by Mike Paradela
May 25, 1966. Four women prevented a napalm shipment from leaving Alviso before it headed to Vietnam. The media dubbed them the Napalm Ladies.
Aileen Hutchinson, Beverly Farquhar, Joyce McLean, and Lisa Kavelage were members of the Women Strike for Peace, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and the San Jose Peace Center. They came from the middle class and were reverent peace advocates.
Their actions were part of a growing movement against the Vietnam War. Nationally, the American people denounced the war, and, in the Bay Area, the resistance came as demonstrations and blockades, among others. Particularly, in the week of May 16, a group of activists blocked a napalm shipment in Redwood City. They halted the shipment after they learned of the weapon’s existence and its use on civilians. This action spurred a wave of pro-peace demonstrations throughout the region.
McLean and Hutchinson learned about the incendiary ordnance storage facility in Alviso, and they decided to engage in civil disobedience intending to disrupt the shipment. Farquhar and Kalvelage joined the plan. All had their separate motivations, and for Kalvelage, in particular, her own family’s inaction against the Nazi government disturbed her and compelled her to act. She could not stand by idly while the American government bombed civilians.
Initially, the women attempted to halt the cargo on May 24. They drove to Alviso, protested, and then left after learning the napalm would not leave that day. They returned.
On May 25, the four ladies donned their best, most respectable attire, trespassed onto company property intending to obstruct business as usual. They carried the following signs: “Would Napalm Convince You?”, “Napalm Kills People, Not Communists”, “Children Were Born to Be Loved, Not Burned”, and “I Don’t Want to Be a Murderess”.” These signs communicated their fierce disdain for the destruction of innocents.
The Alviso police arrested them after a verbal scuffle and threats from storage employees. The local government released them almost immediately thanks to the efforts of Barby Ulmer, a co-founder of the Peace Center.
During the trial, the women stated their intent to obstruct business because of its storage and shipment of napalm bombs. They argued it directly violated international law, both the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928, which states that war cannot be an instrument of national policy, and the Washington Treaty of 1922, which prohibits the use of poisonous gas and other analogous liquids. Kalvelage cited her own family history. She testified that genocide is inhumane and using napalm on ordinary people was unconscionable, and it justified the blocking of weapons. She concluded that her actions and the others were not in violation of the law.
As the trial neared its conclusion, the Honorable Judge Edward J. Nelson informed the jury that the women did not violate the law as the federal government signed the Washington Treaty of 1922. They ignored the judge’s comments and found the activists guilty. The law fined them $110 (approx. $1,090 in 2025) and sentenced to 90 days in jail. The judge immediately overturned the ruling.
The statement made by Lisa Kalvelage at the trial lives on in a song by Pete Seeger.
In December 1967, Judge Nelson granted a petition to exonerate their records and end their two-year probation.
The anti-napalm demonstration received national attention, especially since four white, middle-class women had an unshakable solidarity with victims of American imperialism. Folk singer Pete Seeger wrote two songs about them “My Name is Lisa Kalvelage” and “Housewife Terrorists.” Their actions inspired a wave of anti-napalm protests in San Jose and the Bay Area. New York Times writer Tim Wicker stated that his conversation with Joyce McLean shifted his entire perspective; he moved from a pro-war position to a pro-peace one.
Their story continues to inspire people of the city to this day. It highlights how the actions of ordinary people can encourage a movement to continue its fight. If one would like a deeper investigation, we encourage the reader to check out Jennifer Tynes’s work. You can also watch an interview filmed in 2010 with Joyce McLean at this link.