VETERANS PEACE OFFENSIVE VOL. 1 NO. 1 December 1, 1969 PRICE 10 CENTS .' reprinted from Anti-War Troops Plan Fast Detroit Free Press ;f N«w York Tlm«i Strvk, COMMENT By Victor Morgan SAIGON - A number of They requested that the United States soldiers serving Thanksgiving fare be 'turned The open letter to Nixon signed by 200 in the 71st Evacuation Hospi­ over to Vietnamese in a near­ soldiers,in ONE UNIT,.in VIETNAM, is a tal at Pleiku have decided to by orphanage and leper colo­ fast on Thanksgiving; Day In ny. very significant indication of the a protest at what they term desire of the American servicemen to "a. senseless war that cannot Tho fast is expected to be be won.'' duplicated in some other end the Vietnam War NOW. It shows that American unit» at Pleiku and the American GIs will not be silenced About 200 soldiers recently elsewhere in South Vietnam. signed an open letter to Presi­ by the intimidation,brutalization,and dent Nixon declaring their in­ Spec. 4 Jerry Scharfenberg, repression by the military machine. tention to give up Thanks­ 26, of Rockford 111., one of the giving turkey because: "We planners of the fast said the have very little for which to base was swarming with Tens of thousands of GIs demonstrated be thankful." agents of the military's crimi­ nal investigation detachments (in uniform) in Europe and the Pacific THE LETTER reads as fol­ and military intelligence per­ after WW-II demanding to be brought lows: "Sir: So long as Ameri­ sonnel. home. The U.S. government wanted to can soldiers continue to. fight "They asked whether this and die in a senseless war that thing was planned here or keep a huge army in the Pacific. cannot be won, we the under­ back in the world of college The GIs said "NOl". campuses I guess they signed feel that we have very meant SDS." Scharfenberg The American people said "NO". little for which to be thankful. said. The GIs were brought HOME. Therefore we: He continued: "Actually, we "1. Intend to fast on Thanks- . were just sitting around one giving Day from 1 to 24 hrs. day doing our thing and this ONCE AGAIN: "2. Respectfully request that came up." The GIs are saying "NO". oar Thanksgiving rations be redistributed among the poor The American people are saying "NO". of the United States and Viet­ THE GIs WILL BE BROUGHT HOME I nam." ARE YOU A VETERAN? GIs & Veterans Again3t the War in Vietnam is your organization. ' GIVAWV meats twice a month,and we heed YOUR support. See the coupon within the The Nixon administration is attempting to paper for information on how to join. cast those who can not con'done what we are doing in Vietnam as people disloyal If you are a veteran or serviceman who to the country or as blue-sky snobs. can't donate your time,or if you are not but think ours is a worthwhile approach, No one can better combat this line of then please consider a contribution. propaganda than veterans and servicemen. Think! You involuntarily contribute If the VFW does not represent YOUR think- hundreds of dollars toward the war thru ing,then you should join a group that does, taxes. p-u. CONiW.'Ka,!'.MAN pT.AaTr, STDCKADE CONDTT |iiu:i AMKffTCAN «KOPJE ATTACKED BY D.C. POLICE ON NOVEMBER 15th (GI Press Service) By Victor Morgan Congressman Mario Biaggi of New York on October 25 attacked conditions During the mass march and rally at the in the Fort Dix stockade as "the most Washington Monument the D.C. police wore inhuman treatment" he had ever seen. His soft caps and carried no gas masks. Before remarks, if anything, probably understate a million witnesses and thousands of the situation, since Biaggi is not noted cameras they put on a "friendly" face. for his liberal sympathies : when fights broke out between black ana white Marines After sundown,however,the situation began at Camp ,Lejeune last summer,Biaggi blamed to change. A group of about 10 persons it on the GI antiwar papers. began to break windows on the north side of the Mall near the Justice Department. Biaggi was- especially indignant Plainclothes police were there BUT—they about a form of punishment known as "dis­ made no attempt to stop the window break­ ciplinary chow." This is a diet which ing or arrest the offenders. Motorcycle consists of two dry pancakes, two pieces police were within sight but no police of dry bread and a glass of water for came to the scene. breakfast and "one baked potatr, one ta­ blespoon of corn, one leaf of lettuce, After the vandals and or agents provoca­ two pieces of dry bread and a glass of teur had time to break many windows and water