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My View - On the 40th Anniversary

By John Zutz

VVAW celebrated a bit recently. 40 years ago a handful of veterans joined a peace rally and Vietnam Veterans Against the War was conceived.

Forty is one of those birthdays when people examine themselves. VVAW did the same thing. We remembered the ups and downs, the booms and the busts, the prides and the shames of those years. On balance there was more pride than shame.

We also looked to the future. The IVAW members who attended seemed prepared to take the point. They'll have their own interests and they'll develop their own strategies, but they'll probably need guidance and support. We need to take their back.

There was some seemingly good-natured friction between the generations. There was a disrespectful age reference during the opening speech.

During lunch the IVAW members formed a rough circle in the assembly area and ate off their laps. When invited to move to the open spots at the tables they replied that they were "saving those spots for the old folks." It made me start looking around for my cane.

But it's true. Forty is half a lifetime. We're getting older. Our time here is dwindling.

We were rudely reminded of that fact in a brief time following the 40th. Two outstanding leaders of VVAW passed away. Both Bill Davis and Dave Cline will be missed. Bill relied more on humor, Dave could remember minute details of things that happened years ago. They both had the insight to state a problem in simple terms, and refused to settle for less than a reasonable solution.

When I worked in the hospital the nurses would tell us that bad news comes in threes.