An Eyewitness Report on the 50th Anniversary of Peace and Reunification in Viet Nam
May 15, 2025
To see the youtube video, click here
link to share https://youtu.be/-oUamqY6D0Q
A delegation of US peace activists traveled in north, central and south Viet Nam for an anniversary with great meaning in both countries. Their eyewitness accounts and photos were shared upon return to the US.
Cosponsors of the webinar
- International Peace Research Association
- War Resisters League
- Syracuse Cultural Workers
Resources
Indochina: Fifty Years On Overview of April-May Trip to Indochina, Remarks on behalf of the delegation By John McAuliff https://vnpeacecomm.blogspot.com/2025/05/overview-of-april-may-trip-to-indochina.html
Talk Vietnam; VTV 4 extended coverage of The Movement and the Madman film and VPCC delegation visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ll0bhpuclQ&ab_channel=VTV4
Address by General Secretary To Lam at the 50th anniversary parade in Ho Chi Minh City https://en.baochinhphu.vn/address-by-general-secretary-to-lam-at-national-celebration-of-50th-anniversary-of-liberation-of-the-south-and-national-reunification-111250430094348096.htm
Remarks by Do Van Chien at the Fatherland Front meeting with foreign delegations with remarks for the US delegation Member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front, Central Mass Organizations, President of the Central Committee of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front at the Meeting with International Friends on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification https://vnpeacecomm.blogspot.com/2025/05/fatherland-front-meeting-in-ho-chi-minh.html
Diplomatic Academy receives delegation from the US Fund for Reconciliation and Development: Strengthening cooperation for peace and development
https://dav.edu.vn/hoc-vien-ngoai-giao-tiep-doan-quy-hoa-giai-va-phat-trien-hoa-ky-tang-cuong-hop-tac-vi-hoa-binh-va-phat-trien/
Visit to Project Renew, Quang Tri
https://www.facebook.com/100064973010616/posts/1047391484103276/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v
Vietnam can be a trusted mediator on global stage, says American peace activist Voice of Vietnam Wednesday, 19:03, 23/04/2025 https://english.vov.vn/en/politics/diplomacy/vietnam-can-be-a-trusted-mediator-on-global-stage-says-american-peace-activist-post1194311.vov
American activists say US should take responsibility for role in Cambodia’s tragic history By Som Sotheary / Khmer Times May 8, 2025
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501680694/american-activists-say-us-should-take-responsibility-for-role-in-cambodias-tragic-history/
Delegation at Temple of Literature (Vietnamese TV)
Ho Chi Minh City Celebrates the Fall of Saigon By Damien Cave, The New York Times
Out of War’s Shadow:
Vietnam on the Move t
By Damien Cave and Tung Ngo, The New York Times
50 years after the fall of Saigon, Vietnam tweaks the story of its victory By Stephanie Yang, Los Angeles Times April 27, 2025 https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-04-27/50-years-after-saigon-falls-vietnam-tweaks-story-of-victory
Long arc of reconciliation between U.S. and Vietnam falters under Trump
Fifty years after the end of the Vietnam War, decades of progress in addressing its legacies are coming undone.
By Rebecca Tan. The Washington Post April 30, 2025
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/04/30/vietnam-war-50th-anniversary-end-trump/
17 Ex-Ambassadors demand US restore Indochina mine clearance funding
https://vufo.org.vn/17-Ex-Ambassadors-Demand-US-Restore-Indochina-Mine-Clearance-Funding-11-60688.html?lang=en
50 years later, Vietnam’s environment still bears the scars of war – and signals a dark future for Gaza and Ukraine by Pamela McElwee, Professor of Human Ecology, Rutgers University
The Conversation April 28, 2025 https://theconversation.com/50-years-later-vietnams-environment-still-bears-the-scars-of-war-and-signals-a-dark-future-for-gaza-and-ukraine-254971
Vietnam's fortunes actually take a dramatic turn, and not for worst
For the US, maintaining robust relations with Hanoi are paramount for maintaining influence in the South China Sea
by James Borton Responsible Statecraft Apr 15, 2025 https://responsiblestatecraft.org/vietnam-tariffs/
Miriam (Mimsy) Bouret Kaua'i, Hawaii, raised in a family of activists, protesters, conscientious objectors; her brother was the first draft card burner arrested in Philadelphia. Volunteer at the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, learning about activism on an international level. Now focus on cultivating inner peace and spreading loving kindness wherever, whenever, however and to whomever I can Mimsyheart@gmail.com
