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Vets Join Protest at RNCBy David ClineAt the end of July, the Republican National Convention (RNC) was held in New York City to showcase the renomination of George W. Bush in a cynical attempt to play off the pain, loss, fear and anger caused by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
In response, there were a series of mass mobilizations, civil disobedience actions and other protests against the Bush agenda of pre-emptive war and assaults on social programs and civil liberties. Large numbers of veterans and military families participated in some of these demonstrations. Members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War took part in several actions, detailed in the following report. THE WORLD SAYS "NO" TO THE BUSH AGENDA On Sunday, August 29, the day before the RNC began, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Manhattan to say "no" to the Bush agenda of war, greed, hate and lies. For weeks prior to the march, the mayor and the NYPD denied the United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) organizers a march route to and rally site in Central Park, claiming that the presence of an expected 250,000 demonstrators would damage the lawn. After weeks of negotiations it was agreed that the march could pass before Madison Square Garden (site of the RNC) but then must proceed down the west side of Manhattan to a barren stretch of highway for the post-march rally. UFPJ refused to accept this, and the mayor stalled until the last minute, hoping that the uncertainty of the parade route and an accompanying media barrage warning of possible terrorist attack and predicting "anarchist violence" would deter many from participating in the march. Instead, when demonstrators began gathering on 7th Avenue for the march, the crowd grew to 500,000 — twice the number organizers had expected. A contingent of veterans and military families assembled behind the lead banners, and as more and more appeared, it became clear that this was the biggest contingent of veterans to join any of the recent anti-war demonstrations. Many Veterans for Peace and VVAW members wore identifying shirts and hats and displayed banners. Other vets wore VFW, Legion and DAV caps. Many wore their old uniforms and military medals. A group of surviving Lincoln Brigade vets unfurled their colors. A large group of Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) members carried pictures of loved ones serving in war zones. A contingent of Gold Star mothers and fathers marched in grim witness to the losses they had suffered from Bush's folly in Iraq. The newly-formed Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) carried banners and marched wearing desert fatigues and Operation Iraqi Freedom medals. Other recently-returned vets joined the contingent, happy to see comrades speaking out for those still in harm's way. More than a few active-duty servicemen, wearing hats and sunglasses to mask their identities, fell in along the route. The contingent continued to grow to almost 1,000: a veterans' peace battalion on the march. We began to call cadence.
Hey, hey, Uncle Sam
Soon hundreds of others, especially young people, began joining our ranks, drawn by the power of our cadence and in respect for our service. It soon became virtually impossible to maintain the unified contingent, and groups of veterans carrying banners soon became mixed in the swelling number of demonstrators. One group carried 1,000 flag-draped coffins in memory of those who have already died in Iraq, a poignant reminder of the human cost of the war. When we arrived at Madison Square Garden, we stopped and sounded off with cadence against the war and condemning the chickenhawk politicians responsible. Many gave the commander-in-chief the one-finger salute.
After passing the convention site, we marched through the midtown Herald Square shopping district. Many shoppers emerged from stores to shout along with our chants and cadences. Several small groups of counter-demonstrators had gathered there, including some fundamentalist Christians, anti-abortionists, Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry and an assortment of other right-wingers. They verbally attacked the marchers, attempting to provoke them, but failed miserably. At one point they began chanting, "USA, USA!" — but when marchers responded by chanting the same, the counter-demonstrators looked confused and fell silent. The march proceeded down 5th Avenue to 14th Street, where it dispersed. Some of us stayed to watch the contingents behind us coming in. There were numerous labor unions; black, Latin, Asian and Arab-American civil rights groups; senior, community and women's organizations; student and youth coalitions; Jewish and Palestinian groups; and health care, gay rights and civil liberties advocates. What we saw was a broad cross-section of the American people in the streets, united in saying "no" to the Bush agenda. Our message came through loud and clear. VETERANS' REUNION IN CENTRAL PARK After the march, many thousands went to Central Park, determined to assemble there despite the refusal to give us a rally site. The Great Lawn was covered with demonstrators, and the police did not interfere with this peaceful assembly for peace. Steve Noetzel, a longtime VVAW member from San Francisco, organized a "veterans' reunion" at Summit Rock, the highest point in the park. Many longtime activists gathered there, along with IVAW and MFSO members, and a brief, moving ceremony was held. Joe Bangert "passed the torch" to the young Iraq vets who are following a similar path to that pioneered by VVAW thirty-seven years ago. Later that evening, a free concert was held at Joe's Pub (part of the Public Theater), where singer-songwriter Stephan Smith performed and IVAW members Jimmy Massey, Rob Sarra, Mike Hoffman and Alex Ryabov spoke. MFSO cofounders Nancy Lessin and Charlie Richardson also spoke to a packed house in what was a memorable ending to a long and exciting day.
