Editing Fort Dix (section)

==1969 stockade riot==
On 5 June 1969, 250 men imprisoned in the [[Stockade|military stockade]] rioted. The prisoners called it a rebellion and cited grievances including "unsanitary conditions", overcrowding, starvation, beatings, being chained to chairs, forced confessions and participation in an unjust war. The Army initially called it a "disturbance" caused by a small number of "instigators" and "troublemakers", but soon charged 38 soldiers with riot and inciting to riot. The antiwar movement, which had been increasingly recognizing and supporting resistance to the war within the military, quickly moved to defend the rebels/rioters and those the Army singled out for punishment. Soon the slogan "Free the [[Fort Dix 38]]" was heard in antiwar speeches, written about in underground newspapers and leaflets, and demonstrations were planned.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F14F6395E1B7493C4A9178DD85F4D8685F9 |title=150 Riot at Ft. Dix Stockade; Fires Set and Windows Broken |newspaper=The New York Times |date=6 June 1969 |quote=Prisoners in the Fort Dix stockade set mattress fires, smashed windows and hurled footlockers, beds, and other equipment tonight in what an Army spokesman characterized as a 'disturbance.' }}</ref><ref name="Crowell">{{cite book | last = Crowell | first = Joan | title = Fort Dix Stockade: Our Prison Camp Next Door | publisher = Links |page=9 | location = Berlin | year = 1974 | isbn = 0-8256-3035-5 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Wallechinsky | first = David | title = The People's Almanac | url = https://archive.org/details/peoplesalmanac00wall | url-access = registration | publisher = Doubleday | location = Garden City | year = 1975 | isbn = 0-385-04060-1 | page = [https://archive.org/details/peoplesalmanac00wall/page/68 68] }}</ref>

Due to public backlash against the military's treatment of the prisoners, only five of the original 38 were brought before a general court-marital on serious charges. Most had their charges dropped entirely, while nine faced a special court-martial, the military equivalent of misdemeanor court. Four of those were convicted of misdemeanor participation in a riot and the other five acquitted.<ref name="VanGelderNYT">{{cite news |date=1969-12-07 |first=Lawrence |last=Van Gelder |title=Third G.I. on Trial in Ft. Dix Rioting |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="91stCong">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VA4mAAAAMAAJ |title=Investigation of Students for a Democratic Society: Hearings, Ninety-First Congress, First-Session. |pages=2437–2447 |date=1970 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |access-date=2023-01-13}}</ref> Of the five singled out for general courts-martial, one was acquitted completely while four were discharged with varying sentences including hard labor.<ref name="Crowell"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection/p15932coll8/id/52188/rec/2 |title=Free the Ft. Dix 38! |publisher=Wisconsin Historical Society: GI Press Collection |agency=The Shakedown |website=content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/collection }}</ref>