Senators Letter on War Legacies Restoration

 February 28, 2025

The Honorable Marco Rubio

Secretary of State

Department of State

Washington, DC 20520

The Honorable Pete Hegseth

Secretary of Defense

Department of Defense

Washington, DC 20301

Dear Secretary Rubio and Secretary Hegseth,

We are writing to urge you to take the necessary steps to ensure the timely obligation and

expenditure of funds appropriated by Congress for foreign assistance, including the Vietnam war

legacy programs. These programs, with strong bipartisan support for many years, have been

implemented by USAID and the Department of Defense, in coordination with the Department of

State and other U.S. Government and private entities. They are the foundation of the

Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our two countries, and their continuation to

completion is essential to maintaining and strengthening that Partnership. With respect to

funding for any of these programs that has already been terminated, we urge you to promptly

reinstate it.

Briefly, these programs include the following:

 Unexploded ordnance removal. More than 100,000 Vietnamese have been killed or

injured from UXO accidents since the end of the war. Each year, the Congress provides

$25 million for the Department of State and Department of Defense to support UXO

clearance activities in Vietnam, which includes training and equipment for demining

teams in provinces heavily contaminated with UXO.

 Dioxin remediation. USAID manages and jointly funds this project with the

Department of Defense to remediate dioxin-contaminated soil and sediment at the Bien

Hoa Airbase, which was the largest U.S. airbase during the war where millions of gallons

of Agent Orange were stored and loaded onto aircraft. The U.S. has already provided

$300 million of a total estimated cost of $450 million for this project to eliminate an

extreme health hazard. It is the sequel to the successful dioxin remediation at the Da

Nang airport, where Air Force One carrying President Trump landed in 2017.

 Vietnam Health/Disabilities Program. USAID manages this program through

American and Vietnamese implementing partners with $30 million annually, to support

health and disabilities programs in ten provinces for Vietnamese suffering from severe

physical and cognitive disabilities caused by UXO accidents and exposure to dioxin.

 War Remnants Museum. At the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City that is

visited by hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and foreigners annually, USAID is

supporting the construction of a modern exhibit portraying the decades of positive U.S.-

Vietnam cooperation on war legacies, including the programs described above, at a cost

of approximately $2 million.

 Vietnam Wartime Accounting Initiative. This program, funded jointly by USAID

through the International Organization of Missing Persons and the Department of

Defense, with $15 million over the next five years, is significantly upgrading Vietnam’s

DNA technology and making available archival documents and artifacts in DoD’s

possession to assist Vietnam locate and identify the remains of some of the estimated

200,000-300,000 persons missing from the war. The initiative builds on and reciprocates

Vietnam’s 40 years of working with the Department of Defense to locate the remains of

U.S. MIAs.

2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and the 30th anniversary of the

normalization of relations between the U.S. and Vietnam. Today, Vietnam is an important partner

in an increasingly challenging region. Our war legacy programs have not only transformed a

formerly antagonistic and distrustful relationship into one of amicable partnership, they have also

been the catalyst for cooperation between the U.S. and Vietnam in maritime security, law

enforcement, higher education, energy development, and many other areas. Vietnam’s leaders,

under constant pressure from the Chinese Communist Party, have long emphasized the

importance they give to being able to rely on their partnership with the U.S. It would be difficult

to overstate the damage to the relationship that would result if the U.S. were to walk away from

these war legacy programs, which have received such high-profile attention and appreciation in

Vietnam.

Like in Vietnam, USAID personnel work in concert with the Department of Defense and

Department of State to advance U.S. interests around the world. Our long-standing programs in

Vietnam are illustrative of the transformative impact of U.S. foreign assistance on behalf of the

American people.

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Peter Welch

United States Senator

Jack Reed

United States Senator

Jeanne Shaheen

United States Senator

Mark R. Warner

United States Senator

Amy Klobuchar

United States Senator

Patty Murray

United States Senator

Sheldon Whitehouse

United States Senator

Tammy Baldwin

United States Senator

Chris Van Hollen

United States Senator

Jeffrey A. Merkley

United States Senator

Tim Kaine

United States Senator

Bernard Sanders

United States Senator

Edward J. Markey

United States Senator

Kirsten Gillibrand

United States Senator

Cc: Mike Waltz, National Security Advisor

Webinar Third Force Opposition in South Vietnam

 

The “Other” Peace Movement: 

The Third Force Opposition in South Vietnam

 

Friday, April 4, 10 a.m. ET

Register by clicking here

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_HeDsItINS6eIFiKKOOyKQQ

• Le Anh Tu Packard moderator
• Sophie Quinn-Judge author; former professor, Temple University; American Friends Service Committee Vietnam staff

• An Thuy Nguyen historian of U.S. foreign relations, Vietnam, women, and labor, The University of Maine

• Thi Lien Claire Tran Professor, Paris Cité University, History of Southeast Asia

On January 27, 1973, representatives of North Vietnam, South Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam (PRG, known in the West as “Việt Cộng”), and the United States met in Paris to sign the “Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam.” The Paris Peace Accords – as it was called – mandated U.S. troops’ withdrawal, North Vietnam’s release of American prisoners of war, and an eventual unification of Vietnam. Notably, Article 12 of the Accords stipulated the establishment of a National Council of National Reconciliation and Concord (NCNRC) to oversee the ceasefire and organize a general election to determine a representative government for South Vietnam.

