The GI Movement and the GI Press

It is hard to get a sense of the GI movement, the depth and breadth of its concerns and the scope and size of its membership if one ignores the fact it was a spontaneous and thriving internationalist organization whose development was unwittingly aided and abetted by the brass as they attempted to isolate movement activists, by transferring them to new bases on less than 24 hours notice. In spite of efforts of Congressmen, such as Richard Ichord at the time, and historians and their political allies in the 35 years since the end of the Vietnam war, to claim the GI movement consisted of a few malcontents working at the behest or some communist inspired nefarious organization, who used the GIs and then abandoned them.  In a letter addressed to General Lewis Walt, written in response to an interview he had given to Life Magazine, the editor of Up Front roared:

Sir, With full knowledge of your commendable record and vast experience in military training and theory, I would like to answer your interview, published in the May 23rd edition of Life magazine. In doing so perhaps I can clarify my position and view and hopefully that of others who are involving themselves in the dissent presently taking place within the military ranks and possibly bring about a better understanding into this dilemma. The portions of “The Leaders Code” that were mentioned, I agree, are an integral part of leadership despite its place and source in society. Let me add however, that leadership can only and should only go as far as the individual is willing to be lead within reason and so long as his personal convictions and dictates of his conscience are not infringed upon. Every man is a leader in the sense that he is an entity with the capacity of making decisions and accepting or rejecting those decisions which affect him. Is this not freedom? As soon as he is not allowed to have control of his actions and pursuit of happiness, he can no longer support the organization he is serving.
Should not the military function in a manner which emphasizes human perspective in order for its members to willingly uphold those, freedoms they themselves enjoy and are fully aware of?
Dissent in an undemocratic system composed of people who believe in freedom can only be expected and definitely cannot be wrong.
Must we continue to lead people around without their knowledge of the facts and crush them when they question and dissent if they are not satisfied with the answers? What ever happened to inalienable rights? I agree that dissent and the system cannot work, but isn't it obvious that when serious, honest dissent is made at a large and growing scale that the system needs evaluation and revision?
Apparently the small minority of dissenters is growing and it is evident that the military is beginning to worry about them, (because of the truth which is finally being brought to light) but to make the analogy that “when discipline goes, men die needlessly” is somewhat absurd. It is this very type of thought to which we oppose ourselves. It is the very fact that men die needlessly and are dying unjustly everyday in a war which we have concluded is altogether wrong, which causes our disapproval. Not because we are “misguided kids” without a purpose in life but because the purposes which you have forced on our lives are those of the Great American Dream which has undoubtedly become a nightmare of hunger, poverty, death, war, racism, and total human misunderstanding. Thanks, but you can have it.
You also spoke of military justice in relation to military discipline and like the discipline, the justice which you practice so loosely is not only unconstitutional but medieval. If justice is to sentence a man for 16 years for his “audacity” to exercise free speech and an interest in humanity, after searching and finding truth, and realizing that the oath he took he did so at a young impressionable age without full knowledge of the facts, due to a false sense of nationalism and patriotism, then you can have that too.
Yes, sir, somehow you have let us down, but now that we are becoming aware of what is really happening and the truth behind humanity and brotherhood, and seeing your mistakes, we shall no longer allow you or any military corps the chance to misguide us any more.
For Love, Peace, and Human Understanding

In addressing the question of the movement's evolution, it's scope and size, the staff of the German edition of WE GOT THE brASS, wrote:,/p>

