Pentagon, Big Pharma: Drug Troops to Numb Them to
Horrors of War
By Penny Coleman
In June, the Department of Defense Task
Force on Mental Health acknowledged "daunting and growing" psychological problems
among our troops: Nearly 40 percent of soldiers, a third of Marines and half of National
Guard members are presenting with serious
mental health issues. They also reported "fundamental weaknesses" in the U.S. military's
approach to psychological health. That report
was followed in August by the Army Suicide
Event Report (ASER), which reported that
2006 saw the highest rate of military suicides
in 26 years. And last month, CBS News reported that, based on its own extensive research,
over 6,250 American veterans took their own
lives in 2005 alone -- that works out to a little
more than 17 suicides every day.
That's all pretty bleak, but there is reason for
optimism in the long-overdue attention being
paid to the emotional and psychic cost of these
new wars. The shrill hypocrisy of an administration that has decked itself in yellow ribbons
and mandatory lapel pins while ignoring a
human crisis of monumental proportion is
finally being exposed.
On Dec. 12, Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif.,
chairman of the House Veterans Affairs
Committee, called a hearing on "Stopping
Suicides: Mental Health Challenges Within the
Department of Veterans Affairs." At that hearing suggestions were raised and conversations
begun that hopefully will bear fruit.
But I find myself extremely anxious in the
face of some of these new suggestions, specifically what is being called the Psychological
Kevlar Act of 2007 and use of the drug
Propranalol to treat the symptoms of post-traumatic stress injuries. Though both, at least in
theory, sound entirely reasonable, even desirable, in the wrong hands, under the wrong
leadership, they could make the sci-fi fantasies
of Blade Runner seem prescient.
The Psychological Kevlar Act "directs the
Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a plan to incorporate preventive and
early-intervention measures, practices or procedures that reduce the likelihood that personnel in combat will develop post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) or other stress-related
psychopathologies, including substance use
conditions. (Kevlar, a DuPont fiber, is an
essential component of U.S. military helmets
and bullet-proof vests advertised to be "five
times stronger than steel.") The stated purpose
of this legislation is to make American soldiers
less vulnerable to the combat stressors that so
often result in psychic injuries.
West Chester is a conservative county seat west of Philadelphia. It was
originally settled by Quakers and is the
birthplace of two-time Medal Of
Honor winner Marine General
Smedley Butler, a Quaker who, as
many know, wrote War Is A Racket
and spoke out against war profiteering.
When he led Marines in Nicaragua, he
Since World War II, our military has sought
and found any number of ways to override the
values and belief systems recruits have
absorbed from their families, schools, communities and religions. Using the principles of
operant conditioning, the military has found
Pentagon continued on page 19
On the face of it, the bill sounds logical and
even compassionate. After all, our soldiers are
The War in West Chester
By John Grant
supplied with physical armor -- at least in theory. So why not mental? My guess is that the
representatives who have signed on to this bill
are genuinely concerned about the welfare of
troops and their families. Patrick Kennedy, (DR.I.,) is the bill's sponsor, and I have no reason
to question his genuine commitment to mental
health issues, both within and outside of the
military. Still, I find myself chilled at the
prospects. To explain my discomfort, I need to
go briefly into the history of military training.
later said, he was nothing more than “a
gangster for the Brown Brothers
Bank.”
The realities of war profiteering
have changed little.
For the past five years, since before
the invasion of Iraq, every Saturday at
11AM, the Chester County Peace
Movement held an anti-war vigil at the
West Chester continued on page 2
Contents
March 2008
Departments
Features
3 Editorial
3 E.D.’s report
4 President’s Report
6 Chapter News
13 Poetry
16 Book Review: Dissent
17 Book Review: A Temporary
Sort of Peace
22 VFP Merchandise Items
1 Pentagon, Big Pharma...
1 The War in West Chester
5 Agent Orange Relief Campaign
10 Ban Cluster Bombs
12 Body of War
11 Menschless
14 Korea Peace Campaign
15 VFP Presence at Fort Stewart
23 Presente
Board Of Directors
Elliott Adams
President
Sharon Kufeldt
Vice-President
Kenneth Mayers
Treasurer
Secretary
Gary May
Ellen Barfield
Thomas Brinson
Anita Cole
William Collins
Mike Ferner
Patrick McCann
Eli PaintedCrow
Michael Uhl
John Varone
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
Michael T. McPhearson
VFP chapter 31 members Thompson Bradley, Chuck Rossi, Marty Corcoran and
Frank Corcoran stand with the banner opposite the GOE group.
Photo by John Grant
Our Staff
courthouse in the center of West Chester. A
descendant of Smedley Butler regularly
attended the vigil until she recently died.
Attendance was down.
Christine Brooks
Cherie Eichholz
Gabriela Inderwies
Nick Lyter
Betsy Reznicek
Douglas Zachary
Then, on a Saturday in late September, a
group calling itself The Chester County
Victory Movement showed up at the courthouse. They were made up of local residents,
some of whom were vets, individuals from A
Gathering Of Eagles, bikers from Patriot
Riders and a provocateur from The Free
Republic. That day, they revved up motorcycles to drown out peace vigil speakers and at
least one peace vigil attendee was threatened.
The leader of the group said they were there to
“protest the protesters.”
To avoid trouble, the five-year-old peace
vigil moved from its regular location in front
of the courthouse diagonally across the block
to the entrance of a bank.
Vietnam veteran and Winter Soldier John
Beitzel, a West Chester resident and a member
of VFP Chapter 31, was there and put out a call
to get more veterans for the following
Saturday. VFP members have been at the vigil
with banners and signs ever since.
VFP’s Chrissy Brooks with
VFP member Mark Ruter at
the 2007 National
Convention.
Photo by Gabriela Inderwies
Several good things have occurred. First,
what was a somewhat small and rather pro
forma vigil has become an exciting and vibrant
affair that, on February 9th, attracted over 100
people fired up against the war. That same
day, the pro-war group drew a subdued 15 peo-2-
ple. The second good thing is that we have
learned something about these pro-war elements.
Several VFP members decided to engage
with the pro-war counter-demonstrators. On
our first day there, however, it wasn’t a matter
of deciding, because a Marine vet came over to
our side of the street and started badgering
with questions and calling us “traitors” and
“deserters.” I said something back to the man
and he snapped, “Fuck you!”
Now, I don’t presume to be a tough guy, but
this really ticked me off. So I said to him,
“No! Fuck you!” This kind of surprised him.
He quickly sized me up, then said, “Fuck you
twice!” I laughed and said: “OK. Fuck you
three times!” I moved a bit closer and said,
“I’m ready to go up to fifteen!” The absurdity
of it all seemed to stymie him; and he soon
walked away. I later walked over to their side
and he apologized to me for cursing; I apologized for my part, and we shook hands. Since
then, we have often mingled our opposing
signs under the Civil War statue in front of the
courthouse.
From the beginning, it was hard not to
notice the guy from The Free Republic. He
has quite a loud bellow that he uses to project
things like, “All we are say-ing is give soap a
chance.” This refers to a large sign he has that
West Chester continued on page 18
Second Class Veterans?
Editorial by Michael Uhl
The one day when members of VFP have a
unique claim to full participation in the fanfare
of public ceremonies - Veterans Day - is the
one day when our status as veterans, more
often than not, is denigrated and even denied.
It’s not so surprising. Veterans Day is cast
not so much to celebrate war as to honor the
military... those who serve, yes, but especially
the institution of the military itself. And those
veterans who march year in, year out among
the ranks of the American Legion and Veterans
of Foreign War - two particularly militarized
organizations - are expected to toe the
Pentagon line, all the more so when the country is at war. My country right or wrong is the
banner - red, white and blue - under which the
traditional observance of Veterans Day is
organized.
Therefore, not surprisingly, it is possible in
How VFP Fared on Veterans Day 2007
some parts of the country, depending on how the
public events of the day are legally construed, to
actually block the participation of a particular set
of bonafide veterans the last word of whose
name is ‘Peace.’ And because of this the group’s
first name, ‘Veterans,’ is taken from them.
The denial of our identities as veterans, to
the degree it leads to blatantly discriminatory
acts of exclusion, is a violation of our civil
rights and of our rights to equal protection of
the law. Is it any wonder then that many VFP
chapters view their relationship to Veterans
Day as an arena of struggle to salvage their veteran identities in a space where our very presence is a challenge to a traditionally and
unquestionably militarized public event?
VFP chapters are free (within the bounds of
our mission statement) to fashion their own
relationship to Veterans Day. In this brief sam-
Executive Director’s Report
Organize, Organize and Organize Again
Thank you for
all your hard
work in 2007.
Realities on the
ground in Iraq
and your actions
across the country with our partners in the
peace/anti-war
movements ferMichael T. McPhearson mented dissent
Veterans For Peace
to the war and
Executive Director
occupation. We
did not let the nation forget that people are
dying and the occupation is immoral and illegal. This helped ensure a solid majority in
opposition to the government’s policies
throughout the year. VFP has proven itself
time and time again a key asset to ending the
U.S. occupation of Iraq. Of course we have
not accomplished our immediate goal to bring
all the troops home now. But that does not
diminish our accomplishments nor change the
fact that the anti-war/peace movements are
very much in the struggle to end the occupation and poised to make it happen.
In 2007, Veterans For Peace once again
ended the year financially on the plus side.
Our net income for the past three years has
been positive, so the Board of Directors is
setting aside a portion of our surplus to draw
income. This is very good news. However, in
fundraising good news is short lived. I have
great concerns that the down turn in the economy, election mania and our challenge to
maintain members will make fundraising this
year very difficult. We are already feeling the
squeeze as revenues for January and February
are substantially down. Veterans continue to
hear about us and join our ranks, but many do
not renew. I ask you to reach out to your
comrades. Go to a meeting or have a dinner
party at someone’s home once a quarter.
Reach out and strengthen the bonds between
us. We recently kicked off the Each One
Bring One campaign. We are asking each
member to recruit a new veteran member. The
more members, the wider we spread resistance to war and build pathways of peace.
We recently kicked off
the Each One Bring One
campaign. We are asking
each member to recruit
a new veteran member.
The National Office continues to work
diligently to serve you. We continue to look
for ways to improve the website and provide
more timely information. Office resources
have been focused on support of Iraq
Veterans Against the War Winter Soldier:
Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as March 19
activities to mark the passing of the 5th year
since U.S. forces invaded Iraq.
-3-
ple I present a snap shot of how several chapters, responding to local conditions, define this
relationship:
• Chapter 69 has marched prominently on
November 11th for some years. The Veterans
Day ceremony in San Francisco is a city-run
affair, and the parade organizers cannot make
any of those “private affair” arguments that are
heard in some cities that bar VFP units. The
militarized veterans groups have given up trying to exclude VFP, and don’t even bother to
march themselves. In the liberated zone of the
Bay Area, though not without years of struggle,
VFP rules on Veterans Day!
Editorial continued on page 18
VFP Newsletter
Michael Uhl: Editor
Gabriela Inderwies: Layout
Contributing Editor:
John Grant
Will Shapira
Editor-At-Large:
W. D. Ehrhart
VFP National Office, 216 S. Meramec Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63105, Tel. (314) 725-6005
e-mail vfp@veteransforpeace.net
Copyright 2008, Veterans For Peace
I have already mentioned that we are in an
election year. Please remember as you participate in election politics that Veterans For
Peace is a 501(c) 3 organization and is prohibited from endorsing or campaigning
against a candidate. Of course you as an individual can campaign for and speak against
whomever you choose, but not in the capacity
of representing VFP. VFP can educate about
issues and participate in voter education
activities only.