The NCNRC would consist of three equal segments: the Government of Vietnam (GVN, or the First Force), the communist-led PRG (successor of the National Liberation Front, or the Second Force), and the ostensibly “neutralist” Third Force (Lực Lượng Thứ Ba), which also became known as the Third Segment or the Third Component (Thành Phần Thứ Ba) after 1973. This informal Third Force coalition included a range of political, religious, and civic organizations and movements that sought peace through nonviolent nationalism and political neutralism. While much has been written about the importance of the American peace movement, little is known about the “other” peace movement that at once tore apart and invigorated South Vietnamese cities.

This webinar sheds light on the Third Force’s contribution to ending the war in Vietnam. 

Dr. Sophie Quinn-Judge will discuss the early formation of proto-Third Force groups in the First Republic of Vietnam and the inter-republic years.

 Dr. An Thuy Nguyen will give an overview of the Third Force opposition in the Second Republic between the 1968 Tết Offensive and the 1973 Paris Peace Accords. 

Dr. Thi Lien Claire Tran will offer a closer look at the progressive Catholics who constituted one of the most important and active blocs within the Third Force, especially in the last years of the war.

 

An Thuy Nguyen is a historian of U.S. foreign relations, Vietnam, women, and labor. She currently teaches at The University of Maine’s Bureau of Labor of Education. She was the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations’ Marilyn B. Young Dissertation Fellow in 2020-2021 and received her Ph.D. from UMaine. Her historical research focuses on foreign policies, democratic governance, and the political activism of non-state actors. She has authored various book reviews, book chapters, and articles on the Vietnam War. She is currently working on a book about the Vietnamese Third Force’s and the Nixon Doctrine in Asia, in addition to her other projects in labor education and history.

Le Anh Tu Packard joined NARMIC (National Action Research into the Military Industrial Complex), a project of the American Friends Service Committee, in 1971. NARMIC researchers drew on defense industry publications, publications of the U.S. military, Department of Defense Congressional testimony, Congressional committee reports, interviews with Vietnam veterans, Western press reports, reports by Quaker staff in Vietnam, and South Vietnamese newspapers to produce educational materials for use by peace activists. These include: the Automated Battlefield and Postwar War slide shows and accompanying Documentation; publications such as Aid to Thieu, The Third Force in South Vietnam, South Vietnam’s Political Prisoners. NARMIC also worked with the Indochina Resource Center, Project Air War, the Vietnam Resource Center, and international peace activists to prepare briefing books for Congress to challenge U.S. aid programs in Vietnam and thwarted U.S. efforts to channel World Bank aid to the Saigon regime in violation of the Paris Peace Agreement.

After the war ended, Tu went on to study economics at Bryn Mawr College and Columbia University. She worked for Wharton Econometrics, Chase Econometrics, and the WEFA Group. In the early 1990s Tu provided consulting services to the United Nations, the World Bank, the Ford Foundation and academic institutions on capacity building projects and multi-country studies to study the effects of globalization. In 2005 she joined Economy.com (Moody’s Analytics) where she played a lead role in improving the baseline and scenario forecasting process, developed proprietary measures of sovereign risk and fiscal space, edited the flagship Precis Macro publication, and wrote articles on international economic issues. She retired from Moody’s Analytics in 2017 and participates in community efforts to support local biodiversity by providing free native seeds and native plants to residents.

Sophie Quinn-Judge is the author of Ho Chi Minh: The Missing Years, Christopher Hurst and University of California Press, 2003; and The Third Force in the Vietnam War: The Elusive Search for Peace 1954-75, I.B. Tauris, 2016. Until 2015 she was an Associate Professor of History at Temple University. She obtained her Ph.D. from the University of London (SOAS) after working for the American Friends Service Committee and as a freelance journalist in Moscow. She first went to Vietnam in 1973 as a volunteer for the AFSC.