How did the movement start here? well contrary to popular (lifer's) belief, it isn't a commie-inspired movement.
Rather, it was inspired by the lifers themselves. The constant harassment and bullshit lifers subject us to has forced us up against the wall. We intend to reverse roles and put the liters up against the wall. For only then will we gain the rights supposedly guarenteed [sic] us as American citizens.
Just who are “we”? we are G I's. So we know just what lifer harassment is because we experience it everyday. But unlike most GI's, we've decided to take a stand against this needless and repressive harassment. For some time now we've rapped on the problems that we as GI's face. Well now we're tired cf discussing problems because in the end talk is only bullshit. Only through action are problems solved.
We've decided to act and our paper ... is a start. But it's only a start and we need to rapidly move on to more aggressive action. All of us as GI's must decide what kind of action is needed.
I don't feel there is any need for us to go into just why action on our part is needed. If you're a GI then you've been fucked over by some illiterate, cowardly lifer. A lifer is a coward because he'll hide behind his rank every fucking time. Any GI with half a brain knows this. What one of you wouldn't love to take some lifer behind the billets and whip his ass. Well obviously we can't do this (not yet), but by joining together we can bring about changes so that some dullwitted honky lifer can't treat us like a dog anytime his warped shrunken brain so desires.
As anyone who is interested enough to read this paper knows, the GI movement is growing throughout the Army. It is growing here in Europe as well as Stateside and in Vietnam. Frankfurt is no exception.
It is important that we realize that we definitely can bring about changes in the “system,” both military and non-military. The Army is by no means unbeatable. After all, we desperately need to increase the number of participants in the GI movement. All GIs must join together for strength and action. If you're a GI, you need all the help you can get, and brother if you don't know it, then you are no t any smarter than the lifers who are fucking over, you. If you continue to let these lifer-pigs fuck over you then you' re a chump and less than a man. According to the U.S. Army, to be a “man” you must really be a sheep and follow blindly. A real man is able to think for himself as well as defend himself.
Do you wish to be treated like a human being, like a man? Then join the Movement. Are you against the brutal and senseless loss of human lives in a rich man's war, a war which rich, fat cats started but are too cowardly to fight themselves? If you're not a chump and you don't want to suffer for some rich, fat-ass in Washington D.C., if you oppose the Viet Nam War, then join the Movement. If you're a GI, join the Movement and help yourself and your brothers. But do something and don't just bull shit.

The easiest way to illustrate the claims of both writers quoted above, is to simply list the materials preserved by the GI Press Project. In the continental United States, I have found papers that were published active duty servicemen, veterans and their civilian allies in 38 States and the District of Columbia, included Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, all what are now considered to be the reddest of the red states and places I never imagined would have ever been home to a single GI newspapers let alone dozens.
Outside the United States (with the exception of Canada, France and Sweden, where they were published by deserters and draft resisters with the aid of civilian activists) similar coalitions emerged as active duty GIs, aided by local activists and veterans published newspapers in England, Korea, Japan, Okinawa, the Philippines, Thailand, West Germany and West Berlin. Unfortunately I have not been able to find most of the papers produced in the United Kingdom, Japan, Okinawa, the Philippines and South Vietnam. Regrettably, I have not been able to track down the most infamous of the papers published in the United States and abroad, GI Says, which was reported by Liberation News Service as a mimeographed sheet produced by survivors of Hamburger Hill, who posted a $10,000 reward for fragging their commanding officer. If any of the readers of this blog know of these missing materials, please contact me.
Among the organizations represented in the materials already digitized are, to paraphrase Richard Neville’s description of the New Left, the alphabet soup of the GI movement; including the American Deserter’s Committee, American Servicemen’s Union, the Fort Hood United Front, the GI Alliance, the GI-Civilian Alliance for Peace, GIs United, the Movement for a Democratic Military, Resisters Inside the Army, the Union of American Exiles, the United States Servicemen’s Fund and the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Likewise, among the projects and coffeehouses are the Covered Wagon, the Green Machine, the Oleo Strut, the People’s House, the Shelter Half and the UFO Coffeehouse.
Have a great Saturday, later I will be posting a gallery of cartoons published during the month of April as well as articles covering the events listed in the calendars published a few days ago.

Why Vietnam and not Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya

The focus of the blog, since it kicked back up, has correctly been on materials published on this day, or during this month in GI papers between 1967, when the first issue of the Bond appeared and 1975, when Vietnam was finally unified and US involvement in that civil war ended. It would be easy and is indeed tempting, to use this blog as a platform to comment on the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, but I will leave that up to people who write more succinctly and are better informed than me. Likewise, it would be easy and is in fact tempting  to rant about the inequities of the war currently being waged on us by parties at the national and local level and their corporate/religious masters and funders but their are more than enough persons on facebook and sites like DailyKos, the Huffington Post and  Talking Points Memo to fill that vacuum with justified outrage. So I will limit myself to the materials published in the GI press, which will include the reproduction of whole issues, individual articles and cartoons. These materials were published at great risk to those who penned and published them and they sadly have been written out of history. This is an immoral act and an unconscionable lie.

