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Dozier, James Lee (1931– )———109

the protestors, forcibly when necessary. Following eventual rescue helped bring about the downfall of the
this event, Dohrn was elected the interorganizational brigade.
secretary for the SDS. Although she was now a Born in Arcadia, Florida, in 1931, Dozier joined
national officer, Dohrn felt that she was not taking the Florida Air National Guard in 1951; his superiors
enough risks to further the movement. recognized his potential and recommended him
Dohrn became one of the more militant members of for West Point. He graduated in 1956, and went on
the SDS. At the National Convention in 1969, these to serve with the 11th Armored Cavalry Division in
members banded together and broke off from the SDS Vietnam, winning a Silver Star. By 1981, he had risen
to form the militant faction known as the Weatherman, to the rank of brigadier general and was the North
later Weather Underground. Their first and most well Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commander for
known action was the riots known as the “Days of southern Europe, based in Verona, Italy.
Rage” in the streets of Chicago. Led by Dohrn on The Red Brigade had been active in Italy since
October 8, 1969, members of the Weatherman looted 1970 and was known internationally for its 1978
downtown Chicago and engaged in a struggle with the kidnapping and murder of Italian statesman and
local police force for four days. In 1970, a bomb they former premier Aldo Moro. In early 1981, U.S.
were manufacturing in their Greenwich Village house Army intelligence had learned that the brigade
exploded and killed three of their members: Diana might be planning a similar attack against a U.S.
Oughton, Ted Gold, and Terry Robbins. With the FBI general in Italy. Gen. George McFadden was
hot on their heels, the Weatherman went underground thought to be the most likely target because the base
and disappeared. Several members, including Dohrn, he commanded in southern Italy housed nuclear
were on the FBI’s “most wanted” list. weapons. The threat to Dozier, whose NATO position
Dohrn married fellow member Billy Ayers, involved more tactful diplomacy than tactical
continued her work for the group underground, and deployments, was deemed slight. As a result, Dozier
remained one step ahead of the law for 11 years. On did not alter his daily routines, nor was his personal
December 3, 1980, after having her second child and security detail increased.
tired of hiding, she turned herself in to the authorities in On December 17, 1981, four Red Brigade members
Chicago. Her charges were reduced to misdemeanors disguised as repairmen gained entrance to the Dozier
and she was put on probation for three years. In the late family apartment. After a struggle, during which
1990s, Dohrn was the Director of the Children and Dozier was beaten unconscious, they bound Dozier
Family Justice Center at the Northwestern University and his wife and stowed the general in a trunk dis-
School of Law. guised as a refrigerator carton. Leaving Mrs. Dozier
locked in a utility closet, they took Gen. Dozier to an
See also KATHERINE BOUDIN; MAY 19 COMMUNIST
apartment in Padua, where he would remain for
ORGANIZATION; WEATHERMAN
42 days.
Further Reading Physically, his treatment was humane; however, his
captors employed sensory deprivation techniques to
Ayers, Bill. Fugitive Days: A Memoir. Boston: Beacon, 2001. disorient him and interrogated him nightly. The inter-
Heath, Louis G., ed. Vandals in the Bomb Factory: The rogations were aimed not only at collecting sensitive
History and Literature of the Students for a Democratic security information about U.S. military operations in
Society. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow, 1976.
Jacobs, Harold. Weatherman. Berkeley, CA: Ramparts, 1971. Italy but also for gaining admissions that Dozier him-
Jacobs, Ron. The Way the Wind Blew: A History of the self and the United States in general had been guilty
Weather Underground. London and New York: Verso, of war crimes during the Vietnam War. Dozier
1997. revealed no secrets and refused to change his opinions
and statements to suit his captors. Dozier is convinced
that his discipline and persistence helped his captors
DOZIER, JAMES LEE (1931– ) to see him as a fellow human being and were instru-
mental in preserving his life.
The Red Brigade had intended the kidnapping to
U.S. Army general James Lee Dozier was kid- be part of a larger campaign, code named “Winter of
napped by the Italian Red Brigade in 1981; his Fire.” Initially, therefore, it did not negotiate with the