Jacquelyn Chagnon* Warrensburg, Missouri and Vientiane, Laos Worked in Vietnam and Laos for 50 years beginning with International Voluntary Services. Traveled throughout the US with the Indochina Mobile Education Project to help grass roots Americans learn about Vietnamese culture and history and the human cost of the war based on personal experience. Worked with Don Luce to educate Congress. Represented American Friends Service Committee providing post-war assistance. Board member of the War Legacies Project. jacqui.chagnon@earthlink.net
Charles Clements* Distinguished Graduate of the USAF Academy, C-130 cargo pilot in Vietnam. On April 30th, 1970 when US invaded Cambodia, refused to fly further missions. Discharged with a 10% mental disability after spending 8 months in a locked Air Force psychiatric ward. Studied medicine and volunteered to treat El Salvador guerillas. Served as head of Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and of Carr Center at Harvard University. Author of Witness to War. <clementscharlie@gmail.com>
Kerry Connolly* Philadelphia, Pennsylvania First visited Viet Nam in 1992 while working with IOM at a Vietnamese refugee camp in Palawan, Philippines. This first visit and the people she met at the camp inspired a lifelong interest in and affinity for Viet Nam and its population. From 1993-1995, Kerry lived in Ha Noi, working with VATICO, DeMatteis Vietnam and AmCham. She currently teaches high school math and Spanish.
Bill Davis Tallahassee, Florida. Retired lawyer and legal aid leader. Conscientious Objector. Statewide elected student leader. Helped organize and lead local and national actions, tactics including vigils, student strikes, and mass marches, to massive and mobile civil disobedience. Worked full time organizing May Day (1971 action in Washington DC, where more people were arrested than on any other day in US history). Arrested opposing Nixon nomination at Republican National Convention. whdavis2@gmail.com
Marc Jason Gilbert Honolulu, Hawaii, many visits to Vietnam as Chair in World History, Hawaii Pacific University; special interest in South and Southeast Asia; numerous papers, articles, chapters in books, and monographs, many addressing the American War in Vietnam; “The View from the Hill: Hawaiʻi’s Congressional Delegation and the Struggle for Peace in Vietnam and Equity at Home, 1964-1975,” https://www.hpu.edu/faculty/cla/marc-gilbert.html hallgilbert@earthlink.net
Steven Goldsmith Palos Verdes, CA, Pres. www.TRAA.Website fighting deadly HF; 60’s Miss. Freedom Project-Fall ‘64; anti-war arrest Chicago & DC ‘65; helped lead U of Chicago anti-draft sit-in; SDS-JOIN organizing in poor white community; CO alternative service & civilian supporter of the GI Movement (FTA, Fort Knox); 70’s-steel mill-Indiana organizing fight back movement; 80’s Calif. tours to India/China; 90s/00s Dir. Restorative Justice Proj; Rotarian Peace Builder linking to Mediators Beyond Borders sgoldsmith84@gmail.com
Susan Gregory southern California; staff of Chicago 8 Conspiracy Trial; April, 1971 received from Mme. Nguyen Thi Binh in Paris the PRG 10 Point Proposal for Peace in Vietnam, then testified before Senator Fulbright’s Foreign Relations Committee; 1972, organized with Weiss, King, and Baez, Women’s March on Congress to Cut Off Funds for Vietnam war; Fall, 1972, Indochina Peace Campaign; director of M.S. Grumbacher Foundation Peace Education Program Facilitator of the Prem Rawat Foundstion gregorysusan24@gmail.com
Rick Hind Washington, DC. peace movement since 1968; drafted in 1972 as a conscientious objector, served two years alternative service directing the Schenectady Peace Center for Clergy & Laity Concerned; to Washington, DC in 1978 working for the Coalition for a New Foreign and Military Policy and for 26 years as legislative director of Greenpeace; visited Vietnam in 2018 for the 50th anniversary of the My Lai massacre and created a Facebook site on that trip https://www.facebook.com/vietnampeace.org/ rickahind@gmail.com
Carolyn Levering Santa Cruz/San Francisco, California; antiwar activist since the Vietnam war; was a high school math teacher; a marriage and family therapist; a financial planner; has been actively involved in lobbying Congress with Friends Committee on National Legislation; carolynllevering@gmail.com
Robert Levering Santa Cruz/San Francisco California; full-time anti-Vietnam war organizer with American Friends Service Committee and others; a business journalist and author; founded Great Place to Work, a global research and consulting firm; executive producer of "The Movement and the 'Madman'" and "The Boys Who Said No!"; leveringrobert@gmail.com
Gail Lopez-Henriquez Philadelphia, Pennsylvania retired lawyer for trade unions. Participated in protests against the war in high school. What she learned about Viet Nam's centuries-long struggle against colonialism determined her world view and life's work. Currently helps immigrants to learn English and to become citizens, joins union picket lines, and protests against the Trump administration. Her 8th visit to Viet Nam gaillopezhenriquez@gmail.com
