"Together, we shall liberate one another from the bondage of insensitivity, and restore moral virtue to human affairs. FOR WE SHALL DEVELOP THE SPIRITUAL ATOM BOMB and with it destroy the walls of hate and violence!"

Rest

During their brief rest stops, members of the walk tried to persuade hecklers to change their viewpoint about war. In response, they were hostilely disputed and often taunted. Said one teenager from Dorchester, "It [the war in Vietnam] is just like when you have a fight with a gang. They stab you and you want to stay them back."

Angry spectators often cursed the marchers and accused them of being both cowardly and un-American.

"You call yourselves Americans, yalled one man. "You're all yellow bastards."

When the demonstration left the Boston Common at about 12:35 p.m. Saturday, there were about 64 marchers and about 50 policemen protecting them. The size of the police contigent was reduced about a half hour later to several patrol cars and six motorcycles. The march's size, too, began to diminish, and at the end of the day about 25 people remained.

By Sunday, there were only about 15. This was the size anticipated by the planners of the peace walk. One of the marchers, John Phillips, who has burned his draft card and refused induction into the army, explained Saturday why he was walking:

"I want to convince people that we're not out to topple the government," he said. On private walks from Boston to Providence, Phillips said, "I would just saunter along and talk to people."

On Sunday, Phillips was hinting that the march was not proving as successful as his private walks. "When I walk alone, it's easy to stop and talk to someone. Here it's almost the opposite. We all have signs, and it's hard to stop.