNAL, WITH MOST OF ITS PAGES CUT OUT. SHE SAYS THE NAVY IS COVERING UP THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF HER SON'S DEATH.

"ITS SO DISILLUSIONING." SHE SAID. "I NEVER, EVER THOUGHT THE MILITARY WOULD LIE TO ME.

THIS IS THE UNITED STATES.

SEVERAL FAMILIES SAY THEY BEGAN TO DOUBT THE MILITARY'S INITIAL VERSION OF EVENTS AT THEIR SON'S FUNERALS.

NADINE GILMORE , OF WICHITA, KANSAS SAID SHE DECIDED TO INSPECT HER SON'S BODY AFTER RECIEVING A NOTICE FROM THE NAVY TELLING HER THE REMAINS WERE "NOT SUITABLE FOR VIEWING." SHE SAID THE NAVY HAD TOLD HER THAT HER SON CHRISTOPHER "MIKE " VARRIENTOS, 19, HAD HANGED HIMSELF ABOARD THE USS CAPE COD AFTER IT LEFT HAWAII ON JAN 20---HIS SON'S FIRST BIRTHDAY.

WHEN GILMORE LOOKED INTO HER SON'S CASKET AT THE FUNURAL HOME IN WICHITA, SHE SAID SHE WAS HORRIFIED BY WHAT SHE SAW: A KNOT ON HIS FOREHEAD. ANOTHER ON THE BACK OF HIS NECK. AN ABRASION ON HIS LEFT CHEEK. BRUISES ON HIS CHEST, RIBS AND COLLARBONE.

"HE LOOKED LIKE HE'D BEEN BEATEN UP," GILMORE SAID. "I KNOW IT SOUNDS GHOULISH, BUT WE TOOK ONE LOOK AT HIM AND DECIDED TO TAKE PHOTOS BECAUSE WE DIDN'T BELIEVE ONE WORD OF WHAT THE NAVY WAS TELLING US."

GILMORE SAID SHE WAS ALSO TROUBLED BY WHAT SHE DIDN'T SEE: LIGATURE MARKS AROUND HIS NECK FROM THE LOADING STRAP THE NAVY SAID HE USED TO HANG HIMSELF. THE PHOTOS SHE TOOK DO NOT CLEARLY INDICATE ANY MARKS ON VARIENTOS' NECK.

THE AUTOPSY REPORT PREPARED BY THE MILITARY SAID LIGATURE MARKS WERE PRESENT ON VARRIENTOS' NECK. AND THE NAVY'S INVESTIGATIVE REPORT SAID THE BRUISES ON HIS UPPER BODY WERE CAUSED BY RESUSCITATION ATTEMPTS BY MEDICAL PERSONNEL. THE NAVY HAS NOT EXPLAINED THE OTHER INJURIES, GILMORE SAID.

ON FEB. 13, THE NAVY'S INVESTIGATIVE REPORT CONCLUDED: "THE EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT VARIENTOS COMMITTED THE ACT OF SUICIDE ALONE AND UNASSISTED."

GILMORE INSISTS HER SON DID NOT KILL HIMSELF, SHE SAID HE WAS UPBEAT WHEN SHE SPOKE WITH HIM BY PHONE 16 HOURS BEFORE HE DIED.

FOUR POSTCARDS, ALL POSTMARKED THE DAY VARRIENTOS DIED, WERE RECEIVED BY HIS FAMILY. EACH SEEMS CHEERFUL AND LIGHT-HEARTED.

"HEY, BEAUTIFUL...," HE WROTE HIS WIFE ON A CARD IN WHICH HE DESCRIBED HAWAII. "IT'S BEAUTIFUL, BUT IT WILL NEVER COMPARE TO YOUR BEAUTY... REMEMBER, I'M BEING GOOD."

ON ANOTHER CARD, VARRIENTOS WROTE: 'YOU KNOW I MISS YOU(AND MY TRUCK) BUT I MISS YOU MORE, GOTTA GO. LOVE, MIKE."

