Mark Paul Smith graduated college on an Air Force scholarship with
dreams of becoming a pilot. He had some downtime after graduation and
before reporting for duty so he decided to hitchhike the world. A
decision that would change his life forever.
As he traveled, his approach to life and his future decisions changed.
He hitchhiked through the Iron Curtain and worked on a collective farm
in Hungary only to find that communism wasn't our real enemy. He met
people from North Vietnam who showed him the real enemy was the U.S. war
machine. Being an American was not popular in those days, but the people
of the world showed Smith kindness and kept him alive when he ran out of
money. The long road to decision showed him that people everywhere want
peace, not war.
Mark Paul Smith's hitchhike from Indiana to India in 1972 changed him
from being an Air Force Officer into a conscientious objector. His faith
in the United States of America was restored when he sued the government
and won his case in federal court. His journey is one of faith,
contemplation, and awakening, mixed with the freedom and abandonment of
the 70s.