Soldiers Against the War

SOLDIERS AGAINST THE WAR The story of Pvt. Andrew Stapp loc and the Fort Sill Gl's The Committee for GI Rights was formed to defend Pvt. Andrew Stapp and other soldiers at The Stapp Case Fort Sill, Oklahoma who are being harassed and Private Andrew D. Stapp was courtmartialed penalized for their opposition to the Vietnam war. on June 1, 1967 and sentenced to 45 days uncon- It offers help to all servicemen who want legal fined hard labor, forfeiture of 20 days' pay and or practical assistance in exercising their rights. reduction of rank by one grade for refusing to surrender anti-war literature in his footlocker. The Committee for GI Rights can help anti The trial, jammed with newsmen and supporters, war GI's^ in two ways: received national and world-wide publicity be cause of Pvt. Stapp's militant stand on the war 1) by helping them secure legal defense in case and because of a dramatic courtroom demon of prosecution and » stration in his support carried out by a dele 2) by providing them with all the assistance gation from Youth Against War & Fascism. they need to prganize their fellow soldiers against the war. The Committee has already Ever since his induction into the Army in sent literature to many soldiers at the request May, 1966 Andy Stapp has made his anti-war of the Fort Sill Gl's. This literature includes views known. A draftee from Merion Station, Pa., Bertrand Russell's "Appeal to the American he had been one of the early draft-card burners Conscience," the novel "Johnny Got His Gun," at Penn State. He continued to receive and read and other writings that the Gl's themselves feel a wide variety of anti-war and radical publica have the greatest impact on men in the service. tions after his induction, and to discuss the character of the war with his fellow soldiers. Most important of all, the many young men In September, 1966 the military made its first who find themselves drafted and want to express move to intimidate him. Military security police their opinions openly about the war need to know removed a great many radical books and pam that they are not alone; that there is an organiza phlets from his footlocker, with the promise that tion specifically set up to come to their aid. In they would be returned. They never were, and the first few weeks since its founding, the Com Stapp continued to order and subscribe to pub mittee for GI Rights has already been in touch lications that he felt contained useful information with dozens of Gl's who want this kind of on the character of the war and the military assistance. establishment. In October Stapp was assigned to Head of David Rein, attorney for the Emergency Civil quarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Artillery Liberties Committee who came from Washington at Fort Sill. In early May, 1967 the brass again to represent the anti-war GI. came to his barracks and asked for his literature. This time Andy Stapp said he would only show Also present were seven members of Youth it to them, but would not surrender it without a Against War & Fascism, who had driven from guarantee that the material would be returned. New York after being contacted by Stapp. In the The battery commander, Lt. John W. Urquhart, delegation was the National Coordinator, „ refused to give this assurance. The lieutenant Maryann Weissman. Earlier the Chairman of returned later with a sergeant, had the foot YAWF, Key Martin, and Eddie Oquendo, leader locker broken open with a pickax, and confiscated of Blacks Against Negative Dying (BAND), had the books and pamphlets. v also been on the base. At roll call on the day of the trial, all the Stapp was penalized for having a broken foot members of Andy's barracks were instructed locker, (!) and then charged with refusing to not to go near the courtroom or any of the YAWF obey an order. Offered with the choice of taking delegation. In spite of this, five of Andy's GI an Article 15 — accepting a minor penalty without buddies attended the courtmartial, and other contest — he insisted on a summary courtmartial soldiers in the area made a point of exchanging where he could defend the right of Gl's to free pleasantries with the demonstrators. All were speech. later tagged for investigation by military intelli gence, and some were given penalties. The Army claimed that Stapp had refused to obey an order; Stapp and his attorney argued that the order was illegal, since it infringed the The Courtmartial First Amendment rights of free speech. The law In a summary courtmartial, the presiding officer refused to concede this point. law officer is prosecutor, judge and jury. Captain Daniel Bartholomew would also have been de In the course of the accusing testimony given fense attorney, had it not been for the presence by the lieutenant and sergeant who broke open the footlocker, a serious discrepancy arose. right of revolutionary socialists to While Lt. Urquhart claimed to have originated organize within the Army against the order himself, the sergeant testified that America's imperialist war of ag the order to seize the literature had come from gression in Vietnam. the battalion commander, Lt. Col. John W. Price. On recall, Lt. Urquhart admitted that this was "We Gl's say this is not our war, true. Since, under military law an officer trying it is Wall Street's war. To cite an a courtmartial cannot make a judgment on the example: Dow Chemical stocks have legality», or illegality of an order issued by a soared as a result of the 25 million superior officer, this should have invalidated pounds of napalm it sells each month the proceeding. However, after many recesses to the military forces in Vietnam. At called by Captain Bartholomew to Consult his the same time the death toll of commander, the law officer ignored the discre American Gl's has risen in propor pancy in Lt. Urquhart's testimony — a decision tion to profits and has now reached which provoked the greatest indignation among the new high last week alone of 337. the watching Gl's, and was the cause of an One is haunted by the thought that incident to be described later. such companies as Dow profit by the use of napalm, whose only tar At issue in the case was not only Private get is man and has killed our fellow Stapp's right to read what he chose, but also the Gl's (16 Gl's of the First Infantry right of Gl's to organize and express themselves Division last fall) and innumerable against the war. In his statement to the court, Vietnamese. later released to newsmen, Andrew Stapp de clared: "Such thoughts prey on our minds and we begin to question and seek "I refused to let them take my answers. Many men in the unit are literature because the First Amend opposed to the war and have liter ment to the Constitution of the United ature similar to that which was in States guarantees the right of all my footlocker. I was singled out Americans to free speech. This at random for punishment as an guarantee certainly includes the example to others for the purpose of "Until you abolish both the Special The Demonstration Court and the Summary Court you won't have true justice under the The delivery of this statement was greeted military code...You have one offi with enthusiastic applause by the YAWF dele cer, who is judge, jury and prose gation present in the courtroom, to the great cutor and he always finds the man dismay ^of Captain Bartholomew and the brass. guilty...What a man reads is none A recess was called while the Captain again of his commanding officer's damn had time to consult his commanding officer on business. Putting on a uniform the verdict, and then the last portion of the trial doesn't mean giving up one's con in the little stuffy courtroom was resumed. stitutional rights." \ i Remarks of Attorney When the verdict of guilty was pronounced, Hyman M. Greenstein, the seven members of YAWF denounced it in what invited speaker at seminar was probably the first anti-war demonstration of the American Trial Law conducted during a courtmartial. Maryann yers Association, June 3,1967 Weissman got up and spoke for five minutes supporting the right of Gl's to organize, and intimidation. The ruling class needs protesting the court's ruling as "a verdict robots in its army, but we refuse of fear — fear that the nature of the imper to be unthinking cannon fodder. ialist war in Vietnam is being understood by the Gl's." Her statement was followed by "We are learning every day that the chanting of anti-war slogans. until the criminal capitalist system which breeds war, racism and Captain Bartholomew seemed uncertain how poverty is replaced by socialism the to handle the demonstrators. After an initial working class youth of America will attempt to remove them, he went on to read be impressed into the imperialist the sentence and complete the necessary legal army and forced to die for Wall forms (a 20-minute job) while the chanting Street profits in Asia, Africa, and echoed across the base and a crowd of soldiers Latin America." began to gather outside the courtroom. Within minutes of the close of this court- U.S., I sought further information. martial, a second soldier was arrested for I read everything I could about the "insulting an officer." Pfc.

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