American Notes PROTEST

Throughout the summer, antiwar demonstrators have used their bodies to block the movement of munitions at the naval weapons station in Concord, Calif. Last week that classic act of civil disobedience ended in tragedy when a weapons train plowed into a group of peace activists, mutilating one of them. As other demonstrators leaped out of the way, S. Brian Willson, 46, was caught sitting cross-legged on the tracks. Willson's wife and stepson watched in horror as the train dragged him 25 feet, fracturing his skull and severing his right leg below the knee. Surgeons later amputated his other leg below the knee. The Navy claimed that the train was traveling at 5 m.p.h. and its civilian crew did not see the group.