Catonsville Nine

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The Catonsville Nine were nine Catholics who burned draft files to protest the Vietnam War.

On May 17, 1968 they went to the draft board in Catonsville, Maryland, took 378 draft files, brought them to the parking lot in wire baskets, dumped them out, poured homemade napalm over them, and set them on fire.

They were: Father Daniel Berrigan, a Jesuit priest; his brother Father Philip Berrigan, a former Josephite priest; Bro. David Darst; John Hogan; Tom Lewis, an artist; Marjorie Bradford Melville; her husband, Thomas Melville, a former Maryknoll priest; George Mische; and Mary Moylan, a former nun.

Fr. Philip Berrigan and Tom Lewis had previously poured blood on draft records as part of the "Baltimore Four", and were out on bail when they burned the records at Catonsville.

The Catonsville Nine were tried in federal court October 5-9, 1968. The lead defense attorney was William Kunstler.

They were found guilty of destruction of U.S. property, destruction of Selective Service files, and interference with the Selective Service Act of 1967.

Contents

[edit] "The Trial of the Catonsville Nine" (play)

Fr. Daniel Berrigan wrote a play in free verse, The Trial of the Catonsville Nine, about the trial. The version performed is usually an adaptation into regular dialogue by Saul Levitt.

In 1972 a film version was produced by Gregory Peck.

Fr. Daniel Berrigan wrote, of the Catonsville incident: "Our apologies, good friends, for the fracture of good order, the burning of paper instead of children. . . ."

[edit] Documentary

A documentary film about the event, Investigation of a Flame, was produced in 2001 by the filmmaker Lynne Sachs.

[edit] See Also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  • Berrigan, Daniel (1970). The Trial of the Catonsville Nine. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 0-8070-0549-5.
  • Lynd, Straughton; & Lynd, Alice (Eds.) (1995). Nonviolence in America: A Documentary History. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
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