to read this cover of aerospaced click on the image

The dates of publication of Aerospaced are unknown as the papers are not dated, and the articles are not signed because the writers would have gotten in trouble with the military for publishing such a newspaper. However the military could do nothing to people who were found in posession of underground newspapers, as Aerospaced so eloquently put it "lifers can't do one fugging thing to you for having 'Aerospaced.' Your right to possess it is protected under DOD Directive 1325.6" (Lewes 112). When I quoted this to my father he responded that he had written that article.

The publishers of Aerospaced had been requesting, since the publication of their third paper, permission to distribute the papers on base. As in the Ally many bases wished to keep the views represented in the underground newspapers outside of the base, which is why Ally was forced to conceal the newspapers that were sent to its G.I. subscribers. In Volume 2, Number One of Aerospaced the headline reads “Distribution DENIED! But Read All about it” and goes on to say that the Base Commander, Colonel Miles, had yet to even give one reason as to why the newspapers would not be permitted to be distributed on base.

Every newspaper published during the time affected and influenced other newspapers during the time, and expressed sentiments felt by many Americans, and G.I.’s. Aerospaced did not influence the nation as a whole, it was not distributed widely enough to do so. However the views that the newspaper brought to G.I.’s at Grissom Air Force Base (GAFB) were crucial to the men stationed there. These were views of people forced into the Air Force to escape the possibility of fighting in Vietnam, or in some cases men who had actually fought in Vietnam.

The newspaper Aerospaced and others like it were necessary for the G.I.’s, they provided an outlet for pent up frustrations and anger at the “brass” and the government which continued to pursue a war that they deemed unnecessary. Other groups publishing or protesting during the late 60’s and early 70’s had the option of expressing their views by protests or rallies however G.I. faced the risk of court-martial should they decide to participate in those events. But it was this defiance of command that helped to build momentum for the protesters outside of the military.

The publishers, including my father, Chris Milar, of Aerospaced were given early outs from the military, “ranging from 2 years to 2 months” (Milar). This was all the military really could do against the publishers of underground newspapers.

However it was through this same medium, underground publishing, that Ho Chi Minh also found his feet. He used the French underground news paper L’Humanité to speak against the French government and the newspaper was then snuck into Vietnam. This gave Ho Chi Minh the support group in Vietnam he needed to make his beginning and start a communist revolution in the north. In fact, Ho Chi Minh’s reasons for writing for L’Humanité were quite similar to the reasons of many G.I.’s and college students; because their government was not listening to their voice. It seems that the dissident press is a necessary in any society, it provides an outlet for views and voices that would otherwise be suppressed.

For a list of G.I. Newspapers and Publications during Vietnam see James Lewes book "Protest and Survive: Underground GI Newspapers during the Vietnam War"