Looking forward to the rest of 2008, it
seems hauntingly the same as 2004. Again the
nation is off in a kind of Presidential election
frenzy, we have the same choice of
Republican or Democrat with perhaps a little
know third party candidate and when the dust
settles, the President of the United States will
be a Republican or Democrat. All this is true
and it is equally true that this year is very different. It is essential for us to see and take
some celebration of our accomplishments so
that we may with accuracy and enthusiasm
reflect on what to do next. Of course there is
the obvious historic distinction with a woman
or African American male as a major party
E.D. Report continued on page 20
President’s
By Elliott Adams
As members of
Veterans
For
Peace, we have
been in this citizen’s struggle to
end the occupation
of Iraq since before
it began. As veterans, we know that
in any battle or campaign it is important to
accurately assess where we stand in order to
build on our successes and avoid repeating our
failures.
What can we tell from the polls? To put it
simply we have reversed the polls: the support
for the occupation of Iraq has become opposi-
Report
tion to that occupation; approval of the president has become disapproval. This is a measure
of the change in the hearts of the US public.
Is there a more direct measure of the public
mood? I have stood with local vigils from
coast to coast, in little desert hamlets and the
largest cities. The change that is occurring is
obvious, opposition to the occupation is growing, and one can feel this change on every
street corner in the US.
This change is important. It is the people’s
support that holds up the political structure. It
is the people’s support that holds up the economic structure. Every government, whether
totalitarian or democratic, lives or dies by the
support of its people. And every government is
constantly bargaining for that support. Passive
2008 National VFP Convention
August 27 - 30, 2008 in Bloomington, MN
Location
Ramada Mall of America
2300 East American Boulevard
Bloomington, Minnesota 55425
Preliminary Schedule
BOD Meeting - August 27
Opening Ceremony - August 28
Workshops - August 28 - 29
Business Meeting - August 30
Fast for Peace, hotel check out,
RNC Actions - August 31.
Reserve Your Room Soon
(We have 200 rooms reserved)
Ramada Mall of America
952-854-3411 or 1-800-328-1931
Standard room - $89
Indoor Poolside room - $99
The Ramada is one block from the
Mall of America. There is a shuttle to
and from the airport and the mall.
Y`all Come
Our Convention planning committee has been meeting monthly for the
over a year. So far we have been
able to secure the convention date
and site; developed our theme
(Peace, Liberty and Justice for All).
Roy Bourgeois and the School Of
The Americas Watch are committed
to be with us.
Volunteers have committed to
coordinate housing for persons
attending our convention and who
will want housing to be in the Twin
Cities to be a part of the community
activities when the Republican
Convention is in St. Paul . Many
Twin City community groups are
planning activities for that week
(September 1-4) to which you as
delegates to our VFP convention are
specifically invited.
The full VFP total early convention fee is $200.00 and registration is
through the National Office (check
the veteransforpeace.org website).
The motel rate is $89.00 plus tax for
a room with 2 double beds and
$99.00 plus tax for a poolside room
call 1-800-328-1931 to make your
reservations. We are told that space
will be at a premium as they are
expecting 45,000 Republican convention delegates, 15,000 journalists
and who knows how many others in
the world who have a message for
the delegates to the National
Republican Convention and may
want to come early and will want
accommodations.
We have much planning and action
yet to take but at this point we can
promise you a warm welcome and
memorable time.
Wayne Wittman
2008 VFP Convention Co-chair
support is enough so governments are happy
with a non-attentive public; whether the nonattentive public is in a stupor of delusion or
frozen by fear.
What about the last elections? As the politicians tried to sweep the occupation of Iraq
under the rug, we the people, not the politicians,
not the pundits, kept the war in the public eye.
The people turned the elections into a referendum on the occupation and they rejected it.
What does it mean that even after the elections when polls show that over 70% of the
public no longer support the occupation (the
status quo in Iraq continues as before)? There
is an old adage that on any issue the public has
to be convinced three times before change happens: 1st that there is an issue, 2nd that the current policies are undesirable, and 3rd that the
alternative policies are better than the existing
ones. The polls show we have convinced the
public that the current policies are undesirable.
But we still have not convinced a solid majority that getting out of Iraq is better than keeping our forces there for sometime. If you
notice, this is what the supporters of the occupation talk about - oh it is bad but if we pull out
there will be civil war, if we pull out we will
lose face and it will get even worse, etc. Our
task now is to show why it is better to get out
now than to stay one day longer.
Does the recent event in the Straights of
Hormuz tell us anything? Now that it is all
over, it looks like a silly little non-event, but
make no mistake, we witnessed an unsuccessful Gulf of Tonkin, or sinking of the Maine.
The only a difference between this and Colin
Powell’s show at the UN in 2003 justifying the
invasion, is that this time the US public would
not take the bait, would not believe the lie that was a substantial victory.
It is clear that we are making steady
progress. Even so we, in VFP, poignantly feel
the pain caused by this occupation of Iraq and
by the militarizing of our homeland - for us
yesterday is not soon enough for our military
and contractors to be brought out of Iraq. But
no war was won by a single battle; no social
movement was accomplished by a single campaign. Our personal challenge, the challenge of
citizenship, is to simultaneously maintain the
confidence that we will succeed, the understanding that no single action, no single month
of work, can bring success, and to hold that
determination to keep working every single
day. It is like knowing we will make it up the
flight of stairs if we concentrate on getting up
each step.
###
-4-
2007 VFP Board
Election
Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and
Responsibility Campaign: An Update
by Paul Cox
“The United States can always
be counted on to do the right
thing—after it has exhausted all
other options.”
-Winston Churchill
Board Meeting in San Francisco
(l.-r.): Anita Cole, Gary May, Mike
Ferner, SHaron Kufeldt, John Varone,
Patrick McCann, Ellen Barfield, Elliott
Adams (National President), Ken
Mayers, Michael McPhearson
(Executive Director), William Collins,
and Michael Uhl
There were a total of 962 ballots
received by the National Office. Of these
there were:
• 1 spoiled ballot (voted for more than
four)
• 85 were received from unidentified
senders
Thus, there remained 876 valid ballots
which yielded the following results:
•Gary May 619 – Elected
•Thomas Brinson 528 Elected
•Patrick McCann 484 Elected
•Lane Anderson 398
•Dan Shea 340
•George Johnson 276
The 85 unidentified when added to the
5th place holder’s total falls short by one
to the 4th place total. Therefore, the
inclusion of any or all of the disallowed
ballots would not have affected the outcome and we declare May, Varone,
Brinson and McCann to be the winners.
• Gary May
• John Varone
• Thomas Brinson
• Patrick McCann
Submitted by Mike Ferner
Veterans For Peace National Secretary
Special thanks to the election judges:
Lincoln Grahlfs, Chuc Smith, and Reese
Forbes.
On February 22, the US Court
of Appeals handed down their
ruling upholding the lower
court’s dismissal of the lawsuit
by the Vietnam Association for
Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin (VAVA)
against 37 chemical manufacturers that made
herbicides for the US military and profited
tremendously from their contracts. In a 35page judgment, the court danced and weaved
on matters of domestic and international law,
ultimately coming to the conclusion that
domestic laws were not violated because
claims were barred against government contractors. Similarly, the court ruled that VAVA
had not proven a “violation of international
law because Agent Orange (AO) was used to
protect the troops against ambush, and not as a
weapon of war against human populations.” In
other words, “The chemical companies didn’t
do it and, anyway, they didn’t mean to.”
Left ignored and bleeding in the street are
the horrible facts that AO has caused—and is
causing 37 years after the last spraying in
Vietnam—devastation on a massive scale to
the people and country of Vietnam and to veterans of that war from the US, Korea,
Australia, and New Zealand. Three million
Vietnamese suffer today from illnesses and
birth defects, and tens of thousands of war veterans from these other countries are ill from
dioxin poisoning. Yet the court accepted the
argument that since the US has always maintained that AO was not a chemical weapon,
then it is not a chemical weapon. Finely tuned
legal language cannot hide the crime.
Left unexamined is the smoking gun that the
chemical companies knew that their products
contained dioxin poisons, and yet chose to
forgo slower manufacturing
methods that would remove
the dioxins. After all, the military had an open-ended order
to buy all the AO the chemical
companies could get, and there
were profits to be made.
Lastly, upholding the lower
court’s decision, the appeals
court has prevented the plaintiffs from getting access to
company and government files
that undoubtedly would yield additional revelations about the criminal collusion between
the chemical companies and the government.
Some of the children being cared for at
Cu Chi facility in Vietnam. These children are a continuing legacy of the use
of chemical weapons by the U.S.
Once again, the US has shown that it has not
exhausted all options, but the options it has left
are threadbare. VAVA will now take the fight
to the Supreme Court, where, after additional
years of delay, they will get one more crack at
justice from our courts. In the meantime, several organizations that support the Vietnamese
claims will begin the process of getting
Congress to provide compensation for the victims and remediation of the environmental
damage.
VFP has an initiative to support the
Vietnamese claims, called the Vietnam Agent
Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign
(VAORRC). The coming legislative effort
will need help of VFP members from across
the country to carry this fight to the halls of
Congress.
The full text of the court decision, VAVA’s
Statement, and VAORRC’s press release can
be found at VAORRC’s website at:
http://www.vn-agentorange.org/index.html
###
Board Members Eli Painted Crow and
Thomas Brinson
-5-
Chapter Reports
making a donation to IVAW in
honor of David Cline.
Dud Hendrick
Chapter 9, Eastern MA
2007 in Kennebunkport: Maine chapter
members marching with Congressman
Kucinich, his wife, Cindy Sheehan and
others.
Chapter 1, Maine
November 11th—Over 50 chapter members
marched in the Portland Veterans Day Parade,
making us one of the largest contingents. The
chapter will petition organizers to allow us to
have a speaker next year. If we are denied,
we will call a press conference.
December—Organized by Jack Bussell
members participated in the weekly advent
vigils at the Bath (War) Shipyard through the
month of December.
December 28—Members participated in a
“Reading of the Names”, at which the names
of American servicepersons and an equal
number of Iraqi civilian casualties were read
at the U. U. Church in Brunswick.
In other business, the chapter continues to
distribute the Americans Who Tell the Truth
calendar created by honorary member, Robert
Shetterly. We held our second annual retreat,
which strengthens the extraordinary bonds
within the chapter. We now have 118 current
members. The Chapter has committed to
The charges of disturbing a
public assembly against the
Veterans Day 18 in Boston
were dismissed in December in
district court. 15 veterans and
3 supporters were arrested on
Veterans Day for standing with
gags in our mouths protesting
our exclusion from the Veterans
Day event sponsored by the
American Legion. Since then
the Smedley Butler Brigade of
VFP has been involved in
fundraising for Winter Soldier
and has raised almost $14,000
to date. About 6 of us will be
in DC for Winter Soldier and
associated activities.
Chapter 23, Rochester, NY: “We had our showing
of Winter Soldier promotional video at our house
party in Delray Beach. We collected $400.00. (l-r:)
Camilo Mejia [IVAW] Marc Reid [IVAW] and Doug
Ryder.”
Nate Goldshlag
Chapter 10, Albany, NY
Tom Paine Chapter 10 continues to remain
active with other local peace groups, joining
in weekly vigils with various "Neighbors for
Peace" and peace marches in New York City
and Syracuse. We co-sponsored a screening
of "Redacted", a feature film by Brian De
Palma, at the Sanctuary for Independent
Media in Troy, NY. The film is a fictionalized
documentary about US military personnel
committing atrocities in Iraq, and is based on
a real incident. The program included a
speaker, Dan Black, from IVAW.
In addition we sponsored a House Party on
February 17, at which we raised over $1000
for IVAW's Winter Soldier: Iraq and
Afghanistan.
Frank Houde and Ed Bloch from the chapter are joining the local Grannies for Peace to
meet with staff and officials at the Veterans
Administration Hospital to discuss ways that
the local peace community can support the
VA in its efforts to help veterans.
