John Runnings (22 August 1917 – 25 April 2004) was a peace protester also known as the "Wall Walker". Partly inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's work and nonviolent resistance in general, he is notable for his series of one-man protests against the Berlin Wall during the 1980s. These culminated in the construction of a largely symbolic, car-mounted battering ram. This particular action landed him with an 18-month prison sentence from the East German authorities. He was released after three months. The battering ram is exhibited in the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. Runnings was born on a homestead in Manitoba, Canada. His mother died of influenza when he was about one year of age. His father, who now had several children to care for alone, decided, as Runnings put it, to "farm out" most of the children to relatives. Runnings' father's sister, who lived in southern Ontario, reluctantly agreed to become Runnings' guardian until he came of age. Runnings lived on her farm until about age 25, when he realised he had failed to register for the draft, so, during 1943, he was drafted. He became a stretcher-bearer, and served on the western front, mostly in the Allied invasion of Belgium, France and Germany, seeing many of his fellow soldiers die and often coming quite close to being hit by artillery bombardment. After the war he decided to join his brother, who lived in Seattle. Around age 30, he met his future wife, Louise. They eventually joined the Quakers. They married when Runnings was in his early 30s and continued to live in Seattle. They eventually had four children: Bryan, Runnings' first child, was named after John - "Bryan" meaning "John" in Irish Gaelic. His other children are Morgan, Gwyneth and Anna. About 1980 Runnings, along with other Quakers, got involved in the "Stop Trident" {nuclear submarines} movement in Bangor, Washington. After being arrested a few times, Runnings began to develop a perspective of his own as regards the problems associated with the Cold War. He began to advocate a totally new method during this period, when Cold War threats had become more dangerous to life on earth than at any other time in human history. He suggested a movement to federate the United States and the Soviet Union. He also suggested that all should be considered "world citizens" rather than "citizens of specific nations." For this reason, he refused to apply for