NADINE GILMORE SAYS THE YOUNG MAN WHO WROTE THOSE CARDS WAS NOT A MAN PLANNING TO KILL HIMSELF.

"ALL I KNOW IS, I HAVE LOST A SON AND I'M HURTING BADLY," SHE SAID. "AND THE NAVY EITHER LIES TO ME OR REFUSES TO ANSWER MY QUESTIONS."

AFTER THE OCTOBER 1992 DEATH OF HER SON IN NETHERLANDS, KATHLEEN ROSENLEAF BECAME SKEPTICAL OF THE AIR FORCE ACCOUNT THAT HE HAD HANGED HIMSELF AFTER A NIGHT OF DRINKING. SHE SHOWED THE AUTOPSY REPORT AND INVESTIGATIVE FILE TO A PHYSICIAN NEAR HER HOME TOWN OF BUTTE, MONT.

IN AN INTERVIEW, PHYSICIAN MARK ZILKOSKI SAID MARKS ON AIRMAN GAR ROSENLEAF'S SKULL AND ABDOMEN WERE NOT EXPLAINED IN THE MILITARY AUTOPSY. IN ADDITION, ZILKOSKI SAID, HE BELIEVED ROSENLEAF'S HIGH BLOOD-ALCOHOL LEVEL WOULD HAVE LEFT HIM TOO INCAPACITATED TO HANG HIMSELF IN THE MANNER DESCRIBED IN THE AIR FORCE REPORT: WITH A BEDSHEET SUSPENDED FROM ELECTRICAL CONDUIT WIRING.

"I FOUND A LOT OF QUESTIONS THAT WERE'T ANSWERED. OR WEREN'T EVEN ADDRESSED, " ZILKOSKI SAID. "I CAN'T SAY WHETHER IT WAS SUICIDE OR HOMICIDE, BUT IT APPEARS THEY CONCLUDED SUICIDE BEFORE RULING OUT OTHER POSSIBILITIES."

AS FOR ROSENLEAF'S BIBLE, COIN COLLECTION AND OTHER MISSING ITEMS, THE AIR FORCE ACKNWLEDGED IN A LETTER IN MARCH THAT THEY HAD BEEN LOST WHEN HIS POSSESSIONS WERE APPARENTLY RIFLED.

"THE AIR FORCE REGRETS AND APOLOGIZES FOR THE LOSS OF THE PERSONAL EFFECTS," THE LETTER SAID.

IN THE WEEKS AFTER THEIR SON WAS FOUND DEAD ABOARD THE USS WASP DOCKED AT NORFOLK IN JUNE 1990, GLADYS AND VIRGIL ESSARY SAY, CURIOUS THINGS BEGAN HAPPENING:

THEY NOTICED TWO MEN IN A BLUE CAR FOLLOWING THEM AS THEY WENT ABOUT THEIR DAILY AFFAIRS IN RURAL BEEBE, ARK. THEY BEGAN PHONING, WARNING THEM TO STOP ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR SON'S DEATH. THE NAVY HAD TOLD THE ESSARYS THAT THEIR SON, MARTIN ESSARY, 21, HAD HANGED HIMSELF WHILE DRUNK. IT SAID HE WAS DEPRESSED OVER A BREAKUP WITH A GIRLFIREND AND A RECENT CONVICTION FOR HELPING A FRIEND BREAK INTO A CAR.

THE ESSARYS SAY THEIR SON HAD PHONED HIS MOTHER THE DAY HE DIED TO SAY THAT "SOMETHING WAS DOWN" BETWEEN HIM AND ALLEGED DRUG DEALERS ABOARD SHIP. THEY SAY MARTIN TOLD THEM HE HAD FOUND DRUGS HIDDEN IN THE AMPHIBIOUS ASSAULT SHIP'S AIR DUCTS AND HAD FLUSHED THEM DOWN A TOILET.

