Brief Biographies of the Nuclear Navy Plowshares

Philip Berrigan, 64, is a Roman Catholic priest married to noted peace activist Elizabeth McAlister. An Infantry¹ Officer for the Army during World War II, Mr. Berrigan has taught and sought to live a biblical vision of non-violence for over two decades. He has lectured in most of the fifty states, Canada, England, Ireland, East and West Germany, Austria and Malta, and is the author of five books, plus a sixth with Elizabeth McAlister. A member of the Baltimore 4(1967), the Catonsvllle 9 (1966) and the Plowshares 8 (1980), Mr. Berrigan has been nominated with his brother Daniel for the Nobel Peace Prize six times. He lives at Jonah House, a non-violent resistance community in Baltimore, with other resisters, Ms. McAlister and their three children: Frida (13), Jerome (12) and Kathleen (6).

Gregory Boertje, 32, holds an M.A. in social psychology from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge. A four-year Army ROTC graduate. Mr. Boertje served as a 1st Lieutenant in the Army's Medical Service Corps. After joining the Jonah House community in 1984 he served one year in jail for disarming Trident II missile tubes with the Trident II Pruning Hooks. As a member of the Epiphany Plowshares, Mr. Boertje was co-defendant in two trials in which juries refused to convict even though the defendants openly affirmed that they had hammered on weapons. Convicted after four trials, Mr. Boertje refused to appear for sentencing on Nov. 17th of last year and has been "underground' since then, choosing to resurface in the course of the Nuclear Navy Plowshares disarmament action.

Andrew Lawrence, 28, was until recently a member of the Community for Creative Non-Violence in Washington D.C. living and working with the homeless. A former Peace Corps volunteer and restaurant co-manager, Mr. Lawrence has engaged in acts of non-violent civil resistance at the Pentagon, the White House, and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab in Maryland.

Margaret McKenna, 57, is a Medical Mission Sister, an international religious community of over 700 women. She holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Religious Studies of the University of Pennsylvania and has taught at lA Salle University. She is presently Director of the Peacemakers Reflection Center in Fox Chase, Pa., a project of the Medical Mission Sisters which explores and promotes non-violent spirituality, lifestyle and action. She sees her life work of prayer and work for justice and peace in this country as intrinsic to the healing mission of her religious community.