An Appeal to Navy Personnel

April 2019 Volume 24 Issue 2 An Appeal to Navy Personnel Brothers and Sisters in the Navy: “Refuse to engage We, the undersigned, are convinced that nuclear in nuclear annihilation!” weapons are the greatest evil on Earth. We believe that Peace activists in the Puget Sound region have humankind created these weapons, and that only human- worked to stop the threat of nuclear weapons since the kind can prevent their use. 1970s. We have learned that we share a common con- We bring our plea to you, sisters and brothers, in cern with members of the armed forces—that the use of the armed forces: nuclear weapons would lead to unimaginable destruction to innocent populations and to our planet. Resist illegal orders. While the danger of nuclear war is as great as ever, Refuse to kill innocent civilians. little is being done to curb this threat. One person in our Refuse the order to use nuclear weapons. country, our President acting as Commander in Chief, may alone order the launch of nuclear weapons. No sin- We know your resistance will be difficult and require gle person should have the power to end life on the plan- great courage. But please reflect on what it means to vio- et. An Appeal to Navy Personnel… continued on page 2 An Appeal to Navy Personnel… continued from page 1 late your conscience and to destroy all hope for future fusal of duty by any member of the military or generations. naval forces of the United States— International decisions have ruled that the use of nuclear weapons is illegal, including decisions at the In- Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more ternational Court of Justice in 1996; the 1948 Universal than ten years, or both, and shall be ineligible for em- Declaration of Human Rights; the 1949 Geneva Conven- ployment by the United States or any department or agen- tion; and the 1977 Geneva Convention protocol. The cy thereof, for the five years next following his convic- Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will soon tion. enter into legal force when 50 nations have signed and ratified it. The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) makes it clear that military personnel have an obligation and a duty to only obey lawful orders and indeed have an obligation to disobey unlawful orders, including orders by the president that do not comply with the UCMJ. The moral and legal obligation is to the U.S. Constitution and not to those who might issue unlawful orders, especially if those orders are in direct violation of the Constitution and the UCMJ. Knowing that submarines from Bangor are ready to immediately launch as many as 270 nuclear warheads, an order to launch nuclear weapons would signify the final failure of nuclear deterrence and bring about unprece- dented destruction. Do not obey an illegal order. In- stead, choose to protect all of creation. Contact Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, at 360-930-8697, or [email protected] for more information. We make this plea to “The moral and legal you knowing that federal obligation is to the agencies may see this ap- U.S. Constitution and peal as a violation of 18 U.S. Code § 2387 and pos- not to those who sibly other federal stat- might issue unlawful utes. If you choose to op- The graffiti artist Banksy is responsible for this image, orders…” pose nuclear war please know that our hearts and which first appeared in 2001 outside of the British Parliament. homes are open to you. We Photo courtesy of www.banksyeditiions.com. will do what we can to support your decision. (b) For the purposes of this section, the term “military or 18 U.S. Code § 2387 - Activities affecting armed forces naval forces of the United States“ includes the Army of generally the United States, the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, and (a) Whoever, with intent to interfere with, impair, or in- Coast Guard Reserve of the United States; and, when any fluence the loyalty, morale, or discipline of the military merchant vessel is commissioned in the Navy or is in the or naval forces of the United States: service of the Army or the Navy, includes the master, officers, and crew of such vessel. (1) advises, counsels, urges, or in any manner causes or attempts to cause insubordination, dis- On June 11, local peace activists will greet and distribute the Appeal to loyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty by any mem- Navy Personnel at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor during the morning commute ber of the military or naval forces of the United into the base. Ground Zero members recently developed the Appeal to Navy States; or Personnel and have been sharing the statement with other peace organiza- tions. Dozens of people