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Memorial Day '81: Honor the Dead, Fight for the Living

By VVAW

Memorial Day, 1981—this year on the 25th of May—marks the once-a-year pilgrimage of American's political leaders to the graves of those who died in this nation's wars. Armed with flags, wreaths and copies of the Gettysburg Address, politicians will fill the air with pious pronouncements about those "who gave their last full measure of devotion" and how their courage has saved the nation from all kinds of horrors. But, while heaping praise on the veterans who died, many of these same politicians will be casting their votes to slash to pieces the budget for taking care of the walking and living casualties of this nation's wars.

Leaders of the American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars will mount podiums, applaud the high school bands and the singing of the Star Spangled Banner; they will use the occasion to trumpet the triumphs of their organizations and try to concoct the kind of patriotic fervor that sent millions of young American off to fight in Vietnam. Most of them will give only the briefest of lip service to the problems of Vietnam vet.

"Noble cause," "devotion to duty," "high ideals," "God and country," are just a few of the phrases that will echo from podiums. Too often there phrases will lead to others: "Stop the Commies in El Salvador," "Bring back the draft."

And what will Vietnam Vets, usually excluded from the official ceremonies, do the celebrate Memorial Day? Many will simply ignore it since the relevance of the speeches and the patriotic hoopla is foreign from vets' experience. Some may drink a few beers to remember some particular friend who died in Vietnam—not for some "noble cause" or in some dramatic offensive or campaign, but simply because he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and got blown apart by a mine or hit by a mortar round. There were few tales of saving the nation since most vets who even believed in the war when they were sent to Vietnam, came back seeing that our lives had been squandered by the government for the profits of Michelin or Exxon.

For some Vietnam vets—and for VVAW—Memorial Day will be an occasion to honor those who died—in whatever war in the U.S. has fought—but to try to turn that "honor" into something more than empty words. Instead, we're fighting for action, for testing and treatment and compensation for the victims of Agent Orange—while they are still alive—for a V.A. system that meets the needs of vets instead of just the needs of V.A. bureaucrats, and refusing to get involved in another war like Vietnam. To us Memorial Day says stop spilling the blood of America's youth—of our children—so that American corporations can grab a buck or secure a market. VVAW says:

HONOR THE DEAD, FIGHT LIKE HELL FOR THE LIVING!