"HE SAID HE COULDN'T GO THE SHIP CAPTAIN AND TELL HIM, " SAID ESSARY'S MOTHER, GLADYS ESSARY. "HE SAID: 'IF YOU FINK, YOU'RE DEAD...' AND HE SAID IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HIM NOT TO BELIEVE THE NAVY."

THE ESSARYS' DAUGHTER, WHO LIVED IN NORFOLK, SAID SHE BEGAN TRACING MARTIN'S MOVEMENTS ON THE DAY HE DIED, SHORTLY AFTER QUESTIONING A BARTENDER WHO HAD SERVED MARTIN HOURS BEFORE HIS DEATH, SHE SAID, SHE WAS ATTACKED AT HER HOME BY TWO MEN.

THE WOMAN SAID SHE WAS PUNCHED AND SLIGHTLY INJURED. SHE SAID SHE DID NOT REPORT THE ASSAULT TO POLICE. SHE ASKED THAT HER NAME BE WITHHELD FROM THIS ARTICLE BECAUSE SHE FEARS ANOTHER ATTACK.

THE ESSARYS SAY A NAVY DOG TAG WITH A SERIAL NUMBER BUT NO NAME WAS FOUND AT THE SITE WHERE THEIR DAUGHTER WAS ATTACKED. AND A FEW DAYS LATER, THE DAUGHTER SAID, SHE WAS VISITED BY A NAVY OFFICER WHO TOLD HER TO STOP ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT ESSARY'S DEATH.

IN THE FOLLOWING WEEKS, THE FAMILY SAID, THE NAVY TOLD THEM THEY COULD NOT FIND MARTIN'S CLASS RING, WALLET, MILITARY PERSONAL ITEMS.

"THE WHOLE THING JUST DOESN'T ADD UP, " SAID ESSARY'S FATHER, VIRGIL ESSARY. "THEY MADE A PREJUDGMENT THAT IT WAS SUICIDE AND THAT'S THE STORY THEY'RE STICKING WITH ."

THE NAVY'S REPORT SAID THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF DURG DEALING ABOARD THE SHIP OR THAT ESSARY HAD FOUND DRUGS. IT QUOTED GLADYS ESSARY AS SAYING, WHEN TOLD OF HER SON'S APPARENT SUICIDE, THAT SHE WAS NOT SURPRISED BECAUSE MARTIN HAD A LOT OF PROBLEMS.

ESSARY SAID SHE TOLD AGENTS SHE WASN'T SURPRISED MARTIN WAS DEAD BECAUSE OF PROBLEMSHE HAD DESCRIBED WITH ALLEGED DRUG DEALERS.

THE REPORT CITES TWO PIECES OF EVIDENCE THAT POINT TO SUICIDE: AN APPARENT SUICIDE NOTE FOUND NEAR ESSARY'S BODY, AND A LIFE INSURANCE AGENT WHO SAID ESSARY HAD ASKED HIM FOUR DAYS BEFORE HIS DEATH WHETHER HIS POLICY WOULD PAY OUT IN THE EVENT OF SUICIDE.

ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, THE INSURANCE AGENT TOLD ESSARY THAT FULL DEATH BENEFITS COULD NOT BE PAID IN THE EVENT OF A SUICIDE WITHIN TWO YEARS OF TAKING OUT A POLICY. HE SAID ESSARY LAUGHED IN RESPONSE. HE DESCRIBED ESSARY AS SEEMING "VERY SOUND OF MIND" AND A "HAPPY-GO-LUCKY" PERSON.

THE ESSARYS SAY THE HANDWRITING ON THE APPARENT SUICIDE NOTE IS NOT MARTIN'S. THE NAVY REPORT SAID A HANDWRITING ANALYSIS WAS INCONCLUSIVE BECAUSE THE CURSIVE WRITING WAS 'NOT COMPARABLE" TO AVAILABLE SAMPLES OF ESSARY'S PRINTED WRITING.

THE NCIS INTERPRETED THE SCRIBBLED NOTE TO READ: 'MOM, I WON'T SAY I'M SORRY. I CAN'T SAY WHY BUT I DON'T KNOW. JACKET."