for lunch. Biaggi commented: commit other similarly "revolutionary" "If this food were served to our prison-, acts, the police moved, in from all sides ers of war it would probably be a viola­ and began to gas the people. tion ofthe Geneva Convention." It is obvious that this minute group was The Fort Dix information officer trying to discredit the mass demonstration "defended" this kind of atrocity with the It is equally obvious that Nixon and his. argument that it was also committed at henchmen had planned to use any such acts other bases. as an excuse to attack and discredit the demons tration. Biaggi also condemned the Dix stockade command for using physical bru­ The police forced the people toward the tality and the denial of needed medical area of the "disturbance" instead of away care as disciplinary measures. .from it. The police and soldiers(who were brought out of their hiding places) gassed Last June 5 , conditions like the people indiscriminately.Whether the thfise produced an uprising by prisoners people were involved in a "disturbance"or in the Dix stockade. Four members of the were trying to find food or their buses American Servicesmen's Union who were con­ did not seem to matter. All were gassed fined in the stockade at the time have without regard to race,religion,or the been singled out by the brass for general rights of the people. courts martial on charges stemming from that rebellion. The four, who have spent Gas was even thrown the bus station a large part of the intervening five where passengers were peace ully waiting months in solitary confinement, are for their buses. The gas attacks went on Bill Brakefield, Jeff Russell, Terry Klug for over 3 hours. Most of downtown Wash- and Tom Catlow. The attempt to make them ton was gassed. "responsible" for the uprising is an attempt by the brass to cover up their Veterans of WW-I,WW-II, Korea,and Vietnam own responsibility for the abominable were gassed. Veterans do not appreciate conditions that exist in the stockade. these repressive tactics any more than do s tudents,ministers,s oldiers,mothers, children, et al. page 3 ANINJURY TOONE IS AN INJURYTo 4U ((reprinte VP.Tiri ntfiHd frofrvimm FatTPo+.-ii gu trneo PressPw.d) v . v. Richard Chase was assigned to HHD, l/66 Last August, when Fort Hood troops were Armored, 2nd A.D. when he came te Fort sent to the Democratic National Conven­ Hood in January,1969- At that time he in­ tion, U3 Black GIs refused to go, refused formed his First Sargeant and Commanding to be used to suppress their brothers and Officer that he ?rould not iake part in sisters who were in the streets. The year riot contrcl training. Subsequently, he before,Fort Hood troops were sent to was granted unofficial Conscientious Chicago's black ghetto for riot control Objector status. after Dr. Martin Luther King's ts8ination0 Federal troops were also used at the march Around June,1969, he became involved in on the Pentagon in 1967 and in Detroit in the GI movement against .the war in Vietnam 1967. Ten thousand troops were stationed and for the rights of the' EM. He also in. Washington for the November IS march wrote for the "FATIGUE PRES3». against the war this year» The national Ouard has been used on countless occasions On Sept. 11, he was called to the orderly in ghettos and colleges» room and given a direct order to report to riot control training as a dissident. As more and more people become angered He refused and was told he would be given with the direction in which the U.S- is a General Court Martial for refusing the heading, GIs will be used more and more order. •ta suppresss them-. Around two weeks after the charges were Chase refused to be used for these pur­ read to him he was put in the stockade poses. He said that he would not be used for pretrial confinement,. Soon after to crush movements that he supported>;arid going to the stockade he was placed in was actively engaged in building a GI "C" compound(solitary confinement). movement to demand their legitimate While in "C" compound, he was beaten four grievences. The Army has publicly- admitted times. After more than a week he was that Chase's case is a test case for the removed from solitary,but is still in the legality of riot control. stockade, where he will remain until his court martial trial. Another important reason why charges } should fee dropped against Chase is that he WHY SHOULD CHASE BE SET rFREE? can't receive a fair trial«, The General Court, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice is a mockery of justice.