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Those heady days were recalled by columnist Adele Ferguson:
"Edison 'Pinky' Fisk was Bremerton's most famous anti-war activist in the 1960s and 1970s, once getting himself arrested for carrying a sign downtown that read 'The Grateful Society, Bombs, Bullets, Battleships and B--- ----."
(Adele Ferguson, "Pinky Fisk recalls King's old idea," Kitsap Sun, 1/18/1993)
A decade later, the home town paper recalled:
"For sheer eccentricity, small protests outside the U.S. armed forces recruiting offices in downtown Bremerton during the 1960s and 1970s are fondly remembered now by those who took part.
"The protests, started during the Vietnam War by a local character in his 50s named Edison 'Pinky' Fisk, usually only attracted four or five people at most.
"But they were Kitsap County's first war protests, and Fisk was arrested three or four times -- once for disturbing the peace when he paraded around with a protest sign proclaiming, 'The Grateful Society: Bombs, Bullets, Battleships and Bull----.'
"The sign was returned five years later when charges against him were dropped."
("Kitsap County no stranger to big rallies," Kitsap Sun, 3/2/2003)
(Apparently by 2003 it was considered safe to print "Bull----.")
What you have to understand is that Bremerton, home of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, has always been a Navy town. To stand outside the Shipyard in those days with an anti-war sign took the kind of courage most of us will never muster.
Interestingly, Pinky says that he had better conversations about the war with many of the Shipyard workers than he did with his "liberal" friends.
This blog is going live today as a tribute to Pinky's 94th birthday, which we celebrated Saturday. He called Thursday to announce, "In two days I'll be an old man." Old in years, perhaps, but ageless at heart. His eyes and legs may not work so well these days, but his wit isn't in bad shape.
- K (the "k" in PinKy)
Hi PinKy, We found your new blog and we have joined it. Sounds like you had a great B-Day. You will never be old with a young wife and a young mind!!!! Also loved your pic. Us oldsters have to learn this blog business.
ReplyDeleteDear, dear Pinky: Sorry that I missed your birthday...it seems the doctors had other plans for me...so, we will celebrate at a later date. Meanwhile, I can read and reread your comments and poetry. A huge THANK YOU to you, Kay, for putting this together.
ReplyDeleteI send you love, Donna
Please pass along my "Happy Birthday" to Pinky. It's interesting that we are both on the side of "peace" but from different sides of the fence. He was born on Memorial Day and I was born on the first anniversary of D-day, not exactly the most peaceful day of World War II. As he was holding his sign and preaching peace outside the Bremerton Naval Shipyard in 1966, I was one of those sailors on the other side of the fence. I was living on a destroyer (an appropriate name for that type of ship) and involved in shooting thousands of rounds of 5" 38mm shells at "the enemy" in North Vietnam. I was in my early 20s at the time and not really sure why we were there or what we were trying to accomplish. It appeared to be a civil war and we were on the side of the south, trying to stave off the nasty communists. There were so many rules of war and temporary cease fires that it didn't seem like either side was trying hard to win. I had an obligation to serve, so I didn't question it much. At that time, my fellow sailors and I knew very little about the Vietnamese people, the history of Indochina, the commie threat, and other factors. It was our job to shut up and follow orders.
ReplyDeleteMy home port was San Diego. As I learned more about Vietnam, I became more of a "peace-nik", attending protest rallies in my off-time. I wasn't offended when Jane Fonda showed up in Hanoi bad-mouthing U.S. involvement in the war. And, unlike many other Vietnam Vets, I wasn't disappointed that we didn't get our parade. I felt it was much more appropriate to simply return home quietly and melt back into society. I served my country with good intentions. But, looking back, I wish I had found more ways to contribute toward peace rather than war.
I like the way Pinky thinks and I'll enjoy reading the blogs. I like to think that our right to have and express opinions freely is one of the things that makes this country great. I appreciate those such as Pinky who exercise that freedom.
The only "trouble" with Pinky is that, such as with Michelangelo or DaVinci, he was just born a few hundred years before his time. His thinking was just too far advanced for me, or most of the world, to comprehend. Bless it that we still have a few "pinky's" around; he will be sorely missed -- and a very special friend. -- Jack.
ReplyDelete