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Why I Joined VVAW

By Rich Peters

I recently attended the first VVAW meeting I've been to in over thirty years. I was asked if I would write a letter explaining why. That got me to thinking about what made me look at VVAW in the first place. Stop me if you've heard this story.

In early 1965 I was a college dropout working a low-skill factory job. In those days, before the lottery system, that made me a sure candidate to be drafted as cannon fodder into the escalating chaos of Vietnam. I knew next to nothing about Vietnam but didn't see any upside to me going. With visions of a successful career in the promising field of nuclear power in my head, I dodged the draft and Vietnam by enlisting into the Navy nuclear power training program. A couple of years later I was serving as a reactor operator aboard a fleet ballistic submarine patrolling the North Atlantic.

Polaris submarines spent about eight months a year on patrol. The other four were spent doing extensive upkeep and sea trials. To lessen stress each boat has two crews, a Blue crew and a Gold crew. Every three months, while the Gold crew took the boat on patrol, we'd return to the States. Each time the news from Vietnam would be worse. Most of the world challenged the U.S. position and in the States popular opinion was changing from support of the war to opposition. Moreover those that I identified with the strongest and held in highest esteem were the most vocal opponents of the war. That led to questions about those who were running my country, bringing us Vietnam, and telling us when to launch our missiles. Then I would follow the Blue crew back to sea to make ready to join in World War Three.

A Polaris submarine is a truly awesome weapon delivery system. They make their own water, clean their air and can stay at sea almost indefinitely. A single submarine has a complement of 16 missiles. Each missile has three nuclear warheads designed to fall in a triangular pattern on a single target. Sixteen missiles for 16 cities. The Tridents which came later had 24 missiles each capable of delivering five nuclear devices on separate targets. Twenty-four missiles for 120 cities. To keep us on top of our game we'd practice "Battle Stations Missile" about once a week followed by "this is a drill." Our unofficial motto became "We Shall Overkill." Overkill is the ability to kill every man, woman and child of the enemy more than once. Back then we had an overkill of five.

There is not a hell of a lot to do on a submarine after your watch but to eat, sleep and kill time. Ironically the most peaceful place on the boat is in the missile compartment. There are lots of unused places between the missile tubes that have reading desks and exercise equipment. I'd spend a lot of my off time there. Amazingly you can block out thoughts about what is inside those missile tubes; you can also let it drive you crazy.

During my last patrol I started thinking about my moral responsibility should "Battle Stations Missile" not be followed by "this is a drill." It would have been difficult for one man to even delay a missile attack, much less stop it. The best thing that I could do is refuse to participate. The day we came in from my fifth patrol I handed my division officer a letter detailing my moral objections to what we were doing and asking for a transfer to another assignment. Yeah, like that was going to do me some good. The day before we were supposed to fly out and relieve the Gold crew, I was told that my request was denied.

Fortunately there were people who went out of their way to help me to deal with the authorities when I missed the flight back to Scotland and patrol number six. The Navy did go out of its way to assure the rest of my stay was no cakewalk, but thanks to an ex-Air Force lawyer, I got away with just a light kick in the butt. So I came out of the Navy with a debt of gratitude and a bit of an attitude. When I met some VVAW people, that became a logical vehicle for dissent.

I was active for a couple of years but after Nixon got re-elected I dropped out. I followed John Prine's advice and "Moved to the Country" in rural Minnesota. Thirty years later and I'm back living about 50 feet from where I was born. This country is still being run by shortsighted, arrogant (insert expletive of choice) who care more for the next quarter profit/loss statement than the people of the world or the planet we live on. I have spent the last thirty years doing next to nothing about it.

So why go back to VVAW? Well these are, for the most part, the same people who have actively opposed U.S. imperialistic policy through all this time. Surely they have felt the same frustrations when another Clint Eastwood wannabe president tries to teach those bad guys a lesson and sends our sons and daughters off to war. They have not given up. The people of VVAW and other groups dedicated to peace and justice have at least put some stumbling blocks in mankind's path to self-destruction. How much further on that path would we be without their efforts? Truly these are the "Winter Soldiers." I am grateful for their efforts. I am honored to be welcomed back.