John McAuliff Riverhead, NY founder and executive director of Fund for Reconciliation and Development (a.k.a. US-Indochina Reconciliation Project); coordinator, Vietnam Peace Commemoration Committee; former director of Indochina Program, Peace Education Division, American Friends Service Committee, and President of Committee of Returned Volunteers. Detained but not charged at March on the Pentagon and May Day. A leader of campaign for normalization of relations. Led 30 delegations to Indochina. jmcauliff@ffrd.org
Mary McDonnell Riverhead NY made the first of many working visits to Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia in 1986 on behalf of the Social Science Research Council. For three decades she travelled to Viet Nam several times a year to strengthen the capacities of young researchers from the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) and the Southern Institute for Social Sciences (SISS). Working with teams of Vietnamese and foreign researchers, she led field work in many provinces about issues of importance to Vietnam’s development. www.mbmlearning.com mary@mbmlearning.com
Matt Meyer Brooklyn, New York, Secretary General of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA), Senior Research Scholar at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst Resistance Studies Initiative; extensive history with the War Resisters International, the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), and previously served as US National Co-chair of the FOR-USA and Chair of the War Resisters League. Author/editor of over a dozen books https://www.matt-meyer.com https://www.iprapeace.org/
Dana Moss South Bend, Indiana; Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame. Working on a book project about anti-war activism by American military members and veterans during the US war in Vietnam. Her first book was about transnational activism for the Arab Spring revolutions in Syria, Libya, and Yemen. Founding member of the Yemen Peace Project to promote a more peaceful foreign policy toward Yemen, and to educate about Yemeni arts, film, and culture. dmoss2@nd.edu
Tara Mullaney* (formerly Tara McAuliff) Queens New York, lived in Ha Noi from 1995 to 1999 working for the US-Indochina Reconciliation Project (of the Fund for Reconciliation and Development) and the Commercial Service of the US Embassy. Began visiting Viet Nam at the age of 13, studied Vietnamese history and language at Cornell University; currently head of Human Resources at a New York City non-profit that provides re-entry services to individuals who are formerly incarcerated. taramcauliff@hotmail.com
Terry Provance Washington, DC, wrote first letter to President Johnson to oppose the war in 1965. Organized Moratorium and Mobilization events in 1969 in Pittsburgh and seminarians to carry out two major civil disobedience actions; member of Support Committee for Dan and Phil Berrigan in Harrisburg and for Pentagon Papers Peace Project for Dan Ellsberg and Anthony Russo in Los Angeles, for Medical Aid for Indochina and Bach Mai Hospital Relief Fund. Visited Vietnam in 1973 and in 1996. terryprovance@gmail.com
Miranda Rumpf* Warrensburg, Missouri and Vientiane, Laos; worked with parents Jacqui Chagnon and the late Roger Rumpf and with the War Legacies Project.
Joel Schwartz Staten Island, NY became politically active in the summer of 1968, influenced by protests at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago; supported national liberation struggles within the US and internationally. He's been to Cuba twelve times with the Venceremos Brigade and the US/Cuba Labor Exchange. Employed as a mental health worker and was union activist and leader. Active with Democratic Socialists of America. 1joelschwartz@gmail.com
Stephen Talbot San Francisco, journalist and documentary filmmaker; produced and directed The Movement and the "Madman," about Nixon and the antiwar movement that aired on public television in the U.S. and Vietnam TV1. Visited North Vietnam in 1974 as a young antiwar activist and filmmaker documented in Year of the Tiger https://www.movementandthemadman.com/ stephentalbot1@gmail.com
Rebecca Waugh Washington DC. Retired professional in international health, development, and human rights work, mostly through efforts sponsored by US churches. Not directly involved in the anti-war movement, but traveled to Vietnam several times between 2002 and 2007 to support development projects of Church World Service. rvwaugh@gmail.com
* Not participating in complete schedule
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Chat
19:37:07 From joan cavanagh to Hosts and panelists:
Could you please post the email for women's anti-war artifacts and documents? I couldn't catch it all.
