Military Trial Begins at Fort Bragg, U.S. v. Sgt. Adam Holcomb

Just under 20 civilians filled the pews of Fort Bragg's Courthouse at 11a.m. to view the first of eight court-martial trials for U.S. soldiers accused of hazing a Chinese-American recruit who killed himself in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Adam Holcomb appeared before the judge Tuesday morning in his Army Service Uniform (ASU) as the first of eight servicemembers to go before the military judge inside Fort Bragg's courthouse.

Valerie Holcomb travelled from Youngstown, Ohio to support her son during this trial. She said this past year has been hard on him, not being able to do his normal job and she remains hopeful that the truth will come out this week, and he can get back to serving his country.

Around 17 members of the New York community in support of the Chen family travelled down to North Carolina on Monday arriving just before midnight. After a tiresome day of travel, many of the individuals staying at Pope's Landmark Inn were jolted awake after 1a.m. when a fire alarm went off in their hotel.

Most of the professional supporters that appeared at the courthouse Tuesday morning are members of the New York chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) and hope to bring a message of awareness back to their community.

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