Thi Lien Claire Tran is Associate Professor at Paris Cité University where she teaches History of Southeast Asia and serves as a member of the research unit Cessma (Centre for Social Sciences Studies on the African, American and Asian Worlds). She is responsible for the Master 1 History of Civilizations and Heritage and chairs the M1 Admissions Committee. She is also on the board of the Paris Graduate School of Arts, History and Humanities in Global Perspective (GSAH). From 2016 to 2021, she was Director of IRASEC (the Institute for Research on Contemporary Southeast Asia) in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Resources

The Way to End the War:  The Statement of Ngo Cong Duc

New York Review of Books,  November 5, 1970

presented by Richard Falk, Rennie Davis and Robert Greenblatt

https://archive.md/imF8T

https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1970/11/05/the-way-to-end-the-war-the-statement-of-ngo-cong-d/

Exchange of comments by Truong Buu Lam and Richard Falk  

New York Review of Books, February 11, 1971

https://archive.md/ElcqR#selection-525.1-525.11

Webinar: Impact of the Antiwar Movement (plus chat and Q & A)

The Impact of the Antiwar Movement

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Watch the youtube video by clicking here

Share this URL  https://youtu.be/SneX9RcNdJ0

March 28, 2025

Watch the youtube video of an open discussion of the impact here

Share this URL https://youtu.be/btB3z8005g4

Speakers

• Terry Provance  co-moderator, religious and peace activist
• Robert Levering  co-moderator  peace activist, film producer
• David Cortright   former Notre Dame University professor, GI peace activist
• Carolyn Eisenberg    professor Hofstra University, author, peace activist
• Morton H Halperin   former Defense Department and National Security Council staff
• Michael Koncewicz   New York University

       

Co-sponsors

Historians for Peace and Democracy (H-PAD)

Brooklyn for Peace

 

 David Cortright enlisted in the Army in 1968. After experiencing a crisis of conscience, he organized against the Vietnam War at Ft. Wadsworth, New York, and Ft. Bliss, Texas. While on active duty he filed a federal lawsuit against the Army, Cortright v Resor, to defend GI rights to dissent against unjust war. He was an active member of GIs for Peace at Ft. Bliss and wrote for its paper, The Gigline.  Professor Emeritus, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame.  Currently Visiting Scholar, Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, Cornell University.  Author of "Soldiers in Revolt: GI Resistance Against the Vietnam War" (2d edition, Haymarket, 2005).  His latest book  is "A Peaceful Superpower: Lessons from the World's Largest Antiwar Movement" (New Village Press, 2023). 

Carolyn Rusti Eisenberg  Professor of US History and American Foreign Policy at Hofstra University. Her new book "Fire and Rain: Nixon, Kissinger and the Wars in Southeast Asia" ( Oxford University Press) won the 2024 Bancroft Prize for American History.  Her prize-winning book, "Drawing the Line: the American Decision to Divide Germany, 1944-49" (Cambridge University Press) traces the origins of the Cold War in Europe. She is a co-founder of Brooklyn for Peace, and a Legislative Coordinator for Historians for Peace and Democracy.

Morton H Halperin worked on Vietnam policy as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Johnson Administration and on the Senior Staff of the NSC in the Nixon Administration. He is the author of numerous books and articles including : "The Lessons Nixon Learned," in Anthony Lake, ed., The Vietnam Legacy (New York: New York University Press, 1976), pp 411-429.

Michael Koncewicz is the Associate Director at the Institute for Public Knowledge at NYU, where he also teaches courses on public history and US presidents. Koncewicz is a political historian who previously worked for the National Archives at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, contributing to the museum's nonpartisan Watergate exhibit. Koncewicz's scholarship focuses on the culture and politics of the United States during the 1960s and 1970s. His first book, They Said "No" to Nixon: Republicans Who Stood Up to the President's Abuses of Power was published by the University of California Press in 2018. He is currently working on an authorized biography of longtime progressive activist Tom Hayden.  His work has appeared in The Atlantic, Jacobin, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, and The Washington Post. 

Robert Levering is an Executive Producer and Advisor to the Boys Who Said NO! a recently completed film about draft resistance during the Vietnam era. (boyswhosaidno.com)  He is currently working on a documentary entitled  The Movement and the Madman about the impact of the 1969 Moratorium and Mobilization demonstrations in preventing Nixon from escalating the war (movementandthemadman.com)  A draft resister himself, Robert was a full-time antiwar organizer for six years during the Vietnam War. A long-time journalist, he wrote an article on the current controversy about registering women for the draft: https://wagingnonviolence.org/2020/05/activists-fought-military-draft-conscription-congress-women-register/

Terry Provance  After graduating from college in 1969, I became involved in the anti-Vietnam War movement first organizing locally in Pittsburgh and then eventually with national groups like Harrisburg Defense Committee for Dan and Phil Berrigan, Pentagon Papers Trial and Medical Aid for Indochina.  I began working with the American Friends Service Committee in Philadelphia in 1973 to oppose US nuclear weapons until 1983 when I went to graduate school in Berkeley, California.  I received a fellowship and then studied two years in South America and worked with human rights groups in Chile. I returned to Pittsburgh where I pastored a local United Church of Christ congregation for 5 years and then worked in its national office on peace and justice issues for 10 years.  I then worked 12 years with Oikocredit, an international anti-poverty organization, as its Executive Director in the United States.  I retired in 2012. 

