Library - Reading Room
Supporting Materials for Sir! No Sir!
Stop It Now
When the aircraft carrier Ticonderoga, the "Tico," left-San Diego in mid-May, a movement called "Stop It Now" (SIN) had begun to grow on board.
It began when three crewmembers took sanctuary in a Friends Center in La Jolla rather than sail to Indochina with their ship. They were "peacefully apprehended" and returned to the ship. A petition campaign began on the ship in support of their action, and as the ship sailed toward the war zone, the three began to refuse to work.
Two of the original three, Bruce Rumer and John Elliott, were sentenced to the ship's brig through Captain's Mast, a form of non-judicial punishment, for missing ship's movement. They have also been threatened with summary courtmartial for refusing to work. The third, Tony Powers, has been singled out as the ring leader, and is now at Pearl Harbor awaiting a special court martial.
A fourth sailor, Don Whitlatch, also refused to work as the ship entered the war zone. He was sentenced to the brig in a Captain's Mast, and threatened with summary court martial if he continued to refuse to work upon release on June 27. No further word has been received about his situation.
These men have taken serious risks to show their opposition to the war, and they have asked for civilian support. Letters to the ship's captain, the Department of the Navy, and to congressmen may help them in their fight against the brass. Letters to the men personally will certainly give them needed moral support while the are at sea.
SOS News, June 1972