 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Memories of Dave ClineBy VVAWThe following are excerpts from the Dave Cline Guestbook on the VVAW website at www.vvaw.org/daveclineguestbook
Joseph Miller
I first came to know Dave when I was elected to a National Office position back in 1991. Prior to that, my first Dave Cline "experience" was to witness a powerful speech he gave at Kent State in 1990 during the 20th anniversary commemoration of the murders of students there and at Jackson State. From then on, I could always count on Dave to cut through the crap with his speeches. We served together as National Coordinators of VVAW in recent years, and his clarity and commitment will be missed. To lose two great comrades in the space of a week and a half is a body blow to VVAW. But, as always, we will keep on keepin' on! Bill and Dave would expect nothing less. Billy X. Curmano We've lost another inspirational point man. Words cannot express the admiration I've had for Dave Cline and his long and continuous struggle for peace and justice. I already miss his strong spirit, dedication, cadences, humor and guitar. In my heart, I am comforted in the possibility that there is justice somewhere in this crazy universe. I believe our comrade and brother, Dave, has found peace, tranquility and maybe even some sort of final reward for the sacrifices he's made. By the same token, may the greedy bastards that perpetrate every form of injustice he fought against get their just desserts. George McAnanama I met Dave in 1973 and have considered him a brother veteran, a union brother, a mentor and sage analytical humane human. When I met David I still had my head in my duffle bag and he taught me in a very brief period of time what it meant to be a Winter Soldier. He led by example, though we had issues from time to time. He was and still is my brother. We marched together many times over the last 30 plus years and I always followed his lead and advice. I found him to be one of the most inspiring people I ever met. I throughly enjoyed calling cadence with him and then for him, much of which he personally wrote. "Hey, Hey Uncle Sam, We remember Vietnam." As many know, I had a love hate relationship with the NYC Veterans Day Parade itself and the United War Veterans committee that runs, it but Dave kept pushing me into the breach saying we had to be there because our message was unique. "Bring Them Home NOW!!! And Treat Them Right When They Get Home." ...Tryanny like hell is not easily conquered... Soldier On DC!
Dave Kettenhofen
I first met Dave personally over lunch at a Kent State demo in 1990. He had just given one of the most powerful speeches I had ever heard and it brought the house down. He instantly became a hero to me in the veterans anti-war movement. Dave's relentless drive for righteousness should be emulated by us all. I feel privileged and honored to have served with him. S. Brian Willson Dave Cline, along with Clarence Fitch who preceded Dave into the next world, are two of the most profound anti-war grunts I ever met who, in addition, possessed an astute structural understanding of how capitalist war-making society functions, decade after decade. Knowing them from the 1980s, each was always present nearly everywhere, so authentic and unpretentious, in their passionate journeys and struggles toward peace and their absolute disgust of war and the political/economic structures that profit from sending off men and women to kill and die for a lie. Each of these beautiful souls was very instrumental in validating my own shaky recovery from being a typically conditioned, obedient White Male, a journey that first started in a flash moment while witnessing the after effects of an inhabited village that had just been vaporized by napalm in Vinh Long Province in April 1969. Presente! Presente! Presente! Your examples will shine forever! Thank you, thank you, so much for your example of walkin' the talk of truth and empowerment. Lisandro (Andy) Rivera Goodby Compañero, I'll never forget the day we met in Vieques, Puerto Rico. You came with this bunch of great people: Gene Glazer, Gideon Rosenblum, and Vazquez among others. Your solidarity and constant help and advice will not be forgotten. How can I forget the help you gave to Rolando, one of the victims of the more than 40 years of bombing in Vieques? You took him to the best Doctors in NYC. How can we forget all the meetings where you presented the struggle of the Puerto Ricans against the abusive presence of the US Navy in Vieques? Your voice served as a loudspeaker of our struggle. But the longer I knew you the more you impressed me, your anti-imperialistic positions and the way you presented them, your defense of the veterans, and your devoted search for peace made you an example for all of us. You are a true soldier for peace, and the USA and the world lost a great man and citizen. You'll live in the struggle. Peace Bro. Un abrazo Jan Barry Crumb
I can still hear Dave's voice: Michael Gillen I first met Dave Cline 25 years ago, at a demonstration against Nicaraguan policy in Washington, DC. That's when I also met Clarence Fitch and others, and first connected--a Johnny-Come-Lately, with the VVAW. Soon after, I started going into schools with Dave and other VVAW members in Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York and elsewhere doing counter-recruitment. The most memorable conversation with Dave was one year when the two of us drove up to Albany, New York to speak on a veterans panel. During that drive was when I first learned of Dave's combat experience in Vietnam. On another, sad occasion, after the funeral ceremony for Brother Clarence Fitch, we stood before the open grave and reflected on the life of Clarence and his own contributions to the cause. I know Dave and Clarence, from the same area and active in the same VVAW chapter, were pretty close. For me, Dave has become, like veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade who never wavered, never backed down, never stopped fighting for peace and justice in their later years, a model for many of us. Another good one has passed on, but not before making a difference and inspiring others to carry on. John Zutz I met Dave in Vietnam - in 1988. We were part of the second "friendship tour" sponsored by VVAW. As we landed in Hanoi our plane windows overlooked the bomb craters. My heart was pounding and I wondered what I'd gotten myself into this time. We were staying at the Foreign Ministry guest house and I was afraid to say anything, worried about listening devices. Dave knew how to overcome. He gathered us in his room and discussed what we were trying to accomplish in Vietnam. He concluded the meeting by singing "Ho Chi Minh was a deep sea sailor." I think he knew seven verses, and he repeated the refrain over and over, "Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh." Bob Gronko I met Dave Cline at a VVAW meeting a few years ago. I was new and quiet and Dave later encouraged me to speak up and get more involved. Well I've been doing more of both ever since and will always remember that when a little more courage is needed.
Thank you Dave.
|
