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This poster was designed by Stanley Mouse and features a central image of a nude woman and typical, early-Mouse lettering. These posters were somewhat crudely printed by the Berkeley Free Press – and it’s unlikely they printed very many as it was a one-off Benefit. Mouse counts this poster as among his favorites.
The psychedelic rock poster artists tended not to stray too far into the virulent anti-war politics of the time. Here was an exception with a benefit for the vigil at Port Chocago. As far as bands go, Country Joe and the Fish were always quite politically active, contributing the most well-known protest song of the period, “Fell Like-a-Fixin’-to-Die Rag,” and the SF Mime Troupe was overtly political.
Port Chicago is located on an arm of San Francisco Bay about 30 miles northeast of Oakland and San Francisco. The town of Port Chicago, population 1,500, was located about 1.5 miles from the pier. Not far away was Vallejo's Mare Island, a major Naval Base which included ammunition depots.
In August 1966, anti-war demonstrators blocked gates to the Concord Naval Weapons Station to halt shipments of explosives and napalm bombs destined to be dropped on the people of Viet Nam. The only news organization on the scene reporting on the protests—and the arrests and violence that shadowed the long-running Port Chicago Vigil was the Berkeley Barb. The vigil outside the gates of the facility could best be compared to the Occupy Wall Street movement in terms of having a contact presence.