Self-Immolation to Protest Vietnam War

George Winne Jr. of La Jolla, California, died ten hours after he set himself on fire in San Diego to protest the Vietnam war. As he lay dying he asked his mother to write to President Nixon about the reason for his action. Her letter stated: "Our son George Jr. set himself afire on the UCSD campus on May 10. Before dying, he told us he had picked the most dramatic way he could think of to call people's attention to the most deplorable condition of the world and of this country" (Bromley, 1970).

• May 10, 1970

• text

• English

Online exhibit

• Tell Us How UC It Project website

Bromley, Ernest (Ed.). (1970). Two Self-Immolations Protest War. In The Peacemaker, 23(8) (Cincinnati, OH: The Peacemaker, 1970).
Image: UCSD Senior, 23, Dies After Setting Himself Afire (1970, May 12). The San Diego Union, p1.

• San Diego Union-Tribune
• The Peacemaker

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2023-07-11