Our chapter meets on the third Monday of
each month at 7PM in the fourth floor lounge
of the Albany VA Hospital.
Dan Wilcox
Members of VFP Chapter 13, Tucson,
AZ marching in the Tucson’s 88th
annual Veteran’s Day Parade. Our
President, John Miles is the tall lean
guy.
Photo by Bill Ford
Chapter 21, New Jersey
In November ‘07 we held a holiday party
and fundraiser. We had great food, great people, great music and great conversation. Some
of Dave Cline's books and buttons were given
away to friends and more friends. Gifts were
-6-
made and we donated $400 worth of groceries to the Teaneck Armory's Family
Assistance program. They help out families
left behind by National Guards deployed to
our war's on Iraq and Afghanistan.
Chapter 021 meets in the Vietnam Veterans
Community Center at Pershing Field in Jersey
City. There is a memorial to Vietnam Veterans
outside instigated by Dave Cline. He was our
chapter President and Vice President. Dave is
everywhere here. His presence is alive.
We continue to support and participate in
the weekly vigil at the Teaneck Armory.
We've initiated a poetry reading at the
Puffin Foundation,
www.puffinfoundation.org, in support of the
Iraq Moratorium. Writers from Dayl Wise's
Post Traumatic Press will participate.
Walter Nygard
Chapter 31, Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Chapter 31 came to the aid of
a peace vigil in the area set upon by pro-war
elements; our side now significantly outnumbers the pro-war side and VFP31 is producing
You Tube videos to stir up support. (See story
in the newsletter.) We are working with, and
have raised over $1000 for, Winter Soldier II
and provided food for a two-day IVAW march
from the city to Valley Forge. We’re raising
money for water pumps in Iraq. Members
have published letters-to-the-editor and opeds in city newspapers. We’re distributing
600 VFP phone cards through several VA programs. The Landmine & Gun Violence committee continues to do great work. We are ini-
tiating a Peace Essay/Poetry Contest in the
schools.
We have a new president, Chuck Rossi.
John Grant
Chapter 50, Northern Michigan
The film "Soldiers of Conscience" will be
shown at our local downtown Traverse City
theatre on March 18, as part of their series of
Peace and Justice films. This film about soldiers wrestling with their consciences over
killing was proposed by, and is sponsored by,
Chapter 50 Veterans For Peace, and we are
enjoying wonderful publicity. The theatre is
under the ownership and management of
Michael Moore (he is often there) and
friends, and wonderful things are happening
there. On that night, local Peace and Justice
groups will unite in a protest against the war
march and then attend the film.
We have a "Packages for Iraq Soldiers"
program underway, are seeking efficient ways
to get our anti-enlistment packets of information to high school students, and are looking
forward to sponsoring a public forum in April
with speakers representing several different
viewpoints on the Iraq war.
We continue to explore ways of attracting
younger vets. Suggestions are welcome.
John Lewis
Chapter 54, Santa Barbara, CA
Chapter 54’s Informed Enlistment efforts at
the high schools have achieved more than
sixty percent opt out in all high schools and
eighty percent in one. This was accom-
plished with the hard work of chapter activists Joy Roblado, Gilbert
Roblado, Mary Johnston De Leon,
Donnis Galvan, Chapter President
Dan Seidenberg and Chapter 112
President Michael Cervantes. We
are working with the People’s
Coalition and IVAW toward a large
action on March 15th to publicize
Winter Soldier and show it in several locations in Santa Barbara.
Chapter member Ray Launier,
chairman of the Santa Barbara City
College psychology dept., and former readjustment counselor, presented his “Cost of War” at a new
class on the wars in Iraq and
Afganistan at SBCC that began
with Chapter 54 assistance.
Executive VP Bob Potter’s play
“Last Days of the Empire” opened
Feb. 22nd to acclaim and all of the
chapter activists mentioned and
dozens more install the original
Arlington West every Sunday
weather permitting.
Chapter 72 Communications Chair Mal
Chaddock at desk in new office “Now all I have
to do is figure out how to use the phones!”
Lane Anderson
Chapter 55, Santa Fe, NM
We participated in the City of
Santa Fe Veterans Day Parade and
once again were very well received by onlookers. Our chapter has continued administering funding for Navajo students through a
scholarship fund. We sponsored a Holiday
Celebration in December for the activist community in Santa Fe, and it also became a
commemoration
for member Jim
McCabe who
died prior to the
Celebration.
We hosted a
fundraising
event to develop
a G.I. Rights
Hotline in New
Mexico in
January. We
also hosted a
talk by Bruce
Gagnon, cofounder of the
Global Network
Against
Weapons &
Nuclear Power
in Space on 9
February
Daniel Craig
VFP31 member Marvin Thall marches in the Oct. 27th Human
Chain and demands an end to the Occupation Of Iraq.
Photo by John Grant
Chapter 72, Oregon
Thanks to the generosity of Rev. Kate Lore
and the Portland, OR 1st UUC, VFP72 now
shares space in a brand new basement office
as a member of the Peace and Justice
Collaborative. The PJC includes WILPF,
RecruiterWatchPDX, Amnesty International
and the Portland Area Global AIDS Coalition.
The 1st UUC has made phone, fax, internet
and meeting space available for a very minimal rental fee, but that is not all. The facilities include 2 meeting rooms that separate
with a sliding wall seating 60+ each, a bathroom next to bike storage that has a shower
and a kitchen at the other end…a truly wonderful workspace and enough to make any
volunteer want to put in some hours!
Malcolm Chaddock
Chapter 92, Western WA
Chapter 92's War Resister Support Action
Team organized and hosted an all day retreat
for regional organizations doing resister support work. More than 30 people representing
29 groups, including eight VFP chapters ranging from Vancouver, B.C. to southern Oregon
networked, brainstormed, inspired and created
concrete initiatives to move the work forward.
VFP 92 had a strong presence alongside
IVAW in the nationwide October 27th End
-7-
The War march and rally in Seattle. VFP 92
also had a strong presence and positive reception in their second year the Auburn, WA
Veteran's Day Parade, the largest parade on
the west coast.
We raised over $2700 for IVAW's Winter
Soldier Event scheduled for March.
We have been saddened at the passing of
longtime member and WW2 vet, Jack Wells.
Mary Crane
Chapter 99, Asheville, NC
Asheville, NC has an annual event titled
“Rockin’ River Ramble”, literally a floating
party. This year VFP Chapter 099 and friends
joined over 100 rafts, tubes, canoes, kayaks,
and craft defying classification floating down
the French Broad River along the edge of
Asheville. The “Pirate” theme was strong
this year, and one of the prizes went to the
raft carrying “Pirates for Impeachment”.
Since we shared common cause with them
-- one side of our raft showed the VFP banner
and the other an “Impeach for Peace” banner
-- we stayed near each other to reinforce the
message. As we neared the park where we
left the water, we were seen by hundreds of
spectators, and cheered by most.
Lyle Peterson
Chapter 100, Juneau, AK
When Alaska Senator Ted Stevens showed
up at the State Capitol building in Juneau, he
was greeted by a group of hardy Vets For
Peace and their supporters. They were there
to protest the Senator's support of torture as
an interrogation technique. On at least two
occasions (late 2005 and in February 2008),
the senator has voted "no" on measures that
would have limited the military and the intelligence services to the interrogation techniques set out in the Army Field Manual. In
effect, the Senator has consistently voted to
authorize the United States to officially sanction torture.
Chanting "Ted has got to go!" the demonstrators expressed their unhappiness with
signs reading "Stop Torture Now!," "Wanted
- Ted Stevens for Supporting Torture," and
others.
A year ago, Chapter 100 officials wrote to
Stevens and posed a number of questions
about his support of the Administration's policies on militarism, torture, and the war and
occupation of Iraq. Stevens has refused to
meet with the Juneau Chapter; in fact, he
won't even acknowledge receipt of the questions.
Chapter 100 members are committed to
getting an answer, and have vowed to keep
the pressure on.
Chapter 114 Sheboygan, WI
We missed the fall newsletter, so I begin
with last summer.
In May, we once again showed VFP colors
in the Memorial Day parade. We work hard to
get along with other vet groups in the area,
saving our politically provocative signage for
Fridays at our "Free Speech Corner."
In August, we brought the "Bush Chain
Chapter 118: George Mullers Utah
Arlington West Trailer is hitting the
road to display the costs of war.
Photo by Aaron Davis
Gang" to town. Dressed in prison stripes, we
wore the four large puppetista heads, (Bush,
Cheney, Rice and Rumsfeld) and were led in
chains through Earthfest. A keystone cop with
a bullhorn warned the crowd, "Keep back
people, these are dangerous criminals. They
are guilty of lying to Congress, starting a war
of aggression, and stealing from taxpayers, ...
Lady, please don't let your children get too
close, that one shot his friend with a shotgun!"
We remembered Hiroshima by taking part
in the Shadow Project. People found chalk
"shadows" on city sidewalks with tags like
"Aug. 6,'45...lest we forget," and "No more
Hiroshimas!"
Tom and Ed attended the VFP National
Convention in St. Louis. It was great to connect with so many like-minded people, especially Michael and Elliott whose ideas we've
read in these pages, and staff like Nick and
Gabriela who we knew only over the phone.
We spent Sept. and Oct. raising over
$1,200 for our friends Sisters of St. Agnes
whose special ed. school in Nicaragua suffered serious damage from hurricane Felix.
On Oct. 27th our chapter joined some 30,000
demonstrators in Chicago protesting the war.
Thanks to member Ron Kossik for organizing
bus transport.
Nov. saw this writer join some 24,000 protestors at Ft. Benning at the SOAWatch. A
friend, Michelle Yipe (a VFP from Wichita
KN area), decided to cross the line, thus
becoming another "prisoner of conscience."
She could get 1 to 6 months in prison, I'm
proud to know her.
Chapter 99 members in the raft are Tim Pluta, Ron Harayda, Lyle Petersen,
Clare Hanrahan, and Susan Oehler.
-8-
Now we prepare for our 4th annual antiwar concert in March. We mark our 6 year of
the oil war by bringing VFP Peter Tracy all
the way from California. You may remember
Peter's songs of protest at the St. Louis convention. We are helping to coordinate similar
concerts in four other cities in the area.
Member Josh Harvey (Snowshoe Films)
prepares to cover the IVAW Winter Soldier
and purchased a copy which has made the
local rounds.
We sponsored AFSC's "Eyes Wide Open"
exhibit, but due to poor weather we were
forced to move the exhibit indoors and it was
not very well attended. We plan to bring it
back again this spring and place it on the
quad of the Oregon State University (OSU)
campus.
We were honored to have the wife of presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich, Elizabeth,
march with our chapter at the Veterans' Day
parade in Albany. Our chapter also marched
in the local Holiday parade.
Chapter 132 staffed the local homeless
shelter for the week of Thanksgiving, and one
of our members initiated a highly successful
cold weather clothing drive.
In solidarity with groups all over the world,
we organized a "Shut Down Guantanamo"
protest on January 11th with guest speakers
from OSU and the ACLU.
The Bush Chaingang visits Sheboygan at the Earthfest in August 2007.
Photo byTom Contrestan
gathering in MD in March. Finally, as the
4,000th American KIA approaches, we prepare to join VFP Chapter 102 in Milwaukee
to demonstrate with flag draped coffins and a
candlelight procession up National Ave,. past
the VA Hospital.
Tom Contrestan
Chapter 115, Redwing, MN
Once again we are sponsoring the
Minnesota VFP Pigstock Retreat (6th Annual)
at Paul Schaefer's farm in Hager, WI, on
Saturday, July 12, 2008. Last year's event was
enourmously successful, with entertainment,
camping, a delicious pig roast, and outstanding speakers, including Coleen Rowley, Ann
Wright, Ray McGovern, Jack NelsonPallmeyer, Steve Miles, and many others. A
major focus this year will be on returning vets
from the Iraq war. Contact: David Harris,
tuvecino@redwing.net, 651-388-5863.
