Douglas Wachter

The period from 1967 to 1970 was a period of rapid disintegration of morale and widespread rebellion within the U.S. military. There were a variety of causes contributing to this development. By this time the war had become vastly unpopular in the general society, anti-war demonstrations were large and to some degree respectable, and prominent politicians were speaking out against the continuation of the war. For youth drafted into the military in these years the war was already a dicey proposition, and with the ground war raging and coffins coming home every day, very few new recruits were enthusiastic about their situation. In addition, the rising level of black consciousness and the rapidly spreading dope culture both served to alienate new recruits from military authority.

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Black G.I. Ron Lockman, age 23, was already serving as a private 1st class in the Army when he received his orders to get on a plane to fight in Vietnam.  He believed that the Vietnam war was illegal, and he refused to get on the plane.  Mr. Lockman was court-martialed on November 13, 1967 and was convicted after 11 minutes of deliberation.  He received a sentence of 30 months in prison, of which he served 26.  He was defended by San Francisco Attorney Terence ("Kayo") Hallinan, who when interviewed before the trial said getting Ron Lockman acquitted was possible, but it was a "long shot"

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A demonstration in support of Ron Lockman was held in the San Francisco Presidio on November 29, 1967.   For some reason, the Army held an honor guard drill near the demonstration, which was objected to by a pro-Lockman demonstrator, who was quickly manhandled and removed from the scene.