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Special Report: 35th National Steering Committee Meeting

By Joe Miller

Chicago, October 1991—On Saturday, October 12, about twenty people showed up at Barry Romo's place for the National Steering Committee meeting of VVAW. While representatives from the West and East coasts could not get to the meeting, there were people from Milwaukee and other parts of Wisconsin, from Firebase K.C., from Chicago and Champaign, Illinois.

NATIONAL REPORT

The meeting began with a short report on VVAW's national situation. While National VVAW finances are nonexistent, there is generally a good feeling about the organization's continued viability—at least in terms of members, many of them younger vets, and the national office continues to get calls from people who wish to rejoin after a time of inactivity. The central problem was finances, and members were encouraged to renew their memberships and possibly send regular sustain the N.O.

MIDWEST REGION

The National report was followed by a series of local reports. First up, Annie Bailey discussed the situation in Milwaukee and other areas of Wisconsin. She referred to the plan to establish new co-coordinators for the Central region, as she must step down due to health problems. She further reported that the land VVAW uses for its annual 4th of July camp-out has been sold. We will not know for some time if this will hurt future camp-out plans. Annie also referred to the continued cuts in the VA; this remains a central area of concern for VVAW regionally and nationally. Plans are in place for The Veterans Day ceremony in Madison. Alex Molnar, founder of the Family Support Network during the Gulf War, will present the keynote speech. As for funds, Madison has no money. Milwaukee has been unable to send funds to the N.O. due to plans for the upcoming couples' trip to Vietnam. On February 15, 1992, the Milwaukee chapter will hold a fund-raiser, the "Rock 'n' Roll Massacre," in connection with Valentine's Day.

KANSAS CITY

Next, Doc Upton from Firebase K.C. provided a report on the situation there. The Vietnam Veteran Radio Network (VVRN) is currently heard in some parts of Europe. There are half-hour shows that are sent overseas, along with copies of The Veteran. There are now four stations inside the United States that also carry these programs, including the alternative station in the African-American community in Springfield, Illinois. Doc also reported on the videotapes currently available fron the Kent/Jackson State 20th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of Dewey Canyon III.

Unfortunately, the contacts that were made during the Gulf War in the Kansas City area have dried up. VVRN is also currently fighting a lawsuit stemming from the fact that it has been thrown off the local radio station due to some local politics. There are plans to continue the annual "Operation Christmas Toy," which provides some bit of happiness for the children of incarcerated veterans in the region.

CHICAGO CHAPTER

Ray Parish was asked to report on the Chicago chapter. He referred to his worth with the Midwest Committee for Military Counseling during the Gulf War. He also pointed out that Barry and Alynne functioned as two of the central leaders of the Chicago antiwar efforts. Ray then asked Joe from Champaign to report on downstate activities. Joe discussed the work he has been doing with the Progressive Champaign community and on the campus at the University of Illinois. He referred to the local veterans who had come out to work in opposition to the Gulf War. These included WWII, Korea, and Vietnam-era veterans. In fact, one of the Vietnam vets was an early member of VVAW who had participated in Dewey Canyon III and came along to Washington with VVAW for the 20th anniversary. Recently, efforts have been made to draw in a 12-year Marine vet who served in Beirut and a young African-American, ranger-trained vet who works with the People of Color Caucus at the University. Joe also mentioned the beginnings of a counter-recruitment campaign in the Urbana-Champaign area over the past year to promote peace and justice issues and regional cooperation.

NEW YORK, RENO, D.C.

To finish up the local reports, Barry provided an overview of the activities of people in New York/ New Jersey, Reno, D.C. and the West coast. As an addendum to the local reports, Jay from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, brought a few chuckles to the group when he described some of the activities he engaged in during the buildup to the Gulf War. For example, he and some friends took a body bag Christmas shopping in the local mall; they also took it to "see" a movie, and had it "interviewed" on local TV. Jay said "We're unpopular." He also talked of work with Native American concerning boat landings and fishing rights.

INTERNATIONAL WORK

Barry then followed with a discussion of VVAW's international work. There were some visitors from Japan in early 1991, who attended some VVAW events. VVAW was interviewed for Italian radio, Mexican, Japanese, and Philippine newspapers. In the context of the so-called "New World Order," we must see the role of the U.S. military as being primarily responsible for "dealing with" 3rd World countries that get "uppity." The U.S. is just "toning down."

VVAW's role in the movement against the Gulf War was to help provide stability. We had long term experience to offer, and we helped establish a pro-GI stance inside the movement. Many new activists were born during this period, partially in response to VVAW's role.