Easter 1969 and How I joined the Gi movement

April 6, 1969. New York City.
I landed at McGuire Air Force Base the day before after a three year stint in Europe curtsey of the U.S. Army. Not being partial tomilitary installations, army towns and being that I'm from New York in the first place, I was on the first bus I could catch from Ft. Dix to The Port Authority in The City.
I was in uniform, as was about 25% of the population of Port Authority, and was easily surprised when walking towards 8th Ave to be graciously approached by anti war students with leaflets, urging me to attend the Easter Anti War March the following day.
On Broadway below my Great Grandma's apartment was a hippie boutique where I could purchase  proper clothing so I would not stand out the next day as a GI. Silly me.
I got downtown early and took a place where I thought I would be able to see the peace march approach and pass. I was happy to be a spectator. Being out of the country three years, this was my first opportunity to observe a anti-war march and rally. I was excited and prepared to see the march pass in front of my vantage point atop a garbage can.
I could see the march approaching, then thunderous sounds of people and music. Colorful banners and signs were visible from blocks away. As the march got closer to my vantage point, I grew more excited to witness this (for me) historic event.
Hundreds of thousands of people were approaching my corner. The sound was incredible. More incredible, was the front ranks of this march. One thousand, yeah, 1,000 mostly men, but women too, with American flags, signs and banners but they were different. These marchers were wearing combat fatigues, dress blues, dress whites, jeans & fatigue jackets and uniforms and patches representing every branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.
I was dumfounded!
I still am. I never did get to see the march pass in front of me. One look at that crew and I was amongst them. I've never looked back and my life has never been the same.

(Hal Muskat, April 6, 2011)

More About the Easter Demonstrastions

I have decided to post two different reports on the Easter 1969 demonstrations. The first one is reproduced from Vol. 2, no. 2, of Veterans Stars and Stripes for Peace. The second is taken from issue 6 of the Ultimate Weapon. However, in using the latter I have decided to reproduce the entire paper so the marches can be placed in the wider context of the GI movement. If anybody would like to get full size reproductions of either paper, please let me know.
Veterans Stars and Stripes for Peace

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Veterans Stars and Stripes for Peace, vol. 2, no. 2, page 1

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The Ultimate Weapon, vol. 1, no. 6

Easter 1969

The Easter weekend, which in 1969 fell almost exactly a year to the day after Martin Luther King was assassinated, saw the first large scale antiwar demonstrations to be organized by active duty GIs. While crowd estimates are always difficult, given the dependence on the police, and city officials [who notoriously undercount progressive demonstrations] for ball park figures, the fact it was reported that at least 100,000 marched in New York City and another 20,000 in San Francisco and Chicago, it is fair to estimate the total number of civilians who marched at close to a quarter of a million.

In celebration of the 42nd anniversary of these events, which I can be certain are not being so celebrated on any other blog, I am reproducing a couple of covers (one from Counterpoint , the other from Task Force as well as a poster announcing the events and a report, signed by a Sp/4, Ft. Lewis, originally published in Counterpointvol. 2, no. 8

Counterpoint, vol. 2, no. 4

Task Force vol. 1, no. 4

Poster announcing Nationwide demonstrations:

Page from Task Force announcing demonstrations

An anonymous Sp4 from Fort Lewis, wrote the following about these nationwide demonstrations:

Report On Anti-War Actions

April 5-6 was a smashing success for the antiwar movement across the country. In New York, 100,000 people marched behind an enthusiastic contingent composed of hundreds of active duty servicemen. In San Francisco a large GI contingent was supported by a march of 20,000. The same numbers turned out in Chicago to support the GIs there. We will have reports on other areas of the country in the next issue.

One of the most gratifying things about the actions fro us in GI-CAP was the number of telegrams we received saying that they had been given inspiration and valuable lessons by the highly successful GICivilian peace march that we held here on Feb. 16.

