The GI Movement in Texas, 1965 - 1969
While it would be nice to believe there are absolute truths that can be uncovered by research, which enable the author to overcome his/her biases, this is not the case. My own work, on the GI movement is riddled with ideological biases and constrained by the stereotypes that have shaped my life. Historical scholarship, like journalism can never be objective, resulting in simplistic correlations of actions and events to make them fit the grand theory one subscribes to, which in my case id British Cultural Studies. This does not mean, however, that such scholarship is useless and should be scrapped. So long as the author identifies his/her sources and offers the reader access to them, his/her readers have the opportunity to both challenge and broaden the work in question. I approaching the history of the GI movement in Texas, I have decided set my opinions aside and instead construct two annotated timelines, in which each event is backed up by a primary source.To be honest, in 1994 when I began working on what would eventually morph into the GI Press project, via a dissertation/book and working on the film Sir! No Sir!, I had no idea the GI movement even existed. I wanted to write my dissertation about the underground press, finish it up in a year or two and then go off and focus on the post modern spectacle and the security city. This was not to be the case, and I have been working with the publications produced.
One of the great strengths of David Zeiger’s Sir! No Sir! is its illustration of the fact the GI movement was not a subset of the civilian anti-war movement, which was centered in the large cities on the East and West Coast and the college towns that are scattered across the Midwest. Instead, it emerged on army bases located in or near small towns tied economically, culturally and socially to the US military, in what we think of today as the reddest of states.
While I was familiar with the papers the Fatigue Press and Gigline, I had never thought of them as being published in Texas. Prior to working with David, I had never spent time correlating the publications I was studying with their specific geographic locale. While it is the case that in my book I compare and contrast Columbia [South Carolina] with Swarthmore [Pennsylvania] I use both as ideal types to illustrate my position noted above, that the GI movement was neither inspired by, or a subset of, the civilian antiwar movement. What David’s own history brought clearly into focus, was that army towns like Columbia and Killeen were not ideal types, but thriving communities in which a remarkable thing happened.
The work I did for the documentary Sir! No Sir! informs and shapes this history of the GI movement in Texas. Because David felt it was important to give visitors to the film’s website the opportunity to learn more about the events in the film, I was given the freedom to collect, construct and post the largest repository of primary source material on the GI movement available on the web. Unlike the Virtual Vietnam archive, which has some material on the GI movement, the Sir! No Sir! library and galleries are open and available without restriction.
Drawing on the documents collected for the film Sir! No Sir! and the material collected over the last 14 months for the GI Press Project, I have constructed a two part timeline charting the history of the GI movement in Texas. The first part begins with an antiwar demonstration in El Paso on November 6 1965, when a single GI marched with 13 other people to protest the war and ends with the Veterans Day March in El Paso on November 11, 1969, when a contingent of active duty GIs who were members of GIs For Peace participated in the parade. These two moments, as much as any in the history of the Vietnam-era illustrate the growth of the GI movement and how once it emerged the brass were unable to contain it. Each of the events listed below will be supported with scans of pamphlets and posters and/or reproductions of articles published in the GI Press.
Because I am only using primary sources to construct these histories, there are important events and actions that are missing because the papers they were publicized in are lost or packed away in forgotten corners, attics and storage rooms. This is the case most notably with the Fatigue Press and to a lesser degree with the Gigline and Your Military Left. In the case of the Fatigue Press, with the exception of issue two, there are no physical copies of the first fifteen issues in any known collection. Issues 8 and 10 - 15 are available on microfilm, but when I examined these materials two decades ago, the microfilm was already beginning to flake and the contents in some instances barely legible. Both the Gigline and Your Military Left are in better shape, however, I have been unable to find a single copy, even on microfilm of the first issue of The Gigline or the 6th issue of the first series Your Military Left. If anyone knows of these, please contact me.
In closing, I wish to briefly return to the issue of stereotypes and how they constrict and inform one’s work. Twenty years ago, if I had been told that Texas was one of the primary sites of a class struggle between antiwar GIs and the officers/lifers that ruled their lives. I would not have believed it possible, for two reasons. First, I had no idea there ever been a GI movement and second, I viewed Texas as a hyper-patriotic state whose citizens would have run any antiwar activist out on a rail. Looking back, I was wrong on both counts.