Chapter 115 is sponsoring a memorial
march from the Minnesota State Capital to
the Republican National Convention, featuring a nonviolent,
solemn procession
representing victims
of the Iraq war, both
American and other
soldiers and Iraqi
civilians, particularly
children, modeled
after the annual SOA
procession. We invite
participation by all
veterans.
Chapter 132,
Corvallis, OR
Since our last
report, Chapter 132
hosted war resister
Gerry Condon for a
presentation and
fund-raiser. We
showed his film,
Breaking Ranks,
VFP Chapter 132 member Jim Spain with Elizabeth
about U.S. war
Kucinich.
resisters in Canada,
Photo by Leah Bolger
-9-
We are working with other local activist
groups on the issue of military counterrecruitment, and sponsored an "Army of
None" workshop by David Solnit (co-author
of the book by the same name).
We continue to co-sponsor a monthly benefit concert series which has raised money for
war resistance, counter-recruitment and peace
organizations.
Leah Bolger
Chapter 152, Lehigh VAlley, PA
February 2nd, Chapter members attended
Ann Wright's booksigning at Moravian
Bookstore in Bethlehem, Pa. Following the
booksigning twenty of us joined Ann, Bill
Perry and Bill's wife, Terry for lunch at the
Hotel Bethlehem event.
On February 20th, five of us drove to
Walter Reed to deliver $1200 worth of phone
cards from money our chapter raised.
Chaplain Col. Howell told us that the soldiers
are using the phone cards primarily to call
their friends in Afghanistan and Iraq. We
then spent several hours wandering the hospital's hallways, greeting wounded soldiers, and
having lunch in the dining hall before returning home. We were once again starkly
reminded of the true costs of war.
On Feb. 23rd & 24th, our Chapter held a
two day Winter Soldier fund-raiser. IVAW
members, Sholom Keller and Frank Radosin,
attended Saturday's event. Sholom is the
membership co-ordinator who told us that
IVAW's membership has tripled in the past
year. Our efforts raised almost $1400 for
Winter Soldier.
Louise Legun
###
Commentary
"Support Our Troops: Ban Cluster Bombs"
By Frida Berrigan
Jesus Suarez del Solar, a Lance Corporal
from California, was an early casualty of the
U.S. war in Iraq. But he was not killed by
enemy fire. The 20-year-old stepped on unexploded ordnance while patrolling on March
27, 2003 and died instantly. The United
States had dropped cluster bombs in that area
just days before. Used in force, these deadly
weapons can leave behind tens or hundreds of
thousands of unexploded bomblets which can
do damage from days to years later.
It therefore seems likely that the submunition that killed Jesus was just one of thousands that the United States military dumped
in the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
During 2003, the U.S. dropped or fired nearly
11,000 cluster bombs. These bombs may have
accounted for well over 200,000 individual
bomblets. Although varied in size and configuration, a cluster munition is essentially a
large canister-as long as 13 feet and weighing
up to 1,000 pounds-packed with bomblets.
The canister is designed to break open in
mid-air, spreading the bomblets over areas as
large as two or three football fields. The
bomblets-a single canister can hold hundredsrange in size from the equivalent of a soda
can to a flashlight battery, and each one is
packed with shrapnel and an explosive
charge. Cluster bombs are designed to
explode on impact. But, according to inde-
pendent and military analyses, failure rates
range from 5 to 15 percent. In the field, the
rate can climb as high as 40 percent when the
submunition is buffeted by wind or rain, falls
on uneven or soft terrain or encounters other
environmental factors. This means that every
cluster bomb attack leaves large numbers of
dangerous unexploded bomblets. A 2006
Handicap International report estimated that
nearly 3,000 Iraqis have been victims of cluster bombs since 2003. The report goes on to
fault U.S. and Iraqi officials for failing to
adequately track unexploded ordnance casualties.
Even without that tracking, one thing is
clear-- the number of cluster bomb-related
deaths will continue to rise. The United
States' use of cluster bombs in Iraq exposes
civilians to decades of danger. A closer look
at Cambodia-where the U.S. used cluster
bombs extensively between 1969 and 1973-forecasts a grim future. That war is long over,
but the weapons still kill. In 2005, three
Cambodian boys were playing with steel
balls. The balls were thirty year old BLU63s, one of tens of thousands dropped on
their country long before they were born. The
bomblet exploded as the boys played. One
boy died of massive abdominal injuries, and
the two other boys were seriously injured.
Handicap International asserts that over the
last 40 years, in former warzones throughout
the world, civilians have accounted for 98%
of cluster bomb casualties. But, civilians are
not the only ones in danger. Like Jesus, U.S.
service men and women are threatened. A
USA Today report estimated at the end of
2003 that at least eight U.S. soldiers had been
killed by unexploded bomblets. Since then,
updated estimates of U.S. casualties from
cluster bombs have been hard to come by
because they are not part of the penatgon's
record keeping. As one of the world's top
manufacturers and possessors of cluster
weapons, the United States should be leading
the efforts to protect its own soldiers and
civilians from these deadly little weapons.
Eighty two countries are now working together on an international agreement to ban cluster munitions, and the United States should be
at the table.
Unfortunately, the Bush Administration has
so far refused to join these global negotiations; but, there is some good news. The
Senate passed a one-year de facto moratorium
on the export of cluster bombs in September.
This crucial first step must be followed
with more concrete action-like the Cluster
Munitions Civilian Protection Act which is
now gathering co-sponsors. Passage of this
bill would be a fitting tribute to Lance
Corporal Jesus Suarez del Solar and other servicemen and women killed by our own
bombs, and would help ensure that forty
years from now children can safely play
where war once raged.
Frida Berrigan
frida.berrigan@gmail.com
" Frida Berrigan, a Senior Program
Associate at the New America Foundation's
Arms and Security Initiative, edits their highly regarded E-Newsletter. To join, please
email berrigan@newamerica.net
By leaving a bequest to Veterans For Peace, you will create a legacy that will benefit others for generations to
come.
If you have already included Veterans For Peace into
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needs,
Please call the National Office and let us express our
gratitude. Your wishes for anonymity will be respected.
Here’s how you can be part of the
Legacy:
•Consider using assets for your
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who pass have one.
•Name VFP as the beneficiary of
your IRA or pension account.
•Leave a gift for Veterans For Peace.
Less than 3% of all wills contain a
charitable provision.
•Name VFP as the beneficiary of a
life insurance policy.
-10-
Support the mission of Veterans For
Peace to create a sustainable future
for generations to come. For more
information call our office in St.
Louis at 314-725-6005.
Menschless
By April
Fitzsimmons
J e r o m e
“Jerry”Schnitzer
was my Mensch.
Mensch
in
German means
“human” , in
Jerome Schnitzer
Yiddish “a standup guy” . Jerry
was part Clarence from “It’s a Wonderful Life,”
and part George Burns in “Oh God!”; he was a
white-haired angel that landed by my side.
We met in the fall of 2003. I was a newborn in
the anti-war movement and had just joined
Veterans For Peace (VFP). Jerry and I marched
in protest of the brand spanking new war in Iraq.
He guided me through my first rally, and shortly
thereafter we began to look out for each other.
Jerry had a lot of spunk for a seventy-something. I liked his continuity, fearlessness and
forthrightness. In spring 2004 we started building
Arlington West, a memorial for the fallen soldiers of the Iraq War at the beach in Santa
Monica. He showed up every single Sunday at
0600 and always made sure we all had water and
that everyone old met everyone new. Jerry knew
how to put people together.
Jerry called me “Sarge” and I called him
“Schnitz”. After taking the Arlington West
memorial across the country, Jerry let me stay at
his home in Culver City. We were great roommates; both big on neatness, privacy, and bursting into song. We wrote weekly letters to the editors of most major newspapers and stewed about
the present state of the world. It was some of the
best times in my life. Every night, when he got
tired, we said the same thing:
“Love you.”
“Love you too,” I’d say.
“Say Goodnight Gracie” , he’d say.
To which I’d reply, “Goodnight Schnitz.”
I finally returned to college to finish my longpostponed degree. Jerry encouraged me wholeheartedly; reminding me that this was one investment that the bank could never take away from
me. He became my number one cheerleader,
rejoiced in the “A’s” , fretted about the “D’s” and
read every essay I wrote. He took time to know
me, kept his word, checked in, took note and
stayed. He taught me the art of witnessing.
When we were living together we got some
bad news. Jerry had a tumor the size of a grapefruit smack dab in the middle of his chest, pressing up against his heart and spine. They weren’t
sure how fast the cancer would spread, so we
made the most of his ticking clock. We went to
Vegas to play the slots, ate at all of his favorite
diners in town; he taught me how to eat chopped
chicken liver, raw onions and pickled green
tomatoes. As a former cab driver he advised me
on driving and shortcuts and gave me unsolicited
advice about love.
Jerry was married for many years to a spitfire
named Ellie and he helped to raise her two sons,
Walt and Dan. He dedicated the concrete wall at
the end of his cul-de-sac to Ellie when she died.
If you visit Dauphin Avenue, just east of La
Cienaga in the 90034 zip, you’ll see a plaque at
the very end in memory of Jerry’s one true love.
As the cancer progressed Jerry could no longer
leave his bed. He hated relying on others, he
couldn’t run his errands, work at Arlington West
and worst of all, doing the LA Times crossword
puzzle whilst performing his morning constitution became increasingly difficult. He loved
keeping up with the happenings at the beach and
visitors sat bedside telling him stories. But it was
humiliating to him to be fed, washed and irregular. Life suddenly seemed short and wicked;
entering the world in diapers with some loving
person spoon-feeding us mashed carrots and then
exiting the same exact way; with diapers and
mashed carrots.
Toward the end of his life, our conversations
circled around one subject: forgiveness. I told
him, hauling around resentments about others
was like walking around with pebbles in his
shoes, and the last month that Jerry was alive, he
showed me his tired feet, “Pebble free!” he said.
The inoperable cancer excavated Jerry’s body
for a year and a half. Dignified and quiet, at
10:15am on Veterans Day this year, Corporal
Jerry Schnitzer gave his final salute. His personal fight for peace and justice in our world, his
daily concerns about veterans and immigrants
ceased; but his dogged determination to raise
awareness about these issues lives on.
At Jerry’s memorial service people turned out
in droves. In addition to being a life-long activist
Jerry was a stubborn chap who occasionally hurt
people’s feeling with his spot-on, unsolicited
advice. But it turns out people loved him for his
brutal honesty and showed up to remember their
old friend.
Fellow cabbie, Mel, also known as Cab#K65,
read a letter to him, thanking him for introducing
him to his wife. Prior to driving a cab Jerry sold
real estate in the 50’s and 60’s; back when it was
not really popular to sell homes in certain areas
of town to ethnic folks; but Jerry did it anyway.
He was determined to create an integrated group
of people on his block. One house at a time,
Schnitz built a multi-cultural, diverse community that showed up in full force at his memorial.
One woman thanked him for teaching her how to
drive (“Don’t drive defensively, drive paranoid!”) and his goddaughter thanked him for
always sending her little fake trees for her dollhouse.
Jerry had an FBI file as thick as a New York
phone book. Included in the file are letters from
field agents to J. Edgar Hoover about the meetings in the at his Dauphin house in the Sixties, his
interest in the Industrial Workers of the World,
and a subscription receipt to a Socialist magazine. They began to classify him as potentially
un-American.
Jerry was a union man who organized the
Independent cabs in Los Angeles, stood up daily
for veterans and immigrants rights, Karen Bass,
preserving the land for the Vets at the VA, and
was always on the look out for the young Vets
returning from Iraq to give them a hug and a
handshake. Jerry rallied at the famous WTO
protest in Seattle in 1999, and was shot in the
behind with a rubber bullet. His grandson, Zach,
called his Grandpa Jerry, “a soldier for the people.”
