Stanley Ray Bond (October 30, 1944 – May 24, 1972) was a former convict who enrolled at

Brandeis University Brandeis University is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational institution sponsored by the Jews, Jewish community, Brandeis was established on t ...

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, ...

. He was arrested for a bank robbery conducted to obtain funds for anti-Vietnam War efforts. Previously, he was a Private First Class in the United States Army and served in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. During the bank robbery, a Boston Police Department officer was shot and killed, with Bond and several accomplices captured following the robbery. Bond later died in prison awaiting trial when a bomb he built to use for an escape detonated prematurely.

Brandeis

In February 1970, Bond enrolled at Brandeis University as part of a government sponsored program for ex-convicts out on parole. There he became involved with the National Student Strike Force. This organization advocated strikes across the country by students as a protest to the Vietnam War. It also supported the

Black Panthers The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Calif ...

. While involved with the anti-war movement Bond met Susan Saxe and

Katherine Ann Power Katherine Ann Power (born January 25, 1949), also known under the aliases Mae Kelly and Alice Louise Metzinger, is an American ex-convict and long-time fugitive, who, along with her fellow student and accomplice Susan Edith Saxe, was placed on t ...

, becoming involved with Power romantically.

Robbery and death

These three, along with ex-convicts William Gilday and Robert Valeri, made plans to rob a bank in order to finance the activities of the Black Panthers. First the group burglarized and torched a

Massachusetts National Guard The Massachusetts National Guard is the National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the oldest units in the United States Army. What is t ...

armory on September 20, 1970, stealing ammunition. Then, on September 23, in order to finance their anti-war activities, the five robbed a

Brighton, Massachusetts Brighton is a former town and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located in the northwestern corner of the city. It is named after the English city of Brighton. Initially Brighton was part of Cambridge, and known as ...

bank of $26,000. During the holdup, Gilday shot police officer Walter A. Schroeder in the back and killed him. Following the robbery, Bond declared the heist a success and said the stolen money will be donated to various left-wing groups. He subtracted $2,500 from the loot, which he declared would be their "payment" for pulling off the robbery, dividing it into $500 of spending money for each participant. Bond, Gilday, and Valeri were all captured soon after the robbery. Saxe remained at large until 1975 and Power until 1993. On May 24, 1972, Bond died at

Walpole State Prison Walpole may refer to: People * Walpole (surname) * Baron Walpole, a title in the Peerage of Great Britain * Walpole G. Colerick (1845–1911), American politician * Walpole Vidal (1853–1914), 19th century British footballer Places Austral ...

in an escape attempt making an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mecha ...

, which backfired and killed him. His remains were interred at Los Angeles National Cemetery in California on July 2, 1972.. Anarchist Black Cross Federation. Originally retrieved on February 29, 2008.

References

External links

Harvard University: The Crimson: 10-5-1970Harvard University: The Crimson: 10-6-1970
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, Stanley Ray 1944 births 1972 deaths American anti–Vietnam War activists American bank robbers Brandeis University alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Accidental deaths in Massachusetts Deaths by improvised explosive device in the United States American people who died in prison custody Criminals from Massachusetts Prisoners who died in Massachusetts detention United States Army soldiers