1965
November 6 - Lt. "joined a demonstration in El Paso, Texas, to protest the war in Vietnam. Off-duty and wearing civilian clothes, he carried a placard which 'End Johnson's Fascist aggression in Vietnam' and 'Let's Have a Choice Between Petty, Ignorant Fascists in 1968.' He alone among the 14 demonstrators was arrested and taken to the City Jail. This illegal arrest was made at the request of the military police, to whom Howe was subsequently surrendered" (DO GIs Have Rights, the Case of Lt. Howe," page 2): |
| Do GI's Have Rights, Pages 1 and 2. |
1966
June 30 - Pfc. James Johnson, Pvt. David Samas, and Pvt. Dennis Mora hold press conference to announce their refusal of orders to board a plane at the Oakland Army Terminal, on July 13, for deployment to South Vietnam.
The Fort Hood 3
At the press conference Dennis Mora read the following statement:We are Pfc. James Johnson, Pvt. David Samas, and Pvt. Dennis Mora, three soldiers formerly stationed at Fort Hood, Texas in the same company of the 142 Signal Battalion, 2nd Armored Division. We have received orders to report on the 13 of July at Oakland Army Terminal in California for final processing and shipment to Vietnam.July 7 - Fort Hood 3 arrested on their way to attend a meeting at a Community Church in New York. They are held in custody at Fort Dix for 6 days.
We have decided to take a stand against this war, which we consider immoral, illegal and unjust. We are initiating today, through our attorneys, Stanley Faulkner of New York and Mrs. Selma Samas of Washington, D.C. an action in the courts to enjoin the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Army from sending us to Vietnam. We intend to report as ordered to the Oakland Army Terminal, but under no circumstances will we board ship for Vietnam. We are prepared to face Court Martial if necessary.
We represent in our backgrounds a cross section of the Army and of America. James Johnson is a Negro, David Samas is of Lithuanian and Italian parents, Dennis Mora is a Puerto Rican. We speak as American soldiers.
We have been in the army long enough to know that we are not the only G.l.'s who feel as we do. Large numbers of men in the service either do not understand this war or are against it.
When we entered the army Vietnam was for us only a newspaper box score of G.l.'s and Viet Cong killed or wounded. We were all against it in one way or another, but we were willing to "go along with the program," believing that we would not be sent to Vietnam.
We were told from the very first day of our induction that we were headed for Vietnam. During basic training it was repeated often by sergeants and officers, and soon it became another meaningless threat that was used to make us take our training seriously.
But later on Vietnam became a fact of life when some one you knew wondered how he could break the news to his girl, wife, or family that he was being sent there. After he solved that problem, he had to find a reason that would satisfy him. The reasons were many-"Somebody's got to do it," "When your number's up, your number's up ... The pay is good," and "You've got to stop them someplace" were phrases heard in the barracks and mess hall, and used by soldiers to encourage each other to accept the war as their own. Besides, what could be done about it anyway? Orders are orders.
As we saw more and more of this, the war became the one thing we talked about most and the one point we all agreed upon. No one wanted to go and more than that, there was no reason for anyone to go.
The Viet Cong obviously had the moral and physical support of most of the peasantry who were fighting for their independence. We were told that you couldn't tell them apart-that they looked like any other skinny peasant.
Our man or our men in Saigon has and have always been brutal dictators, since Diem first violated the 1954 Geneva promise of free elections in 1956.
The Buddhist and military revolt in all the major cities proves that the people of the cities also want an end to Ky and U.S. support for him. The Saigon Army has become the advisor to American G.l.'s who have to take over the fighting.
No one used the word "winning" anymore because in Vietnam it has no meaning. Our officers just talk about five and ten more years of war with at least ½ million of our boys thrown into the grinder. We have been told that many times we may face a Vietnamese woman or child and that we will have to kill them. We will never go there-to do that
We know that Negroes and Puerto Ricans are being drafted and end up in the worst of the fighting all out of proportion to their numbers in the population; and we have first hand knowledge that these are the ones who have been deprived of decent education and jobs at home.
The three of us, while stationed together, talked a lot and found we thought alike on one over-riding issue-the war in Vietnam must be stopped. It was all talk and we had no intentions of getting into trouble by making waves at that stage.
Once back in Texas we were told that we were on levy to Vietnam. All we had discussed and thought about now was real. It was time for us to quit talking and decide. Go to Vietnam and ignore the truth or stand and fight for what we know is right.
We have made our decision. We will not be a part of this unjust, immoral, and illegal war. We want no part of a war of extermination. We oppose the criminal waste of American lives and resources. We refuse to go to Vietnam!!
