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From the National Office

By Joe Miller

Comrades and friends! With this Spring/Summer issue of 1999, we'd like to report on the continued good response to VVAW mailings over the past months. New and renewed memberships keep rolling in, and financial contributions of modest size are often included. We express our deep appreciation to all of you for such support, and for your continuing work in peace and social justice areas.

This issue reflects the wide range of activities that VVAW has been involved in since last fall. You will find reports of Memorial Day activities that highlight our continued work with veterans' issues such as homelessness, service-connected injuries (Agent Orange, Gulf War Syndrome, PTSD, etc.), pensions for spouses, and broader peace and social justice issues.

Historical pieces on the Vietnam war era and recollections of service in wartime and in protest may also be found here. Poetry and film or book reviews have become regular features of the paper. We present a review of the very important film about Clarence Fitch, a VVAW brother who passed away in 1990, "Another Brother."

You will also find materials that reflect the debate and discussion within VVAW over the Balkan conflict. Please note that these articles/speeches were written at the height of NATO actions and reflect events in that time period. The National Office, recognizing that our organization was divided on the issue, decided early on not to take a national position. Our consistent efforts to attain consensus on major issues of this sort would not allow us to do anything else. This was reflected both in our Midwest regional meeting and in Memorial Day events in Chicago. As one Chicago member put it, this is a testament to VVAW's strength and courage.

Many of us in the Midwest participated in a "Counter-recruitment Fair" for high school students in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois following the regional meeting. This prompted a deep discussion within the National Office about how we might be more effective in this work and make VVAW even more visible on a range of issues.

We are putting forth this challenge to all of you who receive this paper:

1. Make your voice and/or your chapter's voice heard on the issue of widows' pensions;
2. Take one day off from work to speak to at least one high school or college class each year about Vietnam and VVAW's continuing work (if you need help, contact the National Office);
3. Finally, tell the National Office about your efforts; write an article for The Veteran.

If everyone who receives this issue of the paper does these things, people will have to recognize the continued relevance and importance of VVAW. We will be more successful in fighting those right-wing efforts to shove us into the "dustbin of history."

Finally, the next meeting of the National Steering Committee in Chicago should provide us with upbeat reports on what our active chapters and members have been doing. In recent years we have seen a new vitality in the work of VVAW, and we must build on this. Get out there and do something! Also, we continue to need funds to carry out the work of VVAW. If you can spare a few dollars, please send it to the National Office post office box. Remember, donations are tax-deductible.

Joe Miller is a national coordinator of VVAW and a member of
VVAW's Champaign-Urbana Chapter.