VAN DALE TODD - Obituary

By VVAW

From "The 1st Casualty" - Volume 2, number 1 (July 1972)

Van Dale Todd

Vietnam Veteran

1948-1972

The first "official" American to die in Vietnam was James T. Davis, sp/4, third radio research unit, 1961, 25 years old.

One of the last "unofficial" American deaths caused by America's involvement in Vietnam is Van Dale Todd.

On Wednesday, May 24, 1972, Van Dale Todd died. He was a very active member of the San Francisco VVAW chapter and one of the 16 people who occupied an Air Force Recruiting Station in San Francisco. Van was a former member of the 101st Airborne (Recon) and served in Vietnam from 1968-1970.

Van, along with all the other brothers and sisters in VVAW, wanted and worked unceasingly for peace and an end to "man's inhumanity toward his fellow man." A world in which all men and women would enjoy freedom, justice, dignity, and the right to live, to learn, and to love. The right to be human.

His pleadings, protests and demonstrations consistently fell on the deafened ears and blinded eyes of the government that sent him to war.

His frustrations mounted, and finally he couldn't take the nightmares and the pain of this war anymore. In this state of extreme frustration he reached for the thing he perceived to be the answer: the "chemical cocoon" that this barbaric government provided him with.

Just prior to Van dropping these pills he talked about the way his outfit treated the Vietnamese women and children; he is another casualty of this genocide.

When the VA was contacted for help we were told that his death was not directly service-connected so the VA were not liable and would not help us.

Van was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery on May 27, 1972. VVAW made all of the funeral arrangements. He was buried in his fatigues and VVAW button.

We will miss our brother, but he would not want us to mourn him.

We will not mourn this brother's death. WE WILL intensify the struggle to stop the war at home and abroad, remembering our brother's great love for peace and the many examples he set for us in California.

Van is one more victim of this government and should be counted among the millions who have been maimed and murdered. The best way to honor the memory of our brothers is to continue to work for peace and justice.