July 13 - Fort Hood 3 refuse orders to board plane for Vietnam at McGuire AFB
September 7-9 -Fort Hood 3 court-martialed and found guilty of violating Article 134 of the UCMJ. Johnson and Mora sentenced to three years at Hard Labor, Johnson to five. (Click here to read transcripts of their court Martial.)
October 24 - Austin Rag publishes '"A Soldier Says 'Humbug'" written unnamed GI at Fort Hood
December - Criminal Investigative Division at Fort Hood stage a series of drug busts (the Austin Rag, no 12: 6-8)
1967
April 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)October 3 - Men of the 398th Light Infantry Brigade at Fort Hood, due for deployment to Vietnam the next morning riot, causing $150,000 in damages.
1968
n.d - First issue of the The Fatigue Press published (Fort Hood).*It is impossible to accurately date when this issue appeared. The first issue to have a date attached to it is number 8, which was published in September 1968. The Historical Society of Wisconsin has a physical copy of the second issue, but it is undated.
Covers of the Fatigue Press (1969)
The Fatigue Press, no. 16 (undated - 1969)
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| The Fatigue Press, no. 17 (undated - 1969) |
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| The Fatigue Press, no. 18 (undated - 1969) |
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| The Fatigue Press - Special Issue 11/23/69 |
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| The Fatigue Press, no. 20 (Christmas - 1969) |
April 6 - GIs ordered to Chicago for riot-control (Fort Hood)
June - The Oleo Strut coffeehouse opens in Killeen.
July 4 - Fort Hood Love-in organized by the staff of the Oleo Strut and the University of Texas Veteran's Committee.
August 23 - Josh Gould (GI Organizer and staff member of the Oleo Strut) and PFC. Bruce F. [Gypsy] Petersen (editor of The Fatigue Press) were busted on trumped up possession charge.
August 23 - 43 GIs refuse orders to deploy to Chicago for the Democratic Convention.
August 24 - the 43 GIs who refused orders to deploy to Chicago are arrested and charged with wilful disobedience of a lawful order.
The following two articles, by Harvey Stone and Thorne Dreyer, were published in Liberation News Service news packet no. 101:
September 7 - Andy Stapp barred from entering the base, where he had tried to interview 6 of the Fort Hood 43.(Fort Hood)
September 10 - PFC. Bruce F. [Gypsy] Petersen charged with two counts of marijuana possession. (Fort Hood)
September 11 - Andy Stapp, Dick Wheaton and Bill Smith arrested on vagrancy charges.(Killeen)
September 21 - five of the Ft Hood 43 found guilty of failure to report for reveille. Four [Pfc. Reginald Thompson, Pvt. Donald Bias, Spec/5 Rudolph Bell, Pfc. Charles Arline] were sentenced to six months confinement, forfeiture of $63 a month and reduction to the lowest rank. One [Pvt. Steve Suswell] was sentenced to three months confinement, forfeiture pf $63 a month for six months and reduction to the lowest rank.(Fort Hood)
September 28 - Two of the Fort hood 43 [Pfc Dwayne Wilcoxson, Sgt. Thomas Dominick] were found guilty of breaking restriction and sentenced to one month at hard labor, forfeiture of two thirds of their pay and reduction in rank. They were found not guilty of failure to obey the order of a superior officer; one [Pvt. Carl Bynum] found guilty of failure to obey an order and sentenced to six months at hard labor, forfeiture of two thirds of their pay for six months and reduction in rank; one [Specialist Alfred Delone] was found not guilty and one [Pfc Leroy Beauchamp] did not appear for his court martial and was listed as AWOL. (Fort Hood)
October 13 - 150 GIs from Fort Hood, Fort Sam Houston, Laredo and Bergstrom Air Force Bases participate in a GI-Civilian teach-in and Solidarity Day Picnic (Austin)
GI Teach-In Texas StyleOctober 25 - Six of the Fort Hood 43 were tried by General court martial The results were: Sgt. Robert Rucker and SP/4 Ernest Bess, acquitted; Pvt. Guy Smith and Pvt. Ernest Fredericks, BCDs (no time); SP/4 Talley Royal, three months w/o confinement, and SP/4 Albert Henry, three months with confinement. They had faced a possible five years at hard labor and a dishonorable discharge. (Fort Hood):
There were at least 15o GIs in the crowd which attended a teach-in-picnic held in Austin, Texas, October 13. The event, which was organized by the Texas Committe to End the war in Vietnam, noted that the presence of soldiers from Ft. Hood, Ft. Sam Houston, Laredo and Bergstrom Air Bases was an important step in building relations between anti-war GIs and civilian supporters is Texas.