THE ESSARYS SAID THEY ARE BAFFLED BY THE WORD JACKET, A TERM THEY SAID THEY NEVER HEARD MARTIN USE. A FORMER MILITARY INVESTIGATOR WHO REVIEWED THE CASE FOR THE INQUIRER SUGGESTED THE WORD ACTUALLY WAS F----IT.

IN MARCH, THE PENTAGON INSPECTOR-GENERAL AGREED TO REVIEW THE ESSARY CASE. THE REVIEW IS STILL IN PROGRESS, ACCORDING TO AN OFFICIAL OF THE AGENCY.

THE REVIEW CAME AFTER THE LATE VINCENT FOSTER, AN ARKANSAS NATIVE WHO WAS DEPUTY COUNSEL TO PRESIDENT CLINTON, REFERRED THE CASE TO THE PENTAGON. THE CASE HAD BEEN PASSED ON TO FOSTER BY CLINTON AFTER AN ARKANSAS REPORTER, SEAN HARRISON, TOLD PRESIDENT-ELECT CLINTON OF THE ESSARYS' COMPLAINTS.

(FOSTER DIED JULY 20 OF A GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE HEAD. AUTHORITIES SAID HE COMMITTED SUICIDE.)

IN THE ESSARY CASE, CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SUICIDE RULING:

THE AUTOPSY REPORT NOTED UNEXPLAINED "MULTIPLE ABRASIONS" ON ESSARY'S LEG.

THE ESSARYS SAY MARTIN RECEIVED A "DEAR JOHN" LETTER FROM A GIRLFIREND FOUR MONTHS BEFORE HE DIED-NOT SHORTLY BEFORE HIS DEATH, AS THE NAVY REPORT INDICATED.

THE SAILOR WHO SAW ESSARY ABOARD SHIP A FEW HOURS BEFORE HE DIED DESCRIBED HIM AS "RELAXED AND JOKIG AROUND." ANOTHER SAILOR SAID ESSARY APPEARED NORMAL WHEN HE SAW HIM SHAVING AT 3:30 A.M., TWO HOURS BEFORE HIS BODY WAS FOUND.

YET ANOTHER SAILOR SAID HE WAS CONVINCED THAT ESSARY HAD NOT KILLED HIMSELF. HE SAID ESSARY HAD "MANY, MANY ENEMIES" ABOARD SHIP.

SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE MARTIN DIED, THE ESSARYS SAID, HE TOLD THEM OVER THE PHONE THAT HE PLANNED TO TAKE OUT A TRUCK LOAN THE NEXT DAY. HE ALSO DISCUSSED PLANS FOR HIS FATHER TO DRIVE TO NORFOLK AND TAKE HIM HOME ON LEAVE IN 12 DAYS, THEY SAID.

EVEN WITH THE INSPECTOR GENERAL'S REVIEW, THE ESSARYS SAY THEY FEAR FOR THEIR DAUGHTER'S SAFETY.

"PEOPLE JUST DON'T REALIZE WHAT THE MILITARY CAN DO TO YOU," GLADYS ESSARY SAID. "THEY CAN REALLY MESS UP YOUR LIFE."

FOR ALL THE ANGUISH THAT FAMILIES OF DEAD SERVICEMEN HAVE ENDURED, NONE HAS BATTLED THE MILITARY FOR AS LONG AS JACK MCCASKILL, A NAVY VETERAN AND RETIRED NEW YORK POLICE OFFICER, AND HIS WIFE, JOANNE. AND NO FAMILY HAS HAD TO CONFRONT SOMETHING SO MACABRE AS THE MUTILATION OF THEIR SON'S BODY.

THE MACCASKILL WERE IN A STATE OF SHOCK ON MAY 26,1988, THE DAY TWO MARINES WALKED INTO JOANNE'S OFFICE ON LONG ISLAND AND SAID THAT HER SON, CPL. JOHN CACCASKILL JR., HAD SHOT HIMSELF. JOANNE REMEMBERS BEING TOLD THAT JOHN WAS IN CRITICAL CONDITION IN EL SALVADOR, WHERE HE SERVED AS A MARINE EMBASSY GUARD.

