Randy Kehler, 80, Dies; Peace Activist Inspired Release of Pentagon Papers

Daniel Ellsberg was so moved by Mr. Kehler’s opposition to the Vietnam War that he decided to leak documents that changed the course of the conflict.

Listen to this article · 6:49 min Learn more

Share full article

Randy Kehler at his home in Shelburne Falls, Mass., in 2021. “No Randy Kehler, no Pentagon Papers,” Daniel Ellsberg said on many occasions.

Randy Kehler, a peace activist whose opposition to the Vietnam War so moved Daniel Ellsberg that he decided to leak the Pentagon Papers, the set of top-secret documents whose exposure changed the course of the war, died on July 21 at his home in Shelburne Falls, Mass. He was 80.

His wife, Betsy Corner, said the cause was myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome.

Mr. Kehler’s pivotal encounter with Mr. Ellsberg, a defense analyst, at an antiwar conference in 1969 was just one episode in a life defined by determined opposition to America’s military machinery.

By 1969 he had already been to prison for blocking access to an Army induction center in Oakland, Calif., and was preparing to go back, this time for returning his draft card to the Selective Service.

During the late 1970s, Mr. Kehler (pronounced KEE-ler) helped organize a nationwide campaign for a moratorium on nuclear-weapon production, which some observers claim had a significant influence on the Reagan administration’s push for arms reduction talks with the Soviet Union.

And in 1989, after he and his wife refused to pay federal taxes for years in protest against military spending, Mr. Kehler was back in the news — and back in jail — when the Internal Revenue Service seized their home and he refused a judge’s order to vacate.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.