In Remembrance

Aaron J. Manganiello

Aaron Manganiello was a Bay Area revolutionary. He was active in and around Stanford in the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1966, protests were launched against United Technology Center, a company in Redwood City that had contracted with the U.S. government to manufacture napalm bombs for use in Vietnam. Many individuals protested, as well as various anti-war groups, including Stanford Committee for Peace in Vietnam (SCPV), Redwood City Committee Against Napalm (R.C.C.A.N.), and Bay Area Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam.

Aaron put himself on the line, along with Dr. Oliver Henderson, a Palo Alto psychiatrist, and two other demonstrators, when they blocked the entrance to the napalm plant while a truck was attempting to deliver materials to manufacture more bombs. Refusing to move, Aaron and Oliver finally were arrested on charges of creating a public nuisance.

The next day, two more demonstrators, Leith Speiden and Alan Traister—both Stanford student—were arrested when they attempted to stop another truck at the napalm plant. They also were charged with creating a public nuisance.

Aaron was a member of the Brown Berets and one of the founders of the Venceremos organization. He was Chairman of the Vanceremos Central Committee for a year, until the summer of 1972 when he was replaced.

Aaron earned a PhD from Stanford. He also rode with the Soul Brothers Motorcycle Group, played jazz trumpet with Dizzy Gillespie, and counseled people on recovering from drug abuse. Aaron died in Clovis, California, on September 28, 2009. He is survived by two sons, John Manganiello and Mario Manganiello; and daughter, Lisa Manganiello.