Napalm Ladies: Personal Responsibility under International Law

An action by four women in Alviso in 1966 brought the U.S. use of napalm to the attention of the media and inspired a song by Pete Seeger. They were to become known as the Napalm Ladies.

Joyce McLean tells Aiesha Parker Hicks about the protest action and its fallout. She along with Beverly Farquhar, Lisa Kalvelage and Aileen Hutchinson (in San Jose Mercury photo from left >>) set out to block a shipment of napalm destined for Vietnam.

In the subsequent trial, Lisa Kalvelage tells her personal story as a German war bride challenged to prove she was worthy to enter the United States. They refer to the Nuremberg principles and to treaties the United States had signed.

Lisa Kalvelage, coordinator of the San Jose Peace Center at that time, joined the other three women as a member of WILPF, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom