Sophomore Destroys Draft Card, Will Present Ashes to His Board

David A. Reed '68 faces a possible jail sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $10,000 for burning his draft card last week in Voluntown, Conn.

At that time, Reed, on a Harvard leave-of-absence, announced that he intends to present the "charred remains of the draft card" to his Selective Service board in Milton on Tuesday, March 8.

Rather than fight in "a brutal war of aggression against the people of Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, or any other nation," Reed said that it is his duty to say no to the government and to go to jail if necessary.

Reed's draft card, registration certificate, and notice of classification were destroyed on the Voluntown farm of the New England Committee for Nonviolent Action. Miss Barbara L. Clack, a member of the Committee, held the match.

While at Harvard, Reed was a member of Students for a Democratic Society. He left Harvard, he said, to engage full-time in anti-war activities of the Committee for Nonviolent Action.

Miss Clack said that she assisted in the burning to express her solidarity with all those who are opposed to military conscription and to the "idiocy and immorality of the American war in Vietnam."

Official reports of the draft card burning have been given to U.S. Attorney W. Arthur Garrity Jr. by Major Remo Gandin of the Selective Service headquarters in Boston. Garrity has said that he may turn the case over to the FBI for investigation.

Reed is trying to arrange a "vigil calling for peace in Vietnam and supporting draft refusal" to be on hand when he presents the ashes of his draft card this Tuesday.