THE VETERAN Vietnam Veterans Against the War 50¢ Volume 34, Number 2 Fall 2004 The Struggle Continues The election is now over, and the tion since then. No political party Veterans for Truth” were doing social justice does not end with this Bush regime has been given four gets a free pass from us, Democrat nothing whatsoever to help vet- or that political administration. more years to carry out its openly or Republican. A Republican win erans. And remember, Nixon won All you need to do is take a trip antidemocratic and pro-imperial- does not demoralize us, and a by a landslide in 1972 and was out through Howard Zinn’s “People’s ist policies. People are looking to Democratic win would not have of office in two years. History of the United States” and see how we in VVAW are going lulled us into complacency. With every new war, VVAW you will see veterans and GIs to respond to the situation that re- We fought our way through is joined by new generations of from every era, Revolutionary sults from this quadrennial event. the repressive years of the Nixon veterans who have decided to War to the present, in the forefront But there should be no surprises administration, and we survived. work for an end to the injustices of struggle. This is our tradition, for anyone who has followed our We have continued our struggles that produce war. We have made and politicians of whatever stripe history. through every successive adminis- a conscious decision to stick in whatever office should be on VVAW was first established tration, no matter what they threw around and continue the fight for notice that we are not going to in 1967, in the midst of “our” war at us. Our victories in helping you, the veterans of all eras. With fade away. and during the Democratic admin- to end the Vietnam war and in this in mind, we actively support The end of the election is istration of Lyndon Johnson. We bringing about the recognition of the newly-formed Iraq Veterans only the beginning of the next have continued our struggle for Agent Orange effects and PTSD Against the War (IVAW). stage in this continuing struggle. peace, social justice and better cannot be denied. VVAW was at We in VVAW have always Join us! treatment for veterans of all eras the forefront in all of these efforts, taken the long view. We recognize during every political administra- when the so-called “Swift Boat that the fight for peace and real Vets Join Protests at RNC DAVID CLINE At the end of July, the Repub- behind the lead banners, and lican National Convention as more and more appeared, it (RNC) was held in New York became clear that this was the City to showcase the renomi- biggest contingent of veterans nation of George W. Bush in to join any of the recent anti-war a cynical attempt to play off demonstrations. Many Veterans the pain, loss, fear and anger for Peace and VVAW members caused by the terrorist attacks wore identifying shirts and hats of September 11, 2001. and displayed banners. Other In response, there were a vets wore VFW, Legion and series of mass mobilizations, DAV caps. Many wore their old civil disobedience actions and uniforms and military medals. A other protests against the Bush group of surviving Lincoln Bri- agenda of pre-emptive war and gade vets unfurled their colors. assaults on social programs and A large group of Military civil liberties. Families Speak Out (MFSO) Large numbers of veterans members carried pictures of and military families partici- loved ones serving in war zones. pated in some of these demon- A contingent of Gold Star moth- Mike Hoffman and Rob Sarra of Iraq Veterans Against the War strations. Members of Vietnam ers and fathers marched in grim Veterans Against the War took part lawn. After weeks of negotiations the number organizers had ex- witness to the losses they had suf- in several actions, detailed in the it was agreed that the march could pected. fered from Bush’s folly in Iraq. following report. pass before Madison Square Gar- A contingent of veterans den (site of the RNC) but then and military families assembled continued on page 16 THE WORLD SAYS “NO” TO must proceed down the west side THE BUSH AGENDA of Manhattan to a barren stretch of highway for the post-march On Sunday, August 29, the day rally. before the RNC began, hundreds UFPJ refused to accept this, of thousands of people flooded and the mayor stalled until the last the streets of Manhattan to say minute, hoping that the uncertainty PO Box 408594 “no” to the Bush agenda of war, of the parade route and an accom- Chicago, IL 60640 greed, hate and lies. For weeks panying media barrage warning www.vvaw.org prior to the march, the mayor and of possible terrorist attack and [email protected] the NYPD denied the United for predicting “anarchist violence” Peace and Justice (UFPJ) organiz- would deter many from participat- ers a march route to and rally site ing in the march. Instead, when in Central Park, claiming that the demonstrators began gathering presence of an expected 250,000 on 7th Avenue for the march, the demonstrators would damage the crowd grew to 500,000 — twice 2 THE VETERAN Fall 2004 From the National Office BARRY ROMO VVAW is a lot stronger now than Our website (www.vvaw. an expansion of cemeteries. you can too. Join us, re-up, become it was a year and a half ago. We org) receives about 13,000 visits Tall order, yes — but we a contact. have around 400 new members, per month these days. The list helped end the war in Vietnam and No matter who gets elected, about half of which are old mem- of people willing to be VVAW Laos and Cambodia with Nixon we’re not going away. We’ve been bers coming home, but the others regional contacts has expanded as president. around for 37 years. We didn’t are new to the struggle. Some are greatly. We’ve also revived our We were walking point on become discouraged when Nixon folks in their fifties becoming ac- military counseling program. post-traumatic stress disorder and Reagan were re-elected, and tive for the first time. And while We want the bombs to stop and Agent Orange without law we didn’t cut Carter or Clinton any 90% are Vietnam veterans, other falling, the GIs to stop dying, and degrees or a big budget while the slack. A lot of promises have been new members are veterans of the Americans to stop killing Iraqis. establishment said we were being made and now must be fulfilled. Korean or Iraq wars. We also We want the VA to be expanded. crybabies or spreading communist VVAW is going to be around have people on active duty and We want every vet to be able to propaganda. for a while. in-country now, providing a voice walk into a hospital and be cared This country is a different for peace and justice from Iraq to for, not put off for six months to place — a better place — and BARRY ROMO IS A NATIONAL the VA hospitals. two years. We want more than just VVAW made a difference. And COORDINATOR OF VVAW. Late 1960s VVAW demo in Washington, D.C. Have old VVAW photos? The National Office would love to have them in our archives and for the website. Send us copies of the photos or mail us a CD with them scanned at 300 dpi. Please include captions with the year, event and participants if at all possible. Editorial Collective Thanks to Jeff Danziger, Vietnam veteran and political cartoonist, for his generous contributions to this Barry Romo issue. Thanks also to Billy Curmano for "Oxy, the Smart Bomb," and to John Zutz, Bob Gronko, George Joe Miller Weber, Elton Manzione, Alan Reilly and others for contributing photos. Jeff Machota Lisa Boucher VVAW Merchandise • VVAW T-Shirt (L, XL, XXL) - $12.00 _____ • VVAW Hat - $13.00 _____ • VVAW Embroidered Patch - $5.00 _____ • VVAW Button - $1.00 _____ • VVAW Enamel Pin - $3.00 _____ • VVAW Bumper Sticker - $2.00 _____ Mail order and check to: •Shipping ($4.00 for first item, $2 _____ VVAW for each item after, excluding buttons c/o Dave Kettenhofen & bumper stickers) 3550 E. Lunham Ave. St. Francis, WI 53235 Total Enclosed _____ Ship to: Name _______________________________ Address _____________________________ City, State, Zip _______________________ Fall 2004 THE VETERAN 3 Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Inc. National Contact List For email addresses go to our website at www.vvaw.org. If you need a speaker for an event or class visit or interview, please contact the person nearest you. If there is nobody in your area, contact the National Office at (773) 276-4189 or email [email protected]. NATIONAL Central Coast, CA St. Louis, MO Oklahoma COORDINATORS Lane Anderson David Curry Bill Homans Barry Romo (805) 564-2698 (314) 516-5042 (405) 227-4245 (773) 276-4189 Brighton, CO New Jersey Waldport, OR Pete Zastrow Charles Elliston David Cline Ron Betts (847) 864-3975 (303) 654-1754 (201) 876-0430 (541) 563-3634 Joe Miller Miami, FL Jersey Shore, NJ Emmaus, PA (217) 328-2444 Patrick McCann Gerald Gioglio David Shelly Bill Davis (301) 238-3361 [email protected] (610) 967-2066 (708) 386-1413 Tallahassee, FL Princeton, NJ Levittown, PA David Cline Tom Baxter Annie Hirschman Bill Perry (201) 876-0430 (850) 893-7390 (609) 430-0440 (215) 945-3350 John Zutz Athens, GA Albuquerque, NM Philadelphia, PA (414) 372-0749 Elton Manzione Bob Anderson Jon Bjornson Dave Kettenhofen (706) 369-0546 (505) 858-0882 (215) 438-8883 (414) 481-4614 Chicago, IL Northwest NM Chattanooga, TN Bill Perry Barry Romo Joseph Knight Fritz Efaw (215) 945-3350 (773) 276-4189 (505) 330-7713 (423) 425-4688 Oak Park, IL Las Vegas, NV Austin, TX NATIONAL STAFF Bill Davis Rena & John Kopystenski Dave Collins Bill Branson (708) 386-1413 (702)