More than 100,000 people marched on the Pentagon, leading to the arrest of nearly 700 people over two days.
Demonstrators included radicals, liberals, black nationalists, hippies, professors, women’s groups and war veterans.
The rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial started peacefully, though Dr. Benjamin Spock — baby specialist, author, and outspoken critic of the war — did call President Lyndon B. Johnson “the enemy.” After the rally, the demonstrators, many waving the red, blue and gold flag of the Viet Cong, began marching toward the Pentagon. Violence erupted when the more radical element of the demonstrators clashed with the soldiers and U.S. Marshals protecting the Pentagon.
The protesters surrounded and besieged the military nerve center until the early hours of Oct. 23. By the time order was restored, 683 people, including novelist Norman Mailer and two United Press International reporters, had been arrested.