It’s been difficult lately. Both Jerry and I did
not believe in anything but keeping our word and
the power of the people. No God. No supernatural entity watching over us all; just everyday
folks doing what they promised. But I have to
admit, these last few weeks, since Jerry’s been
gone I’ve found myself dropping to my knees
praying, weeping and begging that he can hear
me or for some sign that he’s crossed over to that
big crossword puzzle in the sky where his bowel
movements are regular, people are kind and just,
soldiers have nothing to fight but a smile, and
where there’s chopped chicken liver as far as the
eye can see.
I guess I thought this would be easier. Jerry
and I had plenty of time to say good-bye but even
with all that advance warning, I was not prepared
for this gaping hole, this devastating emptiness
that persists due to the absence of one human
being, who on his worst day, like most of us, did
not think he mattered.
Well, he did. Jerry Schnitzer mattered and he
will never be forgotten.
Goodnight Schnitz. Goodnight Mensch.
###
-11-
Body Of War: A Must-See Movie
Body of War is an immensely moving
portrait of a very heroic young man, Tomas
Young. Not only is he an inspiring individual, but so is the team that collaborated to
help tell his story.
The robust standing ovation the film,
Tomas, Ellen Spiro, Phil Donahue, and
Eddie Vedder received following its world
premier at the Toronto International Film
Festival is indicative of how utterly powerful and courageous, like Tomas, a documentary it is.
Nathan and Tomas Young in Body of
War
Body of War not only exhibits the senseless brutality and arduous (if unthinkable)
aftermath brought by war, but also shows
us how quickly people can rush to judgment — even when under the most critical
circumstances –- and unconsciously overwrite the blatant lessons many of us hoped
were learned from the past.
Hopefully Body of War can encourage
present and future leaders, as well as citizens alike, to “slow down” and never rush
to judgment, especially when our best and
brightest — such as Tomas –- will undoubtedly be thrown into harms way.
Watch this film. “No more war”!
(from imdb.org)
Nominate Veterans For
Peace for Funding
in 2009
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Just click to fill out Working Assets’ simple online nominations form. You will need the name, phone number, and
email of VFP’s
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McPhearson (vfped@veteransforpeace.net, 314-7256005)
VFP chapter 61 President Chuc Smith with Phil
Donahue at the premier of Body of War in Kansas
City, MO.
Photo by Michael McPhearson
That's it; Working Assets does the rest. With their treefriendly nominations tool, you save time, postage and, of
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five issue areas:
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"
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"
Voting Rights & Civic Participation
Doing My Patriotic Duty
Stopped at a local post office
this afternoon en route to Machias,
Maine.
“I’d like a book of stamps,
please,” I said to the postal clerk.
The clerk, an older guy maybe
in his sixties, shows me a book of
U.S. flag stamps.
“Nope, I want somethin’ a little
more pretty. How about some
flowers?”
“What’s the matter? You don’t
like the flag? You unpatriotic or
somethin’?”
Now I have to tell you, that triggered somethin’ in this nearly 70year old redneck.
“Mister,” I said, as I looked him
right in the eye, “I’m a three year
U.S. Army veteran. And I still like
-12-
flowers. You got a problem with
that?”
“I guess not,” he said, and handed me a book of brightly colored
flowered stamps. “That’ll be
$8.40,” he said.
I paid, left the post office, got in
my car and drove off.
This Saturday morning from
11-12, I will be at the weekly
peace vigil in front of the Eastport
post office. Next week I will no
doubt buy another book of flowered postage stamps. Seems it’s
my patriotic duty.
A proud member of Veterans
For Peace.
Let’s bring
‘em home.
Dick Hoyt
P O E T R Y
The Bodies Beneath the Table
Hue City, 1968
(or was it Fallujah,
Stalingrad, or Ur?)
The bodies beneath the table
had been lying there for days.
Long enough to obliterate their faces,
the nature of their wounds.
Or maybe whatever killed them
ruined their faces, too.
Impossible now to tell.
Only the putrefying bodies
bloated like Macy’s Parade balloons,
only unrecognizable lumps on
shoulders where heads should be.
The two of them seemed to be a couple:
husband and wife, lovers perhaps,
maybe brother and sister—who
could tell—but they’d pulled the table
into a corner away from the windows,
their only protection against
the fighting raging around them,
crawled beneath it—the table, I mean—
half sitting, bent at the waist,
close together, terrified, almost
certainly terrified, nothing but noise,
only each other, only each other,
any moment their last.
All these years I’ve wondered
how they died. Who were they.
Who remembers.
W. D., Ehrhart
We Don’t Want Bosses, Period
Portrait of A Woman
We don’t want bosses of any kind,
period.
They’ve already splashed around
in our blood,
already feasted plenty
on our lives.
Stop asking us so many questions.
Look at our injuries
the damage done to peasants
and miners.
We’ve gotta yank this plant out of the world
once and for always.
Don’t ask anything else of us. We’ve really
made up our guts.
We don’t want bosses
because they’re
the same as ever:
because they want the land
all for themselves,
because they want the sun
all for themselves,
because they never stop
robbing, trampling,
and killing, killing
day and night under every kind of sky.
Sometimes Maria sings
the most intense songs.
Songs I’ve never
heard before
that aren’t heard
anywhere
She sings, sometimes explodes
wordlessly
with her songs
packed with
history.
She sings tirelessly of things,
unknown
events
she moves, sways,
she sings
profound joys to me.
Sings to me, invents, makes up
songs for me
does Maria
returning sometimes
in the middle of the night
songs that can’t be described
can’t be re-told.
Ferruccio Brugnaro
Ferruccio Brugnaro
Note by poet Gary Lawless: Ferruccio is a native Venetian, and worked for
much of his life in the industrial zone of Marghera, just west of Venice, on the
mainland. A Communist, an activist, a lifelong poet, Ferruccio has recently read
at festivals in San Francisco and Cuba. His work is available here in the United
States in a collection called Fist of Sun, translated by Jack Hirschman and published by Curbstone Press, and in a collection for his wife Maria, called Portrait
of A Woman, also translated by Jack Hirschman and published by CC Marimbo
Press.
MIRACLES
Veteran Returning Bronze
Star:
Operation Dewey Canyon
III, April 19-23, 1971
“Inspired by a course on
the Vietnam War,
Philadelphia University of
the Arts student Alex Irvine
is making a series of ceramic tiles based on a photograph from Dewey Canyon
III. “Veterans returning
their medals struck me as a
profoundly significant
development in the history
of our country,” says Irvine
(alexirvine@verizon.net).
My years of frustration
Forced me to underestimate you.
Yet you far exceed
Any miracle I might have dreamed.
Simultaneously
you
Stop smoking
Dramatically reduce drinking
Start anti-depressants (a no-no before)
Start valerian root for sleeping
Apply for an internship in an architectural firm
First time ever, apply to college
Who ever said you don't have a strong will?
I need to keep my mouth shut.
Kiyra Lamb
-13-
Update on the Korea Peace Campaign
By John Kim
free, please let me know.
While we are working to end the terrible war
in Iraq, it is also important for us to keep a broad
perspective on other conflicts around the world,
in which the U.S. empire is deeply involved.
Organize a national conference for ending the
Korean War on July 26, Sat., in Washington,
D.C., if there are other peace groups willing to
co-sponsor such a conference.
One such war is the “Forgotten War” or
“Unknown War.”
Hold a special memorial ceremony for the
victims of the Korean War at the Korean War
Memorial in D.C., and march to the White
House for a rally and peace song festival.
This year, we will observe the 55th anniversary of signing the Armistice Agreement that
stopped the horrendous fighting in the Korean
War. In observance of this year’s anniversary,
the Korea Peace Campaign decided to work on
the following activities:
Conduct a petition drive for a peace treaty to
end the Korean War officially. The Armistice
Agreement, while it stopped the active fighting,
fueled continuing arms race on the Korean
Peninsula, and is quite outdated and in full of
holes at this time. It is about time that we
replace the Armistice Agreement with a formal
peace treaty.
The petition will be posted on the KPC project site in the VFP website. You may sign on the
petition there directly too. Please circulate the
petition and collect signatures from your friends
and others, and mail/fax them to the VFP
national office (Attn: Korea Project). The collected petition signatures will be sent/delivered
to the appropriate members of the Congress.
Run free or paid advertisement in the local
and national newspapers, explaining why we
want an end to the Korean War. If you know any
local papers that are willing to run the Ad for
To carry out all of these programs successfully, we will need much help from the national
office as well as local chapters and members at
large in fundraising, support and outreach. Our
goal is to raise at least $15,000.. Contribution
checks should be made payable to VFP (with
memo: Korea Project) and sent to the national
office. Individuals may also donate for the
Korea project on the VFP website too.
It came to my attention recently that Mr.
Kim, Sang-Chan, who attended the 2006 VFP
Convention in Seattle, passed away. He was the
Co-Representative of the South Korean VFP
and spoke to us in one of the plenary sessions.
He was very kind, nice gentleman. We will miss
him.
Finally, the KPC Committee is looking for
new members who want to work on our project.
If interested, please contact me. End the
Korean War! Sign the Peace Treaty Now!
(John Kim is the Chair of the VFP-Korea Peace
Campaign Committee.
Contact: KoPeaceC@aol.com)
END THE KOREAN WAR NOW
Time for Reconciliation and Healing
J
uly 27 marks the 55th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Day.
And September 8 will mark the 63rd anniversary of the landing of U.S.
Forces in Korea. Much time has passed, but the U.S. is still fighting
the longest, undeclared war in history in Korea, with some 30,000
troops still stationed in South Korea today. It is high time for us to end this
lingering, costly war, and bring the troops home.
A nuclear weapons-free, peaceful Korea is possible when old foes end their
enmity. We call for direct talks, a peace treaty, reconciliation, and normalization of relations with North Korea (DPRK). We call for a new
U.S. policy toward Korea in support of the Korean people’s just aspiration
for a peaceful reunification of their country, which we divided into two in
1945. We are very sorry for the tragic division and continuing suffering.
VETERANS FOR PEACE - KOREA PEACE CAMPAIGN
www.veteransforpeace.org/korea.vp.html
For further info, contact KoPeaceC@aol.com
Make Friends,
not Enemies!
Wage Peace,
not War!
Please join the Korea
Peace Campaign (KPC) by
sending a letter to your
senators, making a donation to VFP-KPC and/or
asking your local peace
group to support KPC.
-14-
VFP Member travels
to Syria
In late October, a group of eight professionals,
sponsored by the United Nations Association –
Seattle, traveled to Syria to visit Iraqi refugees.
The majority of this group had visited Iraq during
the economic sanctions period. They met with
Syrians and Iraqis and had meetings with personnel from the United Nations High Commission
for Refugees (UNHCR).
Approximately 20 percent of Iraqis are
presently living in refugee status. The UN estimates there are 2 million internally displaced
Iraqis who cannot return to their homes.
Additionally, the UN High Commission for
Refugees reported in September, 2007, that there
were at least 750,000 refugees in Jordan, and
another 250,000 - 750,000 in the Gulf States and
Europe. The United States has accepted only
those refugees whose lives are in danger for having assisted US personnel.
There are 1.5 - 3 million Iraqi refugees in
Syria. This year, until October, when the USdominated Iraqi government appealed to Syria to
close its open borders, 2,000 - 4,000 Iraqis were
entering Syria each day. With a total population
of less than 20 million, this rapid influx of Iraqis
has had a stunning impact on the economy of
Syria. Housing rental rates have climbed, food
has become more expensive and the educational
and medical systems are vastly overburdened.