The military speakers had several things to say. One GI from Ft. Sam Houston told about a manin his company who had left for Sweden. Eighty other soldiers signed a letter wishing him luck, stating that they supported him.
A recently discharged GI from Ft. Hood who had joined the movement stressed the importance of legal assistance to GIs from the outside. If GIs knew they could get civilian legal counsel when they received courts marital for antiwar activities, he said, many more GIs would voice their feelings against the war and participate in antiwar activities off-base. Also speaking was the Austin director of the Texas Civil Liberties Committe who stated that a Texas Soldier's Legal Defense Committee is being formed to provide legal aid for any soldier in the state.
Later, the Texas & Pacific rock band played for the gathering and Mabel Hillery , of Oleo Strut Coffee House fame, sang with them.
At least one report indicated that an officer from the 3rd Cav., 1st Armored Div. stationed at Ft. Hood attempted to disrupt activities. He allegedly dumped a powder substance nearby, which caused some persons to complain of "tear gas effects." The license numbe of the car was given to police, but no action is known to have been taken against the officer. (The Ally. no. 11)
Fort Hood 43 RevisitedOctober 27 - GI-Civilian antiwar demonstration (Austin)
On the. night of Aug. 23rd over a. hundred black GIs at Fort Hood, Tex., gathered at a main intersection of the Fort to protest being sent on the so called "riot control" duty to Chicago where the Demootatic convention was being held
After an all-night assembly of protest (during which the general of the division (1st Armored) came out to plead with them to disperse) 43 were arrested
Most were given trials by special courts-martial (maximum sentence 6 months). A group of those considered leaders were given general courts-maartial with possible sentences of 5 years.
"No matter what happens tomorrow, remember to let the readers know that our morale was high."These were the words of Tolley Royal the evening before he and five of his black brothers were to face sentencing at a general court-martial which resulted from the brave and defiant refusal of 43 black GIs to take part in riot control duty on August 24.
The six were singled out of the forty-three for harsher punishment because they were said to have played a leading role, although the Brass did not try to prove this at their trials.
The American Serviceman's Union had retained Michael Kennedy of the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee for defense counsel, and the Union requested that a Bond reporter and a member of the Committee for GI Rights accompany them to the trial.
The courts-martial building on October 22 was packed with civilian and GI supporters, including a correspondent from the New York Times and an editor of Life Magazine. The Brass were particularly pissed off at GI supporters. Under the direction of an MP Lieutenant named Baker; a white GI was DRed while attempting to pull his car (seating two other white supporters) into a drive alongside of the building. He was charged with obstructing the road and all three were told to report back to their units. A black GI in civilian clothes who was processing out of the Army that same day was arrested on the steps of the building for failing to salute the flag at retreat. He gave his black brothers a clenched fist as the pigs drove him away. It was returned.
Inside the building the men were being specifically charged with disobeying a legal order to disperse from the area at which they had chosen to protest riot control and their possible shipment to Chicago during the convention. The defense showed that no such order had been given, but on the third day, four of the six were convicted. Sp/4 Albert Henry, who was wounded twice in Viet Nam, told the court, "what is going on at Fort Hood is not right and my conviction won't stop anything."
PFC Guy Smith faced his seventeen puppet judges, of which the lowest rank was an E-6, and said, "I demonstrated against Army policy here and in Viet Nam. There is racism and prejudice here. General Boles said that he would do something about it, but nothing has been done. There are clubs in Killeen (the base town) that black GIs can't go. The black man has been held back because of his color. Your convictions add to the injustice."
Two of the judges, one major and a lieutenant, dozed off during the mitigation. It was apparent, however, with MPs lining the street and armed guards in each doorway of the building, that the Brass were uptight and scared. They a also had reason to fear widespread rage if they imposed the hanging sentences that courts-martials are infamous for. The maximum could have been five years hard labor
On the fourth day of the trial, October 26, Sp/4 Tolley Royal and Sp/4 Albert Henry received 3 months hard labor. Royal's sentence did not include confinement. Henry was confined to the stockade. Ernest Fredrick and PFC Guy Smith were given bad conduct discharges. The remaining two, Sgt. Rucker and PFC Bess, were acquitted earlier in the trial.