****************************

For the past 10 years, the Vietnam Peace Commemoration Committee has organized numerous conferences, vigils and webinars about the US wars in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos and the actions and events of the largest peace movement in US history.  To commemorate the 50th anniversary of these events (1965-1975) we began in 2015 and will conclude in 2025, 50 years after the end of the war.  We have examined, among many others,  initial teach-ins and vigils, March Against the Pentagon, the My Lai Massacre, release of Pentagon Papers, nationwide Moratorium, largest demonstration in history at the Mobilization, invasion of Cambodia, National Guard murders at Kent State University, disastrous Christmas bombing raids and finally financial cutoff to Saigon and end of the war, April 30, 1975.

(For full list of webinars, click here.   https://vnpeacecomm.blogspot.com/2021/10/history-and-future-of-vpcc.html  )

But this time we will look at the peace movement more comprehensively.  For many people it was the most meaningful times in their lives and fostered continued work for peace and justice.  It was both historical and powerful.   It kept Johnson from running for President in 1968 and played a major role in the resignation of Nixon in 1974.  Many had thought that such a movement should have gained long-term political power and presence somewhat like The Green Party in Germany.

The Kanopy, movement was not monolithic.  Parts were sectarian and parts were militant.  But this webinar will look at the broad-based anti-war movement and evaluate it.  What were our goals, objectives, strategies and tactics?   What worked well?  What did not work well?  What could or should we have done differently? What impact did it have on the US government and military? 

Chat

20:58:29 From Alex Knopp  to  Hosts and panelists : I would like to ask a question about the international peace movement impact. Alex

20:59:00 From Thomas Weiner  to  Hosts and panelists : My name is Tom Weiner and I want to share the book i wrote - "Called to Serve: Stories of the Men and Women Confronted by the Vietnam War Draft"  and the play that was adapted from it entitled “The Draft”. The book and play include stories of all the choices draft age men faced during the war including anti-draft and anti-war activists and what they did and did not accomplish as well as the impact of their activism on themselves, their families and their communities. The stories of each choice invariably reveal the degree to which the war changed lives then and since both enormously and permanently.

21:00:08 From Steven Goldsmith : No mention of impact on future organizers and movements

21:00:56 From Thomas Weiner  to  Hosts and panelists : Thanks to all the panelists whose presentations were powerful, informative and affirming of the anti-war movement from the VVAW, draft resisters, the anti-war movement protests and Tom Hayden’s role.

21:02:01 From Joel Schwartz  to  Hosts and panelists : What a great panel that brought back memories. Something I didn’t know was that in 1972 there were more conscientious objectors than there were people inducted. That is incredible!

21:02:31 From Thomas Weiner  to  Hosts and panelists : For the myths about the soldiers getting spat upon, there’s Jerry Lembcke’s THE SPITTING IMAGE…

21:02:33 From Michael Benefiel  to  Hosts and panelists : Following the 1968 assassination of Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr, cities burned and the National Guard occupied them. How did the interwoven links of civil rights activism and Antiwar activism succeed in coalitions and how did these fail?

21:02:40 From EDWARD FOX : Never mentioned was the first time in American History that US Military Officers organized against the war.  The Concerned Officers Movement had hundreds of  active duty officers throughout the World that expressed in many ways their objection to the war.

21:05:21 From cheryl/she on Duwamish-land aka seattle : I don't know if it's accurate, but it seems like more hi-profile artists were publicly involved in the Vietnam-era anti-war movement than  in more recent, current, and ongoing wars so my question is: how much of an impact does it make if well-respected/loved artists/musicians publicly speak against war?

21:05:34 From Ola Nosseir : it will get worse

21:07:12 From Francis Shor : A novel that incorporates antiwar and anti draft activities in the years, 1967-1970: passagesofrebellion.franshor,com

21:08:16 From Marc Gilbert : More attention should be made to the Vietnam Veterans Against the War  who validated what was in the hearts and minds of anti-war workers in the darkest of days.

21:08:55 From Laurent gilbert : In light of what happened to end the war in Vietnam, what would you propose for ending the genocide in Palestine. Certainly the universities and colleges are raising the issue. What need to be done to entice the general public to get involved in ending the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank that is operating with our dollars and weapons?

21:09:54 From Faye Williams : Last comment. Please include African American historians in next Panel

21:10:08 From Michael Benefiel  to  Hosts and panelists : Nixon’s cynical decision to end the draft by starting the lottery, in my experience, divided my age cohort depending on our lottery results. We divided against one another with many, like Cadet Bonespurs, privileged to both escape service and hold those who did serve in contempt as losers. Did this deepen national divisions we live with today?

