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Oral History Center University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Randy Rowland Randy Rowland: A Life of Resistance and The Presidio 27 The Presidio Trust Oral History Project The Presidio 27 Interviews conducted by Barbara Berglund Sokolov in 2018 Copyright © 2020 by The Regents of the University of California Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley ii Since 1954 the Oral History Center of The Bancroft Library, formerly the Regional Oral History Office, has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ********************************* All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Randy Rowland dated October 10, 2018. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Excerpts up to 1,000 words from this interview may be quoted for publication without seeking permission as long as the use is non-commercial and properly cited. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to The Bancroft Library, Head of Public Services, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000, and should follow instructions available online at http://ucblib.link/OHC-rights. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Randy Rowland, “Randy Rowland: A Life of Resistance and The Presidio 27” conducted by Barbara Berglund Sokolov in 2018, Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2020. Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley iii Randy Rowland, 2018 Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley iv Abstract Randy Rowland was part of the Presidio 27 Mutiny on October 14, 1968. He was born in 1947 in St. Louis, Missouri. He moved to Alabama after his parents divorced, where he graduated from high school before becoming an Army medic. In this interview, Rowland discusses his early life, education, joining the military, becoming a conscientious objector, his time in the Stockade at the Presidio, and his involvement in the Presidio 27 Mutiny, as well as how this action impacted his life. Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley v Table of Contents Presidio Trust Oral History Project History vii Interview 1: October 9, 2018 Hour 1 1 Born on January 28, 1947 in St Louis, Missouri — Growing up in family housing during the Korean War — Parents divorce at a young age — Father’s work as a nuclear chemist — Adolescent experience with chemistry sets — Memory of father’s assistant, Fred — Father’s pride in America — Childhood confusion over who was the “good guy” in the war — Moving to Montgomery — Subpar education and lifestyle in Montgomery — Prevalent segregation in Alabama — Specific recollections of racist events in community — Community reaction to JFK assassination — High school graduation — First experiences with narcolepsy — First attempt at college — Enlistment in the military — Experience with a banjo — First antiwar demonstration — Characteristic differences between youth at the time — Thoughts and decisions around joining the military — Training to be an occupational therapist — Family opinions on Rowland joining the army — What Rowland liked about the military — Training to be a medic — Conscientious objectors Hour 2 25 Recount of horrific cases while working as a medic in the army — Recreational smoking in college — Wanting to grow a mustache — Finding loopholes in military regulations — Learning about Individuals Against Crimes of Silence — Being accused of passing out anti-military literature — Having to figure out for himself his opinion on the war — Conversation that occurred between other GIs and medics — Role of marijuana on the base — How music influenced thought and behavior at this time Interview 2: October 10, 2018 Hour 1 37 Conscientious objector application — Denial of application — Orders to train and prepare for Vietnam — Response to the officer that told him he would never be called for combat — First day of training at the firing range — Refusing an order to pick up a gun — Being confined to the barracks — Poor pay from the army, leading to the brink of starvation — Move from Tacoma to the Bay Area — Family’s reaction to going AWOL — Decision to go AWOL upon seeing the violence of antiwar demonstrations in Berkeley — Recollections of the 1968 Democratic Convention — Influence of other protestors, such as the Fort Hood 3 — Participation in demonstrations in Berkeley — Running from the police and leaving the Bay Area — Singing duo Sam and Dave — Losing and finding dog, Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley vi Time — Return to the Bay Area after 45-day AWOL period was up — Keith Mather and the Nine for Peace — Finding out about more horrors of the role of the United States in Vietnam — Moving in with the Farnhams — Mother turning in the Auerbachs Hour 2 58 Shooting of Richard Bunch — Beginning of planning the sit-down — Why the stockade was called “trap door to Leavenworth” — Not expecting many people to participate in the sit-in — Planning the logistics of the sit-in — How the sit-in happened — Disappointment in the press not showing up — Being arrested after the sit-in — Feelings of relief and accomplishment after the demonstration — All protestors being moved into the maximum security cell block — Escape of Mather, Pawlowski, and Blake — Realization of being charged with mutiny — Hallinan’s court strategy — Pleading insanity in court — The Article 32 hearing — Rowland’s sentence — Reflecting on the events after fifty years — How these events changed America — The stockade, pacifism, communism, Leavenworth, and Maoism — Hope for what the public will take away from the story of the Presidio 27 — Obligation to tell the story — The museum of the resistance in Berlin Oral History Center, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley vii Presidio Trust Oral History Project History The Presidio of San Francisco is a new kind of national park. It is home to the spectacular vistas, nature, and programs that visitors would expect, as well as a community of residents and organizations who bring renewed vitality and purpose to this former military post. The Presidio Trust is an innovative federal agency created to save the Presidio and share it with the public. The Presidio Trust Oral History Project captures new layers of the history of the Presidio. The project complements ongoing archaeological research and fulfills historic preservation obligations through interviews with people associated with the Presidio of San Francisco, for example: former soldiers, nurses, doctors, civilian workers, military families, descendants of Californios and Native Californians; environmental groups; and Presidio Trust and National Park Service employees. The interviews capture a range of experiences, including the legacies of colonialism, stories of service and sacrifice, the role of the Presidio in a range of global conflicts, everyday life on the post, and of how this post became a park. The Presidio Trust and the Oral History Center have embarked on a multiyear collaboration to produce these oral histories. The goals of the Presidio Trust Oral History Project/Presidio are twofold. First, to create new knowledge about life on the post during peacetime, as well as during global conflicts, that illuminates the diversity of experiences and the multiplicity of voices that is the essence of Presidio history. And second, to share this knowledge with the public in ways that leverage the power of first-person narratives to allow people to see themselves reflected in the Presidio’s past so they feel connected to its present. The kinds of questions we seek to answer include: “How can the Presidio’s military legacy inform our national intentions?” and “How can examining the cultural mosaic of people living in and around the Presidio shape our understanding of the nation?” The Presidio 27 On October 14, 1968, 27 prisoners in the Presidio Stockade broke ranks during roll call formation, sat down in a circle in the grassy yard, joined arms, sang We Shall Overcome, and asked to present a list of demands to the stockade commander that addressed the treatment of fellow prisoners and the conditions inside. Just days before a guard had shot and killed a prisoner, and GIs had taken to the streets of San Francisco in massive demonstrations against the war that came right up to the Presidio’s gates — the first anti-war marches organized by GIs and veterans in the nation. For staging this peaceful protest, amidst the heightened tensions of a country increasingly divided over the Vietnam War, the Army tried the 27 for mutiny, the most serious military offense. The actions of the 27 and their subsequent trials made headlines, shocked the Army and the nation, brought the GI movement onto the national stage, inspired the anti-war movement, catalyzed improvements in US military prisons around the world, and ultimately helped to end the Vietnam War.

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