No one was looking for any justice at the trial. If there was any justice for the enlisted men, there would have been no trial at all.
Instead there was a triumphant show of solidarity and courage. PFC Smith said as he left the courtroom that he would continue fighting for GI rights after his discharge. The most impressive thing all day came when all of the former defendents including their GI and civilian supporters gathered around the jeep which was taking Albert Henry to the stockade and exchanged words of confidence and support. The GIs promised that they will be waiting for him when he is released.(Fun Travel Adventure, no. 6)
November 6 - PFC. Bruce F. [Gypsy] Petersenfound guilty of two counts of possession of marijuana in a general court martial Sentenced to eight years at hard labor and a dishonorable discharge. (Fort Hood)
December - Fort Hood - Development of a Movement, published in The Ally, no. 12
FORT HOOD, TEXAS: On August 23, 1968, approximately 100 Black GIs came together to discuss the possibility of being assigned to riot control duty in Chicago during the Democratic Convention. The men stayed In the parking lot and the adjoining grassy area throughout the night. At one point, there were more than 160 men present.
From 3 to 6 am, Col. Kulo, the PMO, came out several times, and "instructed" the men that in their interests they should disperse. At 6 am two companies of MPs were ordered to clear the grassy area, and 43 men were placed under arrest. They were taken to the Post Stockade, where they were processed in, then were taken to the Stockade Annex on the other side of the base and told to go in. They refused, stating that they wanted to talk to lawyers; at this point, the MPs were again called on to put them in the building, and a small massacre occurred. One man, suffering from kidney wounds as a result of combat in Vietnam had his wounds reopened by the clubbing he received, and another man had his arm broken by the MPs clubs. Several other minor injuries were incurred before the men were herded into the Annex building.
The official racism In the action of the brass was shown from the first when Lt. Gen. Boles, Commander of the 1st Armored Division, told the men that "...I have nothing against colored people.. there are colored soliders who work in my house...' Col. Carpenter, Ft. Hood PlO officer, told the press, "... Their complaints were typical of the colored race...." This attitude remained throughout the legal proceedings that followed.
On August 27, it was announced that 8 of the men would receive General Courts Martial for willful disobedience of a direct order, and that the other 35 men would receive Special Courts Martial for the same offense; the eight receiving Generals were supposedly the 'leaders' and the 'instigators' of the demonstration. The Special Courts Martial began early in September
The main point for the prosecution was that Col. Kulo, the PMO, had given the men a direct order at 6 am to disperse and return to their units and that this order had been willfully disobeyed by the men. However, by the time the courts martial began, Col. Kulo retired from the Army and moved to Florida, and the brass found it impossible to get him back to testify. The 24 men receiving Specials were tried on evidence testified by two Junior officers in the Provost Marshall's office, who stated that they heard Col. Kulo tell the men that In their best Interests they should disperse, and that In their mind - this constituted a direct order. Only 13 men were convicted by these Special Courts; 11 were acquitted. The men were defended by civilian attorneys provided by the NAACP legal defense fund.
THE TRIAL: The General Courts Martial of the first six men began on October 30, with Michael Kennedy of the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee as defense attorney. The trial lasted 4 days, with Kennedy challenging the legality of the court, the constitutionality of these men receiving General Courts Martial for the same offense that others had received Special Courts Martial, and the arbitrary inclusions of black officers and NCOs as candidates for the Courts Martial hoard. He gave a moving defense summation that brought in the substantive reasons for the demonstration: the questions of raclsm these men had faced, the liberation struggle in America, and a strong attack against a system that places more emphasis on maintenance of good order and discipline" than on real justice.
The results were: Sgt. Robert Rucker and SP/4 Ernest Bess, acquitted; Pvt. Guy Smith and Pvt. Ernest Fredericks, BCDs (no time); SP/4 Talley Royal, 3 months w/o confinement, and SP/4 Albert Henry, 3 months with confinement. They had faced a possible 5 years and a DD.
On October 28, the Army anflounced that the other 12 men then facing General Courts Martial would have the charges changed and would receive Special Courts Martial, where the maximum sentence is 6 months confinement and a BCD. The first six of these 12 to be tried all got the maximum sentence.
