By Michael Munk, The Portland Alliance, December 2000

An evening of talks and films by northwest veterans of the Spanish Civil War’s international brigades drew a packed house of several hundred to the SIUE hall on October, including several vets now living in Oregon and Seattle.

Today’s new interest in the righteous struggle to defend the Spanish Republic against fascism reminds us that it had strong support in Oregon in the late 1930s. In 1937-38, at least 17 Oregonians went to fight in the Abraham Lincoln and other units and there may have been at least two more. Another nine vets moved to Oregon after returning from Spain, two of whom, Carl Geiser of Corvallis and Virgina Malbin of Portland, still live here today. Six other vets were born in Oregon but went to Spain after having moved elsewhere (mainly Seattle and California).

William Miller, a Portland seaman originally from Dayton, Albert Sorsa of Astoria and Walter O’Kane were among the “premature anti-fascists” who died fighting fascism in Spain. Toivo Maki of Astoria and Carl Bellows, a CIO organizer from Klamath Falls, were wounded in combat. Corvallis resident Carl Geiser, now 90 years old, was captured and suffered for many months as Franco’s POW.

Other vets who left Oregon to fight fascism include Earl Stewart from tiny Irrigon, jailed for supporting the Portland longshore strikers in 1934, Carl Syvanen and Tom Rissanen from Astoria, Virgil Morris, a Portland seaman, Reed College students Thomas Norton and Harry Randall,  and Peter Matas , another POW, who the US prevented from returning to Portland because he was Greek citizen.   Alex Sauermilch and Charles Roth from Klamath Falls, whose ship taking them (and Carl Geiser) to Spain was torpedoed by an Italian sub.

Captain Harry Johnson of Portland skippered relief ships chartered by the North Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy.  Ervin Wagner, who lived at 111 W. Burnside was a seaman. Derek Dickinson of Bandon was a pilot in the Spanish airforce.

Portlanders supported those at the front with numerous rallies and fund-raisers, including filling the Civic Auditorium in February, 1937 and again on May Day, 1938 to hear representatives of the Spanish Republic. When Red Squad detective Walter Odale demanded the Portland school board refuse the use of Lincoln High School for a loyalist rally in October, 1937, board member Harry Kenin, a sponsor of the Oregon Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy, led the fight to vote Odale down, 5-2. That committee, headed by attorney Thomas Wilson and Treasurer Tom Tattam, included, among others, art museum curator Annabelle Crocker, symphony conductor Jacques Gerschkovitch, Reed professors Bernard Noble, Norman Coleman, V.L.O. Chittick, Edward Sisson, Arthur Scott and Barry Cerf, Ruth Catlin of the Catlin School, future US Representative Nan Wood Honeyman, Unitarian minister Richard Steiner, Oregon Commonwealth Federation leader Monroe Sweetland, and attorneys Alan Hart, William Brewster and B.A. Green. A separate Medical Bureau was organized by Drs J.B. Bilderbach, Ralph Fenton, Goodrich Schauffler and others.