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Baltimore

By VVAW

"Man, it's been a long time since I saw a VVAW T-shirt!" "This is right on time. This looks like just what vets in this town need." These are the kind of responses VVAW members have getting when they go around to campuses, the VA and unemployment centers in Baltimore with GI Bill petitions, copies of the Veteran and VVAW's July 4th handout. Vets know that, in spite of all the crocodile tears we get from the politicians, the only thing the rich men that run this country have in store for us is hard times and bubble gum. And they're fresh out of bumble gum. Cuts in the GI Bill, no jobs (unless you want to re-up), 3rd rate VA hospitals, cutbacks in disability.

Vets aren't taking all this lying down though. They've been responding to VVAW's call of "Vets Close Ranks." A couple of months ago VVAW in this area was no more than a fond memory. But now there's a chapter in Baltimore and vets in both Washington, DC and Norfolk, Va, who want to build VVAW chapters.

Already this organization is beginning to make itself felt. On June 18th, VVAW held a spirited picket line at the VA in Baltimore. We raised the demands: Extend and Expand the GI Bill, Jobs or Income Now, We Won't Fight Another Rich Man's War and End VA Red Tape.

Now VVAW is trying to use the success of the July 4th action in Philly as a springboard to really get rolling in this area. They better look out down at the VA, because, as one VVAW member in Baltimore said, "once we get it together, we'll be back and even stronger next time."