Title: Steve Rees Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1970-1978

Creator:

• Rees, Steve, 1945-

Call Number: Mss 779; Tape 1220A; PH 3897

Quantity: 4.0 c.f. (10 archives boxes), 4 tape recordings, and 24 photographs

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers of Steve Rees, a writer, editor, and anti-Vietnam war activist whose involvement with the revolutionary organization of Movement for a Democratic Military (MDM) led to the establishment in 1970, of the underground GI newspaper Up Against the Bulkhead. Included in the organizational records are background materials, administrative records, articles and research, correspondence, and files relating to the production of the newspaper. A prominent correspondent is David Cortright, author of Soldier's Revolt. There are also limited files documenting Rees's activity in the formation of the above-ground GI newspaper Enlisted Times and some fragmentary records of the Stop Our Ship (SOS) movement, closely allied with Up Against the Bulkhead. Records consist of material relating to the production of the SOS Newsletter, correspondence, mailing lists, and project files on specific U.S. aircraft carriers.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00779

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Steve Rees was born November 26, 1948 in Chicago, Illinois to Barbara Middlemen and Robert Rees. In 1955 his family moved to Woodside, California where he completed high school and became a member of the Student Friends of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1963. He attended the University of California, Santa Cruz from 1966 to 1969, joining Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) during his freshman year.

Rees left college in 1969 to participate more actively in the anti-war movement. Through friends' involvement in the Movement for a Democratic Military (MDM) at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California, Rees became involved in the GI Movement. In March 1970, Rees and two other civilians, with no direct military experience, began the underground GI newspaper, Up Against the Bulkhead.

The political guidelines for the paper were originally the program of MDM, drafted in San Diego, California in mid-1969. The major points advocated collective bargaining, equal pay to the federal minimum wage, and an end to racism, the draft, military censorship, class structure in the military, and the Vietnam war. The paper was initially directed toward Navy personnel, but with MDM'S collapse in August, 1970, the paper was re-directed toward GIs in all branches of the Armed Forces. Emphasis was placed on reaching the considerable number of GIs passing through the Bay Area on their way to or from the Asian duty stations. Most of the papers were distributed by hand in the San Francisco and Oakland airports. The remainders were mailed to individual subscribers, United States Servicemen's Fund (USSF), Pacific Counseling Service (PCS) projects, and active duty distributors around the world.

Work on Up Against the Bulkhead consisted of putting out the newspaper every six to eight weeks and maintaining the Correspondence Project. The paper consisted of essentially three types of material: letters to the editor, short articles, and a longer feature. The short articles covered stories of general interest to the GI often clipped from civilian newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, Washington Post, and the Pacific News Service. Other GI newspapers, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam also provided material for the short articles. Feature articles covered issues relating to the anti-war movement as well as stories on POWs, drugs, political prisoners, and the Stop Our Ship movement.

In addition to producing Up Against the Bulkhead, the newspaper staff maintained a correspondence project, the purpose of which was to break down the GIs' isolation from civilians and the anti-war movement. All correspondents received a response as well as a packet of pamphlets and reprints about the paper and the GI movement. Packets included “Vietnam-A Thousand Years of Struggle”, “Ask a Marine” by David Osborne, pamphlets on the air war, War Bulletins, and articles on heroin, legal rights, and other topics. The staff received many requests for specific literature and served as a distributor for “Ask a Marine” by Osborne and “Turning the Regs Around” by Nancy Harsch.

Up Against the Bulkhead experienced financial problems and staff turnover throughout its existence. Although staff worked entirely on a volunteer basis, expenses often exceeded the limited budget and caused delays in the production schedule. Funding sources included the United States Servicemen's Fund, Health-PAC, Pacific Counseling Service, and the San Francisco Cambium Fund. Limited funds were received from subscribers, primarily to cover shipping costs. Staff members often contributed personal funds as well as services. Rees, who also worked for a typesetting collective, was able to offer this service free-of-charge to the paper.

Several of the newspaper staff, not including Rees, left the paper in the Fall of 1971 to join a civilian support group of the Stop Our Ship movement. Sailors and Marines with anti-war sentiments began the movement by distributing petitions aboard the USS Constellation and the USS Coral Sea in an effort to prevent deployment of the ships to Vietnam. Many of the petitions were confiscated before they could be presented to Congress. The civilian support groups provided stability and continuity to the movement by leaf letting and fund-raising for public support while the ships were out of port. The civilian group in San Francisco published the SOS Newsletter and was primarily involved in the effort to prevent the deployment of the USS Coral Sea to Vietnam.

