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National Office Report

By VVAW

THE NATIONAL SALUTE AND VIETNAM MEMORIAL

According to the media, not that the National Salute to Vietnam Veterans is over and the Memorial is dedicated, the Vietnam vet has really been welcomed back home. But the presentation of some of the events surrounding the dedication seemed a little strange.

The reading of the names of the dead was hailed as a remarkable patriotic act of remembrance, but it was hardly the first time it had been done. Fifteen years ago, the 25,000 names of those who had died in Vietnam were read by the Peace movement. The dead were remembered and a call was made for the war to end. At that point, the media did not take the event seriously and in fact condemned the readers for "subversion." But because we were not listened to in 1968, by 1982 there were over twice as many names. Let us hope that we will not have to read the names of our children on some wall in another 20 years.

While the memorial itself was received very well by most Vietnam vets, a group of left and right-wing kooks attacked it. The Revolutionary Communist Party, with kids pretending to be vets, turned their backs on the Memorial during the dedication. At the same time, the right, led by author and Republican darling Jim Webb is demanding the addition of a flag and an heroic (?) statue. Concerned more with their hack politics than with our dead friends, this bunch would gladly use the blood of the Vietnam dead for their right-wing political purposes. We say Leave the Memorial Alone!

VVAW's participation in the Salute as well as the Vets Day activities which took place in towns ad cities across the country were a fitting end to VVAW's year of 1982. Sparked by "Operation Dewey Canyon IV" in Washington in May, the organization saw and felt a new interest and new vitality, all of which made possible the activities around Veterans Day.

FINANCES

One aspect of the organization's activities, however, continues to put a damper on all the rest we hope to do: Finances. VVAW is financed, for the most part, by internal dues and donations. No Rockefeller or DuPont pays for THE VETERAN, or our buttons, T-shirts, etc. Unfortunately some chapters act like there was some fat cat funding us; they have not paid for the papers nor turned in membership dues for months. And what this does is increase the financial burden for the rest of the organization. The VVAW Chapter in Milwaukee has a long history of paying for papers, often in advance, paying dues, and being available whenever the National Office has to ask for some special donation; other chapters have a less enviable record. Accounts must be brought up to date.

In addition to this, we need extra funds in order to replenish some of the materials which are now exhausted: we need to reprint and update "Recollections," make up some new T-shirts and patches. So the National Office is asking for a voluntary Valentine present of $10 from each working member and $2 from each member now unemployed. Beyond dues and debts this should enable us to deal with new materials and printing of THE VETERAN. It's especially important that chapter and regional coordinators take this request seriously.