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25th Steering Comm. National VVAW Meeting

By VVAW

The 25th national meeting of VVAW was held in Chicago and came on the heels of "Operation Dewey Canyon IV," and was held in the same sense of spirit and cooperation. The nearly two full days of meeting emphasized the roots of the organization and the pride we have for ourselves. Reuniting friends and co-workers combined with the serious decision-making of the meeting and demonstrated the essential democracy that is part of VVAW.

The meeting was highlighted by a couple of events focusing on Agent Orange. Maude DeVictor, the "Mother of Agent Orange" was presented with the first of VVAW's "Veterans' Service Award" for her continued participation in the struggle to make the VA accountable for what happens to vets and their families concerning Agent Orange. The award came, as the presenter noted, "from deep in the hearts of all vets" in response to what Maude has done for us. And VVAW is proud to have been the first organization to officially recognize what this brave fellow veteran has done for the rest of us.

Other awards, to recognize significant contributions to the cause of vets were given to Ann Bailey of Milwaukee, to Bob Gibson of Australia, and to several members of the VVAW National Office.

Updating the situation with veterans and the Agent Orange class action suite was Keith Kavanaugh of the office of Yannacone and Yannacone in New York. For more information about this situation, get in touch with the Milwaukee Chapter of VVAW.

The structure of the meeting was loose, at best, in order to build a greater sense of the democratic organization which was the sponsor of the meeting. Though a number of chapters could not come to the meeting because of the present economic situation, we tried, as much as possible, to include their views as part of the meeting.

The meeting marked a 15 year milestone for the organization and a continued commitment to maintain ourselves as the first and foremost fighting vets group. All participants though sometimes worn down by the volume of activity, stayed around afterwards to be a part of the family-like activity that is part of a VVAW event. Even diehard opponents of meetings were moved and the renewal of commitment was shared by all.