The Minuteman III Plowshares

On the morning of August 6, 1998 at 6 AM, two peace activists, Daniel Sicken [pronounced seekin], 56, of Brattleboro, Vermont and Sachio Ko-Yin, 25, of Ridgewood, N.J., calling themselves the Minuteman III Plowshares entered silo N7 in Weld County [near Greeley] in Colorado operated by Warren AFB, Cheyenne, Wyoming. With hammers and their own blood, they symbolically disarmed structures on the launching pad of a Minuteman III nuclear missile silo. They timed their action to coincide with the 53rd anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. In addition, they displayed a banner and stenciled the picture of a broken rifle, the universal symbol of disarmament, and the image of a gravestone on the launching pad.

The two men were arrested shortly after their disarmament action and questioned extensively by F.B.I. agents. They were initially charged with destruction of government property, which carries a possible ten-year sentence, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised probation, and held at the Denver City Jail.

After a trial in October where the defense was allowed considerable latitude in the presentation of testimony, both men were found guilty of all charges. In March, they were sentenced: Sachio Ko-Yin was sentenced to 30 months, and Dan Sicken was sentenced to 40 months. They currently are awaiting movement to federal facilities

This act of beating swords into plowshares is one of over sixty such actions that have occurred since 1980. Daniel Sicken is an Air Force veteran and war tax resister who is self-employed in electrical and plumbing home repairs. He is also active in the Atlantic Life Community, an association of resistance communities. Sachio Ko-Yin is a nursery school teacher and is a member of the Executive Committee of the War Resisters League.

The 500 Minuteman III missiles are part of the first strike strategic triad of hydrogen bombs deployed in the U.S. arsenal. Each Minuteman III missile has a destructive power sixty times the Hiroshima bomb. According to a statement issued by the two Plowshares activists, "In the spirit of nonviolence...we symbolically disarm and convert this site to a positive and life-sustaining place. We give witness to our opposition to the United States' violations of the rights of this and future generations."

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE MINUTEMAN III PLOWSHARES
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