As the UNA-Seattle group traveled through
Syria, the message was strong – and spoken by
every Syrian interviewed: Tell your government
not to attack us. We are peace-loving people and
do not want the US to turn us into Iraq. The generosity of Syria in accepting this tide of Iraqi
refugees is stunning, particularly in light of the
strained economy of Syria and the very limited
number of Iraqis that have been accepted into the
US. Every Syrian and every Iraqi questioned
believes the US is responsible for the disaster of
Iraq. And they believe the US invaded Iraq to
gain control over Iraq’s primary natural resource:
oil.
With few exceptions, the Iraqi refugees in
Syria may not legally work. They came into the
country with all of the money they could gather
and are living on a diminishing supply of
resources. Of the 1.5 – 3 million Iraqis in Syria,
approximately 130,000 who have registered with
the UNHCR may receive food, medical help and
some direct aide. Iraqis wanting to register with
UNHCR must wait five months to register (a few
exceptions are made). With the new visa requirements, most Iraqis are not legally allowed to be in
Syria long enough to register.
The US has reported that Iraqis are returning
to their country. Iraqis dispute this and state that
they would like to return home, but that home is
unsafe or non-existent. Iraqis claim that those
returning to Iraq are doing so because they have
nowhere else to go.
Gerri Haynes
VFP Establishes A Presence At Fort Stewart
By Sandy Kelson
It was our second day in Hinesville, GA,
working the main gate of Fort Stewart,
Georgia handing out Sir! No Sir! DVDs,
Appeal For Redress brochures, GI Rights
cards, and VFP and IVAW brochures to anyone with a base sticker who would accept the
material. We had read in the local paper 140
MPs had just returned to Stewart from Iraq,
and we were encountering some of them driving onto the base.
Both John Grant and I had very positive
exchanges with soldiers. I met a sympathetic
African American soldier just back from Iraq
with an injured gas-pedal leg. Grant had a
conversation through the window with a
young soldier with his wife and two kids;
when Grant told the man "welcome home,"
his 6-year-old daughter in the backseat
screamed in delight. The man looked happy,
sad and stunned. He told Grant, "I could tell
you a whole lot about Iraq." Then, they
drove off.
After six days, we had handed out 500
copies of Sir! No Sir! and had started handing
out copies of The Ground Truth. On the following Sunday, at a local recreation center,
we invited Fort Stewart soldiers to a showing
of Meeting Resistance, a new documentary
with interviews of insurgents in Iraq.
In all our activities, we received key support and information from local Hinesville
area activists Kevin and Monica Benderman
and Cathy Browning. After participating in
the invasion of Iraq, Kevin Benderman
declared himself a CO and did 13 months in
prison at Fort Lewis in retaliation for his
whistle-blowing in the Army. The
Bendermans have had a very rocky time over
the past years, and the peace movement has
not always delivered on its promises. They
will be pursuing the case soon in federal
court.
The VFP Fort Stewart Troop Engagement
Project turned out to be a two-man operation,
which was probably fortuitous, as we were
told by several local activists that groups
from out of town arriving like gangbusters
full of organizing fervor don't get too far.
What works best, we were told, is a slow,
consistent and respectful presence.
One local activist suggested that a place
like Fort Stewart/Hinesville was primed and
ready for outside intervention like VFP to
spark conversation about the war in a climate
where such conversation seldom occurs, due
to the reluctance of local civilians to rock the
boat in a military town. We ran into a number of local people very sympathetic to our
views - some of them wives and relatives of
soldiers currently in Iraq - who would never
publicly speak out against the war. They
seemed to welcome us speaking out; they certainly were not threatened by us.
One evening we went to eat dinner at the
Kobe Japanese Steak House and were seated
Sandy Kelson prepares copies of The
Ground Truth in the Budget Motel
headquarters.
with a young African American infantryman
who had done one tour in Iraq, and had just
been assigned to Fort Stewart - presumably
with a second tour in his immediate future.
Unable to find a job, this infantry soldier had
just re-enlisted for a $20,000 bonus, which he
hoped to save. As we talked over dinner, it
became clear the war in Iraq made no sense
to him. He spoke about "political corruption"
being the reason for the war. He echoed others we had spoken with that there was,
indeed, resistance and rebellion in the ranks
in Iraq - even, in some instances, fraggings.
After the meal, we gave him all our material
and wished him well.
As we approached cars during the day at
the main gate, Grant began to ramp up his rap
to emphasize the GI Rights Movement during
the Vietnam era in the Sir! No Sir! film, and
this didn't seem to present a problem to any
of the soldiers or family members in the cars.
Curious how it would be received, I offered a
"Bring Them Home Now" bracelet to a soldier in a car with his family, and he took it
gladly, extending his hand in gratitude.
Before long, we had arranged a large VETERANS FOR PEACE banner in the ground
behind us and were making it quite clear,
while we supported our troops, we wanted the
war ended.
The future of this project is uncertain.
Potentially, it could be a powerful instrument
to raise important questions about US military
occupation policy in Iraq on and around a
huge military base. As we've been told, done
right it might be quite effective. Anyone
interested in this idea, let me or VFP leadership know.
Sandy Kelson passes out material at Fort Stewart gate while local activist Cathy
Browning holds a sign.
-15-
Photos by John Grant
Sandy Kelson is a former national president of VFP and founder of both the
Pittsburgh and Northwest Pennsylvania VFP
chapters. He is an attorney.
###
Book Review
Dissent: Voices of Conscience by Ann Wright
and Susan Dixon
have put everything on the line to get out to
the largely uninformed and-or deceived andor indifferent public the truth as they know
and live(d) it.
Posted in the Middle East, Col. Wright had
a ringside seat to the buildup to Pres. Bush’s
illegal, immoral war of choice on Iraq.
Shortly before the bombing began, a highly
distraught Wright cabled to Washington her
letter of resignation from the military. She’s
been on the firing line of the loyal opposition
ever since.
Dissent: Voices of Conscience; Government
Insiders Speak Out against the War in Iraq.
by Col. (Ret.) Ann Wright and Susan Dixon
KOA Books, www.koabooks.com
$17.95 softcover
Review by Will Shapira
If you’ve never met a whistleblower, you
probably will if you attend our Veterans For
Peace national convention in my home towns
of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn. By some
calendar quirk, the Republicans chose to have
their convention in Minnesota at the same
time we are. We’ll be glad to share the space.
Minnesota resident and whisteblower
supreme Coleen Rowley, who once made the
cover of Time magazine for her revelatory
and forever damning testimony about the
FBI’s blunders before and after 9/11,
undoubtedly will be speaking out against the
Iraq war and for peace and justice and
emphatically emphasizing the need for transparent, responsive government. She was on
the inside for years and is one of our most
articulate, dedicated spokespersons for this
vital cause.
By now, most of us probably know a fair
amount about the run-up to the war—-the lies,
the deceit at the highest levels of government
etc. What we don’t know (or didn’t until this
book emerged) is exactly how many behindthe-scenes government employees were so
sickened and disgusted by the total misuse of
executive power for nefarious purposes and
that they sought to undermine it at great personal and professional risk. While some might
label them traitors, there is no question in my
mind that they acted out of the highest sense
of moral principle for the good of an America
they saw being destroyed from within by the
Bush administration, and the even deeper fear
that its policies posed a clear and present danger to the future of humanity.
The book is divided into six chapters, each
of which includes names and case histories
perhaps brand new to you and certainly to me.
The chapter headings are: How We Got Into
Iraq; Diplomats Who Resigned; Coalition-ofthe-Willing Dissenters: British, Australian and
Danish; U.S. Whistleblowers; Opposition
Within the Military, and an Epilogue in which
Col. Wright sums up thusly: “The road of dis-
sent is not easy. Families can split up over an
act of conscience taken by a family member.
Friends and colleagues can become former
friends and colleagues. Acts of conscience
taken for the long-term good of our countrynot for the benefit of one political party or the
President-are frequently castigated.
Government employees, some of whom
have worked for several administrations, both
Republican and Democratic, are too often
called unpatriotic for their actions. Yet like
(Daniel) Ellsberg (of Pentagon Paper renown)
many government insiders do take the difficult path of challenging an administration on
its illegal actions, despite the adverse consequences they might face.
Acts of conscience like these not only hold
the present administration accountable, they
put future administrations on notice that there
will always be some government insiders
who, on behalf of their fellow citizens, will
expose wrongdoings to try to prevent
tragedies like the invasions of Vietnam and
Iraq.”
In the spirit of Col. Wright’s book,
Ellsberg, who wrote the foreword, offers a
terrific idea: “This is a book that should be
leaked into the government. I would like to
see it, in digital form, hacked in its entirety
into every personal computer in the Pentagon,
the White House, State Department, NSA,
CIA and FBI...We might even avoid a repetition, in Iran, of the horrors those publics servants saw coming in Iraq and did their very
best to avert.” Sounds good to me; let the
hacking begin!
###
Rowley is just one of many courageous
public servants who have spoken up and out
on 9/11, Iraq and other issues against this
worst-ever Bush Administration. Others have
and are speaking out even as this war without
end grinds on. We hope they attend our convention, too: www.veteransforpeace.org.
While the roster of those covered in this
book is impressive, it is by no means a complete honor roll of dissenters on Iraq, nor was
it intended to be. These courageous patriots
Ann Wright with VFP associate member Walt Garvin, and VFP members Don
Burns and Paul Fichter at Hotel Bethlehem following Dissent: Voices of
Conscience booksigning at Moravian bookstore in Bethlehem, PA.
-16-
Book Review
A Temporary Sort of Peace: A Memoir of Vietnam
by Jim McGarrah
peting suitor, but shirks this experience as unimportant even while he acknowledges the preeminence of this relationship in his life. Much
remains unsaid.
McGarrah’s Vietnam tour, described in detail
that rivals Caputo’s Rumor of War, is pretty standard fare by this time. The novelty of Vietnam’s
particular horrors in the annals of combat has
been dulled by its retelling in several popular
works over the past few decades. And yet, by
the time we get to Vietnam with McGarrah we
have a “connection” with him, and we care what
happens, not least when he is wounded during
the Tet offensive in 1968—his is far from a
detached regurgitation of facts only.
Jim McGarrah
Indiana Historical Society Press. 2007.
251 pages
ISBN: 987-0-87195-258-5
A Review by Gary E. May
The title for this work immediately betrays
what McGarrah believes about his Vietnam
experiences—it is not easily wrestled into submission and there may be additional demons
lurking in the recesses of the vast memory files.
McGarrah, a Professor of Creative Writing,
demonstrates his prodigious writing skills in this
engaging, accessible and brutally honest work.
His tentativeness, perhaps reflecting anxiety
about the unknown, seems to blunt his introspection and critical self analysis.
After the opening scene set in a VA Mental
Hygiene Clinic where he is being assessed for
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, while thoughts
of Vietnam intrude, McGarrah begins his recollections with his life and upbringing in
Princeton, Indiana. He was an accomplished
prep athlete with what is described as a forceful,
driving father, a mostly unavailable mother and
a younger sister. While McGarrah provides a
detailed, gut wrenching description of his relationship with his father when he was challenged
about being caught in a lie, most of his treatment
of his family relationships provide only a tease
and leaves much to the imagination to determine
what family life was like and how it might help
explain McGarrah’s rash decision to join the
Marines after flunking out of college.
The description of the early years is appropriately seasoned by teen male obsession with
sex and ham-handed encounters with dating,
petting and romance. McGarrah recounts the
loss of the object of his sexual fantasy to a com-
Just as we care about McGarrah in Vietnam,
we care about him upon his return. This, too, is
a familiar scenario of drugs, jobs, broken relationships, soul searching, existential crises, wandering and confusion. McGarrah’s writing style
connects with the reader. The descriptions of fraternity parties, anonymous sex, youthful naiveté,
idealism, geographic remedies, and blatant stupidity are engaging. An informed reader is
reminded of psychologist John Wilson’s description of Vietnam veterans as teens with a middle
aged frame of reference that was launched forward at hyper speed impelled by experiences in
Vietnam, although McGarrah seems oblivious to
this as he tells his story.
