Blair, R. Jeffrey (January 2024). Recollections of a Grunt in America's Draft Resistance Movement (Part One: A criminal offense). The Journal of Aichi Gakuin University Humanities & Sciences, 71, 1/2, pp. 77-99.

The above link will take you to the Table of Contents. By clicking the title at the bottom of the page you will be able to see the full paper and, if you want, print it out. Or you may prefer to download the pdf file of the article. I also have a limited number of reprints that I would be delighted to donate to libraries and scholars of American history. You can find my contact information at the bottom of page 96.

I will use this webpage
(a) to post corrections to any errors that are discovered,
(b) to ((insert text)) that might help clarify my intended meaning,
(c) to post personal photos related to the paper, and
(d) to add links from the text to related materials (mostly YouTune videos).

Corrections

p. 77--What had started as the protests of a few individuals against Johnson' war had grown into a mass movement. Demonstrations and resistance continued to grow after Nixon became President and Commander-in-Chief.
p.79--You could say that I was a grunt in a war against military conscription.
p. 87--I helped chauffeur a committee car from Caltech to MIT, ...
p. 88--Visited my math teacher and mentor Mr. Buttermore at Gunston and ...
p. 90--I looked for Hawaii Draft Resistance ... no longer active. Their activities have been recorded in Resistance Notes 1968-1970 (see Vol. I, No. 3, 8 & 9 and II, No. 5).

p. 92--I joined a 7-day peace march around the Island of Oahu for one day, the 20 miles from Waimanalo to Kahalui.

p. 95--On December 24th, wearing my Caltech letter jacket (see photo), I joined a silent vigil against the war at the Jungle Training Area, close to Schofield Barracks.
p. 96--The photo of the burned cards ... was published in the Honolulu Advertiser, page 2 on November 3, 1971.

Inserts

p. 88--I ... flew student standby as far as I could go ((with the money I had)), Las Vegas.
p. 89--McGovern's brutally frank speech shocked ((his colleagues in)) the Senate, as intended.

Photos (including some new ones)

p. 79

Camp Cresswell, Pa. July 28, 1917 Col. Robert M. Blair (age 9 months) Col. George Blair (as a major) Anna Love Blair, wife and mother Maj. Russell Blair (age 11)	Coblenz, Dec. 14, 1918 Major George Blair on horseback, in the center crossing the Rhine into Germany with the 3rd Army Advanced Guard

p. 80

Rita Francis Connelly in Italy with the Red Cross during WW II

pp. 81-82

Playing on a tank at Ft. Meade Bob swinging on the barrel continuing left to right: Jeff, Russ, and Greg (unidentified child on the far right)

p. 85

Culver cadet	Summers in Hawaii with my family	Caltech student

        Middle photo was taken at Schofield Barracks in the summer of 1967, our first summer in Hawaii. We were about to head to Barber's Point for some surfing. From left to right: Bob, Greg, me, and Russ.

p. 86

Front page of the Senior section double-page map of Indochina Seniors and their lottery numbers	Moratorium: anti-war teach-in and pro-war graffiti

        Photos from Caltech's yearbook The Big T for 1970. Some of the seniors in Page House seem to have their first job all lined up. Men with numbers up to 195 were called up for physicals and induction.

p. 90

AFSC office Ian Lind and friend c1976

Links

p. 78--That left a full year of service, just enough ((time)) for a single tour of duty in Vietnam as a grunt (foot soldier).

p. 80--Dad was appointed to the United States Military Academy ... and graduated with the Class of 1942.

I started first grade at Oakridge, ...

p. 83--Bob and I enrolled as cadets at VMI and CMA respectively.

p. 85--They issued me a Registration Certificate and a Notice of Classification (see Appendix 1).

... I joined the wrestling team.

The Nixon Administration had initiated a plan ...

p. 86--The Selective Service System responded with a new system--a lottery ...
The First Draft Lottery took place on December 1st.

... National Guardsmen invaded Kent State University ...
A similar tragedy occurred at Jackson State University ...

p. 87--The Second Draft Lottery, for men like me who were born in 1951 ... The number assigned to May 30 was 209.

p.89--When the year 1970 came to an end, men with lottery numbers from 1 to 195 had been called up for induction ...

p. 95--When the year 1971 came to an end, men with lottery numbers from 1 to 125 had been called up for induction ...

        Young men are still required to register with Selective Service today, but they are issued Registration (acknowledgement) Cards, which they they are free to keep, throw away, or even burn. In 1965, however, the U.S. Congress very quickly amended the Selective Service law to make it illegal to burn or tear up either of the two draft cards. Hundreds of draft resisters and Vietnam War protesters ignored that law, but only 50 of them were ever charged. Of those 40 were convicted. I was one of them: indicted by a grand jury, convicted at trial, and sentenced, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the conviction.

It was part of what was called the Generation Gap. Jefferson Airplane sang about it: one generation got old ... one generation got soul ... (Volunteers of America).

Court Cases: Published Opinions from F. Supp., F.2d, and US

United States v. David Paul O'Brien No. 6813,
376 F. 2d 538, (First Circuit)
Argued March 8, 1967, Decided April 10, 1967.

United States v. Edward Hasbrouck 1980.

References
Hasbrouck, Edward. (2023). Draft Resistance News.
Hershey, Lewis B. (1965). The Channeling Memo.

Appendix
Burned cards ... Indictment [1] [2]
Docket [1] [2] [3] ... Arrest warrant
Conviction and sentence reversed

Images and news articles
Images [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Articles [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Timelines
Vietnam War
Watergate Scandal

Nixon's speeches: [May 14], [Nov 3], and [Dec 15], 1969
[Jan 22], [April 20], [April 30], and [Oct 7], 1970
[April 7], and [Aug 15], 1971
[Jan 25], [April 26], and [May 8], 1972
[Jan 23], and [March 29], 1973
[Jan 30], and [Aug 8], 1974