Tens of thousands of persons took to the streets throughout the United States April 5 and 6 to demand that American troops be withdrawn from Vietnam. The demonstrations were the largest since April 1968. They marked a dramatic end to the lull in anti-war activity induced by last year's election campaign, the Paris negotiations and the "honeymoon" of the Nixon administration. Particularly significant were the large numbers of American soldiers marching in the front ranks of anti-war parties in several cities.
In New York a throng estimated at more than 100,000 marched through midtown Manhattan April 5. In Chicago the same day, some 37,000 protestors took part in the largest demonstration on record in that city. On April 6, demonstrations were held in nearly thirty other cities. In Atlanta, Georgia, 3,000 persons joined a parade opposing the war and commemorating the first anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King. Press reports, which generally understate the size of demonstrations by at least half, put the number of anti-war marchers in San Francisco at 15,000 and in Los Angeles at 4,000.
The nationwide demonstrations were called by the GI-Civilian Anti-war Conference, which met in Chicago December 27-26, 1969. The conference had the support and endorsement of leading anti-war groups and activists from many cities. It elected a liaison co-ordinating committee including Fred Halstead of the Socialist Workers Party; Sidney Lens, co-chairman of the National Mobilisation Committee; Howard Petrick of the Student Mobilisation Committee (SMC); and others. In New York the massive parade was organised by the Fifth Avenue Vietnam Peace Parade Committee. The SMC played a vital role in organising the tens of thousands of students that turned out and in [illegible] to involve GIs in the [illegible] action.
Marchers assembled in the rain in midtown Manhattan, filling the side streets for blocks around 41st Street and Sixth Avenue. At the head of the parade were GIs under a banner reading: "GIs Against the War in Vietnam!" Several hundred armed soldiers were on hand, in civilian clothes and wearing white paper caps identifying them as anti-war members of the American armed forces. Behind the GIs marched rank after rank of veterans of Vietnam and other wars, many wearing medals or the insignia of various campaigns. After them came the students and youth.
The overwhelming majority of the marchers were young. Most were high-school students. Even the rain, which kept many adults away, failed to dampen the enthusiasm of these anti-war warriors.
There [illegible] profusion of homemade posters and banners. The most common demanded: "End the War in Vietnam", "Bring the Troops Home" and "Free the GIs". Others said: "Since Talks Began - 10,000 Dead", "Peace Now" and "Victory to the NLF". Many wore black armbands with the numerals "23,000", signifying the number of American [illegible] in Vietnam. One marcher carried an effigy of a crucified soldier. The massive march lasted more than three hours. The concluding rally at [illegible] Street in Central Park was nearly over before the last of the marchers stepped off from the assembly point thirty blocks away.
The demonstration received wide coverage in the press and over radio and television. It was the major event on evening national news telecasts. One radio station provided live coverage of the march and the rally. The NEW YORK TIMES devoted [illegible] column of its front page on April 6 to a picture of the GI contingent.
The sharp resurgence of the movement that brought down Lyndon Johnson sent tremors through the Nixon administration. While the anti-war throng was marching in New York, Washington officials told the press that Nixon had decided to end the war and pull U.S. troops out. The actual "plan", however, remained as much a secret as the one Nixon claimed to have when asked about the war during his campaign against Humphrey many months ago. It was clear that the antiwar movement had drawn blood in Washington, but Nixon still appeared to be stalling for time.
Another aspect of the anti-war demonstrations that drew worried attention from capitalist commentators was the growth of the GI contingents. In [illegible] page two article on April 6, the NEW YORK TIMES said: "The peace demonstrations by soldiers in six American cities this weekend reflect the rapid growth in [illegible] months of a seriously worrisome problem and an emotional affront to the armed services - aggressive anti-war militancy by enlisted men. A contradiction in terms, the anti-war soldier may become the most disruptively effective peace activist [illegible], with an impact that could far exceed his small numbers in the 3.5 million-man armed forces."