have signed on in support, including Dr. Helen Cald- (2) distributes or attempts to distribute any writ- icott, Kathy Kelly, Ray McGovern, and the Rev. John Dear. To see the full list ten or printed matter which advises, counsels, or of signatories and add your name, visit www.gzcenter.org or contact in- urges insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or re- [email protected]. Cover photo courtesy of the US Navy. Page 2 By Leonard Eiger My dear friend and fellow Ground Zero member resistance information. Tom Shea passed away peacefully in the early morning I was still leading a social justice ministry at the hours of April 3 at home with family. Snoqualmie United Methodist Church when one day Tom Earlier in his life Tom had been a Jesuit, a high called the church office and asked who was doing social school teacher, and had started an alternative high school justice work in the area. We connected immediately due and Jesuit Volunteer Corp: Midwest. He had also been to common work and friends. Soon, Tom and I were involved in social justice issues making the pilgrimage together on the national level with the across the water to Ground Ze- Jesuits. Ground Zero member ro Center for Nonviolent Ac- Bernie Meyer remembers Tom tion, and the rest (as they say) is with great fondness, from being history. a student at St. Ignatius High I have spent countless School in Cleveland where hours with Tom and Darylene, Tom was teaching, to resisting discussing world affairs and together at Ground Zero many working together on strategies years later. and tactics for our work with Tom was 47 when he Ground Zero. Tom and left Cleveland for Traverse Darylene have been inseparable City, Michigan in 1977. There as both life partners and co- he met his partner Darylene, conspirators for peace. Tom and they were inseparable from once said that Darylene is like a then on. Together, they partici- Jesuit herself: “Jesuits are taken pated in the Nuclear Freeze as very scholarly people and movement, and were part of the she’s very scholarly.” Michigan Peace Team. They In addition to working on travelled to New York for the media and communications for second Conference on Dis- Ground Zero, and planning vig- armament in 1982. They pro- ils and nonviolent direct actions tested both the first Gulf War at the Bangor Trident nuclear and the war in Iraq. They also submarine base, Tom put him- engaged in war tax resistance. self on the line many times, At Darylene’s sugges- often entering the roadway tion, they attended a course in blocking traffic, both on the conflict mediation in the early Tom embraced working for peace with his positive, County and Federal sides, sym- ‘80s at a time when there was committed, and caring energy. Photo by Leonard Eiger. bolically closing the base and little written on the subject. risking arrest. Tom also created That experience led them to a street theatre scripts that have course taught by Quakers at Swarthmore College in 1986. been used during vigils at the submarine base In 1990 Tom and Darylene founded the five-county Con- to entertain and educate flict Resolution Service in Northern Michigan and trained people. “One day Tom called the first group of volunteer mediators. Their mission was Robert Burrowes, the church office and to promote peace and civility in the community through who founded The People’s asked who was doing the use of mediator-guided dialogue. In the early days of Charter to Create a Nonvi- social justice work in the program, volunteers met in church basements and olent World, said that, around kitchen tables to train, role play and share experi- “Tom was one of the true the area. We connected ences. They would travel to the homes of people needing legends in my life. A long- immediately…” mediation, focusing on resolving family and neighbor- standing symbol of, and hood conflicts. nonviolent fighter for, everything that could be in our Tom and Darylene moved to Snoqualmie, Wash- world.” When all is said and done, Tom’s life can be ington in 2007 to spend more time with Darylene’s chil- summed up by A.J Muste: “There is no way to peace. dren. Tom got involved in community issues and contin- Peace is the way.” ued his war tax resistance work. You could find him eve- ry April 15, in front of the local post office, offering tax Tom Shea… continued on page 11 Page 3 Celebrating the true meaning of Mother’s Day Mother’s Day at By the Mother’s Day Action Planning Committee Ground Zero “DISARM, DISARM! THE SWORD OF MURDER [TRIDENT] IS May 11, 2019 NOT THE BALANCE OF JUSTICE.” *Draft schedule* These prophetic words were spoken by Mothers Day founder 9-9:15 AM - Registration and light Julia Ward Howe in 1870.

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