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Armed Farces Day

By VVAW

EAST

The common denominator at all the demonstrations in the East was rain: it put a crimp in attendance and in plans: all of the demonstrations had originally been scheduled for out doors. Despite the downpour, attendance both from civilians and GI's were good.

Devens: A Non-Bust

At Fort Devens, the rain led to the scrapping of plans for a series of different kinds of actions spread over four days. Two days of demonstrations were held, with about 300 GI's and civilians participating. The original plan, to march through towns in the area, had to be abandoned, but some marches and rallies were held where speakers including active-duty GI's, VVAW, Dick Brown, (representing Canadian exiles), a South Vietnamese student, Prof. Howard Zinn, Pat Litchfield (a Gold Star Mother and member of Another Mother for Peace), Noam Chomsky, and Howard Levy. The base remained open with its scheduled Armed Farces Day activities and many demonstrators wen on base to agitate and rap with more GI's. Thirty people were busted, including 15 VVAW members. They were held on base and interrogated for several hours, then released with either charges or bar letters. One active duty GI who have been active with the project was informed, when he returned to base; that he had an administrative discharge waiting.

MIDWEST

In the Midwest, several bases saw their first Armed Farces Day actions (including Offutt AFB, world headquarters for the Strategic Air Command, though we do not have details of that action at this time), and the largest demonstration in the country confronted Great Lakes Naval Training Center for the third year in a row.

Great Lakes: A Huge Crowd

About 2500 active duty GI's and civilians held a march and rally/picnic near Great Lakes on May 20. The action was sponsored by Great Lakes MDM, NAS Glen view's THE OTHER HALF, CAMP, VVAW, and RISING UP ANGRY. It was the largest demonstration ever held at a base in the Midwest. A month of intensive agitation, leafleting, and speaking brought people from all over Illinois and Wisconsin, as well as a contingent from St. Louis. Milwaukee VVAW led a caravan down Interstate 94, picking up supporters along the way; and buses brought in people from RISING UP ANGRY, Vets for Peace, the Chicago Peace Council, Women for Peace, and the Young Patriots Organization in Chicago. By far the most important contingent were the 400 sailors and Marines from Glen view NAS and Great Lakes who led the march around the base behind MDM banners. Many other sailors came to the rally that followed the march. The mile long hike around the base was greeted with a generally friendly reception except for a few cop and lifer hecklers hare and there. Gathering back in Foss Park for the rally, the crowd heard Rick Scott, a sailor from MDM; Joe Petzel of VVAW; Steve Tappis of RISING UP ANGRY; and a brother from the Illinois Black Panther Party. The rest of the afternoon was devoted to rock band music, rapping, and guerrilla theatre.

Pease/Portsmouth: Support for Prisoners

Given the rains, the brothers and sisters of Service People for Peace and Justice felt that the crowd of 300 people at their action was a pleasantly large one. They held a rally across the street from Portsmouth Naval Prison and then marched through the town of Portsmouth, stopping at the Federal Building for a People's Trial of Nixon and Westmore land. They were both found guilty, and the people playing Nixon and Westy were placed in the stocks and set on fire. Speakers were all local people including active-duty GI's and vets. The two main themes of the rally were support for the many prisoners at Portsmouth and support for the local peoples' food co-op which is engaged in very difficult struggle right now. After the rally GI's went to the new GI Center in Portsmouth to see the VVAW film, "Only the Beginning", and watch NARMIC slide show.

Wright-Patt: Confrontation at the Gate

The prisoners of Wright-Patt did not get the large turnout they expected, for a variety of reasons: among them repression on the base. All leaves were canceled and 500 airmen were put on riot duty. There was also a heavy security plan put into effect. Because they had not gotten a permit for their march, the 350 demonstrators marched on the sidewalk and chanted all the way. The majority of them were Nam vets. When they got to the base gates, about 50 DVAW people and two speakers, former POW George Smith and Michigan VVAW coordinator Bill Marshall, marched over to the median strip that runs down the highway into the base and attempted to go on base. There was a confrontation as General Rafalko, the base commander, and about 50 base cops blocked the entrance. The VVAW people were not permitted to enter, despite about 10 minutes' worth of heated discussion; Smith and Marshall did go on base and probably wished they hadn't: they were presented with an incredibly detailed security writeup on each of them down to their every move in the previous few days. At that point, everyone decided to go back to a park and, Scoblick of the Harrisburg 7 spoke, in addition to Smith and Marshall.

Lockbourne: A Vigil

The GI's at Lockbourne honored Armed Farces Day with a vigil for "peace and unity" outside the base gate. The airmen were supported by VVAW, Columbus Clergy and Laymen Concerned, and the War Resisters League. About 50 people participated, including both active duty airmen and their wives and dependents. Speaking at the vigil were Mike Snyder, a Lockbourne airman, Mark Rovick of the Lockbourne Military Project, and Bill Davis of VVAW. The main speaker was Igal Roodenko of WRL. Mark Rovick concluded the vigil with a prayer memorizing the Asian and American dead in the Indochina War. Security police were massed inside the gate and local police were present in force, but there were no disorders.

