GI Movement Calendar - April 1969

Combat Refusal and Refusal of Orders
n.d		Reported combat Refusal - 9th Infantry Division		Binh Duc, South Vietnam
Desertion and Unauthorized Absence
n.d.		15 GIs refuse orders to Vietnam		Fort Sill
April 16		Premier of documentary film Deserter U.S.		Stockholm
29		Steve Gilbert goes AWOL after refusing orders to report to Fort Lewis en route to Korea		Fort Knox
GI Press and Movement Organizations
GI Press
n.d.		First issue of As You Were published		Fort Ord
n.d.		First issues of The Gigline published		Fort Bliss
n.d.		First issue of Huachuca Hard Times published		Fort Huachuca
n.d.		First issue of The Looper published		San Francisco
n.d.		First issue of Marine Blues published		San Francisco
n.d.		First issue of Reveille published		Carmel
1		First issue of OM The Servicemen’s Newsletter published		Washington DC
1		First issue of USAF published		Wright Patterson AFB
2		First issue of The GI Organizer published.		Fort Hood
14		First issue of First issue of Dull Brass published.		Fort Sheridan
25		First issue of American Deserters Committee Newsletter		Montreal, Quebec
Movement Organizations
n.d.		GIs for Peace founded		Fort Bliss
16		Ad Hoc Presidio Stockade Committee founded.		London
Protests and Demonstrations
n.d.		GIs United petition for open meeting		Fort Bragg
n.d.		AP dispatch estimates that more than 30,000 GIs (both black and white) were militants and against US involvement in South Vietnam.
1		GIs United file suit asking the Federal Courts to declare “that American soldiers, citizens in uniform, have the same constitutional rights as all other Americans.”		Spartanburg, North Carolina
1		Allen Myers appears on the Frank Ford Show on WPEN to talk about upcoming April 5 GI-civilian demonstration in New York.
4		"Pain the Brass Night,"		Fort Lewis
5-6		Antiwar Basic Training days		Seattle
6		GI/Veteran organized antiwar demonstrations (more than 250,000 civilians join active duty GIs and Vietnam Veterans in a national day of action against the War)		Austin, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Seattle
6		"Free the Presidio 27" demonstration		Los Angeles
6		Stockade rebellion		Fort Riley
7		GI seizes an APC and smashes through SPD fence		Fort Riley
12		GI-civilian antiwar demonstration		Austin
17		Spec/4 Allen Myers, editor of The Ultimate Weapon, petitions to be allowed to distribute the paper openly on base.		Fort Dix
19		Fundraiser for deserters living in Paris
19		Stockade rebellion		Camp Pendelton Brig
21		Editor of Rough Draft applies for permission to legally distribute paper on-base		Fort Eustis
27		"Presidio 27" support rally		Monterey
Harassment and Repression
n.d.		Four GIs restricted to post for possession of The Ally		Fort Carson
n.d.		Sgt. Michael Sanders sent to Vietnam after criticizing war in press interview.
n.d.		GI paper About Face lists 147 RITAs as political prisoners held against their will in US military stockades.
1		After publishing the first issue of OM The Servicemen’s Newsletter Roger Priest is reassigned from the Pentagon, to the United States Naval Section in the District of Columbia		Washington DC
1		Tom Sincavitch, who had resigned from the reserves in opposition to the war, court-martialed on AWOL charge.
10		Military admits that one of the Fort Jackson 9 (Private John Huffman) had been acting on "behalf of the command." Defense lawyers argue their case was severely compromised because he had participated in planning and helped devise their case against the Army.		Fort Jackson
11		Pvt. Michael Koszta, one of founders of GI-CAP, transferred with three hours notice to Fort Irwin.		Fort Lewis
14		Airman First Class David Mays, who spoke at GI - Civilian Demonstration in Los Angeles charged with insubordination		Norton AFB
15		Editor of The Last Harass given early out under less than honorable conditions to “prevent him from carrying on his antimilitary organizing in the reserves.”		Fort Gordon
20		Terry Klug court-martialed on two counts of desertion.		Fort Dix
21		Editor of USAF, Sgt. Rossaire Bisson, ordered not to distribute the paper on-base.		Wright-Patterson AFB
22		court-martials of the Fort Jackson 8 begin.		Fort Jackson
23		Sp/4 Allen Myers acquitted on charge of having put up an antiwar sticker and distributed unauthorized material.		Fort Dix