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Milwaukee Fourteen

By Dave Kettenhofen

Dave Kettenhofen
National Coordinator

On September 24, 1968, fourteen men broke into the Selective Service office in Milwaukee, Wis., stole 10,000 draft files of 1-A classified young men, then publicly burned them in an area outside the building, this Vietnam War protest action landed in the "Milwaukee 14" in jail for sentences averaging one year each and resulted in the deportation of one, Michael Cullen, to his homeland of Ireland for eighteen years. Fifty similar raids, sparked by this even, occurred through the U.S. in the following four years.

The "Milwaukee 14" marked the 25th Anniversary of their action with a reunion demonstration, public forum, and dinner. Eight of the protesters were able to attend, while two are deceased, and the others couldn't make it for various reasons. All remain committee to the struggle for peace and justice.

The high point of the reunion was the two hour forum held at Marquette University which attracted approximately 200 people. Many issues of concern were discussed, including the war situation in Somalia and Bosnia, the violence in our own communities here in the U.S., and the role of the news media in shaping people's opinions of world events. Many of the participants stressed the point that we as individuals must stand up and fight for our beliefs and commitments before we point accusatory fingers at government and institutions for their actions.

There were a number of statements made concerning Vietnam veterans which were encouraging. Michael Cullen said, "I think it's important that we remember that we need to be reconciled to those who went to war, even in Vietnam, sometimes against their will, sometimes because their conscience also led them." He said, "We must have a healing with vets." As a gesture of reconciliation between Vietnam Veterans and war protesters at home. Cullen and I stood up before the gathering, shook hands, and embraced each other. Cullen then went on to salute the Vietnam Veterans who joined the protest movement and in particular the actions at Dewey Canyon III, where the Vets threw their medals on the steps of the Capitol.

Art Heitzer, who was a student body president at Marquette in 1968 and is presently a lawyer, spoke out on the plight of Vietnam Veterans. He said that although man war protesters at home, such as the "Milwaukee 14", paid the price for their actions with beatings and jail sentences, many veterans are still paying for their experience. Thousands of Vietnam Veterans continue to fight the war, with homelessness, PTSD, and suicide. They need the support of the people. Art's law specialty is working with Vietnam Veterans in anti-discrimination suits.

James Forest, who flew in from Holland, said the message to be learned from the "Milwaukee 14" is, "Don't be bullied or manipulated or guilt-tripped into obedience or disobedience. You have a conscience: learn to hear it; no one can hear it for you."