Having achieved the credentials of legitimacy with a MFA degree, McGarrah joined the
academy as a Professor of Creative Writing. He
taught at the university that employs me. There
he distinguished himself as a good, passionate
teacher who challenged his students to do their
best work. I am personally familiar with exemplary work he did with one student, Joe Sayyah,
a Vietnam veteran who died from Agent Orange
poisoning. McGarrah gave this student a creative outlet for his angst, an understanding ear,
and gentle incentives to do his best work in creating a legacy of his own.
In 2005, McGarrah received a Faculty
Research and Creative Works Award to return to
Vietnam with his adult son, John. This was obviously a significant opportunity for McGarrah to
write the epilogue for the book. He was able to
meet with a noted Vietnamese poet, Vo Que.
Touring and chatting with this nationally recognized poet was obviously a highlight for
McGarrah, as was the peace ceremony where he
and Vo Que wrote and recited original poems
intended to heal spiritual scars. Overall, the
description of the return’s pathos pales when
compared to the works of Scurfield and other
veterans who have returned to Vietnam, many of
whom adopted more deeply introspective and
evaluative perspectives.
-17-
McGarrah’s understated account of the
return to Vietnam (“home”) embodies a substantial dissipation of energy and enthusiasm for the
trip. For example, in a taxi ride, McGarrah and
his son pass a temple that was the site of a horrific battle during McGarrah’s tour. His immediate reaction, “Goddamn it.” When questioned
by his son, he says, “I blew that temple up. I’m
in the middle of my old base camp. The government must have left it as some kind of reminder,
which is ironic since both governments encourage your generation to forget”, to which John
responds, “It’s better economics to forget one
war. That makes it easier to start a new one.”
This exchange closes with McGarrah’s understated hope that his son’s awareness of history’s
tendency to repeat itself will lead toward the
wisdom to change.
There are contemporary photographs
throughout the book. For someone who shares
McGarrah’s experiences as a Marine, and as one
who grew up in the same county and time frame
as the author, I personally found the photos to be
an affront to aging. That’s not the way we look
today; we’ve aged, and that’s part of the story.
That said, readers of our generation will find in
these photos powerful anchors to Midwest
America baby boomer upbringing.
This is an important contribution to the
growing volumes of “Vietnam books”. Its
strongest points are the writing style, the engagement of readers, the description of war’s aftermath and its tentative hopefulness. The reader is
likely to feel unfulfilled and “left hanging” about
McGarrah’s family dynamics and his underdeveloped insights about “what it all means”.
Finally, readers will feel hopeful that
McGarrah’s journey and search for meaning will
continue, resulting in a permanent peace, rather
than ‘a temporary sort of peace,’ for him.
Caputo, P. A Rumor of War. Holt, Rinehart
and Winston, New York, New York. 1977.
Wilson, J.P. Identity, Ideology, and Crisis:
the Vietnam Veteran in Transition: a Partial and
Preliminary Report Submitted to the Disabled
American Veterans Association on the Forgotten
Warrior Project. Cleveland State University,
Cleveland, Ohio. 1977.
Scurfield, R.M. Healing Journeys: Study
Abroad with Vietnam Veterans. Vol. 2 of a
Vietnam Trilogy. Algora Publishing, New
York, NY. 2006.
Gary E. May is an Associate Professor of
Social Work at the University of Southern
Indiana, and a Vietnam veteran newly elected to
the National Board of Veterans For Peace.
###
Editorial continued from page 3
• Boston is a place where the Veterans Day
parade is one of those “private affairs,” and so
VFP has long established it presence in a silent
picket with signage along the avenue where the
sanctioned participants pass by, from H.S.
marching bands to Navy Seals. This year VFP
members gagged their mouths and stood with
signs that said, “American Legion SILENCES
Messages of Peace from Veterans.” 18 of the
VFP demonstrators, including one nonagenarian, were arrested and charged with disturbing a
War in Chester continued from page 2
reads: HIPPIES SMELL. Accordingly, some
members of the Peace Vigil now greet each
other on the street by hollering, “Hey. Take a
bath!”
My favorite Victory Movement sign was
also held up by this same Freeper. It read: “If
Osama Bin Laden Was A Piece Of Ass, Clinton
Would Have Nailed Him Long Ago.” Once I
sent out a photo featuring it, it disappeared; we
realize we apparently have a rat on our email
list, which we are fine with.
Early on, there were other instances of personal name-calling. The one that stands out
was a man who said he had never been in the
military who called VFP member John Beitzel
a “traitor” and a “coward.” Beitzel is a combat
Vietnam veteran with a Bronze Star and an Air
Medal who testified in the 1971 Winter Soldier
investigation. Without making any threats in
any way, we let this gentleman know what we
thought of his remarks and why. With every
action now, we keep the dialogue on the level
of ideas about the war, purposely avoiding the
ad-hominem epithets used by the other side.
When we engaged in conversation with
members of the counter-vigil, we found some
individuals impossible to deal with; others we
found to be quite reasonable, though we disagreed on the war. One guy struck up a conversation with me and said if it wasn’t for this
war he and I might be friends. I agreed and try
to at least say “Hello” to him every Saturday.
The most effective tool is having a number
of video cameras going, and if possible, the
lawful assembly; the charges were later dismissed. Stay turned to Boston for 2008.
• Chapter 1 in Maine, after having marched
since 1992 as a full participant in Portland’s
Veterans Day parade, was “dis-invited” in 2006
by the American Legion local, which organizes
the event. The city council passed a resolution
supporting VFP’s participation, and threatened
to withdraw its co-sponsorship and forbid the
participation of city officials, if VFP wasn’t reinvited. Score one for the good guys. “We
have discussed not participating,” says VFP’s
parade organizer Jack Bussell, “but I always
felt we should get the word ‘peace’ into the
parade.”
• Veterans For Peace was excluded from the
Long Beach, CA Veterans Day parade of 2007.
A campaign of local protest that garnered
national media attention pressured the city’s
political establishment and the local parade
committee to reverse that decision. The outcome is that VFP, like other veterans groups,
will receive an invitation for 2008 to march for
the first time in that city’s Veterans Day parade.
• After marching in Veterans Day for the past
four years, chapter 54 in Santa Barbara, CA
was “pointedly” not invited for 2007. The
yearly event is heavily influenced by local prowar forces, and veterans groups like the
American Legion, VFP and VVA.
Nonetheless, chapter 54 “always drew an outstanding response from the spectators.” Fearing
bad publicity, the parade organizers reversed
their decision, but insisted that VFP marchers
provide evidence “attesting to military service,” a condition not demanded of any other
participants “which included organizations
such as the Girl Scouts.” The chapter decided
not to march and held a candle light vigil at
Arlington West instead.
• A number of other VFP chapters also chose
to bypass the official parades or ceremonies in
their areas, and to celebrate Veterans Day with
alternative events and actions of their own creation. A full posting of responses to a query of
VFP chapters Veterans Day experiences in
November 2007 can be found on our website,
www.veteransforpeace.org
uploading of an edited video later to You Tube.
The Victory Movement relies very heavily on
an Ann Coulter wannabe with a video blog.
Her scruples are abysmal, and she is determined to get video that she puts with text to
suggest we like to kick the crutches out from
under the armpits of wounded Iraq veterans
and things of that nature.
and there may not be any direct contact. At a
time, despite polling that indicates Americans
are fed up with the war, when the Bush White
House is digging in its heels on Iraq, it’s not
surprising to see aggressive opposition aimed
at Americans publicly expressing an antiwar
message. There seems to be a desperate sense
in the air that the war is vulnerable.
Thanks to her efforts, though, we are now
You Tube savvy and have uploaded three
videos on the Chester County Peace
Movement vigils. The point of these videos is
to counter the heavy slandering and demeaning
of the peace movement by focusing on who we
are and what our message is. Each video in the
developing West Chester Freedom series features several interviews of vigil members. So
far, the videos have helped bring more people
out. Last Saturday, we featured a student
march from the local university. The videos
can be found at You Tube account VETAGAINSTWAR.
As we have tried to do in West Chester, it
behooves us to “know our enemy,” and to use
them to hone our arguments to their lean-andmean best. Truth is on our side, and we need to
play that hand. Meeting threats from opposition
elements with threats of our own is foolish and,
more important, exactly what they want. We also
have to be ready to take the blows and defend
ourselves if someone resorts to that.
What’s happening in West Chester,
Pennsylvania, doesn’t seem to be an anomaly.
With all the propaganda about the “success” of
the surge in Iraq, and the formation in August
of The Freedom Watch, a pro-war propaganda
instrument headed by former White House
flack Ari Fleischer and originally funded with
$15 million, such aggressive attacks of the
antiwar movement are to be expected.
Out of this climate, groups like A Gathering
Of Eagles take off and find their way into local
counter-vigils like the one in West Chester. I
have no evidence of any direct contact
between Freedom Watch and these entities;
-18-
###
On its website, the GOE goes out of its way
to say it is peaceful, and we always have several video cameras rolling in case they aren’t
true to their word. We’ve also noticed how
often these folks assume, and twist to their
own purposes, the old slogans and mannerisms
of the sixties antiwar movement. This can be
quite funny, as the time a Freeper bellowed
“Peace Brutality!” as a couple of us videotaped
their antics in support of water boarding.
Every Saturday in West Chester is different,
and we will no doubt encounter surprises. But
one thing is certain: What was a consistent, but
somewhat weary, antiwar vigil, is now a determined, vibrant forum for public discussion of
opposition to the occupation of Iraq. And we
have the Chester County Victory Movement to
thank for that.
###
Pentagon continued from page 1
ways to reprogram their human software,
overriding those characteristics that are
inconvenient in a military context, most particularly the inherent resistance human beings
have to killing others of their own species.
"Modern combat training conditions soldiers
to act reflexively to stimuli," says Lt. Col.
Peter Kilner, a professor of philosophy and
ethics at West Point, "and this maximizes soldiers' lethality, but it does so by bypassing
their moral autonomy. Soldiers are conditioned to act without considering the moral
repercussions of their actions; they are
enabled to kill without making the conscious
decision to do so. If they are unable to justify
to themselves the fact that they killed another
human being, they will likely -- and understandably -- suffer enormous guilt. This guilt
manifests itself as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and it has damaged the lives of
thousands of men who performed their duty
in combat."
a 40 percent increase over 2004. But that figure represents only reported cases, and, as Air
Force Brig. Gen. K.C. McClain, commander
of DoD's Joint Task Force for Sexual Assault
Prevention and Response pointed out,
"Studies indicate that only 5 percent of sexual assaults are reported."
their families, are a huge budgetary concern
that becomes ever more daunting as these
wars drag on. The Psychological Kevlar Act
perhaps holds out the promise of a prophylactic remedy, but it should come as no surprise
that Big Pharma has been looking for a chemical intervention.
I have thought a lot about the implications
of "psychological Kevlar" -- what kind of
"preventive and early-intervention measures,
practices or procedures" might be developed
that would "reduce the likelihood that personnel in combat will develop post-traumatic
stress disorder." How would a soldier with a
shield against moral response "five times
stronger than steel" behave?
What they have come up with has already
been dubbed "the mourning after pill."
Propranalol, if taken immediately following a
traumatic event, can subdue a victim's stress
response and so soften his or her perception
of the memory. That does not mean the memory has been erased, but proponents claim
that the drug can render it emotionally toothless.
I cannot convince myself that what is really being promoted isn't a form of moral lobotomy.
If your daughter were raped, the argument
goes, wouldn't you want to spare her a traumatic memory that might well ruin her life?
