Oleo Strut (coffeehouse)

The Oleo Strut was a GI coffeehouse located in Killeen, Texas, from 1968 to 1972.^[1] Like its namesake, a shock absorber in the landing gear of most large aircraft and many smaller ones, the Oleo Strut’s purpose was to help GIs land softly.^[2] Upon returning from Vietnam to Fort Hood, shell-shocked soldiers found solace amongst the Strut’s regulars, mostly fellow soldiers and a few civilian sympathizers. The GIs turned the Oleo Strut into one of Texas’s anti-war headquarters, publishing an underground anti-war newspaper, organizing boycotts, setting up a legal office, and leading peace marches.^[3]

The Oleo Strut anti-war GI coffeehouse in 1971. Photo by Alan Pogue

The coffeehouse was an organizing center for the support of the Fort Hood 43, a group of Black soldiers who had been disciplined for refusing to perform riot control duty at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.^[4][5][6]

See also

• GI Coffeehouses
• Under the Hood Café
• Sir! No Sir!