The records of the GICLDC represent a significant, though under-documented, aspect of the history of the anti-war movement of the late 1960's. Included are correspondence, press materials, research files on the various cases with which the group was involved, and miscellany. Taken together with a file of underground GI newspapers collected by GICLDC which were separated to the Library, the collection provides a fairly complete record of activities and concerns. Substantive documentation on the legal cases themselves, however, is not included. Beyond its evidentiary value, GICLDC's incoming correspondence provides a useful reflection of the anti-war sentiment in the military.
CORRESPONDENCE, which mainly dates from early 1969 through 1970, concerns a variety of topics ranging from occasional exchanges with lawyer Leonard B. Boudin who represented the “Fort Jackson 8,” to exchanges with individual soldiers reporting on sentiment on their respective posts, seeking counsel, or discussing development of their defenses. The outgoing correspondence, which was most often handed by Stacey Seigle and less frequently by Matilde Zimmermann, concerns assemblage of the sponsors list and routine arrangements for a fund-raising speaking tour by members of the “Fort Jackson 8.” Although the list of sponsors includes many prominent names (there are routine notes from Noam Chomsky, Jules Feiffer, Floyd McKissick, and Bertrand Russell), the correspondence suggests that only Ruth Gage-Colby of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom was actively involved in the organization.
The public information aspect of GICLDC's activities is represented in a file of PRESS MATERIAL. These consist of press releases, primarily dating from September 1968 to January 1970, concerning the cases of Myers, Joseph D. Miles, and the “Fort Jackson 8.” There are also a few miscellaneous flyers, and releases issued by six GICLDC chapters. Five numbers of the GICLDC Newsletter, 1969-1971, have been transferred to the Library.
Actual involvement in litigation is best represented in the LEGAL DEFENSE RESEARCH FILES. Arranged alphabetically by post, with subdivisions as necessary for individuals, the files include copies of correspondence, military forms, statements sand affidavits, clippings, and letters of support. The files of the Edmund Jurenas case include official letters of inquiry from a number of national legislators, the most interesting of which were written by Bella S. Abzug and George McGovern. Like the press releases, the bulk of the research files concern the “Fort Jackson 8,” although there are good records of the Jurenas, Miles, and Myers cases.
MISCELLANY includes financial records for 1969, lists of sponsors, and photographs. The photographs include images of a protest parade against the Vietnam Conflict, probably in New Jersey, created by photographer Jack Fuerstein and an image of soldiers at Fort Jackson, S.C.