As the mother of a 23-year old daughter, I can
certainly understand the appeal of that argument. And a drug that could prevent the terrible effects of traumatic injuries in soldiers? If
I were the parent of a soldier suffering from
such a life-altering injury, I can imagine
being similarly persuaded.
I cannot imagine what aspects of selfhood
will have to be excised or paralyzed so soldiers will no longer be troubled by what they,
not to mention we, would otherwise consider
By military standards, operant condition- morally repugnant. A soldier who has lost an
ing has been highly effective. It's enabled arm can be welcomed home because he or
American soldiers to kill more often and she still shares fundamental societal values.
more efficiently, and that ability continues to But the soldier who sees her friend emulsified
exact a terrible toll on those we have desig- by a bomb, who is ordered to run over chilnated as the "enemy." But the toll on the dren in the road rather than slow down the
troops themselves is also tragic. Even when convoy, or who realizes too late that the
troops struggle honorably with the difference woman was carrying a baby, not a bomb -- if
between a protected person and a permissible that soldier's ability to feel terror and horror
target (and I believe that the vast majority do has been amputated, if he or she can no
so struggle, though the distinction is one I longer be appalled or haunted, something far
find both ethically and humanely problemat- more precious has been lost. I am afraid that
ic) in war "shit happens." When soldiers are the training or conditioning or drug that will
witness to overwhelming horror, or because be developed to protect soldiers from such
of a reflexive accident, an illegitimate order, injuries will leave an indifference to violence
or because multiple deployments have thor- that will make them unrecognizable to themoughly distorted their perceptions, or simply selves and to those who love them. They will
because they are in the wrong place at the be alienated and isolated, and finally unable
wrong time -- those are the moments that will to come home.
continue to haunt them, the memories they
Post-traumatic stress injuries can devastate
will not be able to forgive or forget, and the the lives of soldiers and their families. The
stuff of post-traumatic stress injuries.
suicides that are so often the result of such
And it's not just the inherent conscientious injuries make it clear that they can be every
objector our military finds inconvenient: cur- bit as lethal as bullets or bombs, and to date
rent U.S. military training also includes a no cure has been found. Treatment and discomponent to desensitize male soldiers to the ability payments, both for injured troops and
sounds of women being raped, so the enemy
cannot use the cries of their fellow soldiers to
leverage information. I think it not unreasonable to connect such desensitization techniques to the rates of domestic violence in the
military, which are, according to the DoD,
five times those in the civilian population. Is
anyone really surprised that men who have
been specifically trained to ignore the pain
and fear of women have a difficult time coming home to their wives and families? And
clearly they do. There were 2,374 reported
cases of sexual assault in the military in 2005,
Not surprisingly, the Army is already on
board. Propranolol is a well-tolerated medication that has been used for years for other
purposes.
And it is inexpensive.
But is it moral to weaken memories of horrendous acts a person has committed? Some
would say that there is no difference between
offering injured soldiers penicillin to prevent
an infection and giving a drug that prevents
them from suffering from a post-traumatic
stress injury for the rest of their lives. Others,
like Leon Kass, chairman of the President's
Council on Bioethics, object to Propranolol's
use on the grounds that it medicates away
one's conscience. "It's the morning-after pill
for just about anything that produces regret,
remorse, pain or guilt," he says. Barry Romo,
a national coordinator for Vietnam Veterans
Against the War, is even more blunt. "That's
the devil pill," he says. "That's the monster
pill, the anti-morality pill. That's the pill that
can make men and women do anything and
think they can get away with it. Even if it
doesn't work, what's scary is that a young
soldier could believe it will."
It doesn't take a neuroscientist to see the
problem with both of these solutions.
Though both hold the promise of relief from
the effects of an injury that causes unspeakable pain, they do so at what appears to be
great cost. Whatever research projects might
be funded by the Psychological Kevlar Act
and whatever use is made of Propranolol,
Pentagon continued on page 20
-19-
Pentagon...continued from page 19
New Merchandise Item:
they will almost certainly involve a diminished
range of feelings and memory, without which
soldiers and veterans will be different. But in
what ways?
I wish I could trust the leadership of our
country to prioritize the lives and well-being
of our citizens. I don't. The last six years have
clearly shown the extent to which this administration is willing to go to use soldiers for its
own ends, discarding them when they are damaged. Will efforts be made to fix what has been
broken? Return what has been taken? Bring
them home? Will citizens be enlightened about
what we are condoning in our ignorance, dispassion or indifference? Or will these two
solutions simply bring us closer to realizing
the bullet-proof mind, devoid of the inconvenient vulnerability of decent human beings to
atrocity and horror? And finally, these are all
questions about the morality of proposals that
are trying to prevent injuries without changing
the social circumstances that bring them about,
which sidestep the most fundamental moral
dilemma: that of sending people to war in the
first place.
###
E.D. report continued from page 3
candidate. That alone is incredible. But most
important for those focused on ending the
war, the political landscape has changed.
Popular opinion against the war has seen a
drastic change.
An ABC News/Washington Post Poll
dated March 4-7 2004 reflected respondents
when asked “Do you approve or disapprove
of the way Bush is handling the situation in
Iraq? Responses: Approve 46%, Disapprove
53%, Unsure 1%.
A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal
Poll conducted by the polling organizations
of Peter Hart (D) and Bill McInturff (R).
Jan. 20-22, 2008 reports respondents when
asked “In general, do you approve or disapprove of the job that George W. Bush is
doing in handling the situation in Iraq?”
Approve 28%, Disapprove 67%, Unsure 5%.
As a consequence of this mass dissatisfaction, those who support the war have retreated to the absurd position that the U.S. will
stay in Iraq for 100 years to win. The less
hawkish are no longer touting they can better manage the war. They have moved to
claiming they will bring the troops home.
These are significant differences and we
must take advantage of the opportunity.
One other difference concerns us. Few of
us predicted that four years later we would
Our Polo Shirts come
white w./ black VFP logo
Price: $28.00
Penny Coleman is the widow
of a Vietnam veteran who took
his own life after coming
home. Her latest book,
Flashback: Post-traumatic
Stress Disorder, Suicide and
the Lessons of War, was
released on Memorial Day,
2006. The above story was
first published on
Alternet.com.
still be resisting the occupation of Iraq. We
may have been a little too exuberant or
naive. Now we are clear this is a long term
struggle. In the face of the challenge before
us, we have grown wiser and our resolve
stronger.
What next? I believe our main task for the
next 9 months is clear. We must make ending the war a central demand from the elec-
We focus on the people.
We organize, organize
and organize again
torate. It must be so loud and strong that it
cannot be ignored no matter the person is in
Congress or the White House. How do we
accomplish this task? We focus on the people. We organize, organize and organize
again. I believe for the past 5 years we have
been a little too intent on mobilizing to
protest. We did not pay enough attention to
building the movements through face to
face, door to door relationship building. This
is not to say we should stop mass mobilizations. Mass mobilizations are vital to successful resistance. They build confidence,
camaraderie and provide notice to those in
power that the people will not be intimidated
into silence. But mobilizing is not the same
as organizing. One organizes to maximize
mobilization efforts. Successful mobiliza-20-
Call the national office to place your
order, or use the merchandise order
sheet in the back of this newsletter.
tions enhance organizing efforts. Organizing
starts at home. If you can get people to come
out to a local event or two, it is much easier
to mobilize them to attend a national event.
Both must be done. They sustain each other.
We need new blood, ideas and fresh voices
in the movements. We must organize more
people to take action.
This election year provides unprecedented
opportunities. Millions of people are
engaged in the political process, looking for
answers and ways to make change. We must
not squander this moment. This approach is
not about electoral politics. The elections are
going to happen no matter how any of us
feel about them. Instead of allowing the
frenzy to impede us, we must take advantage
of the political environment to build our
movements. A new President and Congress
will bring new possibilities. I believe local
organizing throughout the year and mobilizing at key strategic moments will provide us
the tools to grow larger and stronger than
ever. By the end of this election cycle we
will be positioned to bring the full weight of
the fresh and unstoppable anti-war/peace
movements to bear on Democrats,
Republicans and Independents. We will soon
force the occupation of Iraq to an end and
we will continue in the struggle to build a
just and peaceful world.
###
-21-
-22-
Presente!
Veterans For Peace notes with great sadness the passing of Robert Vandivier. His leadership and steadfast commitment to peace and justice over a long and productive live was
an inspiration to all of us. He will be sorely missed.
Long time VFP member Robert C. Vandivier died Nov
30, 2007 after an illness of several months.
A Good Life
Robert Vandivier chose me as a friend. I
don’t know why.
I met him in the fall of 2003, when veterans were gathering at Pershing Square in
Washington, DC to march in protest
against the invasion and occupation of
Iraq. He was one of the first to welcome
me to Veterans For Peace.
How ironic that a man
the age of my father,
another WWII veteran,
would single me out of a
crowd. Dad was a combat
vet who called me to the
kitchen table when I told
him I was enlisting in the
Army to go to Viet Nam.
He said, “I would fight
again for my country. I
don’t regret anything, but I
can tell you that this war
doesn’t look right to me.
Don’t go”. I went and
came back sullen and
withdrawn.
In 2003, I sought out
these other vets in anguish
at my country’s actions. I
was happy that my father was not here to
see our country so foolishly led, but I sorely missed being able to hear him speak to
me. Van was picking up where my father
left off.
At a later peace event during the State of
the Union address at the Capitol, Veterans
For Peace, Viet Nam Veterans Against the
War and Military Families Speak Out shiv-
ered in the bitter cold. When our feet
became too numb to stand any longer, Bob
offered me a ride home in his old Toyota.
Van invited me and my wife to his church,
Rock Spring United Congregational in
Arlington, VA. We remained members
until we moved away.
Van was slow to beat his own drum. He
was an ordained minister, and pastor of
two churches who never preached to me.
When Daniel Ellsworth showed up at a
rally in Lafayette Square to speak, he
rushed up to Van and hugged him. Van was
known by many in the peace and justice
community.
I know now that he did not have to
preach. His life is its own message. When
I and others talked the talk, he walked the
walk. When I was angry enough to shout at
counter-demonstrators, Van was an example of courtesy and restraint. I could not
respond impulsively in his presence.
Everyone we know touches us with his
or her presence. Van graced us with his.
In gratitude and sorrow;
Doug Nelson
VFP Chapter 101, San Jose, CA
For an excellent
primer on the worldwide struggle against
US military installations, order your
copy of Outposts of
Empire today.
This booklet was
published by the
Transnational
Institute in
cooperation with
VFP. It is now
available from
the National
Office for $6. .
In 2003, the Asheville, NC Chapter of Veterans For Peace voted to help two
orphanages in Laghman and Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Many of these students are now able to continue their education thanks to the hard work of
the Asheville Chapter.
-23-
VFP Newsletter Spring 2008
Non-Profit Org.
US Postage Paid
St. Louis,
Missouri
Permit # 5414
Veterans For Peace
216 S. Meramec Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63105
Tel: 314-725-6005
Fax: 314-725-7103
vfp@veteransforpeace.net
Each One Bring One; such a simple
and powerful idea.
One of our most critical tasks as we struggle to end the
war in Iraq and take a stand for peace is to grow our
organization into a powerful force and voice. Kicking off in
January, we will be launching a special effort to grow the
membership. The National Office will send out information
to all our members asking each one of them to search out
veterans and persuade at least one to join our ranks.
Nothing Can Be Done Without YOU! By the time this
newsletter was printed, we counted 129 new veterans members. This is good, but we can do bettter!
The National Office can send out all the material in the
world, and we can write eloquent motivating letters, but
nothing will be accomplished and not one single new
member will be recruited without your help. Your actions
and your presence in the community is how Veterans For
Peace has grown ten fold in the past six years.
Together we can make a difference. With Each One
Bring One, we will multiply our numbers and stand
together stronger than ever for peace.