Morrison, Norman R. (1934-1965)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1965 Nov 11 p. 3

Birth date: 1934

text of obituary:

Pacifists Burn Selves to Protest Viet Nam War

Two pacifists, one in Washington and the other in New York, turned themselves into human torches this past week in spectacular protests against the Viet Nam war.

In front of the sprawling Pentagon building in Washington, Norman R. Morrison,31, a Quaker of Baltimore, Md., doused himself with kerosene, then lit a match and was quickly enveloped in flames as a horrified crowd looked on. He had his 18-month-old baby girl in his arms but dropped her before igniting himself and she escaped injury. He died shortly afterward.

In New York, a young Roman Catholic pacifist lingered on the brink of death in a similar suicide attempt. Twenty-two-year-old Roger LaPorte, in flames outside the United Nations building said “I'm anti-war, all wars, I did this as a religious action.” Doctors at Bellevue Hospital said he had burns over 95 per cent of his body and had very little chance of survival.