The Shelter Half

The Shelter Half was a GI Coffeehouse that operated at 5437 South Tacoma Way, in Tacoma, Washington, United States, from 1968 to 1974.^[1] Named after a military tent called a Shelter-half, the coffeehouse's purpose was to provide a place for GIs at Fort Lewis military base in Washington State to resist the war in Vietnam. The Shelter Half served as an anti-war headquarters, publishing underground anti-war newspapers, organizing boycotts, connecting civilian activists with local GIs, and leading peace marches.^[2][3][4]

In November 1969, the Armed Forces Disciplinary Control Board prevented military personnel from attending the coffeehouse by placing it on a list of off-limits places.^[5][6]

The Shelter Half closed in the summer of 1974.^[7]

See also

• Oleo Strut
• GI Coffeehouses

References

1. United States Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1972.
2. Mitchell K. Hall (31 January 2018). Opposition to War: An Encyclopedia of U.S. Peace and Antiwar Movements [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. pp. 288–. ISBN 978-1-4408-4519-2.
3. United States. Congress. House. Internal Security (1972). Investigation of Attempts to Subvert the United States Armed Services, Hearings Before ... 92-1... 92-2...
4. Christopher H. Pyle (1986). Military Surveillance of Civilian Politics, 1967-1970. Garland Pub. ISBN 978-0-8240-8290-1.
5. "Tacoma Coffeehouse". {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
6. "Army Acts to Close Coast Coffee House Where G.I.'s Relax off Duty and Damn the War". The New York Times. 22 January 1970.
7. David L. Parsons (13 March 2017). Dangerous Grounds: Antiwar Coffeehouses and Military Dissent in the Vietnam Era. University of North Carolina Press. pp. 119–. ISBN 978-1-4696-3202-5.

External links

• http://www.coffeestrong.org/ The Coffee Strong coffeehouse is currently operated by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the Fort Lewis / McChord AFB / Tacoma area.
• archived publications of The Shelter Half on SirNoSir.org.