Michael Bunch

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Michael Bunch
Died	October 11, 1968

On Friday, October 11, 1968, 19-year-old anti-war serviceman Private Michael Bunch—imprisoned for having gone AWOL—was shot and killed trying to escape from a work detail at the Presidio stockade in San Francisco where he'd been confined with other anti-war servicemen. His death inspired a protest the following Monday known as the "Presidio Mutiny." 27 prisoners broke rank, sang We Shall Overcome then ignored commands given to cease and desist. The "Presidio 27" made demands that included an investigation into the murder of Michael Bunch. That Saturday a "GI vets for peace march" was to occur in San Francisco approximately 10,000 strong.

Charges of mutiny were read aloud to the prisoners, who in response drowned the commanding officer out with song. They were sprayed with fire hoses and eventually picked up one by one and returned to their cells. The protest resulting from Michael Bunch's murder helped the anti-war movement gain momentum when the Presidio 27 were considered for the electric chair. They were all subsequently released over a period up to about a year and a half after the incident.

This event was discussed in the 2006 documentary Sir! No Sir!.