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Letter to the Editor

By Tom Charles

I have been a member of VVAW since 1971. I joined right after I returned from Vietnam, and I was still on active duty, stationed at the Pentagon, three floors below ground. I lived in Arlington, VA, and would take the bus home to Lancaster, PA on weekends. There were a lot of anti-war protests in those days, and as a result, there was a lot of tear gas in the air at the bus stop. I ended up going to the Quartermaster at the Pentagon and got a gas mask that I would pack in my overnight bag. The bus driver would not let me on the bus unless I took the mask off.

I was taking part in the Dewey Canyon protest at the mall when the cops came with a bullhorn and announced that we had to disperse in five minutes or be forcibly removed and arrested. I was part of the Pennsylvania contingent, and we voted, I believe, 212 to 0, to stay. Five minutes later, it was the cops who dispersed, much to our disappointment. The cops were wise to leave. They knew we were not going anywhere.

Peace.

—Tom Charles, VVAW member since 1971 and Veterans For Peace member since 2005.