Extraordinary Stories

An Unusual and Influential Protest Organization

Explore the extraordinary history and legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War

由Courtney Suciu.

越南退伍军人反对战争（VVAW）成立于1967年，是一项非凡的组织，该组织形成为抗议其大多数成员服务和战斗的冲突。它增长了成为从战争返回的退伍军人的宝贵资源，并有助于为支持他们的教育，就业和医疗保健提供批判立法。

As Andrew Hunt, Professor of History at the University of Waterloo in Canada, noted in a recentessay¹对于proquest，“在创建vvaw之前，没有任何类似的比例。”

Because of its vehement opposition to the war and its high visibility (Hunt pointed out that members of the organization could be distinguished by their military fatigues and creative, often theatrical methods of protest), the VVAW was also extremely controversial. Citizens who supported the war called the group un-American and unpatriotic; “To the Nixon administration,” Prof. Hunt wrote:

VVAW represented a threat to American security and had to be curtailed through covert surveillance campaigns. Behind closed doors, President Richard Nixon gave his blessing to a government offensive against VVAW, encouraging cooperation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and local law enforcement organizations to infiltrate, harass and destabilize the group.

For the 50^thanniversary of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, where 10,000 antiwar demonstrators met with over 20,000 police and National Guardsman culminating in a four-day long riot, we take a look at one of the most unique protest groups in American history.

VVAW和“68民主公约”

1968年1968年民主国家公约于八月举行了美国历史上最偏振的岁月之一。该国持续了一​​个毁灭性，包括暗杀马丁路德议员的暗杀，JR。暗杀鲍比肯尼迪的暗杀。野蛮的图像出现在警察在教导员和旁观者造成的殴打上的电视上，以便在学生为民主社会接管哥伦比亚大学。

As the number of U.S. casualties reached more than 15,000, with 40,000 more young men drafted into service each month, there seemed to be no end to the on-going war in Vietnam.

Many Americans, especially young people, felt abused, discarded and disenfranchised by those in power. The convention seemed for them – including the fledgling VVAW – an opportunity to make their voices heard.

In his book转折点,²an in-depth history of the VVAW, Prof. Hunt recounted how “two leaders of VVAW worked around the clock, contacting Vietnam veterans across America. They hoped to enlist fifty Vietnam veterans, one from each state, to travel to the Democratic National Convention” to lobby delegates for an antiwar platform.

“退伍军人希望他们的独特状况有助于他们影响代表，但他们渴望少数期望，”狩猎解释说，并证明了他们的悲观。在“公约”中，民主党“通过了一个明确的前奏声明”，在“公约”之外，退伍军人发现自己陷入了激进活动家和警察之间的暴力行为 - 一个被称为“围攻城市的城市”。

亨特的书揭示了经验的一位前helicopter crew chief and VVAW member who attended the convention and was among those swept into the chaos, “complete with a police helicopter buzzing overhead”:

“[S]eeing those guys up above, looking at the troops and the cops, and knowing they were against me—for me this was as terrifying as anything in Vietnam. Somehow I had become the enemy, the Vietcong of the United States, when all I am is a human being that wants to be human. Just because I hate this war and the kind of things that forced us into it, they’ve made me the enemy of my country.

“The veterans left Chicago feeling depressed and powerless,” Prof. Hunt continued. “Their nonviolent efforts were completely overshadowed in the press by the battle in the streets.” Many of them were embittered by what they suffered at the convention and several them left the VVAW. As a result, the organization was in trouble. With limited funds, resources and manpower, it seemed the VVAW’s days were numbered.

But it turned out, the VVAW was just getting started.

The organization gained momentum in the early ‘70s with controversial activities such as the Winter Soldier Investigation (see below) and protest marches like Operation Rapid Action Withdrawal (RAW) which included dramatic enactments of the type of search and destroy missions that had been conducted in Vietnam.

The VVAW also formed powerful partnerships with celebrities like Jane Fonda, Phil Ochs and Donald Sutherland which helped raise funds and publicize their work, including post-war support for veterans. “Rap” groups were initiated, where veterans could discuss the challenges of returning to civilian life. Members of the VVAW also fought to gain treatment and benefits for veterans suffering from war-related health conditions like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and exposure to Agent Orange.

Vvaw，转折点和ProQuest History Vault

Despite their influence in ‘70s, in subsequent decades, it was next to impossible for researchers to learn about the people, activities and accomplishments of the organization.

In 1994, Prof. Hunt was a history graduate student in the process of choosing his dissertation topic. “I went to the library in search of a secondary history of VVAW,” he wrote in hisessay对于proquest。“想象一下，当我发现没有这样的事情时，我的惊喜。”

所以，他开始写一个。

“在那些日子里，互联网仍处于初期阶段，”亨特教授召回。“我不得不写信，通过书籍搜索，并在麦迪逊威斯康星州历史社会（WHS）留下了一段时间来探索VVAW的论文。”

Prof. Hunt made his way to the Wisconsin Historical Society, where with the help of the “wonderful archivists…I discovered at my fingertips a vibrant history, full of drama, begging to be told.”

