Above Ground. 1(2), September, 1969.
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 EXCERPT
'… PEOPLE MUST ACT TO END WAR'
An Interview
By Curt Stocker
"I am convinced the Establishment will not end the war in Vietnam until the people make them
end the war … The Government is not acting in the interest of the majority of the people."
This indictment of the Establishment was made to ABOVEGROUND by Andrew Pulley in an interview
August 15. Pulley, 18 years old and hailing from the Cleveland ghetto, is one of the eight
founders of G.I.'s United Against the War in Vietnam. He was in Colorado Springs as part of his
national tour to raise support for the movement against the War and racial prejudice.
"When I was 17, I was given a choice between jail and the Army," said Pulley of his
younger days, "I was apolitical before arriving at Fort Jackson. There was a lot of
harassment at Jackson. In the counter insurgency classes, they told us that God wanted us to
kill commies. They said we are fighting for Democracy 10,000 miles away when we don't even have
it here."
According to Pulley the growth of his organization was, for the most part assisted by the actions
the Army used in attempting to quell its progress. "Everything the Army did backfired.
They put us on restriction and the only thing it did was keep us together. They put some of us
on K.P. for harassment. I took my literature against the War with me and started rappin' it on
some of the cooks and they threw me off K.P. for good.
"Last January," said Pully referring to the beginning, "five black G.I.'s met in
a room to listen to Malcolm X tapes and discuss the war, poverty, and racism. One-third of my
company was black and the next night, there were 50 black G.I.'s at the meeting. We realized it
would take a mass movement … getting involved."
Seeing a problem on the horizon, the Military attempted to break it up before it had gained any
more momentum. The G.I.'s had taken the time to make sure they were within Army Regulations while
conducting these meetings. "The Army said that no more than eight G.I.'s could be in a room
at the same time because of the danger of respitory diseases, so we held the meeting outside in
February. This was the meeting where we drafted our name, G.I.'s United Against the War in
Vietnam. This tells quite plainly what we stand for. We also drafted three points at this
meeting: 1. The withdrawal of all American troops from Vietnam, 2. An end to racism, and 3.
The right to self determination.
"We started a petition demanding facilities to hold a meeting to discuss the legal and moral
aspects of the Vietnamese War., Anybody could come, pro or con, it was going to be like a
teach-in. If we held it, there was going to be TV coverage. If they said no, we told them we
were going to bring legal action. They refused the petition on the grounds that a petition is
the same as collective bargaining and the Army does not recognize collective bargaining as
legal."
Pulley went on to describe the meeting that was held anyway, outside between two barracks since
the Army refused the facilities for an in-door meeting. The crowd that gathered was large enough
to make the Commander more than a little nervous. "There were guys hanging out the windows
of the barracks on the second floor and men were standing rows deep around the outside. The
Officer of the Day drove up in his jeep and approached the speaker and told him that he needed a
haircut. The man obviously didn't need a haircut and everybody just laughed at the officer. It
wasn't any of the eight of us who laughed at him and he knew it because he had us locked at
attention in front of him."
The following day, charges were brought against the eight G.I.'s. They were many and diversified
in their nature, the charges, ranging from disrespect to an NCO, to failure to disperse.
"Jose Rudder, a Vietnam-Vet, was charged with disobeying an order to disperse,"
commented Pulley, "How can one man disperse?"
The four "Ringleaders" were placed in pre-trial confinement for 61 days while the
Federal Courts in the area passed the buck around, all disclaiming jurisdiction over the case.
The Military Intelligence spy, whom must have been a super agent since he had been elected
secretary of G.I.'s United Against the War in Vietnam, could only tell the truth to his
superiors. Since the Eight were completely within their constitutional rights and had committed
no illegal acts, the Army's actions once again began to backfire.
The Federal Court of Appeals demanded that the Federal District Court take jurisdiction over the
case and the charges were dropped the same day. "Within two days, six of us were given
discharges because we were considered a threat to the United States. Our organization places
emphasis on the Constitution. We were all completely clean and we always told the truth.
When you place emphasis on your rights as an American Citizen, the people and the press will
defend you."
G.I.'s United Against the War in Vietnam currently has a suit pending asking for an injunction
against the Military making it illegal for them to prosecute against the freedoms of speech,
press and assembly. "The suit has been pending now for two months," said Pulley,
"we fully expect to win it."
"The reason for my visit (to the Springs) is not solely to gain more support for the
Movement, but it would be nice if something got started here. The Establishment is shaky because
they can't stop the Anti-War feeling. To do this, they will have to stop the War."
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