Following the January 1973 ceasefire, half of the Up Against the Bulkhead staff resigned due to personal differences and a general loss of direction and purpose. The three remaining staff, including Rees, put aside publishing the paper in an attempt to arrive at a clear statement of purpose and a stable source of funding. The paper ceased production following the February 1974 issue although one issue was printed on March 9, 1975.

Through recruitment efforts, the staff grew to eight between February 1974 and February 1975. This group worked on writing and distributing leaflets and investigative reporting. During this period Rees, Linda Alband, Denni Woodmansee, and other staff members contributed freelance articles on a variety of subjects including the USS Coral Sea (Save American Vessels), Variable Re-enlistment Bonus, Volar, Women and the Armed Forces, and Charles Wood.

Many staff meetings during this time were devoted to defining the group's role in the post-war, volunteer army era. Calling themselves the Bay Area Military Study Group (BAMSG), the core group of Rees, Alband, and Woodmansee, wrote a proposal presented in the GIPA News and Discussion Bulletin in 1976. The proposal outlined the group's political beliefs and called for support of a new GI newspaper, a mass-circulation, statewide newsmonthly for enlisted men and women. It was specifically tailored to revitalize, broaden, and strengthen the GI Movement.

Between 1976 and 1977 efforts were made to raise funds, solicit mailing lists from large publishers, and generate interest and support for the new paper. In November 1976 a sample issue of Enlisted Times was published with Rees in the position of managing editor/publisher. Although reaction to the issue was positive, the paper experienced financial difficulties due to lack of subscribers. The final issue was published August/September 1980.

Rees has continued to work as a freelance writer in the San Francisco area and has worked on the staff of Mother Jones and Info World.

The papers reflect Rees's committed and continued involvement as a civilian in the GI movement. Although not directly involved with the SOS movement, Rees inherited the fragmentary records from staff members who left Up Against the Bulkhead to join the SOS movement. The collection as a whole complements the extensive holdings of GI newspapers in the State Historical Society of Wisconsin library. The collection also provides good documentation of internal concerns and activities of the staff beyond that of producing the newspaper. Although the internal files are somewhat weak between 1970 and 1973, the correspondence files for this period are particularly strong.

The papers of Steve Rees primarily consist of records, correspondence, and research material collected and generated by the staff of Up Against the Bulkhead and the Stop Our Ship (SOS) movement. The records have been divided into three series, UP AGAINST THE BULKHEAD, SOS, and PHOTOGRAPHS.

Within the series UP AGAINST THE BULKHEAD, the records have been sub-divided into alphabetical files of Background, Administration, Articles and research, Correspondence, and Production. The tape recordings in this series include two concerning the Pendleton 14 case of November 13, 1977 with civil liberties specialist David Weitzman and den organizer of the Pendleton KKK Dennis Campbell; a tape produced by National Public Radio on the issue of Variable Re-enlistment Bonuses, 1976; and a tape regarding GI movement news from the Pacific Counseling Service in Iwakuni, Japan.

The Background material includes several papers which discuss the GI Movement in general and some strategies and tactics for organizing. The Travis analysis also gives an overview of the movement but concentrates on the specific organizing tactics of a U.S. Air Force base. Included in this file is a critical response to the Travis paper written by an Up Against the Bulkhead staffer.

Administrative records are sub-divided into finances and meeting notes. Included in the financial records are itemized lists of assets and liabilities and a running audit describing the paper's financial activities from 1970 to 1972. Several funding proposals are in these files, requesting support for Up Against the Bulkhead, Pacific Counseling Service, and Stop Our Ship. There is also correspondence requesting funding to reprint David Osborne's “Ask a Marine,” which Up Against the Bulkhead distributed. Meeting notes are fragmentary, with the most complete documentation between 197/i and 1976. Regional discussions consist of minutes of the San Francisco Regional GI Movement whose members included individuals from Up Against the Bulkhead, Travisty, SOS, Chenoweth Defense Committee, the GI Tape project, Pacific Counseling Service, and the Bay Area Military Law Office.

The Articles and research files consist primarily of research material gathered for articles written following the last issue of the paper. These articles were written by Steve Rees, Linda Alband, Denni Woodmansee, and other former members of the newspaper staff. Submitted as freelance articles, several were used by Common Sense, Radical America, Recon, GIPA News and Discussion Bulletin, and Pacific News Service. Included also in these files are notes, early drafts, and some correspondence. Numerous revisions of the Discussion draft will also be found in this section. This proposal was used as a vehicle to describe the political beliefs and objectives of the staff. Included in this proposal is a request for support from the GI Movement for the establishment of a mass-circulation, anti-military newspaper.

