12-12-19 Garand Picture of the Day - Watts Riots

[Bob Seijas]

After the 1965 Watts riots, my NJ Guard battalion formed a special Riot Platoon and I was put in charge of it. I got out of the Guard in early 1967 about a month before the Newark riots, and my pal Dave took it over. I worked in the Merrill Lynch Newark office on Broad Street. They closed the city so I went to work on my motorcycle and entered through the Italian section (no trouble at all because of armed tough guys standing on corners). I and a secretary who lived two blocks away were the only ones in the office, and we answered phones all morning. The head shed in New York was frantic, called for updates about every ten minutes. At one point, four deuce-and-a-halfs pulled up under our office windows and my old riot platoon dismounted! I seriously considered speeding back home for my uniform, but they marched off towards the smoke while I dithered. The stories Dave told were mind-boggling. The Guard expended 50,000 rounds of 30-06 but they put the riot down in three days.