Since we had held a march so shortly before these international days of protest, we responded to the mobilization call by organizing a conference on the war and GI rights. On the first day, we had testimony on the effects of the war and the army on different parts of the population, and on the country as a whole. Speakers included Aaron Dixon of the Black Panther Party, Sidney Mills, an Indian civil right activist recently released from the Ft. Lewis stockade, Ann Fetter from the Resistance and the ACLU, and Bill Massy of the Young Socialist Alliance. GI's moderated the meeting and made the fund raising speech. The highlight of the day was Terrence Hallinan's moving indictment of the army in the case of the Presidio 27. Hallinan is currently defending 14 of the so-called mutineers, and he told us the background to their cases. He described the filth of the stockade, the vicious punishment of the "black cell," the suicide attempts which the army has scornfully dismissed as "gestures" - and how the army punishes for such attempts - and finally, the murder of Pvt. Bunch. These conditions finally led to a rage and horror which compelled these young men to conduct their peaceful protest. Hallinan declared that his clients should not be given 15 years, or 2 years, or even 6 months, but instead should receive medals for extraordinary heroism. The audience must have agreed, because he was given a standing ovation.

On the second day of the conference, there were workshops on nonviolence, GI organizing and defense, the relation of the war to other American policies, etc. In the afternoon we all met back together again to discuss in a body. There was a discussion of the demands listed elsewhere in the paper, and of the necessity for a public, broad-based, and widespread defense of GI rights. There was general agreement that the GI and civilian movement need each other, but that GI's need to play the primary leadership role in GI organizing while the civilians have to take responsibility for organizing their own large and supportive civilian groups and demonstrations. We plan to continue this discussion at future meetings of GI-CAP.

--Sp/4, Ft. Lewis

Counterpoint, vol. 2, no. 8

GI Movement Calendars

These calendars, and those that will be published over the next 11 months, represent the most detailed timeline of the GI movement available online. A new set for May will be published in the first week of May. This will continue through March 2012. If you find errors with any of the calendars, or know of events that should be included, please let me know, either by leaving a comment, or emailing me at james_lewes@yahoo.com.

Each of the actions and events, listed here has been taken from the GI Movement's published record, which includes more than 370 newspapers, 100 pamphlets and project reports. I hope that by publishing these detailed calendars, to draw attention to the breadth and depth of opposition to the Vietnam war in the United States Armed services, a question that is not just taboo, but a fact that has been deliberately erased from the historical record.

This feat of revisionism is made all the more remarkable by the fact that in spite of these actions largely being ignored by the mainstream press, hundreds of thousands (April 6 1969)to more than a million people (April 24 1971) participated in demonstrations, organized and led by active duty GIs and Vietnam Veterans. It is these people, who are our parents and grandparents, who were never asked and now for what ever reasons do not speak up when conservatives and revisionist historians make the claims that Vietnam Veterans were isolated and shunned by the civilian antiwar movement, that they were spat on and abused and that they were never given the chance to parade. As is shown by the events, listed in the April 1971 calendar, not only is this a lie, but over 2,000 Veterans paraded through Washington DC, with hopes to a lay a wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier (the gates of Arlington Cemetery were locked to keep them out.

They, unlike the paid contractors who have unlimited access to congressmen and their staffs to lobby for the defense industries to keep defense spending artificially high and prolong the wars their children do not die in, found the doors of their congressmen locked as their representatives were not in town for some reason.

Lastly, they attempted to hold a rally on the steps of the Capitol, only to find it blocked to them by a fence over which they had to throw their medals because their congressmen were out of town and so could not receive them back in person.

These men deserved better in 1971, and they do not deserve to be written out of history any more. If these calendars can help draw attention to them as well as generate interest in the slowly decaying newspapers where their exploits are chronicled. I will have achieved my goal.

GI Movement Calendar - April 1967

Combat Refusal and Refusal of Orders
Desertion and Unauthorized Absence
n.d.		Roy Jones, a deserter, offered asylum
April 28		Muhammad Ali refuses military service.
GI Press and Movement Organizations
GI Press
Movement Organizations
Protests and Demonstrations
15		Vietnam Veterans participate in antiwar demonstration.		New York City
Harassment and Repression
1		PFC Howard Petrick advised "there was a definite prospect that he would be court-martialed on the charges of subversion, creating disaffection within the Armed Forces and making "disloyal statements."		Fort Hood
17		ACLU files for a preliminary injunction to prevent the court martial of Capt. Howard B. Levy at Fort Jackson

