How American soldiers opposed and resisted the war in Vietnam
While mainstream narratives of the Vietnam War all but marginalize
anti-war activity of soldiers, opposition and resistance from within the
three branches of the military made a real difference to the course of
America's engagement in Vietnam. By 1968, every major peace march in the
United States was led by active duty GIs and Vietnam War veterans. By
1970, thousands of active duty soldiers and marines were marching in
protest in US cities. Hundreds of soldiers and marines in Vietnam were
refusing to fight; tens of thousands were deserting to Canada, France
and Sweden. Eventually the US Armed Forces were no longer able to
sustain large-scale offensive operations and ceased to be effective. Yet
this history is largely unknown and has been glossed over in much of the
written and visual remembrances produced in recent years.
Waging Peace in Vietnam shows how the GI movement unfolded, from the
numerous anti-war coffee houses springing up outside military bases, to
the hundreds of GI newspapers giving an independent voice to active
soldiers, to the stockade revolts and the strikes and near-mutinies on
naval vessels and in the air force. The book presents first-hand
accounts, oral histories, and a wealth of underground newspapers,
posters, flyers, and photographs documenting the actions of GIs and
veterans who took part in the resistance. In addition, the book features
fourteen original essays by leading scholars and activists. Notable
contributors include Vietnam War scholar and author, Christian Appy, and
Mme Nguyen Thi Binh, who played a major role in the Paris Peace Accord.
The book originates from the exhibition Waging Peace, which has been
shown in Vietnam and the University of Notre Dame, and will be touring
the eastern United States in conjunction with book launches in Boston,
Amherst, and New York.
