Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 28. August 2008 / Timeline August 28, 2008
Version 3.527. August 2008, 29. August 2008
08/28/2008
Let’s pause to remember, salute the Buffalo Nine
By: Sharon M. H. Fischer, Tonawanda, Buffalo News Forty years ago
this month, U. S. marshals invaded the Unitarian-Universalist
Church in Buffalo where two men, Bruce Beyer and Bruce Cline, were
living in “symbolic sanctuary” for their refusal to
serve in the Vietnam War.
The men and some of their supporters were attacked, arrested and
put on trial (twice) on the false charges of assaulting the
marshals who assaulted them. They became known as the Buffalo Nine,
and their prosecution mobilized this city into two years of
political action not seen here before or since. Because of them,
countless others were motivated to turn in their draft cards and
join the growing anti-war movement. Their actions helped end the
war and saved lives.
The Buffalo Nine suffered far beyond their court trials: Three
served time in prison, one fled to exile in Sweden and Canada, one
was black-listed for so long that he had to change his name, one
suffered years of hospitalization and one committed suicide. All
suffered loss of jobs and years of FBI harassment.
Forty years later, with this country again embroiled in an unjust
and unpopular war, we should pause to remember the Buffalo Nine and
salute them for all they did to advance the causes of peace,
justice and freedom.
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