In 1969, the U.S. Army announced plans to ship nerve gas from Okinawa to storage depots in the Pacific Northwest. Some 36 trains would carry the gas through Washington and Oregon. Opposition was strong and included lawsuits and demonstrations. In May 1970, the Seattle chapter of the People Against Nerve Gas (PANG) announced a “die-in” demonstration to take place at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Pine Street in downtown Seattle. The demonstration was to show what would happen if nerve gas blew into Seattle after an explosion. At the end of May, President Nixon changed the proposed destination to a station on Kodiak Island.

Here, demonstrators lie in the street to protest nerve gas shipments through the Pacific Northwest.

Caption information source: The Seattle Times: May 17, 1970, p. 14.; May 24, 1970, p. 1.