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Supporting Materials for Sir! No Sir!
Armed Forces Day: 4000 March To Ft. Ord Gate
Some 4000 people marched by the Fort Ord main gate (barricaded, reinforced with barbed and concertina wire, backed by M-60 machine guns) chanting slogans and giving the peace or power signs to the guys.
I was scheduled to be one of the speakers at the rally originally but due to the Commanding General's freaked-out overreaction, there were no active duty speakers and only a handful of off-post GIs in the audience. (I was put on K.P.) The CG went so far as to issue the incredible order that it would be illegal for a GI inside the fence to return a peace sign or a clenched fist to a demonstratorl Several guys who did so were accosted and harassed by the Brass with threats of future prosecution. A suit is being initiated to block such a blatantly unconstitutional prosecution.
The Brass had the balls to tell the press that we had not been restricted to post that day. The truth is 90% of the guys were locked up until around 4:30 p.m., while the guys in SPD were loaded on buses and removed entirely from the area well before the march got under way; they were taken on an all-day police call at a nearby reservists' camp.
The Brass definitely freakedout, shutting down the post and, cancelling their fun-and-games parades, exhibits, etc. I see from the press that similar steps were taken all across the nation.
The Bond, vol. 4, no. 6