21:10:26 From Randy Ross  to  Hosts and panelists : There are some (many?) high school teachers who have taught about the  Vietnam War. In 1996, I planned a one month unit on the Vietnam War in my high school class of 30 seniors that spring. US publishers had started to publish literature by

21:11:42 From Randy Ross  to  Hosts and panelists : [That last chat comment was from my husband, Ernie Brill.] as I was saying, by

21:11:49 From Willa Seidenberg : Please watch out at the end of April for our podcast  A Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War., based on our book and exhibition from 1992 (David Cortright is one of 58 veterans we interviewed).  Check out amatterofconscience.com. William Short and Willa Seidenberg.

21:11:56 From Randy Ross  to  Hosts and panelists : Vietnamese writers such as: Bao Nin’s Sorrows of War. Le Luu’s Time Far Past. and others.  I planned to have speakers, short films, history essays, and such other books as The Quiet American

21:16:30 From Joel Schwartz  to  Hosts and panelists : There was a tremendous amount of music that was anti-war that I suspect also helped grow the antiwar movement among the GI’s.   Check out  our webinars with Peter Yarrow and Holly Near

21:16:55 From Marc Gilbert : Next month will see the publication of a massive teacher-constructed and developed guide to digital resources on teaching the wars in Indochina in high schools. Just google the on-line journal world History Connected (Mason--it has a new address) next month.  Marc Jason Gilbert

21:18:20 From lillian shirley  to  Hosts and panelists : Because Our Fathers Lied — title

21:19:28 From Randy Ross  to  Hosts and panelists : The Things They Carry. I sent a letter home to parents. then everything snowballed.A mother said she wanted to come in and talk about her high school sweetheart killed his second week in Vietnam A woman who’d been triage nurse brought in her scrapbook. A local poet discussed his experiences as a medic . The course went three months.

21:21:10 From Bill Davis  to  Hosts and panelists : This is a splendid program, thanks to each and every participant. Thank you all of you and especially to John and the VPCC. I look forward to sharing it with family and friends.

21:22:17 From Nancy Wechsler : That was a sexist slogan

21:24:54 From stephen talbot  to  Hosts and panelists : Our film, The Movement and the "Madman" will be televised again in Vietnam on April 30, and PBS is re-airing it on May 10 at 9 pm, but check with your local station for when they will actually air it. Also available on PBS Passport, Amazon, Kanopy, etc.

21:25:16 From Carol Jensen : yes!

21:27:33 From Marc Gilbert : See Barbara Tischler's "Don't Call Us Girls: Women's Protest, Activism, and Actions in the Vietnam War", 2024, very strong on Women's Strike for Peace.

21:28:12 From Anne Stevens  to  Hosts and panelists : Michael K. Thank you for your work.

21:29:37 From susan gregory  to  Hosts and panelists : 1972 Indochina Peace Campaign had a big impact in Central PA with local Congressman going to court to prevent Jane Fonda from speaking in York— he lost .

21:30:23 From cheryl/she on Duwamish-land aka seattle : Thank you all. This is is so relevant to now🙏🏽

21:30:38 From Carol Jensen : Thank you to all for excellent  presentations.  I can't  make it Friday but will listen afterwards.

21:31:16 From Barbara Harrison  to  Hosts and panelists : Thanks for this superb program.  I added to my knowledge.

21:31:38 From Marc Gilbert : So many insights, much appreciated!

21:32:49 From cheryl/she on Duwamish-land aka seattle : Yes, that makes sense

21:33:03 From Joanne Hessmiller : Thanks for these  presentations and the fascinating and important conversation.

21:33:09 From Barbara Phinney : A wonderful presentation. Peace. Free Palestine!

21:33:11 From Mary Posner : Thanks for organizing this excellent webinar.  You did a great job of pulling things together.  I just hope that we can use your insights to make changes again

21:33:17 From Dana Moss : Thank you everyone! It was an honor as always

21:33:36 From Bill Davis  to  Hosts and panelists : ❤️

21:33:41 From Terry Provance  to  Hosts and panelists : Thank you all. Terry

21:33:53 From William Meyers : Well done!!

