During America’s war in Vietnam, the antiwar movement among active-duty soldiers and veterans was central to the success of the larger U.S. protest movement and had a profound impact on the course of the war.
Starting in the mid-Sixties, as the U.S. escalated troop numbers, tens of thousands of soldiers, sailors and pilots refused to fight, sail and fly bombing missions. As scholar David Cortright notes:
It is arguable that by 1970 U.S. ground troops in Vietnam had ceased to function as an effective fighting force. The disintegration of military morale was a factor in the Nixon administration’s decision to accelerate troop withdrawals.
The story of how American soldiers opposed and resisted the war in Vietnam is largely unknown and is often glossed over by historians. Waging Peace in Vietnam is an exhibit that recounts the experiences of eleven soldiers and veterans who risked so much by openly protesting the war in Vietnam — from the total alienation of their families to personal harm and imprisonment.
The exhibit, Waging Peace in Vietnam, has been shown in Vietnam and is currently on tour in U.S. cities. Ron Carver, exhibit curator, often accompanies the showing with a book talk. He co-edited
Waging Peace in Vietnam – U.S. Soldiers and Veterans who Opposed the War with David Cortright and Barbara Doherty.
As we celebrate Veterans Day, it is important to remember the heroism of the thousands of American soldiers who showed their patriotism by condemning the unjust war they saw first-hand. Their purpose was to save American and Vietnamese lives and save their own souls by telling the world what they witnessed.
By remembering their protest we honor them and, in so doing, learn important truths about individual and collective responsibility.
| To preview the exhibit click here. |
| 19 in Vietnam (acoustic version, 1987) by Pete Kennedy |
Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement 
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