In the days that followed, we participated in several other actions, including a Rally for Veterans Healthcare Reform organized by the New York State council of Vietnam Veterans of America; a Veterans Institute for Security and Democracy forum on "Keeping Our Commitment to America's Veterans"; and the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign's "March For Our Lives." We also took part in the American Friends Service Committee's "Eyes Wide Open" display of combat boots and sandals symbolizing the human cost of the war, which was displayed throughout the week, and nightly "Naming The Dead" ceremonies at a downtown church. VIGIL FOR THE FALLEN On Thursday, October 2, the last day of the RNC, VVAW members along with other veterans, military families and other concerned citizens gathered at Union Square Park, 20 blocks away, to conduct a dawn-to-dusk Vigil for the Fallen with the slogan: "We Remember: He Lied and They Died." The vigil included part of the "Eyes Wide Open" display of combat boots and a 100-foot-long Iraq Memorial Wall bearing the names of all the soldiers killed in Iraq. There were also crosses bearing names and pictures of those from New York and New Jersey who lost their lives in Iraq. The September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows pulled the Stonewalk memorial for civilian casualties of war to the vigil, completing a monthlong journey begun in Boston during the Democratic convention there and down the East Coast to the Republican gathering. Banners representing VVAW, Veterans for Peace, Iraq Vets Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, and a Disabled American Veterans chapter were displayed. Other banners with messages such as "Support the Troops — Bring Them Home Now" and "Support the Troops When They Come Home with Health Care, Jobs, Education & Housing" were displayed.
We began the program with a press conference that was covered by a number of metropolitan-area television and radio stations that continued to report the vigil regularly. Our ranks continued to swell as thousands came throughout the day to view the displays, listen to speakers and join the vigil, many of them veterans wearing organization garrison caps or old uniforms. Rallies were held at 12:00 noon and 5:00 p.m. Recording artists Stephan Smith, David Rovics and Laramie Crocker played guitars and sang topical songs. Mike Hoffman, Rob Sarra, Tim Goodrich, Alex Ryabov, Ivan Medina and other recently-returned Iraq vets spoke along with Sue Niederer, Fernando Suerez del Solar and Jorge Medina, who lost their sons, and Judy Linehan, Gilda Carbonaro, Mildred McHugh and others, who had loved ones stationed in the war zone. Veterans of past wars spoke, including Moe Fishman of the Lincoln Brigade vets; Ann Wright, a former Air Force colonel and U.S. diplomat in Afghanistan, who has become an active opponent of Bush's war; Michael McPhearson, an artillery captain in the '91 Gulf War whose son is in the Army; Stuart Edwards, who fought in Korea when the military was still segregated; Igor Bubrowsky, a Purple Heart Vietnam Marine; and Gene Glazer, a World War II medic.
At the evening program, songwriter and Desert Storm vet Dennis Kyne ("Support the Truth") was scheduled to play, but several sisters from CODEPINK: Women for Peace told us that he had been arrested on the steps of the New York Public Library earlier that day and was being held on $500 bail. Instead of hearing his songs, we took up a collection to get him out. Mike Vrabel, a former Air Force pilot who served in Panama, Bosnia, Somalia and the '91 Gulf War, showed up in his old flight suit and denounced the Bush administration for their misuse of our military. A former Vietnam Marine captain — who came out of the crowd and has a nephew in Iraq — angrily unloaded against the politicians in Washington. Afterwards I asked him, "You've been waiting a long time to say that, haven't you?" He replied, "Over thirty years." VFP vice president Ellen Barfield, who had been arrested two days earlier during a "die-in" civil disobedience protest, was released that afternoon and told about the horrendous conditions that detained demonstrators and bystanders were experiencing at an abandoned pier nicknamed "Guantanamo on the Hudson." Throughout the afternoon, many came forward to read the names of over 1,000 American servicemen and women who have lost their lives. A bell was rung for each of them. Representatives from United for Peace and Justice and September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows spoke. Both programs were ended with a benediction and call to attention while bagpiper Peter Shaw played "Flowers of the Forest," a traditional lament for dead soldiers. At one point, a group of Young Republicans, their courage amplified by alcohol, showed up to argue about the elections and the war. Our security team instructed them on proper respect in the memorial area and, while escorting them out, pointed them in the direction of a nearby military recruiting office. Instead of enlisting, they went to a nearby bar to refortify their liquid courage. Throughout the day, many people came to show their support, to dialogue and express their views, and to stand up and be counted. Reporters mingled with the crowd, interviewing people and sending our message out to both domestic and foreign audiences. Over 5,000 copies of the following statement were distributed to people passing by:
We are here to remember nearly 1,000 U.S. servicemen and women who have died in Iraq.
As darkness fell, we took down the various displays and memorials and headed home, bone-tired but proud that we had carried off such a successful operation. IN CONCLUSION The various actions that VVAW members helped organize and carry out throughout the week were some of the most ambitious and well-organized activities that we have conducted in many years. The participation and volunteer spirit of so many and the inter-organizational cooperation that developed was truly an inspiration. I believe that one day people will look back in remembrance of what happened in New York City during the RNC and realize that it was an important step in turning our country away from the dangerous course that those in power have set us on. And when we look back, we will be proud in the knowledge that "soldiers like us helped it in the turning."
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