21:34:04 From susan gregory  to  Hosts and panelists : Plus Nixon’s aide from Wilkes Barre area which had just suffered a devastating flood, with coffins flowing down the streets,-his aide prevented Jane from coming to speak in WB college

Q & A

What would have happened in Vietnam if the anti-war movement had just quit around 1968? William Forrest

"John,  We could note also the not long ago passing of Peter Yarrow" David  Hawk

Just a comment - It is incredible that there were more CO’s in 1972 than people inducted. Joel Schwartz

Thank yall for teaching me more history!!! Community History/ Herstory... mamasclubgainesville.org Faye Williams

What effect did the Baltimore Four (Oct 27, 1967) and Catonsville Nine (May 17, 1968)  actions have on the the draft resistance.? What was the effect of the Catholic priests Daniel and Philip Berrigan participating in the above actions   Anonymous Attendee

Perhaps someone will cover this, but I would like some comment today or Friday on the long term effects of local anti-war organizing, activating people for a lifetime of work for social justice. on a wide range of issues and changing institutions, including religious institutions.  Many of these people are those who are in the streets today.   Carol  Jensen

        How does this esteemed panel evaluate the early, and enduring, role of Women Strike for Peace and other women-powered antiwar campaigns? Kit Norland

What can we learn from the success of the antiwar movement that can help us resist what the current administration is doing to our country?  Will a mass movement make a difference now?  Mary Posner

It is great to hear all of this information and analysis. Here is the key issue for us today: what does this mean for our resistance movement in these times? I direct this to Rusti Eisenberg but others who want to speak to it.  Randy Ross

       Seeking lessons for resistance today. Were you aware of the action of government surveillance and attempted subversion through infiltration at the time you were organizing? Anonymous Attendee

Thanks for recognizing African American struggles. Faye Williams

Thoughts from panelists on why the antiwar movement dwindled precipitously after 1975? And its members seemingly had little political impact in the next decades?  Carolyn Gates

Thinking of the Catholic Left, the acquittal of the Camden 28, who were caught in the act in raiding a draft board, was due to the jury's understanding of the anti-war movement presented by months of witnesses.   I recommend Michelle Nickerson’s new book on the Camden 28    Dick Lavine

Regarding war crimes -- remember the Bertrand Russel War Crimes Tribunal, early on in the Vietnam War. Ignored in the US, perhaps, but a big deal in Europe.  stephen talbot

To follow up on the issue of what the antiwar movement might have done differently, or what didn't work: should the antiwar movement have supported Humphrey in the 1968 election, in the end?  Robert Shaffer

Also note Legacies of War work in relation to demining. William Meyers

Talk about how it broke the mass belief in "AMERICA" and the Government. And how it impacted future movements and organizers Steven Goldsmith

Chat from discussion

17:08:28 From Paul Lauter : A number of the events that came up are discussed in my book, Our Sixties (U Rochester Press, 2020)

17:16:51 From amy merrill : Forthcoming bilingual poetry book Where Do You Live? , by Jennifer Jean and Hanaa Ahmed Jabr, produced by the Her Story Is collective and Arrowsmith Press. www.arrowsmithpress.com. For more info about my plays, go to amymerrillplays.com

17:18:55 From cheryl/she on Duwamish-land aka seattle : love that rendition!

17:21:50 From amy merrill : Peter Snoad’s THE DRAFT, performed in Boston a few years ago.

17:22:29 From Steven Goldsmith : now working as volunteer with www.TRAA.website

17:22:30 From David Cortright : As for Jane Fonda's work, remember that Jane worked actively and extensively with the GI movement and VVAW as early as 1970 and especially in 1971. I'm not sure when she connected with Tom, but he was not visible in Jane's efforts that I saw and knew about.

17:23:02 From Lubna Qureshi : Jane Fonda put on the FTA show with Donald Sutherland.

17:25:25 From Tom Weiner : Two books to put forth: Called to Serve: Stories of the Men and Women Confronted By the Vietnam War Draft.

17:26:10 From Tom Weiner : And In Defiance: 20 Abolitionists You Were Never Taught in School.

17:28:12 From cheryl/she on Duwamish-land aka seattle : what was the FTA?

17:29:05 From Lubna Qureshi : A traveling variety show they put on for servicemen.  I would rather not say what FTA stands for.  [The documentary about FTA is available on line.  The clean version is Free the Army.]

17:29:09 From Kurt Jacobsen : “F—- the Army”

17:29:41 From Tom Weiner : And then there’s this: During the Vietnam War, "FTA" was an acronym used by some anti-war activists and GI groups to mean "Free Trade Association", referring to their desire to end the war and the US military involvement in Southeast Asia.

17:29:41 From cheryl/she on Duwamish-land aka seattle : Reacted to "“F—- the Army”" with 👍🏼

17:30:09 From Robert Levering : I recall Jane coming to a New Mobe meeting with Donald Sutherland in 1970 or '71, which would have been before Tom was with her.  I'm sure Mike Koncewicz, who is writing a bio of Tom Hayden and is on this call, could give a definitive answer to this question.

17:31:29 From Michael Koncewicz : There are obviously more important issues, but Jane Fonda was an organizer for at least two years before she began her relationship with Tom Hayden in 1972

17:32:07 From Lubna Qureshi : If you ask me, Jane Fonda was more important than Tom Hayden.

