Soviet Truck Rams U.S. Vehicle in E. Germany

WASHINGTON —  A Soviet army truck rammed a U.S. vehicle carrying three members of the American liaison mission to East Germany, injuring a U.S. officer in the second U.S.-Soviet incident there in four months, the Pentagon said today.

The United States “views the matter very seriously” and has protested to Soviet military officials over the weekend incident, Pentagon spokesman Fred Hoffman said.

Col. Roland Lajoie, who heads the mission, was injured slightly in the accident when he was thrown against the front seat and suffered fractures in the lower part of his eye socket, Hoffman said.

The driver of the Land Rover jeep-like vehicle was Staff Sgt. Jesse Schatz, the same soldier who drove the car in which Maj. Arthur Nicholson was riding before he was shot to death by a Soviet sentry in East Germany in March.

On Public Highway

The other American in the truck was identified only as Maj. Lyons.

Hoffman said that the incident occurred on a public highway near Satzkorn, East Germany, northeast of Berlin, shortly after midnight Saturday and that the U.S. vehicle was nowhere near any permanent or restricted Soviet military facility.

“Let me underscore at the outset that we view this matter very seriously,” Hoffman said.

“The intent of the Soviets who were involved in the incident is unknown. But regardless of whether it was an accident or a deliberate act, it accentuates once again the problem that we have faced in recent times, the difficulties that our perfectly legitimate liaison teams have been experiencing in operating in East Germany.

Americans ‘Doing Their Work’

“The U.S. military authorities have made a protest to the Soviets, and the Soviets have said they will look into it. But it is very puzzling to us that our vehicle could not have been recognized for what it was and given the appropriate berth of space (on the highway).”

Hoffman said the three Americans were “doing their work,” observing a Soviet military unit returning to its garrison.

A 5 1/2-ton Soviet truck with at least two Soviets inside pulled up behind the U.S. vehicle and flashed its high-beam lights. The Americans then accelerated and after traveling farther down the highway moved to pull off the road.

“As they were pulling off the road to turn around, the Soviet vehicle rammed the U.S. vehicle from the rear,” Hoffman said.

Quick Return to Potsdam

The spokesman said he was unsure whether there was any confrontation between the Americans and Soviets after the incident. The Americans quickly returned to their mission offices in Potsdam, he said.

Noting that Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger had still not received any reply to his demand for an apology and compensation for Maj. Nicholson’s death, Hoffman added that the secretary is “very disturbed” by the latest incident.