20:18:20 From Susan Gregory to Hosts and panelists:
WomensAnitWarArtefactsAndDocuments@gmail.com
20:22:17 From Susan Gregory to Everyone:
This email is not yet active. Until then feel free to email me—gregorysusan24@gmail.com
19:39:47 From Stephen Talbot to Hosts and panelists:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ll0bhpuclQ&ab_channel=VTV4
The link above to "Talk Vietnam" is the Vietnamese TV interview program that Robert and I did, including comments from others in our delegation. Vietnam TV posted this on YouTube.
19:47:11 From Jay Wilson to Hosts and panelists:
Wow. Thanks.
19:47:52 From Alex Knopp to Hosts and panelists:
Congratulations Steve- greetings from your Wesleyan anti-war colleague. Alex Knopp
20:01:08 From Paul Cox to Hosts and panelists:
Please mention that Rashida Tlaib has just introduced HR 3051 Victims of Agent Orange Act of 2025 that calls for substantial increases in assistance to AO victims in Vietnam and a thorough cleanup of the dioxin and arsenic contamination still polluting Vietnam.
20:09:03 From Paul Cox to Everyone:
Please urge your congressperson to co-sponsor this important piece of legislation.
20:06:11 From Norma J F Harrison to Hosts and panelists:
communism is such a terrible device!!! re poverty, water for all, food for all, housing for all, - so terrible - If only the people/nations using it could stop being assaulted by our Profiteers - the for-profit system that steals our lives and minds
20:07:07 From Stephen Talbot to Everyone:
This is the link to the home page for our film, The Movement and the "Madman." www.movementandthemadman.com
20:07:31 From susan hammond to Everyone:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/04/30/vietnam-war-50th-anniversary-end-trump/
20:07:46 From susan hammond to Everyone:
http://www.warlegacies.org
20:11:25 From Paul Cox to Everyone:
Note that the combined effort to remodel the War Remnants Museum in HCMC with the Smithsonian has been cancelled.
20:11:54 From Curry First to Hosts and panelists:
In spite of recent humanitarian aid—both person helping in country and contributions to supporting nonprofits, where day is the great need for financial contributions from individuals—that is, primary nonprofits and then the need for these nonprofits websites to move forward?
20:11:58 From Jacquelyn Chagnon to Hosts and panelists:
Did anyone mention about Don Luce and the Tiger Cage and the Indochina mobile education project?
20:13:14 From Andrew Wells-Dang to Everyone:
Paul, we're still looking for ways to continue the new exhibit at the War Remnants Museum - it hasn't been canceled (and doesn't involve the Smithsonian, though a former Smithsonian director has been a lead advisor)
20:13:17 From John McAuliff to Everyone:
April 30, 1975 in Saigon and Hanoi https://vnpeacecomm.blogspot.com/2021/03/april-30-1975-eyewitness-accounts-of.html
20:13:38 From Stephen Talbot to Alex Knopp, Hosts and panelists:
Hi. Alex. Good to hear from you. I thought a lot during this trip of what we had done at Wesleyan back in the day.
20:14:31 From Mimsy Bouret to Hosts and panelists:
maybe you’d want to explain the significance of the black and white scarves
20:18:59 From Marc Gilbert to Jacquelyn Chagnon, Hosts and panelists:
No. However, many of the group, including myself, knew him well and his actions can never be given enough credit. He, along with Fred Branfman were blamed in the congressional Record by Ambassador Graham Martin for losing the war. I can send you the interview with Don in the Oral History of the IVS complied by myself and Paul Rodell. Please write to me. at mgilbert@hpu.edu.
20:20:27 From Stephen Talbot to Paul Cox, Hosts and panelists:
Great that she did that!
20:20:58 From Susan Gregory to Everyone:
WomensAntiWarArtefectsAndDocuments@gmail.com
20:21:42 From Danis Regal to Hosts and panelists:
So glad I was able to be on this Zoom with all of you.
20:21:56 From Paul Cox to Everyone:
Thanks for the clarification, Andrew.
20:22:17 From Susan Gregory to Everyone:
This email is not yet active. Until then feel free to email me—gregorysusan24@gmail.com
20:22:28 From Alex Knopp to Hosts and panelists:
Terry— was there any mention or view about the modern reconstruction of Bach Mai Hospital?
20:23:30 From Danis Regal to Hosts and panelists:
Danis Regal at the 40th Anniversary in 2015.
