44 Years Ago on Frederick Road: Draft Records Burned With Napalm
The anti-war protest of the Catonsville Nine May 17, 1968 influenced the country in turning against the Vietnam War.
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Forty-four years ago Thursday, nine men and women entered what was then the Selective Service office on Frederick Road in Catonsville, removed hundreds of draft records and burned them with homemade napalm outside of the building.
Located on the second floor of the Knights of Columbus building on Frederick and Beaumont, the small local draft board was suddenly thrust into the national spotlight.
Perpetrated by what became known as the Catonsville Nine, the group of Catholic missionaries were morally opposed to the military engagement in Vietnam. The nine included poet and former priest Daniel Berrigan, his brother Philip Berrigan, also a former priest, and seven others.
In 1980, the Berrigan brothers and six others formed The Plowshares Movement.
The brazen act of civil disobedience on May 17, 1968, marked a turning point in public sentiment against the Vietnam conflict and remains an inspiration to activists today, as Occupy Baltimore posted about the anniversary on Facebook and Twitter.
The incidents of the day have been documented over the years in books, through filmmakers and in local history collections.
One of the most comprehensive collections can be found online through the Enoch Pratt Free Library, which includes profiles of all the nine activists and coverage of the trial, which also gained national attention. Many of the documents are also saved in the Local History Room at the Catonsville Library.
Daniel Berrigan wrote a play, "The Trial of the Catonsville Nine," based on court transcripts, that was performed on Broadway in 1971 and made into a film the following year.
A documentary, "Investigation of a Flame," was made by Lynne Sachs in 2003 that explored the motives of the activists.
Several years ago, two filmmakers, Joe Trapoea and Skizz Cyzyk, raised funds through a Kickstarter campaign to make a new documentary looking at the Catonsville Nine and several other similar incidents at that time. The film "Hit and Stay" has yet to be released, but the filmmakers wrote on their website they are still seeking funds to finish the project this year.
To view a five-minute trailer of the film, go here.
You tell us: What do you think of the actions of the Catonsville Nine? Post in the comments below.
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Catonsville Library
1100 Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD -
Knights of Columbus #1960
1010 Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD
Lorna D. Rudnikas
2:19 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012
How charming to equate the Catonsville Nine with the Occupiers Harbor Place....
David Sattler
3:14 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Where do you see "equate"? The story mentions that the Occupy Baltimore group posted about the anniversary on its Facebook and Twitter pages. If you go to Occupy Baltimore's Facebook page, the posting merely marks the anniversary, with no editorial comment whatsoever.
Lorna D. Rudnikas
5:17 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Please don't get in a tizzy honey child....I am simply responding to "The brazen act of civil disobedience on May 17, 1968, marked a turning point in public sentiment against the Vietnam conflict and remains an inspiration to activists today, as Occupy Baltimore posted about the anniversary on Facebook and Twitter" ...don't keep up with Facebook...or Twitter....
Bruce Goldfarb
9:36 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012
This doesn't equate Occupy Baltimore with the Catonsville Nine. Many people of all kinds may cite Jesus Christ as an inspiration. But that doesn't mean they're saints.
David Hutton
8:49 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
I remember the event well; it was my draft board, and happened on my birthday, and I always wondered whether my records were among those burned.
Michael Ernest
10:41 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
Yah-me too!
Lorna D. Rudnikas
3:32 pm on Friday, May 18, 2012
Bruce I must certainly admit that you have something there.....very well stated..no doubt about it!!!
Jim Himel
3:32 pm on Monday, May 21, 2012
The 44th anniversary of the Catonsville Nine is an unusual event of national prominence and personal reflection. There are few lifetime experiences that come close to the emotional trauma of sending family off to war in a far away place. And war stands alone in exposing just how cruel and in-humane our human society can be in spite of our often touted, but slightly exaggerated superior intelligence and religious/Christian values.
What is significant and singular about this event is how in an age before twitter, a small group of Catholic peace activists were able to bring national attention to the callus act of drafting our young men to be sent off to one of those far away wars. 58,000 of those young men that we sent off to this war came home in body bags. This event and this war galvanized the anti-draft sediment in the US that remains in place today.
I am too old to debate the political nuances of a “just” war. My personal reflection of life at 60 years is that I have never lived in a time of peace. How very sad to reflect that during my lifetime, there has always been a war in some far away place where humans were killing other humans.
Will we ever learn that war is not the answer?
Arbutus Town Crier
9:50 pm on Wednesday, May 23, 2012
If you dig real deep into history you can find why that happened you have to travel that road because no one would believe you after you found the truth
Lorna D. Rudnikas
5:31 pm on Monday, May 21, 2012
I too have not lived in any time of total peace.Your thoughts and words are profoundly moving. Your longing question regarding whether we will ever learn that "war" is not the answer....sadly, very sadly, sometimes war ends up being the only answer (i.e., WWII)
Chuck
11:33 pm on Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Force your way into an office and destroy goverment property to protest something you believe unjust today, you would be labeled a terrorist.
Larry Wilt
9:09 am on Friday, May 10, 2013
I am 100% in agreement with Jim Himel's comment. It is worth re-reading.