The Correspondence files consist of incoming and outgoing correspondence between the staff and enlisted members of the Armed Forces, GI Movement organizers, veterans, and civilians. This section is divided into three subsections: chronological and alphabetical files of general correspondence and the Correspondence Project.

The chronological correspondence consists primarily of requests for mailing lists and information regarding the distribution of Enlisted Times. The alphabetical file contains correspondence between members of the Bay Area Military Study Group (BAMSG) and various organizations, individuals, and publishers involved in the GI movement. Much of this material concerns articles written for publication as well as general information about the current state of the GI Movement. The correspondence between David Cortright and Rees is particularly revealing of Rees' political convictions.

The correspondence within the Correspondence Project files is primarily between the Up Against the Bulkhead staff and active duty servicemen, military and political prisoners, veterans, and some civilians. Much of the incoming correspondence concerns requests for information regarding servicemen's rights and news of the GI Movement. The outgoing correspondence of the staff contains news of the GI Movement as well as requests for information from those inside the military.

Production files consist of materials used in the production of the newspaper, as well as material used to facilitate distribution of the newspaper. A clipping file containing material on anti-war activities, dissent in the military, and on the GI Movement in general is found in this section and was used to supplement the articles of investigative reporting by the staff. Included in the distribution file is general information for distributors as well as formal requests for authorization to distribute the paper on a military base. There are photographs used to illustrate articles as well as several which show the newspaper staff distributing the paper to active duty GIs. Also included in the Production files are mailing lists of subscribers and several submissions of writing by GIs for possible inclusion in the paper.

The STOP OUR SHIP files have been subdivided into an alphabetical arrangement consisting of Articles and drafts, civilian support committee, correspondence, mailing lists, sample packet, ship files, and staff. Several of the files pertain to the production of the SOS Newsletter. The correspondence is primarily from active duty GIs stationed aboard USS aircraft carriers and contains subscription orders as well as statements of appreciation for the civilian support. Several of the correspondents discuss conditions, morale, and SOS activity aboard ship. The ship files contain technical information, leaflets, petitions, and some correspondence specific to each ship. The USS Coral Sea files are the largest in this section and include a daily journal kept by sailor Glen Horne, and petitions stating objections to the war and the deployment of the ship to Vietnam. There is also a file pertaining to the sanctuary offered by the Berkeley City Council to the AWOL soldiers of the USS Coral Sea.

The PHOTOGRAPHS are related to stories covered by the publications in the collection. Some show distribution of the publications to Naval personnel.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Steve Rees, San Francisco, California, 1981. Accession Number: M81-443

Processing Information

Processed by Andrew W. Kraushaar, 1990.