Apparently, the brass reversed itself AGAIN. Three more of the 43 received General Courts Martial. During the trial the defense called witnesses who testified that none of the three were anywhere near the area in which the order to disperse was supposedly given. One of the prosecution's witnesses was caught laying. The prosecution could not establish that the order was ever given. Yet all three were found guilty; two drew 9 months each and one drew 8 months.
OTHER HAPPENINGS: The movement it Fort Hood is not confined to the black GIs on base. The white GIs have been getting their shit together, too, with the help of the civilian organizers at the Oleo Strut Coffeehouse in nearby Killeen. In July, a mimeographed underground paper, the "Fatigue Press" was begun, telling it like it is and putting the brass uptight. On September 7, the founder and editor, Bruce Petersen, was arrested by the Killeen Police on a phony marijuana possession charge. (See "Anti-war GI Editor Gets Eight Years.")
In addition to public anti-war work by GIs (picnic, Teach-In, etc.), the men at Ft. Hood have been engaged in active organizing on-base. They distribute copies of the "Fatigue Press," "Vietnam GI," and "The Ally," plus other anti-war literature; this has made the brass very uptight, and several men have been caught with "subversive literature" in their lockers during shakedowns which now occur on a daily basis. In addition, the men have distributed over 3,000 copies of a sticker showing a white hand in the V" with a black fist. The stickers have been put up In every conceivable place, on officers' bumpers, in telephone booths, on tanks, on buildings, etc. This has blown the brass' mind; Ml originally thought the sticker symbolized "white victory over black power." When they found out it meant people, get your shit together!" they got very shook.
OLEO STRUT HARASSED: Civilian organizers In Killeen - an "Army Town" if there ever was one - have also been subject to harassment and attempts at reIrosslon for their activities. On August 23, 5 members of the staff were arrested for marijuana possession. Four were released that day, but Josh Gould, manager of the Strut, was held on $50,000 ball, later reduced. So far though the Boll County Grand Jury has met twice, his case has not been brought before It, and It appears that the authorities are reluctant to bring out the dirty wash in court. Attempts to close the Oleo Strut as a "public nuisance," which were dependent upon the conviction of Gould to establish their "legitimacy," have stopped, and the Strut continues to operate on a wing and a prayer, existing by keeping the various forces of authority and repression off balance so that they cannot work in concert.
1969
n.d. - First issue of The Gigline published. This was most likely in June or July, as the second issue is dated August 1969. Unfortunately as I have not been able to track a copy down, I am not comfortable dating it.January 17 - GIs at Fort Hood are required seek permission of their commanding officer before distributing any printed literature
January 19 - 7 black GIs (Kenneth Calloway, Tyrone Exum, Alton Jones, Chip Maxwell, Robert Meek, Ronald Saunders, Zacchary Scott) distribute pamphlet that said in part: "What happens when, or rather if, a brother comes back from Vietnam? He still has to be bothered by the same old honkie racism. On Christmas leave, a train of GIs stopped in Texas. Some black troops went into a restaurant to eat, but were made to sit in the 'Black Section' or to take the food outside and eat. One brother sat at the 'white' counter for forty-five minutes to an hour and wasn't served. He was wearing the uniform of the U.S. Army, but he was still black." (Fort Sam Houston)
February 2 - Stockade Rebellion (Fort Hood)
February 10 - 56 WACs march on Inspector General's office to protest unwarranted barracks restriction (Fort Sam Houston)
March - On-base riot (Fort Bliss)
March 15 - Ed Hovarth court-martialed for distributing copies of The Ally at Fort Hood without obtaining permission from his commanding officer. He was sentenced to "three months confinement at hard labor ... and 2/3 of ... pay for three months" (Letter to editor from Ed Horvath, printed in The Ally, no. 17)
March 23 - GI-Civilian antiwar picnic (Austin)
April 2 - First issue of The GI Organizer published (Fort Hood)
Covers of The GI Organizer (1969)
The GI Organizer, no. 2 (April 28, 1969)
The GI Organizer, no. 3 (May 26, 1969)
The GI Organizer, no. 4 (July 1, 1969)
The GI Organizer, no. 5 (August 5, 1969)
April 12 - GI-Civilian antiwar demonstration (Austin)
May 28 - Pentagon drafts Guidance on Dissent as a guideline in the handling of "dissenters." The letter gives instructions to commanders on how to handle many facets of dissent ranging from possession and distribution of political materials, Servicemen's Unions, and demonstrations to the publication of "Underground" newspapers.The rules while amended to include neo-nazis and skinheads, still contain the same prohibitions and laguage that was written 42 years ago. For example, the most recent version of them does not address the questions of blogs and social networks, but does instruct commanding officers on how to deal with underground newspapers.
