Biography
David Boyd, an Iron Workers union member at the NASSCO shipyard, was one of the "NASSCO 3," three San Diego shipyard activists convicted in 1981 in what their supporters — and their attorney, Leonard Weinglass — denounced as an FBI and company frame-up. Boyd was an assistant shop steward and a Vietnam War veteran; contemporary union organizer Frank Holowach distinguished him from his Communist Workers Party co-defendants Johnson and Loo. The three were charged with conspiring to pipe-bomb the shipyard's electrical transformers. The supposed plot had been organized and pushed by Ramon Barton, a paid informant and agent provocateur who infiltrated the union for the San Diego police and the FBI — agencies that, evidence at trial showed, had met with NASSCO management weeks before any plot surfaced. The three were convicted on June 5, 1981 of conspiracy and explosives-possession counts; on July 14, 1981 they were sentenced to six months in jail and three years probation. Prison entry is documented on August 1, 1983; actual discharge remains unverified.
Conviction and sentencing dates distinguished
Contemporary reports distinguish the June 5, 1981 conviction from the July 14, 1981 sentencing. The sentence was six months in jail plus three years probation. Neither event alone establishes actual jail admission or discharge. July14 was only prospective in the June report but is confirmed as completed in the July31 report; no six-month calculated release is supplied.
Sources: Workers Viewpoint, June 15-21, 1981, page 1; Stu Singer, The Militant, July 31, 1981, page 11. Original complete pages visually checked. Existing September16 arrest retained; no bail interval counted as continuous imprisonment.
Caption-identified historical photograph
Workers Viewpoint explicitly identifies the NASSCO Three from left to right as David Boyd, Mark Loo and Rodney Johnson. David Boyd is the adult at left holding a child. The complete original 2254 by 1652 embedded photograph is preserved without cropping, reconstruction or removing the printed editorial overlay. The unnamed child is not identified as a defendant. The scan was published June 15-21, 1981; exact exposure date and photographer are not established. This image does not establish a custody date.
Source: Workers Viewpoint, volume 6 number 23, June 15-21, 1981, original page 1 photograph and caption. Full page and extracted original image visually checked.
Actual prison entry on August 1, 1983
Union organizer Frank Holowach's CovertAction Information Bulletin 24, Summer 1985, page 30, dates the NASSCO Three's prison entry August 1, 1983. The complete page was visually checked. This is distinct from arrest and sentencing; actual discharge remains unverified.
