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VVAW Sparks Struggle At Minnesota Vets Conf.

By VVAW

On October 25, in Mankato, Minnesota, members of the Minneapolis/St Paul chapter of VVAW attended the yearly meeting of the Minnesota Association of Collegiate Veterans (MACV). From beginning to end, the meeting was organized to steer veterans, angered by the abuse they receive while collecting the GI Bill into dead-end channels.

The meeting opened with the commander of the Mankato American Legion post telling vets to join the ranks of the Legion, "the most powerful veterans' organization around." What he didn't say is that the Legion is the "most powerful" because it is backed up by the class that rules the country--the rich. What he didn't say is that the Legion, through its national leadership, spoke out publicly for a cut-off date in benefits to Vietnam-era vets, for the move to limit eligibility from 10 to 8 years, and for taking away school benefits from soldiers now in service.

While allowing the commander time to tell his lies, even MACV state officers had to point out that the American Legion had done a poor job in representing Vietnam-era veterans. A VVAW member went further and pointed out that the Legion has not represented vets of any era, that it was organized by Theodore Roosevelt and top military brass to build support for imperialist ventures of the rich, like Vietnam, not to fight for the demands of vets for just treatment.

It was a representative from the National Association of Concerned Veterans (NAVC) however, that raised the blood pressure of most of the vets to the boiling point. Weaving the veterans bill that recently past Congress, he laid the blame on veterans mocking vets for complaining but not actively lobbying Congress, writing letters to their "representatives," and drumming up support for smooth-talking politicians, he attempted to cover over who is really to blame for the abuses that vets suffer and what vets can do to fight back.

In a speech delivered earlier in the meeting, a VVAW member had exposed the real nature of what was coming down. "There abuses are not just happenstance--just the 'way it is.' They are the result of the crisis this system is in--the attempt of the rich in this country to make vets, workers and others, who had nothing to do with creating that crisis, carry it on their backs." In recounting the takeover of the Statue of Liberty by 15 vets last June, the participation of hundreds of veterans in the Rich Off Our Backs Coalition in Philadelphia on July 4th, the nationwide campaign to extend and expand the GI Bill, and the struggle of Ashby Leach to get just treatment by the VA and the Chessie railroad system, VVAW pointed out that veterans have begun to fight back.

Thus, all the crap that the NACV representative was giving out was exposed from the beginning. As the NACV representative continued his attack on veterans, many throughout the room began turning the tables around. One vet from a vocational school in Canby, told of his two-day wait in the VA offices in St Paul to find out what had happened to his checks. Only after tearing up the waiting room was he successful in getting some attention to his case. Other vets in the meeting followed suit with stories of how they, their friends and classmates had suffered late checks, cutoffs, restrictions and the many other ways that politicians and the VA have found to force vets out of school.

As voices grew louder and louder, the president of MACV did his damndest to cut off the discussion. More concerned about maintaining order and passing meaningless resolutions, he was finally successful in stifling the discussion. But not before many vets had begun to see that the whole meeting was organized to cover up the abuses vets are facing, not expose them and concretely decide what could be done to fight back. After the meeting, vets from three vets clubs approached VVAW for more information on its activities.

As the crisis gets worse and as the rich in this country step up their attempts to force vets, workers, students, and others to carry the load, more and more of us will be fighting back. To deflect our blows, organizations like MACV and its big brother, NACV will set up to tie us up in passing meaningless resolutions, listening to politicians and other lackeys of the rich, and generally doing everything possible to keep us from organizing ourselves and fighting the source of our oppression.