17:34:46 From Moji Agha : Peace-seeking Iranian Veterans (PIV) >>> Main Page: https://piv-kas.blogspot.com/ 

>>> Upcoming bilingual sessions & the recordings of PIV's previous events >>> https://piv-kas.blogspot.com/p/special-events.html

>>> PIV's proposed developing Roadmap Toward a Global Iran Peace Agreement (GIPA) >>> https://piv-kas.blogspot.com/p/roadmap-toward-global-iran-peace.html

------------

Chambers of Compassion (Intersectional Circles)

https://natr-peace.blogspot.com/p/chambers-of-compassion-how-they-work.html

>>> Moji Agha's mini-bio and PATH  ///  Iranian Nonviolence >>> https://juustwa.org/speakers-and-presenters/brother-moji-agha/

CONTACT EMAIL: moji.agha@gmail.com (Moji Agha)

17:38:08 From Angela Dickey : I am the President of DACOR, an organization of foreign affairs professionals in Washington, DC. (I was a US Foreign Service officer posted in Vietnam and Laos over seven years during the period 2000 to 2012.  My organization is hosting a 50-year retrospective on Us-Vietnam relations on April 1.  The public is welcome and you can attend in person or virtually on line.

17:42:14  From Angela Dickey : link to sign up for DACOR program on Vietnam on April 1, 5 to 7 pm, is here.https://www.memberleap.com/Calendar/moreinfo.php?eventid=55664

17:40:06 From Robert Levering : Agreed. Frank and Doug's book is terrific.

17:41:41 From Ruth Benn : Grateful to all the VN era activists and veterans who became war tax resisters and to the many who still refuse to pay for war -- and tell younger activists about this form of resistance. Much new interest because of Gaza. 6th edition of War Resisters League book War Tax Resistance just published - www.warresisters.org.

17:42:48 From cheryl/she on Duwamish-land aka seattle : Reacted to "Grateful to all the ..." with 👍🏼

17:44:15 From cheryl/she on Duwamish-land aka seattle : Thank you Frank - so, so true!

17:45:26 From David Cortright : Re Frank's comment, Rebecca Solnit wrote in 2005 “It is always too early to calculate effect,“

17:47:41 From Frank Joyce : "The People Make The Peace" and kingandbreakingsilence.org

17:58:30 From David Cortright : Former antiwar activists also played a catalytic role in the nuclear freeze and Iraq antiwar movements. Randy Kehler, who led the freeze campaign, spent two years in prison for refusing the draft

17:58:39 From Angela Dickey : I encourage everyone to read Kit Norland's terrific book The Saigon Sisters, based on oral histories she took from Vietnamese women from the mid-1980s to just recently.  https://www.thesaigonsisters.com/author

17:58:59 From Steve Ladd : Reacted to "Former antiwar activ..." with 👍

17:59:06 From Steven Goldsmith : several millions marched around the world to oppose the Iraq war

17:59:38 From Steve Ladd : Replying to "Former antiwar activ..."And that included you and me too with the nuclear freeze movement, which was one of the most impactful movements in American history.

17:59:40 From Frank Joyce : To Robert’s point, the antiwar movement couldn’t have happened without the preceding resistance of the civil rights and other movements.

18:00:03 From Brewster Rhoads : Reacted to "Former antiwar activ…" with 👍

18:00:37 From Brewster Rhoads : Reacted to "To Robert’s point, t…" with ❤️

18:00:53 From cheryl/she on Duwamish-land aka seattle : Reacted to "To Robert’s point, t..." with ☝🏼

18:07:27 From Paul Lauter : Reacted to "To Robert’s point, t..." with ❤️

18:07:53 From Stephen Spitz : I differ with the notion of @the anti-war movement” in 1968 as some sort of monolith. I for one voted for Hubert Humphrey for President in 1958 as did many antiwar voters because he was better than Richard Nixon despite the fact that I was bitterly disappointed with his position in the Vietnam War. I was 21 years old at the time and volunteered for both Eugene Mc Carthy and Robert Kennedy in the primaries. Some of my contemporaries voted for third party candidates. Some did not vote.

18:09:12 From Robert Levering : My point was not that there had not been other antiwar movements either in the US. Every one including WWII had opposition. I was saying that all others were either squashed or so small that they had no or little impact. The anti-VN war movement clearly was quite large, involving millions of people over a decade. And it had a huge impact as was discussed in our previous webinar.

18:09:40 From Frank Joyce : Reacted to "My point was not tha..." with 👍

18:09:43 From Diane Fox  to  John McAuliff(direct message) : Living with Agent Orange—conversations in postwar Viet Nam—encourage engagement with what we can do now…for example, the War Legacies Project

18:11:10 From Angela Dickey : Thanks to all for what you did back in the day and continue to do today.  It's inspiring to hear your stories and makes me hope that American people can similarly rally against what is happening now with the "composite president."