Mss 779	Series: Up Against the Bulkhead
	Subseries: Background: GI movement analysis
Box   1 Folder   1	General, 1971
Box   1 Folder   2	Travis, 1973
	Subseries: Administration	⇧
	Finances
Box   1 Folder   3	Expenses, 1970-1973
Box   1 Folder   4	Funding proposals, 1971-1972
Box   1 Folder   5	Individual contributors, 1971-1973
	Meeting notes
Box   1 Folder   6	National GI Conference, 1974
Box   1 Folder   7	Regional discussions, 1973
Box   1 Folder   8-10	Bulkhead minutes, 1974-1976
	Subseries: Articles and research	⇧
Box   1 Folder   1	Pat Chenoweth, 1972-1973
	Coral Sea (Save American Vessels)
Box   2 Folder   2	Correspondence, 1974-1975
Box   2 Folder   3	Notes and drafts, 1975
Box   2 Folder   4	Pacific News Service, drafts, 1974-1975
Box   2 Folder   5	Press clippings and statements, 1974
Box   2 Folder   6	Research, undated
	Discussion draft
Box   2 Folder   7	Final, 1976
Box   2 Folder   8	Notes, 1974
Box   2 Folder   9-10	Outlines/drafts, 1974-1976
Box   3 Folder   1	Hille, Tad, 1975
Box   3 Folder   2	Movement for a Democratic Military, 1970
	Pendleton 14, undated
Box   3 Folder   3	Background
Tape 1220A No.   1	Campbell, Dennis - Pendleton KKK den organizer
No.   2	Weitzman, David - civil liberties specialist
Mss 779 Box   3 Folder   4	Smith, Billy Dean, 1971-1972
Box   3 Folder   5	Union Movement, 1976
	USCGC Midgett
Box   3 Folder   6	Background, 1977-1978
Box   3 Folder   7	Correspondence, 1978
Box   3 Folder   8	Drafts, 1978
Box   3 Folder   9	Notes, 1978
	Variable Re-enlisted Bonus
Box   3 Folder   10	Article, 1976
Box   3 Folder   11	Correspondence, 1975-1976
Tape 1220A No.   3	National Public Radio, 1976
Mss 779 Box   3 Folder   12	Volar-research and drafts, 1973-1975
Box   3 Folder   13	War Crimes, 1970-1972
Box   4 Folder   1	Williams, Alexander, 1976
Box   4 Folder   2	Women and the Volunteer Armed Forces, undated
Box   4 Folder   3	Wood, Charles, 1974-1975
Box   4 Folder   4	Miscellaneous, undated
	Subseries: Correspondence	⇧
	Chronological
Box   4 Folder   5-9	1975-1977
Box   5 Folder   1-2	1978
	General
Box   5 Folder   3	Alband, Linda, 1976-1977
Box   5 Folder   4	Center for Servicemen's Rights, 1975-1977
Box   5 Folder   5	Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, 1976-1978
Box   5 Folder   6	Cortright, David, 1975-1978
Box   5 Folder   7	Enlisted Peoples' Organizing Committee, 1976-1977
Box   5 Folder   8	Fight Back, 1977-1978
Box   5 Folder   9	FORWARD, 1976
Box   5 Folder   10	Friends Military Counseling Center, 1976-1977
Box   5 Folder   11	GI Project Alliance, 1973-1977
Box   6 Folder   1	Hate Mail, 1979
Box   6 Folder   2	In These Times, 1976-1977
Box   6 Folder   3	Manley, Doug, 1976-1977
	Pacific Counseling Service, 1976-1977
Box   6 Folder   4	General
Tape 1220A No.   4	Iwakuni, Japan
Mss 779 Box   6 Folder   5	Portland Military and Veterans Counseling Center, 1976-1978
Box   6 Folder   6	Project LAMBDA, 1976-1977
Box   6 Folder   7	Radical America, 1976-1977
Box   6 Folder   8	Recon, 1975-1977
Box   6 Folder   9	Risener, Randy, 1976
Box   6 Folder   10	Safe Return Amnesty Committee, 1975-1978
Box   6 Folder   11	Sauers, Chip, 1975-1978
Box   6 Folder   12	Watts, Max, 1977-1978
	Project
Box   6 Folder   13	Background, undated
Box   6 Folder   14-15	Air Force, 1970-1974
Box   7 Folder   1-2	Army, 1970-1974
Box   7 Folder   3	Civilians, 1970-1974
Box   7 Folder   4	Coast Guard, 1970-1974
Box   7 Folder   5	Cox, Paul, 1973
Box   7 Folder   6	Hate Mail, 1970-1974
Box   7 Folder   7-8	Marines, 1970-1974
	Navy, 1970-1974
Box   7 Folder   9	A-C
Box   8 Folder   1-6	D-Z
Box   8 Folder   7	Organizations, 1971-1974
Box   8 Folder   8	Osborne, David, 1971-1973
Box   9 Folder   1	Prisoners, 1970-1974
Box   9 Folder   2	Veterans, 1970-1974
	Subseries: Production	⇧
Box   9 Folder   3-5	Clippings, 1967-1971; undated
Box   9 Folder   6	Distribution, undated
	Mailing Lists
Box   9 Folder   7	Health and doctors, undated
Box   9 Folder   8	Individual subscribers, undated
Box   9 Folder   9	Organizations, undated
Box   10 Folder   1	Submissions, undated
	Series: Stop Our Ship	⇧
Box   10 Folder   2	Articles and drafts, undated
Box   10 Folder   3	Civilian Support Committee, 1971-1972
Box   10 Folder   4	Correspondence, 1972
Box   10 Folder   5	Mailing lists; ships, undated
Box   10 Folder   6	Sample packet, 1972
	Ship files
Box   10 Folder   7	USS Constellation, undated
	USS Coral Sea
Box   10 Folder   8	Clippings, 1971-1972
Box   10 Folder   9	Journal, Glenn Horne, undated
Box   10 Folder   10	Leaflets, undated
Box   10 Folder   11	Miscellaneous, undated
Box   10 Folder   12	Petitions, undated
Box   10 Folder   13	Sanctuary, 1971
Box   10 Folder   14	USS Enterprise, 1972
Box   10 Folder   15	USS Hancock, undated
Box   10 Folder   16	USS Hull, undated
Box   10 Folder   17	USS Hunley, undated
Box   10 Folder   18	USS Midway, 1972
Box   10 Folder   19	USS Oriskany, 1972
Box   10 Folder   20	USS J.C. Owens, undated
Box   10 Folder   21	USS Ticonderoga, 1972
Box   10 Folder   22	Staff, 1971-1972
PH 3897	Series: Photographs	⇧