A CABLE FROM THE U.S. EMBASSY IN EL SALVADOR TO WASHINGTON AS JOHN CLUNG TO LIFE WAS UNEQUIVOCAL: "ATTEMPTED SUICIDE, " IT SAID.

THREE DAYS LATER, JOHN DIED IN A SAN SALVADOR HOSPITAL. HE WAS 21.

FEELING HELPLESS IN THEIR GRIEF, JOANNE AND JACK SAY THEY ACCEPTED WHAT THE NAVY TOLD THEM: JOHN HAD COMMITTED SUICIDE AFTER A NIGHT OF HEAVY DRINKING AT A BAR CALLED THE "M" CLUB.

ASSURED THAT NO FOUL PLAY WAS INVOLVED, THEY SAY, THEY WAIVED AN AUTOPSY AND ASKED THAT THEIR SON'S BODY BE RETURNED HOME RIGHT AWAY. A NAVY INVESTIGATOR CONSIDERED AN AUTOPSY UNNECESSRY BECAUSE IT " WOULD NOT PROVE MUCH, " ACCORDING TO A NAVY INVESTIGATIVE REPORT.

AT THE FUNERAL, THE FAMILY RECALLS, A MARINE BUDDY OF JOHN'S CONFIDED IN THEM. "IT DIDN'T GO DOWN THE WAY THEY SAID," THEY REMEMBER THIM SAYING.

THAT NIGHT, THE ENTIRE MACCASKILL CLAN SAT DOWN AT HOME IN ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. EACH FAMILY MEMBER WROTE A LIST OF QUESTIONS ABOUT JOHN'S DEATH.

"THERE WERE SO MANY QUESTIONS THAT WEREN'T ANSWERED. NOTHING MADE SENSE,' JACK RECALLED.

CONFUSED BY WHAT THE MILITARY HAD TOLD THEM, THEY DECIDED TWO WEEKS LATER TO HAVE THEIR SON'S BODY EXHUMED FOR AN AUTOPSY. THY WANTED ANSWERS. WHAT THEY GOT WAS A GUTTED BODY.

"THEY EVISCERATED HIM- HIS HEART, LUNGS, LIVER, INTESTINES, EVERYTHING." JACK SAID. "WE GOT A SHELL BACK INSTEAD OF OUR SON."

IN A LETTER TO THE FAMILY IN MAY 1990, THE STATE DEPARTMENT SAID THE GUTTING WAS "A NORMAL PROCEDURE.....REQUIRED BY SALVADORAN LAW" AS PART OF THE EMBALMING PROCESS PERFORMED BY A LOCAL MORTUARY. THE PROCEDURE COST THE EMBASSY $2. JOHN'S ORGANS WERE NEVER FOUND.

THE SUBSEQUENT AUTOPSY REVEALED SOMETHING ALMOST AS SHOCKING: THE DAMAGE TO JOHN'S FACE AND MOUTH WAS NOT EXTENSIVE. TO JACK, WHO HAD SEEN HIS SHARE OF GUNSHOT VICTIMS IN 22 YEARS AS A POLICEMAN, HIS SON'S FACE WAS NOT THAT OF A MAN WHO HAD BEEN SHOT INSIDE THE MOUTH WITH A .357 MAGNUM.

" THE BLAST AND THE FLAME AND THE GASES SHOULD HAVE BLOWN OUT HIS TEETH, HIS NOSTRILS, HIS EYES, RIPPED OUT HIS CHEEKS, " MACCASKILL SAID, "HIS TEETH WEREN'T EVEN BROKEN. JOHN LOOKED LIKE HE WENT TO SLEEP."

