TRANSFIGURATION PLOWSHARES (WEST):

On August 5, 1987 at 5:15 p.m., the exact moment (8:15 a.m. in Japan) when the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, Jerry Ebner, a member of the Catholic Worker Community of Milwaukee; Joe Gump, father of twelve and husband of the imprisoned Jean Gump of the Silo Plowshares from Morton Grove, Ill.; and Helen Woodson, acting as a "co-conspirator" from Shakopee Prison in Minnesota where she was serving a 17 year sentence for the Silo Pruning Hooks action, carried out the fourth non-violent disarmament of a Minuteman missile silo controlled by Whiteman AFB in Missouri. They went to silo K-9 near Butler, Mo., and once inside the silo area, Jerry and Joe locked themselves within the fenced in area with a kryptonite bicycle lock. After pouring their own blood in the shape of a cross on the concrete silo lid, they used one eight and one three pound sledgehammer on the tracks used to open the silo lid. They also hammered on electrical connectors and other apparatus and cut various electric wires with bolt cutters. They then hung disarmament banners and sang and prayed while awaiting arrest. They also left at the site their action statement and indictment, signed by the three, as well as a photo of Jerry, Joe and Helen. In the interest of ’conservation’ they used the very same banners and bolt cutters used by the Silo Pruning Hooks and Silo Plowshares. A while later military police arrived in a vehicle armed with a machine gun and arrested Jerry and Joe. 

    Explaining her involvement in the action, Helen stated she participated "in spirit" through a "conspiracy for life." The three named themselves the "Transfiguration Plowshares" to commemorate the Transfiguration, the Christian feast celebrated on August 6 which recalls the revelation of Christ to his disciples as the Lord of heaven and earth and also represents a foreshadowing of Christ's resurrection. At a mid-August court hearing they were charged with a two count felony indictment: conspiring to damage government property and destruction of government property - both federal charges. In a relatively open trial, the two were allowed to show a video film entitled "Hiroshima/Nagasaki: 1945." This video, which the two carried into the silo with them, contained footage of the immediate effect of the bomb dropped on the two cities. Jerry was able to sing two songs to the jury which he first sang at the silo. Judge Howard Sachs, however, made it clear in his instructions to the jury that these things were ultimately irrelevant to the case before them. On October 22, the jury found them guilty. On December 11, 1987 Jerry Ebner and Joe Gump were sentenced to 40 and 30 months respectively in prison. Joe was released in November 1989. Jerry served more than two years in prison before being paroled. After being out of prison for a period of time he was jailed once again during the summer of 1990 for not cooperating with the conditions of his parole. He was released from federal prison on April 5, 1991 and remains on probation through 1994. 

TRANSFIGURATION PLOWSHARES (EAST):

On August 6, 1987, Hiroshima Day and the Christian feast of the Transfiguration, Margaret Brodhead, a journalist; Dan Ethier, a former computer programmer and Catholic Worker; and Tom Lewis, artist and long-time peace activist - all from Worcester, MA - entered the South Weymouth Naval Air Station near Boston at dawn. They hammered and poured blood on the bomb bay doors and bomb racks of a P-3 Orion nuclear-capable anti-submarine plane which can use nuclear depth charges and homing torpedoes to attack submarines. They hammered as well on the magnetic anomaly detector of an S-H 2F LAMPS MK-l Sea Sprite helicopter. (These same types of aircraft are currently deployed by U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf and are an integral part of U.S. offensive anti-submarine warfare strategy, which allows the Navy to project force in the Middle East as well as Central America). They also hung pictures of Hiroshima victims on the aircraft as well as a "Swords Into Plowshares" banner. In a signed statement and indictment they left at the site, they said "the blinding light of that first atomic bomb turned life into death, but the blinding light of the Transfiguration revealed that death would be turned into life in Christ's Resurrection." They further charged the "Nuclear National Security State" with contravening international and divine laws. They were taken into custody by base security shortly after their action as they knelt in prayer holding a banner that read "Christ Transfigured - Death Into Life." 

    The three were initially charged with unlawful entry, a federal misdemeanor. In December Dan plead no contest and was sentenced to six months probation and community service of 100 hours. Tom and Meg were convicted on March 4, 1988 after a 6-hour bench trial in Boston, where they presented testimony on the unconstitutional status of the arms race and the aircraft's status as "instrumentalities of crime" under international law. On April 26, Meg and Tom were sentenced to six months probation and 100 hours community service.