The soldier who was found guilty of assaulting and abusing Chinatown native Pvt. Danny Chen before he killed himself will do just 30 days in a military jail — and will remain in the service.

Sgt. Adam Holcomb hugged relatives and wept with relief after a 10-member military jury announced his sentence Tuesday at the Fort Bragg courthouse.

The sentence came one day after the same jury of soldiers and officers found Holcomb guilty of assault and maltreatment for dragging Chen across sharp rocks and calling the 19-year-old Chinese-American soldier “Dragon Lady” before he fatally shot himself last year in Afghanistan.

The jury had found Holcomb not guilty of driving Chen to take his life Oct. 3, striking down the more serious charges of negligent homicide, reckless endangerment and communicating a threat.
Holcomb, 30, will spend 30 days in confinement, forfeit $1,181.55 in pay and have his rank reduced one rung, from sergeant to specialist.

Army prosecutor Maj. Stephen Hernandez argued for a harsher sentence, blasting Holcomb for failing to apologize to Chen’s parents directly. The sergeant wasn’t required to testify, according to military law.
Hernandez also reminded the jury of the rough treatment and hazing that Chen received before his suicide.

“Pvt. Danny Chen was an American soldier,” the prosecutor said. “He was not a Dragon Lady, an ‘egg roll,’ a ‘chink’ or a gook. He was an American soldier.

“If you let it slide, these soldiers will believe it’s okay.”

But several soldiers testified Monday that they would deploy with Holcomb “in a heartbeat” despite the verdict, and Holcomb told jury members he wants to fight again.

Holcomb’s lawyer Capt. Dennis Hernan asked the jury for leniency, calling the soldier an “American hero” for his three combat deployments. Holcomb, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, has a wife and three children.

After the verdict was read, an Asian-American rights advocate blasted his sentence as a slap on the wrist — and not a particularly violent one.

“The reputation of the military is tarnished when it lets a sergeant convicted of racist maltreatment to remain in the Army,” said an emotional Liz OuYang, president of OCA-NY, a Chinatown-based group. “The sentence of 30 days confinement is hardly equal with Danny Chen’s life.”

Holcomb’s mother and brother were overjoyed at the sentence.

“We feel that justice has been done,” the brother, Patrick Holcomb, said. “We’re happy he gets to stay in the military, because he loves to serve.”

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