JACK AND JOANNE MACCASKILL DECIDED TO INVESTIGATE JOHN'S DEATH THEMSELVES. THEY EMBARKED ON A FIVE-YEAR CRUSADE THAT WOULD COST THEM $30,000, PRODUCE TWO EXHUMATIONS, AND PIT THEM AGAINST THE MILITARY AND THE STATE DEPARTMENT.

THEY LEARNED FROM THE NAVY'S INVESTIGATIVE REPORT THAT THERE WAS ONLY ONE WITNESS TO THE SHOOTING. A SALVADORAN WOMAN, QUOTED IN SPANISH IN A LOCAL POLICE REPORT, SAID SHE SAW AN AMERICAN PUT A GUN TO HIS MOUTH. IT IS NOT CLEAR FROM HER STATEMENT WHETHER SHE SAW- OR ONLY HEARD- THE SHOT.

THE NAVY REPORT SAID JOHN WAS DRUNK AND KILLED HIMSELF DURING AN ALCOHOL-INDUCED BOUT OF DEPRESSION. NO BLOOD-ALCOHOL TEST WAS PERFORMED TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH HE HAD CONSUMED.

THE NAVY REPORT CONTAINS CONTRADICTORY STATEMENT'S BY WITNESSES, MANY OF WHOM WERE DRINKING AT THE TIME JOHN DIED.

THE REPORT DOES NOT ADDRESS THE CONTRADICTIONS. A NAVY INVESTIGATOR LATER WAS QUOTED IN A REPORT AS SAYING HE DID NOT WANT TO "BADGER" WITNESSES.

"IT WAS LABELED A SUICIDE FROM THE GET-GO", JACK MACCASKILL SAID, "SO EVEN IN THE FACE OF EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY, THEY'BE HAD TO COVER THEIR A----S AND STICK TO THEIR STORY."

THE REPORT CONTAINS CONFLICTING TESTIMONY ABOUT TWO .357 MAGNUM REVOLVERS BROUGHT INT THE BAR-ONE BY MACCASKILL AND THE OTHER BY A FELLOW MARINE GUARD WHO WAS DRINKING WITH HIM AND TWO WOMEN. THE NAVY SAYS THE MARINE LOST HIS .357 MAGNUM THAT NIGHT.

SOME EXPERTS HIRED BY THE MACCASKILLS HAVE EXPRESSED DOUBTS ABOUT THE NAVY'S CONCLUSIONS. BUT ONE SAYS EVIDENCE POINTS TO SELF-INFLICTED WOUND.

THE EXPERTS REVIEWED AUTOPSY REPORTS PHOTOS, EXHIBITS AND X-RAYS, ALONG WITH NAVY INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS.

A REPORT BY LESLIE LUKASH, CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER IN NASSAU COUNTY, N.Y., SAID HE FOUND "NO EVIDENCE OF POWDER RESIDUE ON THE FACE, NOSE, MOUTH" OF MACCASKILL TO INDICATE THAT A GUN WAS FIRED IN HIS MOUTH. HE CONCLUDED THAT THE WEAPON HAD BEEN FIRED AT LEAST 15 INCHES FROM JOHN'S FACE.

RICHARD J. JANELLI, A FIREARMS EXPERT ALBERTSON, N.Y., WROTE IN A REPORT: "IT IS 100 PERCENT SURE THAT THE QUESTIONED FIREARM WAS NOT HELD INSIDE THE MOUTH."

JOSEPH H. DAVIS, CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER FOR DADE COUNTY, FLA., WROTE THAT HE COULD NOT DETERMINE HOW JOHN DIED, LARGELY BECAUSE "THIS IS A POORLY AND INADEQUATELY INVESTIGATED CASE."

DAVIS ADDED: "THERE IS NO NEED FOR FEDERAL GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT A TARNISHED IMAGE. IT IS TOO LATE FOR THEM TO BE FREE OF CRITICISM."

EDWIN J. SANOW, A BALLISTICS SPECIALIST IN INDIANA, WROTE IN A REPORT: "THE WEIGHT OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE TAKEN ALL TOGETHER STRONGLY REFUTES ANY POSSIBLE SCENARIO FOR SUICIDE. NO DOUBTS AT ALL EXITS."