20:23:40 From Susan Gregory to Everyone:
The film is devastating. I recommend everyone see it
20:23:41 From Maple O to Hosts and panelists:
whats the title?
20:23:43 From Paul Cox to Everyone:
Is there a link to the Cu Chi film?
20:23:54 From Laurent gilbert to Hosts and panelists:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw3v_R0HOoU
20:24:36 From Jay Wilson to Hosts and panelists:
For Charlie, Re: Cambodia story = please get in touch: tompaine@hotmail.com Thanks!
20:25:16 From Bill Davis to Everyone:
https://www.vietnam.vn/en/khoi-chieu-dia-dao-mat-troi-trong-bong-toi-bo-phim-hao-hung-bi-trang-ve-dia-dao-cu-chi
20:25:20 From susan hammond to Everyone:
https://en.vietnamplus.vn/vietnamese-war-film-the-tunnel-sets-single-day-box-office-record-post313043.vnp
20:25:52 From Bill Davis to Everyone:
Above is an article about the film
20:25:58 From Dana Moss to Hosts and panelists:
This is so wonderful, thank you all so much for putting this together! I miss you terribly!!!! What an experience, I will treasure it forever. --Dana Moss
20:26:33 From susan hammond to Everyone:
https://www.stimson.org/project/mekong-dam-monitor/
and also look up research by Pam McElwee
20:27:31 From Dana Moss to Everyone:
Being a part of this group experience was a highlight of my professional life. Thank you all for expressing so much of the nuance of our learning experience. I will not soon forget it. I miss you all! --Dana Moss, University of Notre Dame
20:29:45 From Mark Ginsburg to Hosts and panelists:
Is this the trailer to the film? https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1cixw2s/an_upcoming_vietnam_war_film_about_the_c%E1%BB%A7_chi/
20:29:47 From Stephen Talbot to Everyone:
In English, the name of the feature film is "Tunnels". It has yet to be released outside Vietnam. They are looking for an international distributor. The photo is of Susan, Charlie and me with the movie's director. As Steve Goldsmith says we saw the movie in an amazingly contemporary shopping mall.
20:29:49 From Jay Wilson to Hosts and panelists:
Charlie, Please see my question in Q section. Thanks.
20:29:53 From Kathy McDonnell to Everyone:
Thank you John, Mary, and delegation!
20:30:11 From Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons to Hosts and panelists:
I WAS ABLE TO ENTER A TUNNEL IN 1979! I AM EAGER TO SEE THE FILM!
20:30:14 From Anne Stevens to Everyone:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34268350/
20:30:30 From brent bleier to Hosts and panelists:
thank you to all participants!! let us all continue any and all efforts to maintain and build the anti-war, anti-military peace movements !!! bb
20:30:38 From Abby Ginzberg to Hosts and panelists:
Thank you for a great event
20:30:41 From Bill Davis to Everyone:
Thank you all for an excellent webinar! Best wishes to each of you!
20:30:57 From Carolyn Levering to Everyone:
Women wore these black & white check scarves as a way of communicating to others, depending on the way they wore them, how they tied it & on the which side they wore them. It was started during the resistance to the French.
20:31:09 From Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons to Hosts and panelists:
❤️THANK YOU FOR AN EXCELLENT REPORT BACK
20:31:11 From Dana Moss to Everyone:
THANK YOU JOHN!!!!
20:31:14 From Larry Ashmun to Hosts and panelists:
Thank you John, Mary, & everyone for this important program!
20:31:17 From Stephen Talbot to Everyone:
Yes, a very preliminary fragment. All that exists right now.
20:32:02 From Judy Danielson to Hosts and panelists:
You may be interested in Claudia Krich’s new book, Those Who Stayed.
20:32:46 From Elizabeth Lowengard to Hosts and panelists:
Thank you, so interesting and inspiring ! 🇵🇸🇻🇳
20:34:47 From Maple O to Everyone:
Thnx for sharing about the Vietnamese appreciating us protesting; it was so painful here but not feeling like we could share it , similar to present genocide by Israel - so much angst and frustration in us...and 1970 Kent State murders showing us white Americans that our govt does not give a damn about us.
20:35:05 From evelyn tischer to Hosts and panelists:
a great webinar. Thank you so much
20:35:56 From brent bleier to Hosts and panelists:
TEARS.......
20:36:10 From Jay Wilson to Hosts and panelists:
How can one get a scarf?
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