GI Movement Calendar - April 1968

Combat Refusal and Refusal of Orders
Desertion and Unauthorized Absence
n.d.		Edward. Arnet, Andrew. Callicote, Charles Kennette, Joseph. Knetz, Mark Shapiro and Terry Whitmore travel trough the Soviet Union, en route to Sweden after deserting their iunits in Vietnam. They make public statement to the press, while in Moscow on May 4		Moscow
GI Press and Movement Organizations
GI Press
n.d.		First issue of Where It’s At published		Berlin
Movement Organizations
n.d.		GI Association founded		San Francisco
2		Union of American Exiles founded		Toronto
Protests and Demonstrations
n.d.		Federal Judge orders military to allow Seaman David Crane to resign from the military as a conscientious objector.
3		Pvt. John Welty goes on hunger strike to protest US involvement in Vietnam.		Presidio Stockade
3		Jeffrey Goldin goes on hunger strike in protest. To draw attention to his actions, he contacts the local paper in Marysville, who write a story about his action.		Beale AFB
7		53 GIs sign petition, written by Walte Kos, calling for “day of mourning” for Dr. Martin Luther King		Heilbronn, West Germany
11-12		On-base riot		Fort Campbell
27		GI-civilian antiwar marches.		New York and San Francisco
Harassment and Repression
3		Navy annlounces court-martial of PO/3 Dennis Ciesielski for refusing orders to board ship headed for Vietnam.
3		Jeffrey Goldin arrested for "not going through proper “chain of command” and any statements I make, without going through the “information office”, would result in additional charges carrying a punishment of 3 years for each statement made" after he had contacted his local newspaper to announce he was going on hunger strike to protest the war.		Beale AFB
5		Berlin Brigade “locked down” to protect GIs from antiwar leafletters		West Berlin
6		President Johnson orders 5,000 Federal troops to Chicago, at the request of Lieut. Governor Samuel H. Shapiro who told him they were needed to combat an "insurrection." 4 months later 43 of these same GIs would refuse orders to Chicago to maintain control and order at the 1968 Democratic Convention		Chicago
9		The brass announce they will court martial Pvt. Kenneth Stolte and PFC Daniel Amick for having passed out an anti-war leaflet to their fellow GIs. The charge is '' promoting disaffection among the troops and civilian populace,'' and carries a possible penalty of three years imprisonment		Fort Ord
13		On-base curfew declared in response to two nights of rioting.		Fort Campbell
16		Pvt. Paul Gaedtke given undesirable discharge		Fort Sill
17-18		PO/3 Dennis Ciesiesky court-martialed for refusing to board a Vietnam-bound ship, sentenced to one year at hard labor and given a bad conduct discharge.
18		Cpl. Mary Burns given undesirable discharge.
19		Pvt. Andy Stapp given undesirable discharge		Fort Sill
22		Civilian priest barred from the base for giving antiwar advice to GIs		Fort Knox
23		On-base curfew imposed to halt “scattered acts of rebellion.”		Fort Campbell
23		Jeffrey Goldin given an "undesirable discharge" for statements he made to the press announcing his hunger strike in opposition to the Vietnam War		Beale AFB

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

GI Movement Calendar - April 1970

Combat Refusal and Refusal of Orders
Desertion and Unauthorized Absence
GI Press and Movement Organizations
GI Press
n.d.		First issue of Counterattack published.		Fort Carson
n.d.		First issue ofStar Spangeled Bummer published		Wright Patterson AFB
n.d.		First issues of Up Against the Bulkhead published.		Alameda
Movement Organizations
Protests and Demonstrations
n.d.		More than 1000 sign GIs United petition		Fort Bragg
n.d.		ROTC building damaged by fire		Stanford University
n.d.		Stockade rebellion		Fort Polk
4		GI-civilian antiwar demonstration		Iwakuni MCAS
4-5		Meeting of east coast GI Newspaper editors.		Baltimore
9		Anti-ROTC demonstration turns into riot		Berkeley
11		MDM rally		San Diego
12		GI-civilian antiwar demonstration/love in		Iwakuni MCAS
15		Sick call		Fort Carson, Fort Dix SPD, Fort McClellan
15		Messhall boycotts		Fort Lewis, Fort McLellan
18		GI-civilian antiwar demonstrations		Atlanta, Fairbanks
29		GI-civilian antiwar demonstration		Atlanta
harassment and repression
10		Al Rita, ASU organizer and editor of Potemkin, given honorable discharge four years ahead of schedule.		USS Forestall
14		Navy announces it’s intention to proceed with Roger Priest’s court martial on six counts. Priest faces 39 years in jail if found guilty on all counts.		Washington DC
20		US court upholds the right of the Army’s Military Intelligence to “collect, store and circulate” information on lawful political activities of GIs and civilians.
23		GI organizer of April 4 + 12 antiwar demonstrations at Iwakuni transferred to Camp Pendelton with less than 36 hours notice.		Iwakuni MCAS
23		Joe Miles informed his security clearance had been revoked.		Fort Richardson
23		Roger Priest cleared of all charges except for two counts of promoting disloyalty and disaffection.		Washington DC
27		The US Navy discharges Seaman Roger Priest, for “disloyalty and demoralization” of GIs.		Washington DC
28		Three staff members of UFO coffee house sentenced to six years in prison.		Columbia, South Carolina
28		Headquarters of MDM attacked by ‘Night Riders’		Oceanside
28		GIs-WACs United application to hold a FTA rally in Zinn Park rejected by the city council.		Anniston
29		MDM headquarters attacked by snipers with automatic weapons.		San Diego