ARMAND GAUDIOSI, A PATHOLOGIST'S ASSISTANT WHO EXAMINED MACCASKILL'S BODY, SAID THE DEATH WAS MORE LIKELY AN ACCIDENT OR HOMICIDE.

"IN 32 YEARS OF DOING AUTOPSIES, AND SEEING MAYBE A THOUSAND DIFFERENT SUICIDES WITH GUNSHOT WOUNDS. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ON LIKE THIS," HE SAID IN A STATEMENT.

HALBERT E. FILLINGER, AN ARSENIC PATHOLOGIST IN HESHAM, SAID HE FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF POWDER RESIDUE OR SCARING AFTER REVIEWING THE ORIGINAL AUTOPSY REPORT. "THE POSSIBILTY OF A SOMEWHAT MORE DISTAN GUNSHOT WOUND MUST BE ENTERAINED," WROTE IN 1988.

BUT DURING A 1990 AUTOPSY FILLINGER SAID LAST WEEK, FOUND GUNPOWDER GRANULES EMBEDDED IN JOHNS TONGUE. THAT MEANT THE GUN BAR WAS IN THE MOUTH, HE SAID-EVIDENCE THAT JOHN PROBABLY SHOT HIMSELF.

EVIN SO, FILLINGER SAID, HE BELIEVED THAT MACCASKILLS WERE "ABUSED" BY THE NAVY AND BY THE "DISTINCT ABSENCE OF A COMPETENT, HIGH QUALITY INVESTIGATION.

THE MACCASKILLS SAY THEY STILL ARE NOT CONVINCED THAT JOHN COMMITTED SUICIDE BECAUSE SO MANY QUESTIONS REMAIN UNANSWERED.

"THESE ARE COMMON-SENSE QUESTIONS BEFORE ASKED BY ORDINARY PEOPLE," JACK MACCASKILL SAID.

A STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN IN WASHINGTON DECLINED TO COMMENT ON THE CASE.

IN 1990, THE MACCASKILL SAID, THE NAVY CHANGED THE MANNER OF MACCASKILL'S DEATH FROM "SUICIDE" TO "SELF-INFLICTED". BUT IT DID NOT ALTER ITS ORIGINAL RULING THAT JOHN FIRED THE GUN THAT KILLED HIM.

THE PENTAGON'S INSPECTOR GENERAL AGREED LAST SUMMER TO REVIEW THE CASE, WITH A REPORT EXPECTED EARLY NEXT YEAR. THE MACCASKILLS SAY THEY ARE SKEPTICAL.

"WE'VE BEEN LIED TO FOR FIVE YEARS," JOANNE MACCASKILL SAID. " THE BEST WE CAN HOPE FOR THAT WE'VE MADE THEM MORE ACCOUNTABLE FOR OTHER FAMILIES IN OUR SITUATION."

AFTER TWO EXHUMATIONS, JOHN'S REMAINS WERE BURIED IN A CEMETERY IN WESTBURY, N.Y. NOT FAR FROM THE HOME WHERE HE WAS RAISED. JOANNE AND JACK REMEMBER HIM AS A YOUNG MAN MADLY IN LOVE WITH THE MARINE CORP SMITTEN BY ITS IDEALS OF SERVICE AND HONOR.

JOHN DIED WITH THE MARINE CORPS EMLEM TATTOOED ON HIS RIGHT ARM. BENEATH IT WERE THE WORDS SEMPER FIDELIS AND MOM.

TEN DAYS BEFORE THE FATAL SHOT WAS FIRED AT THE "M" CLUB, JACK HAD MAILED HIS SON AN AMERICAN FLAG THAT ONCE BELONGED TO JOHNS GRANDFATHER. JOHN WAS MAKING PLANS TO FLY OVER THE U.S. EMBASSY ON MEMORIAL DAY, ONE DAY AFTER HE DIED.