Brian Wilson

In 1987, peace activist Brian Wilson and a handful of demonstrators appeared at the gate of the Concord Naval Weapons Station to protest American involvement in Central America. They stood vigil for three weeks. On the final day, Wilson sat down on the railroad tracks and refused to move. At about noon, a munitions train proceeded down the tracks and struck him, crushing both his legs.
In the following months, Wilson became a martyr for the peace movement and the publicity he received drew thousands of other demonstrators to the site, rekindling the movement far beyond the confines of Concord.
Wilson is now 55 years old and he has returned only a few times to the site of the incident. He has shunned the spotlight, discovering that the role of celebrity does not suit him.
His intended marriage, scheduled for two weeks after the accident was cancelled in part because of the media attention. He eventually settled in Massachusetts and scaled back his movement activity. Although Wilson still gives the occasional speech and lecture, he spends much of his time now growing vegetables. He passes half the year in Chiapas, Mexico.
"I'm not trying to change the world anymore", Wilson said in a recent interview, "I used to be much more angry. I felt like I could stand up to the nation and change it. Now I am more interested in knowing how people struggle, in understanding instead of confronting."
An anniversary protest was scheduled for September 1, 1997, and it was believed by the organizers that Wilson's scheduled appearance for the occasion would draw a crowd to the Naval Weapons Station which supplies cargo ships with ammunition that is sent all over the world. The Weapons Station was a favorite site to protest during the Vietnam and Korean wars.
-adapted from an Associated Press article in the Ontario, CA Daily Bulletin Sept. 1, 1997.
A USS Pyro crewmember, Jon ?Hubbard was an eyewitness and writes to us..."I also was aboard (the Pyro AE-24) when Brian Wilson tried to stop the ammo train with his legs. I was on duty the day after and I remember the protesters and getting rocks thrown at the duty van I was driving. Being a "screaming seaman" I thought this was crazy! The Marines would stand in line and wait for the protesters to cut through the fence and then nail them with the baton and take them away. What a scene." (Thanks, Jon).