He continued, “Reading through stacks of correspondence, organizational documents, national office memos, newsletters, press clippings, unpublished first-hand accounts, and a variety of other primary sources, I came to appreciate VVAW’s remarkable history, and I was determined to do it justice.”

Today’s researchers can easily discover an abundance of resources related to the VVAW for insights into the organization, the Vietnam War and veterans’ affairs. In addition to Dr. Hunt’s notable book,转折点，他的研究中使用的主要源文件是在Proquest历史保险库和WH的伙伴关系的结果中以数字方式获得。

The VVAW papers are one of largest collections in theHistory VaultmoduleStudents for a Democratic Society, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and the anti-Vietnam War Movement这包括来自十几个不同的反越南战争组织的文件。Within the VVAW collection students and scholars around the world can easily access records from the organization’s national office related to programs and activities such as antiwar demonstrations and the Winter Soldier war crimes investigation (see below), as well as documents from local chapters related to the peace movement in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

根据狩猎博士的说法，仍然留在Vvaw论文中被发现并了解了该组织。“仍然有这么多隐藏的历史，等待了一天的光明和年轻历史学家的好奇眼睛，”他写道。“美国是独一无二的，因为第一名反战组织的家庭成员在战争中致敬 - 虽然它仍然在进行中，但不少。”

冬日士兵Investigation

One of the most profound accomplishments of the VVAW was the Winter Soldier Investigation (WSI), a 1972 media event the organization co-sponsored in Detroit. The 3-day forum featured testimony from veterans about war crimes and immoral conduct by the U.S. Armed Forces and their allies in Vietnam as the result of military policies.

While the conference was well attended by news outlets, it received little attention outside of several articles printed inThe Detroit Free Press。Most publications outright refused to cover the hearings. In addition, attempts were made by some members of the media, as well as by government officials, and pro-war individuals to discredit participants in the investigation.

For researchers interested in learning more about the controversy surrounding the WSI, information that was uncovered in the hearings, and the impact of the event, there are several resources to supplement the VVAW documents in ProQuest History Vault and Dr. Hunt’s book,转折点:

冬日士兵
Milestone Films (Producer). (1972). [Video file]. This documentary, produced in conjunction with the VVAW contains film footage of the WSI hearings, as well as some pre-event and post-event footage with commentary. Available from在线学术视频。

Interview with John Kerry, 1982
埃里森，R.（生产者）。（1983）。[视频文件]。在担任美国国务卿和美国参议员之前，John Kerry是VVAW的慷慨激昂的发言人。在这次采访中，他描述了他在越南的任务和他参与WSI的参与。
可用在线学术视频。

The Detroit Free Press
研究员s can glean unique insights about the WSI by exploring coverage of the hearings in one of the few publications that covered them. Articles about the WSI can be explored alongside stories on related events and other news of the day, as well as advertisements, movie listings, editorials and more for a deeper understanding of the cultural climate during the forum. Available fromproquest历史报纸。

冬季士兵：伊拉克和阿富汗。
War, I., & Glantz, A. (2008). In this book, veterans of more recent conflicts Iraq and Afghanistan describe, in their own words, the crimes of war they witnessed. Available fromEbook Central。

战争故事：假休息室，迅速划船和冬季士兵 - 真正发生的越南发生了什么
Kulik，G.（2009）。越南战争退伍军人和历史学家致力于退伍军人对越南目睹的暴行的叙述。可用Ebook Central。

Additional ProQuestHistory Vaultmodules

American Politics and Society from Kennedy to Watergate
This module, which focuses on records from the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon White Houses, contains two major sets of records pertaining to the anti-Vietnam War Movement.

FBI Confidential Files and Radical Politics in the U.S., 1945-1972
这些文件介绍了对联邦调查局政策和优先事项的洞察力，跨越的调查范围，对自由和保守活动家的调查的目的以及与其他情报机构的关系。

Vietnam War and American Foreign Policy
This module covers U.S. involvement in the region from the early days of the Kennedy administration, through the escalation of the war during the Johnson administration, to the final resolution of the war at the Paris Peace Talks and the evacuation of U.S. troops in 1973.

进一步研究

下载这篇文章, explore related content, and watch the video sample冬日士兵,available in Academic Video Online.

笔记：

1. Hunt, A. (2018)."Vvaw，转折点, and the Rewards of Digitized History。"
2. 亨特，A.（1999）。转折点: A History of Vietnam Veterans Against the War。可用电子中心。

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Courtney Suciu is ProQuest’s lead blog writer. Her loves include libraries, literacy and researching extraordinary stories related to the arts and humanities. She has a Master’s Degree in English literature and a background in teaching, journalism and marketing. Follow her @QuirkySuciu

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