GI Movement Calendar - April 1971

Combat Refusal and Refusal of Orders
Desertion and Unauthorized Absence
GI Press and Movement Organizations
GI Press
n.d.		First issue of Confinee Says published.		Camp Pendleton
n.d.		First issue of Whack! published.		Fort McLellan
n.d.		First issue of The Liberty Call published.		San Diego
Movement Organizations
n.d.		Service People for Peace and Justice founded.		Pease AFB
Protests and Demonstrations
11		Protest and all-night vigil , organized by the Navy's Concerned Officers' Movement, as the Navy supercarrier USS Constellation (nicknamed "Connie") set sail from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for a scheduled bombing mission in Southeast Asia. The Connie would become the focus of larger protests during a stop in San Diego, and en route, as crew members became part of the "Save Our Ship" (SOS) antiwar movement and held protests on board ships.		Bremerton
13-14		USSF/FTA Show performs at Haymarket Square coffeehouse.		Fayetteville
14		Members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War stage a mock search and destroy mission at Boston City Hall. 30 men dressed in army fatigues and armed with toy M-16 rifles “attack” a subway exit and take “prisoners” who are also members of their group		Boston
18		John Kerry and Al Hubbard appear on Meet the Press.
19-23		VVAW stage operation Dewey Canyon III, 5 days of demonstrations, street theatre and lobbying Congresss		Washington DC
20		Dewey Canyon III 100's of Vietnam veterans lobby the Congress to end the war. 200 veterans march back to the Arlington Cemetery, which had been locked to keep them out. Officials are forced to back down and give them access. Veterans perform guerilla theater “search and destroy” missions on the steps of the Capitol and in the streets, bringing the war home to thousands of tourists. The US Supreme Court announces that the 1000 veterans camped on the Mall must leave the next day.		Washington DC
21		Dewey Canyon III Vietnam veterans vote to defy the Supreme Court’s eviction notice and continue their encampment in the Mall. The Court backs down and allows them to stay. 50 Vietnam veterans march to the Pentagon to turn themselves in as war criminals. They are not arrested. Other vets continue in what is obviously becoming a fruitless anti war Congressional lobbying effort. Veterans perform guerilla theater in front of the Justice Department and leaflet in the streets with their anti war message.		Washington DC
22		Dewey Canyon III 110 Vietnam veterans are arrested after a large group of them march to the steps of the Supreme Court demanding to know why the Court has not ruled the war “un-constitutional.” Over 1000 veterans make an anti war march around the White House.		Washington DC
23		Dewey Canyon III Nearly 2000 Vietnam veterans end a week long series of anti war actions in the nation’s capital at a ceremony with 800 veterans making short statements and throwing their war medals into a pile labeled “trash” on the steps of the US Capital building.		Washington DC
24		Nearly 1000 active duty GIs lead an anti war protest march of 750,000 through the streets of Washington DC and 250,000 in San Francisco to demand “total and immediate withdrawal from Indochina”.		San Francisco, Washington DC
24		GI-civilian antiwar demonstration		Tuscon
30		Fort McClellan GI’s and WAC’s United organize a large contingent of soldiers to march in solidarity with striking hospital workers		Anniston
Harassment andf Reprerssion
n.d.		Lt. Bob Brown (Concerned Officers Movement) given early out.