Marcus Aurelius Arnheiter (born November 8, 1925, died August 18, 2009 in Novato, CA), was a retired U. S. Navy officer, known for being relieved of command of the USS Vance (DE-387)

USS Vance (DE-387)

USS Vance was an Edsall class destroyer escort, named after Joseph Williams Vance, Jr.-History:Vance was laid down on 30 April 1943 at Houston, Tex., by the Brown Shipbuilding Co.; launched on 16 July 1943; sponsored by Mrs. Joseph W. Vance, mother of the late Lt. Vance; and commissioned on 1...

 after only 99 days.

Early life and education

Arnheiter was born to Theodore and Dorothy B. Arnheiter. He has a twin brother, Theodore Jr. (d. 2005), and a sister, Dorothy. Raised in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, he was graduated from the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 in 1952 and obtained his Masters degree from Georgetown.

USS Vance (DER 387)

Taking command of the Vance on 22 December just before Christmas 1965, he found a ship that was, in his opinion, unready for war off the coast of North Vietnam. He instituted measures to get the ship cleaned up (he stated that he had found it "crawling with cockroaches"), to get the crew trained, and to institute activities that he thought would get the crew motivated.

Unfortunately, he also had more than his share of personality quirks that led members of the crew to keep a "Mad Marcus Log". The complaints listed in the Mad Marcus Log came to the attention of higher headquarters staff, possibly through
the chaplain corps. Three months after he assumed command, HQ ordered the Vance to Manila for refitting and Arnheiter was summarily relieved. In an attempt to clear his name, LCDR Arnheiter sought a court martial from the navy, but the navy never took any additional action against Arnheiter. Arnheiter swore out formal charges against the Navy Department and was not so much as reprimanded for charging that two- and three-star admirals his senior had themselves been guilty of gross violations of the UCMJ regarding his case. Arnheiter said that either way he should be the subject of a court martial - for his alleged actions on the Vance or for his related charges against selected superior officers. The Navy competely ignored his requests. Arnheiter went as far as to participate in formal Congressional hearings on the matter, and still the Navy ignored his loud and very public demand for redress in any official capacity. On repeated appeal, his case was repeatedly dismissed.

One the duties of the Vance was to search small coastal traffic (junks) for contraband, specifically weapons to be used by the Viet Cong in South Vietnam

South Vietnam

South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...

. Since the Vances motor whaleboat was lacking in speed, Arnheiter had a fast speedboat purchased for that purpose; however, he used special services (welfare & recreation) money—a misappropriation of funds. Arnheiter also had the navigation personnel falsify the logs when he ordered the Vance closer to the coast than his orders allowed.

Eventually word of these activities (and other allegations) reached higher command by way of a chaplain to whom sailors in the crew confided, and Arnheiter was relieved on 31 March 1966 when the Vance was refitting at Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

.

According to the Time magazine article: "We all have a little of the Captain Queeg

Captain Queeg

Lieutenant Commander Philip Francis Queeg, USN, is a fictional character in Herman Wouk's 1951 novel The Caine Mutiny. He is also a character in the identically titled 1954 film adaptation of the novel and in The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, the Broadway theatre adaptation of the novel that opened...

 in us," admitted one officer. "But Arnheiter had more than his share."

Suppressed book

Journalist Neil Sheehan

Neil Sheehan

Cornelius Mahoney "Neil" Sheehan is an American journalist. As a reporter for The New York Times in 1971, Sheehan obtained the classified Pentagon Papers from Daniel Ellsberg. His series in the Times revealed a secret U.S. Department of Defense history of the Vietnam War and resulted in government...

 authored a book titled The Arnheiter Affair in 1971, including a little known indicium that Arnheiter, prior to his enrollment in the Naval Academy, had briefly been enrolled in the United States Military Academy

United States Military Academy

The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...

 at West Point, New York

West Point, New York

West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...

. The Arnheiter Affair was well-received. Litigation, however, brought by Arnheiter for libel and slander caused the book to be removed from print.