May 31 - Pfc. Robert Bower charged with "unauthorized" distribution of antiwar literature. (Fort Hood)
June 3 - Charges against Pfc. Robert Bower for the "unauthorized" distribution of antiwar literature dismissed. (Fort Hood)
June 8 - Nixon announces first withdrawal of troops from South Vietnam
July - First issue of The Gigline published (Fort Bliss).
While I do not have an exact date for the publication of the first issue, it first appears in the GI Press Service list of GI Papers on July 26. It is not, however, included in the July 10 issue of that paper.
Covers of The Gigline (1969)
The Gigline, no. 2 (August 1969)
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| The Gigline, no. 3 (October 1969) |
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| The Gigline, no. 4 (November 1969) |
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| The Gigline, no. 5 (December 1969) |
Covers of Your Military Left (1969)
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| Your Military Left, no. 1 (July 1, 1969) |
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| Your Military Left, no. 2 (July 16, 1969) |
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| Your Military Left, no. 3 (August 3, 1969) |
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| Your Military Left, no. 4 (September 16, 1969) |
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| Your Military Left, Special issue (September 18, 1969) |
August - GIs For Peace founded (Fort Bliss):
Antiwar GIs stationed at Ft Bliss, Texas, have formed an organization called GIs for Peace. The group is described by its members as a "broadly based coalition of Ft Bliss soldiers who are concerned about social injustice, the Vietnam war and the increasing militarization of American society."August 16 - GIs for Peace granted permission to distribute leaflet on-base.
The stated position of the organization is that it is an "above-board, nonviolent movement." Paul Nevins, a member of the steering committee, describes the philosophy of GIs for Peace: "What we are asking for is our rights. We still believe that American society can be radically transformed for the better through non-violent action. As every soldier knows, America has witnessed too much violence. We desperately need a peaceful alternative."
GIs for Peace is seeking Congressional and federal court intervention to block attempts by the Army to get rid of Pfc. Gene Koffkin, a member of the group's steering committee, by shipping him to Vietnam.
Since last February, the Army has been trying to send Koffkin to Vietnam in spite of the fact that he suffers from narcolepsy (sleep paralysis).
When Senator Alan Cranston of California inquired about the matter, the Ft Bliss Adjutant General promised that Koffkin would be removed from the Vietnam levy and that medical board proceedings would be held to determine his fitness to remain in the service.
Figuring that everything was now swept safely back under the rug, the Ft Bliss brass then ignored their promise to Cranston and on August 9 ordered Koffkin to report to Ft Lewis August 18 for embarkation to Vietnam.
GIs for Peace contacted the American Civil Liberties Union and Cranston, and on August 13 the Army began to retreat a little, by granting Koffkin a five week extension of his reporting date.(GI Press Service, Vol./ 1, no. 7)
August 17 - GIs For Peace Rally (McKelligan Canyon)
September - Staff of Your Military Left transferred after 3 issues. (Fort Sam Houston)
September 11 - Richard Chase refuses to participate in riot control training (Fort Hood)
September 14 - Sp/4 Tom Connell and Pfc. Damon Ruttenberg busted for distributing copies of Your Military Left. (Fort Sam Houston)
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| Report from Special Issue of Your Military Left about the bust of Connell and Ruttenberg |
October - GIs submit petition, signed by 150 GIs, to hold on-0basze antiwar meeting in off-duty hours (Fort Sam Houston)
October 4 - 2 cars carrying 10 GIs, from Fort Hood, to a Houston anti war rally are shot at with M-16 rifle fire.
October 10 - GIs submit request to distribute Bill of Rights (Fort Sam Houston)
October 15 - First National Vietnam Moratorium
War Protest GrowsOctober 15 - Open forum on "Dissent Within the Military" (San Antonio)
The National Vietnam Moratorium Committee has scheduled a nation-wide protest against the war on October 15. Although the committee purposely avoided the term "strike", businessmen, workers, students, teachers, soldiers and concerned citizens have been urged on that day to abstain from "business as usual" and actively work for peace.