Campbell: A Sing-In (from People's House)

The march was small---Maybe 150 people and half of them GI's. Oh, but was it spirited! People had things to bang on and the chant leader with the microphone was great. (We had taken the time ot make up chants and print them up) Then a black GI who had flunked out of DI school took over and we sang Army drill songs with new fine words that just came out of his head. Four good banners and little silk screened flags in bright colors that said "FORT CAMPBELL POW" wit ha fist and dog tags behind concertina wire. The response of passer-bys was much better than ever before in our experience here, which we think is because the banners made very clear our reasons for being out in the street and because of the spirit of the march. The rally had about 225 people-125 GI's/ Dave Dellinger and a man from VVAW-St. Louis spoke. A GI sang songs he had written in Nam, and a black GI spoke about Fort Campbell. There was also guerrilla theater about the automated air war, anti-personnel, weapons, genocide, and POWs.

WEST

Demonstrations in the West brought out good turnouts and some of the most creative forms for demonstration that have yet been seen: there was an Operation Dewey Canyon IV at Fort Ord and a guerrilla attack at Carson.

Carson and Lowry: A Bloody Good Show

Colorado VVAW, the Rocky Mountain Military Project, Institute Mountain/West, and GETTING TOGETHER demonstrated at Lowry AFB on May 17 and at Forty Carson on May 20. At Lowry, the coalition leafleted the base from outside the gates at first; then several VVAW people went on base and attempted to leaflet there. Four of them ended up getting letters barring them from base. The leafletting was mainly focused on the air war and the POW issue. Shortly after that, an annoymous phone call reported a robbery at the BX and the gates were sealed off for about 5 minutes.

The Armed Forces Day activities of the brass at Carson featured "...a;; kinds of shit on display: armored personnel carries, jeeps, helicopters, tanks..." The coalition people went onto the open base and attempted to leaflet, but the MP's would have none of it. The base had been warned that there would be demonstrators, so they were prepared. They succeeded in issuing 12 letters barring people from base, but the rest of the raiders escaped.

The two most outrageous actions were the pasting of stickers on most of the war toys that were on display, and an attack on a colonel. The bright stickers said "THIS MAIMS BABIES!", "THIS EXPLOITS TAXPAYERS!", etc. While VVAW was attacking the tanks, John O'Connor ( a vet formerly with the Covered Wagon) strolled over to where the brass were and whipped out a jar of blood, which he promptly poured all over a colonel. As the colonel stood there in shock, the raiders passed out a leaflet explaining why they had done it, which said in part: "This human blood is being splashed on a high ranking military leader because military leaders, along with the very wealthy, are most responsible for the suffering of common people, but bleed very little themselves..." O'Connor was hustled off by the MP's and will probably be charged with felony assault.

Ord: Dewey Canyon IV

400 people came to the demonstrations at Ord, over half of them GI's and vets. There was a rally and march on the Presidio at Monterey, where VVAW people burned their draft cards and discharge papers, and tossed both their medals and a symbolic coffin over the fence. They called their action Operation Dewey Canyon IV, after the vets demonstrations in D.C. In April of 1971. While this was going on, a riot control unit inside the base went through an elaborate nightstick swinging demonstrations in front of the protesters. Armed Forces Day activities at the base were canceled.

Travis: Traffic Jam

A crowd of 350 to 400 people demonstrated at the main gate of the base, thereby slowing down the traffic in and out of the base. This gave the demonstrators the opportunity to leaflet the stalled cars and talk to their occupants. On base, official Armed Forces Day plans were canceled and a heavy security force of MP's were massed at the gate, ready for action. The demonstrators continued to leaflet and listened to raps from active duty GI's, VVAW, a South Vietnamese student, Jane Fonda, and Len Chandler of the FTA show.

Souther California: Drum and Bugle Corps?

At San Diego, the annual Armed Forces Day official parade had a contingent they were expecting. VVAW had been denied permission to march as a VVAW contingent, so they consolidated themselves as the San Marcos Drum and Bugle Corps and got permission to march. Parade officials were shocked to see the vets in their uniforms: T shirts on which the following words had been stenciled:

"the San Marcos drum and bugle corps a division of VIETNAM VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR!"

There was a sideline demonstration of 50 to 75 people, then a picnic and rally with about 125 people, about 40 GI's. Speakers included an active duty Marine emcee, Joe Givens of the Black Serviceman's Caucus, and Tony Russo of the Pentagon Papers case. At Long Beach, a rally of about 150 people (most civilians; literally 2/3 of the base, including most of the "radical ships" were at sea on drills and sea trials) held a march through town. At the rally, Ron Covick, a VVAW vet, spoke, as well as Adlbert Miranda, a man whose son died in Nan, a South Vietnamese student, and Mary Niclaus, an expert of imperialism. At San Bernadino, about 100 folks held a demonstration at Norton AFB and then marched to a park in nearby San Berdue for a rally. Speakers included Chicita Lawson (whose husband is awaiting trial for allegedly killing a cop), a VVAW vet, and Peter Wiley, formerly of SOS. In Santa Ana, there was a rally in the park following a demonstration by about 300 to 500 people at Santa Ana Helicopter Station. Speakers were from MDM, VVAW, a local lawyer, and a local anti imperialist coalition.