When we look to Colombia, we see a secret U.S. base near Bogota. In the Philippines, the U.S. now has three years "free rent" on Subic Bay, with elections coming up in that country next year. In Central America, the involvement of the U.S. with death squad activity continues, and, while Bush will not invade Haiti to restore elected government, he just might decide to invade Cuba soon. In Nicaragua, our friends from the ORD, (Organization for Revolutionary Disabled), former Sandinista soldiers, are now losing their homes and other benefits under the Chamorro regime.

In Southeast Asia, Vietnam is easing its relations with China and going through some historic internal changes. It is now second in Asia in the export of rice. As for the Cambodia settlement, it looks like Pol Pot will be a part of any new government there. Who knows what the consequences might be?

US ECONOMY

There followed a discussion of the U.S. economy. It is clear that, except for people like Dan Rather or Michael Jordan, most people in this country are not feeling secure. There are school program cuts around the country. Cuts in VA programs have further imperiled veterans from earlier wars, not to mention those suffering from various problems coming out of the Gulf War. In these horrible economic times, people are looking for something to "feel good" about. This helps explain the short-lived euphoria of the Gulf War.

COUNTER RECRUITMENT

Ray was asked to report on counter-recruitment efforts. He pointed out that the MCMC office now has three veterans serving as staff members. One of the difficulties coming out of the Gulf War is the loss of the "Vietnam syndrome" as a basis for counter-recruitment activities. There seems to be a return to World War II as an image source, which when combined with the "success" of the Gulf War, provides a much more positive image of the military and the idea of "serving" your country in uniform. Ray also talked of the military resisters and reported on the status of some of these cases. Twenty-three of the Marine resisters from Camp Lejeune have now been recognized as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International. In the discussion which followed, it was reaffirmed that VVAW members should write to and support these other military resisters.

In this conversation, there was some talk about The Veterans of the Gulf War and their problems. The government is now requiring some of the activated reservists to pay back some of the money they were paid. Oops, the government fucked up and "overpaid" these people! Too bad their lives were totally disrupted and they were sent away from home to support a war for oil. That is no longer the governments concern, however.

Then there are the Gulf veterans who have come home to instant parades and yellow ribbons. Many of them are not "proud" of their war, and they have already begun to contact VVAW to find kindred spirits among those who will understand and legitimate their feelings. We must find ways to help those people and get them to speak out and write about their experiences.

We also engaged in some discussion of the 1992 Quincentenary and VVAW's role in the movement opposed to this "celebration." VVAW should be seen as a part of this movement, and we should not attempt to organize our own events. We should make ourselves available to discuss the question of genocide and our experiences within a system that engages in a continuing process of enemy-making. We should continue to express our support for treaty rights through articles in The Veteran and in public speeches.

Eventually, the meeting turned to a discussion of VVAW's 25th anniversary. The New York/ New Jersey chapters have taken on the task, and we heard a taped message from Laurie Sandow. They have proposed to hold the event in New York City on May 29-31, 1992. They further proposed to divide up the financial cost in the following manner: NY/NJ-$500.00; VVAW National Office-$500.00; VVAW chapters-$100.00 each. Those present at the Steering Committee meeting were in favor of the projected dates, but questions were raised about the funding proposal. It was agreed the N.O. was not currently in a position to provide the suggested amount.

This brought the focus back to the issue of funding for VVAW. Barry reported that all attempts to get grants had fallen through. He said that some of the potential grant sources felt that, with or without funding, VVAW would manage to stay around just on determination. That comment brought a wry chuckle from the groups around the table. Discussion returned again and again to the problem of how to establish a true national identity for VVAW. Chapters must view themselves as part of the whole and more fully support of the national organization through sustaining contributions, fundraisers, etc.

Soon the meeting turned to the election of officers. John Lindquist and Annie Bailey have decided to remove themselves from "formal" national or regional office due to health considerations. As a result of Central region will have two co-coordinators, Jesse Jesperson and John Zutz, who were elected by consensus at this meeting. To replace John Lindquist as National Coordinator, Dave Kettenhofen of Milwaukee was elected to serve as one of four national officers. Bill Davis, who had served as a National Coordinator for many years, decided not to run for that position this time around. Finally, the National Office staff was enlarged by one, so that it now includes Bill Branson, Dave Curry and Joe Miller. In addition, though there is no formal West Coast Chapter of VVAW, Jack McClosky and Eric Schwartz have agreed to serve as Regional contacts for the organization.

Given all the difficulties with VVAW and the fact that it takes at least $1,000.00 and perhaps one hundred hours of work to produce a single issue of The Veteran, it was decided to resurrect a National Newsletter. This will be the main medium of communication for the organization for the foreseeable future. All members are encouraged to submit short articles to this publication on a regular basis. Perhaps, as things improve for the National Office, many of these pieces might be the basis for longer discussions in The Veteran.