CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C., Jan. 5— A defense psychiatrist testified today that Pvt. Robert R. Garwood of the Marine Corps was driven insane by watching the execution of South Vietnamese prisoners, some forced to play Russian roulette, and that that caused him to collaborate with the enemy.
''In my assessment, the result of that was to destroy his free will and independent judgment,'' Dr. Robert Rollins, of Raleigh, N.C., said. ''And from that point on, he was unable to execute any free will, and he did everything they asked him to do.''
Dr. Rollins said the executions came at the end of a series of events that began after Private Garwood was captured while driving a jeep outside Da Nang in 1965, marched through the jungle for several weeks and harassed by Vietnamese civilians before arriving at a jungle camp where South Vietnamese prisoners were held.
Two South Vietnamese soldiers ''were required to play Russian roulette with the idea that the survivor would live,'' Dr. Rollins said. He said other South Vietnamese were ''shot to death with many rounds of automatic weapons fire.''
He said Private Garwood was told by his captors, ''We have complete control over you, and you may be executed at any time.'' Private Garwood's mental condition, Dr. Rollins said, is known to psychiatrists as an ''atypical dissociative reaction'' in which a captive is driven to the point of identifying with his captors.
The private did not see another American for nearly a year after his capture, Dr. Rollins said. 'He Was Powerless Physically'
And I recall another story of a US citizen held for many tears in the middle east who was driven insane by his captors....was chained inside a metal box for several years.
tears = years