18:13:19 From Frank Joyce : Reacted to "Thanks to all for wh..." with 👍

18:16:51 From Steve Ladd : The moratorium concept is something I hope the current Hands Off protest movement will build to. 

If you haven’t seen The Movement and the “Madman” or would like to share it with current organizers and activists, here’s the link to the website - https://www.movementandthemadman.com/

18:18:52 From Tom Weiner : If I don’t get to speak, I want to pay homage to Randy Kehler who died this past summer. There have been an in person tribute and an on-line honoring.  His influence was immense beyond inspiring Ellsberg to release the Pentagon Papers. His war tax resistance was documented in the outstanding film by Robbie Leppzer entitled “Act of Conscience.” His draft resistance resulting in his serving 2 years in federal prison is told in CALLED TO SERVE as well as in the book that inspired me by Chris Appy, PATRIOTS: THE VIETNAM WAR FROM ALL SIDES - very highly recommended.

18:19:41 From Steve Ladd : Reacted to "If I don’t get to sp..." with 👍

18:20:05 From Kamala Platt : https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111041575

18:20:14 From Steve Ladd : Here’s a link to the website honoring Randy with a recording of the on-line tribute  - https://www.randykehler.com/

18:20:50 From Kamala Platt : I  am posting a link to Enviro Justice Poetics…

18:24:09 From Tom Weiner : Replying to "If I don’t get to sp..."

Thanks for sharing this! I added his interview from CALLED To SERVE to the website. And he was one of the 10 people depicted in the play by Peter Snoad entitled, “THE DRAFT” the film of which can be seen on KANOPY…

18:24:47 From Kamala Platt : I didn’t get it said but this work feels particularly important to organizing for Palestinian Solidarity—very helpful…

18:25:03 From Moji Agha : Moji Agha (Boulder, CO) >>> Chambers of Compassion (or Intersectional Circles) vs. Chambers of Commerce >>> https://natr-peace.blogspot.com/p/chambers-of-compassion-how-they-work.html  *********** Peace-seeking Iranian Veterans (PIV) >>> Main Page: https://piv-kas.blogspot.com/ >>> Upcoming bilingual sessions & the recordings of PIV's previous events >>> https://piv-kas.blogspot.com/p/special-events.html  >>> PIV's proposed developing Roadmap Toward a Global Iran Peace Agreement (GIPA) >>> https://piv-kas.blogspot.com/p/roadmap-toward-global-iran-peace.html  ------  Moji Agha's mini-bio and PATH  ///  Iranian Nonviolence >>> https://juustwa.org/speakers-and-presenters/brother-moji-agha/  CONTACT EMAIL: moji.agha@gmail.com *** (520) 325-3545 (Moji Agha)

18:27:22 From Frank Joyce : Appreciation to Alice Hertz who was the first to immolate herself in Detroit in 1965.

18:27:55 From Kamala Platt : kamalap@earthlink.net—Moji — I too am also a “youngster” remember first/ early “walk” to mail letters to president against the war—first letter besides to grandparents I think.

18:28:05 From Moji Agha : Please help "de-fragment" the civil society.

18:28:29 From Kamala Platt : Reacted to "Please help "de-frag..." with 👍🏽

18:32:00 From Kurt Jacobsen : Yes, and the antiwar movement remains denigrated in official circles because of fear of it setting a bad example. Kicking the “Vietnam syndrome.’

18:32:29 From Frank Joyce : Reacted to "Yes, and the antiwar..." with 👍

Viet Nam Condolences Peter Yarrow, LA Fires

 Peter Yarrow Presente! (January 7, 2025)

For tributes, click here and share https://www.peteryarrow.net/

Published by the New York Times as comment to on line obituary

https://www.nytimes.com/shared/comment/44c9ub?rsrc=cshare&smid=url-share

We will miss Peter, but not only for what he and Peter. Paul and Mary meant for our spirits during the US war in Indochina and the civil rights movement. 

Tens of thousands of people and progressive organizations around the world benefited from Peter's constant readiness post PP&M to sing at their events to provide cultural inspiration and help with fund raising.

Our organization collaborated with Peter for three extraordinary performance tours of Viet Nam in March 2005, 2006 and 2008.  His goal was to raise awareness and funds to assist victims of the defoliant Agent Orange when the US government was still refusing to accept any responsibility.

He sang in the Opera Houses of Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City as well as in Hue and Hoi An. He also sang in Phnom Penh for victims of the Khmer Rouge who were rebuilding the country. 

Our last projects together with the Vietnam Peace Commemoration Committee were his songs at a vigil marking the 50th anniversary of the March on the Pentagon [photo above] and production of a webinar on the role of music in the antiwar movement.  https://vnpeacecomm.blogspot.com/2022/10/webinar-peter-yarrow-reggie-harris.html

John McAuliff

Fund for Reconciliation and Development