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Fighting The Draft

By VVAW

The Reagan election promise of no draft or registration has evolved into prosecution and jailing of registration resisters.

In carefully planned moves, the Justice Department began selective prosecution of young men who refused to register. The first was Enten Eller, a 20-year-old member of the Church of the Brethren. The church is based on pacifism. Eller's father is a Brethren theologian and his grandfather and great-grandfathers were Brethren preachers. He declined legal and political defense efforts and was convicted and sentenced to three years probation and ordered to sign up in 90 days or go to prison. He has vowed not to sign up or appeal, saying that God has "selected me to do this."

The second prosecution hit Ben Sasway in San Diego, California, a town which as the retirement spot for so many ex-military persons is a true hot-bed of reaction. During Sasway's trial the judge refused to allow Sasway to explain his motives for refusal saying that they were "irrelevant." Sasway's motives had to be silenced by the court because Ben made it clear that he was opposed to the "reckless militarism" of Reagan; he added, " I will not be a tool of the military misdirection that involved us in Vietnam 15 years ago."