The National Vietnam -Moratorium Committee envisions a mass campaign similiar to that employed by Senator McCarthy last year to spur an end to the war. The call of the committee says in part: Ending the war in Vietnam is the most important task facing the American nation. Over the last few years millions of Americans have campaigned, protested, and demonstrated against the 'war. Few now defend the war, yet it continues. Death and destruction are unabated; bombs and fire continue to devastate Vietnam. Billions of dollars are spent on war while urgent domestic problems of this country remain unattended. Moreover, the war has had a corrupting influence on every aspect of American life....
The discredited policies of the past which have brought about this American tragedy have not been changed. We follow the same military advice which has created a futile and bloody conflict while we cling to the same policies which have caused the Paris negotiations to falter. The token displacement of 25,000 troops over a three month period simply is not the substantial change of policy that is so desparately needed.
Thus it is necessary for all those who desire peace to become active again and help bring pressure to bear on the Administration.
We call for a periodic moratorium on "business as usual" .....
If the war continues this fall and there is no firm committment to American withdrawal or a negotiated settlement on October 15, participating members will spend the entire day organizing against the war and working in the community to get others to join us in an enlarged and lengthened moratorium in November. This process will continue until there is American withdrawal or a negotiated settlement."
Anticipated activities include reading the roster of local war dead, teachins, planting "trees of life", canvassing neighborhoods to discussing the war and to distribute anti-Vietnam-war leaflets, citizens meetings and petitions of support for the moratorium.
At the national level, over 500 colleges and universities have endorsed the war protest and pledged to work for peace on October 15. Business groups, professional organizations, and labor unions have likewise expressed support for the moratorium. On Oct 7 over 20 US Senators and Congressmen, led by Senators McGovern, Kennedy and Goodell, intend to introduce a resolution before the Congress indicating support for the war protest and calling for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of American troops fro' Vietnam.
The Nixon Administration has already revealed its apprehension over this scheduled demonstrations. At a press conference on Sept 30, the President expressed his concern lest the American people "bug out" rather than buckle down to prolonged war. The Vietnam Moratorium Committee plans to accelerate demonstrations each month, devoting two days in November, three in December, and so on until "Congress or the Administration promptly ends the war."
Here in El Paso, activities have been scheduled to coincide with the National Moratorium. At the University of Texas at El Paso, student groups and faculty members have endorsed the protest and organized demonstrations against the war. The American Friends Service Committee intends to work in the community at large discussing the war and its social and economic impact.
Fort Bliss GIs For Peace has also formally endorsed the Moratorium and suggested a series of proposals which would effectively protest the war. They include: a boycott of messhalls, telephone calls to local radio and TV stations letters to Congressman Richard White of El Paso and hometown newspapers, cancellation of savings bonds, and a day of silence. In addition to these proposals, GIs are being urged to participate in demonstrations on the UTEP campus and in El Paso proper after normal duty hours .... Paul Nevins....(Gigline, vol. 1, no. 3)
October 22 - Pvt. Walter Volmut busted for openly distributing Your Military Left outside the base chapel. (Fort Sam Houston)
November 7 - GI movement lecture and conference at the Oleo Strut. Participants include Barbara Dane and Howard Levy (Killeen)
November 11 - GIs for Peace march in Veteran's Day Parade (El Paso)
November 13 - GIs For peace organizers, Pfc. Jim Nies, Pfc. Ed Barresi and Pfc. Ron Lund, punitively transferred at a few hours notice. (Fort Bliss)
November 15 - Second National Vietnam Moratorium
November 15 - GI-Civilian antiwar demonstration (Austin)
November 15 - GI-Civilian antiwar demonstration (El Paso) |
| Article originally published in GI Press Service (vol. 1, no. 14: 4-6) |
November 17 - Pfc. Robert Bower informed he would be tried at a special court martial on three charges: violating an Army Regulation by demonstrating in uniform; violating a Fort Hood Regulation against wearing fatigues off post; and being AWOL for three hours (Fort Hood)
November 17 - GIs for Peace vote to continue organizing openly instead of going underground (Fort Bliss)
November 20 - Pfc. Robert Bower, with 20 days remaining until ETS charged with "demonstrating in uniform" at a demonstration that he did not attend. (Killeen)
December - PFC. Bruce F. [Gypsy] Petersen cleared of all charges, dishonorably discharged and freed.
December 20 - Pvt Richard Chase convicted and sentenced to two years hard labor at Leavenworth and Dishonorable Discharge (Fort Hood)
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| Fatigue Press, no. 20: 12 |
