1,000 + historians have signed a petition protesting US government plan to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War
2000 M Street NW, Suite 720Washington, DC 20036
Lt. Gen. Claude M. "Mick" Kicklighter
Vietnam 50th Anniversary Commemoration Program
1101 Wilson Blvd. Ste. 810
Arlington, Va. 22209
Dear Gen. Kicklighter,
We write on behalf of many veterans of the American peace movement during the Vietnam era with a deep concern that taxpayer funds and government resources are being expended on a one-sided, three-year, $30 million educational program on the "lessons of Vietnam" to be implemented in our nation's schools, universities and public settings.
We believe this official program should include viewpoints, speakers and educational materials that represent a full and fair reflection of the issues which divided our country during the war in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
We support the announced purpose of honoring our veterans for their idealism, valor and sacrifices, assuming that the full diversity of veterans' views is included. As you know, anti-war sentiment was widely prevalent among our armed forces both during and after service, and was certainly a factor in bringing the war to a close.
Our current Secretary of State, John Kerry, was an important example of GI anti-war commitment. He served with distinction, was wounded in battle, eloquently testified in Congress and joined with Vietnam Veterans Against the War to return ribbons and medals in protest at the Capitol.
No commemoration of the war in Vietnam can exclude the many thousands of veterans who opposed it, as well as the draft refusals of many thousands of young Americans, some at the cost of imprisonment or of exile until amnesty was granted. Nor can we forget the millions who exercised their rights as American citizens by marching, praying, organizing moratoriums, writing letters to Congress, as well as those who were tried by our government for civil disobedience or who died in protests. And very importantly, we cannot forget the millions of victims of the war, both military and civilian, who died in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, nor those who perished or were hurt in its aftermath by land mines, unexploded ordnance, Agent Orange and refugee flight.
These are serious official historical omissions which cause a flawed understanding of lessons we need to absorb as a country
Your official commemoration should be an opportunity to hear, recognize and perhaps reconcile or heal the lasting wounds of that era. If the US government cannot provide a bridge for crossing that Vietnam divide, how can we urge reconciliation in other parts of the world where sectarian tensions are on the rise? We believe, as did such a huge proportion of the US population decades ago, that the Vietnam war was a mistake. No commemoration of the war can ignore that view. How else can we as a nation hope to learn the lessons of Vietnam, to avoid repeating that mistake over and over again?
The commemoration can also provide a model for international reconciliation by respecting the growing ties between the US and Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Whether current reality is seen as a hopeful illustration of moving beyond old conflicts or as evidence the war was unnecessary, the commemoration should not reopen wounds with new friends in Indochina by conveying a one-sided view of our shared history.
Please consider that our government is restricted by laws and precedents from subsidizing "viewpoint discrimination", in the phrase of respected constitutional scholar Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine law school. Dean Chemerinsky cites the US Supreme Court decision, Rosenberger v. The University of Virginia [1995] where the Court found that students at a state-supported institution could not be denied the same benefits that other student groups received simply because of the nature of their views. Other laws and regulations going back to the 1950s forbid the government from using appropriated funds for self-aggrandizing propaganda or "puffery." In 1987, the US Government Accounting Office [GAO] investigated and chastised the State Department for funding propaganda pieces on Central America to influence public opinion in the United States.
As we observe the fiftieth anniversary of the war and the concurrent anti-war movement, we would like you to consider the following:
[1] an immediate meeting to explore the differences and similarities of our perspectives;
[2] a voice for peace advocates in reviewing and preparing educational materials;
[3] a mechanism for attempting to resolve factual disputes as to the war's history;
[4] invitations to peace advocates, as appropriate, to public conferences and dialogues sponsored by your agency;
[5] an exploration of your possible presence at the fiftieth anniversaries of the teach-ins and first march against the Vietnam War next spring.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Caroline Abbott
John Adamo
Carol Adams
David Addlestone
JudyGumbo Albert
James Alcock
Mark Allen
Mark Allen
Rika Alper
Robert Alpern
Elizabeth Alpert
Amy Alpert
Donna Alvah
Kathie Amatniek
Ann Ambia
Bonnie Anderson
GailWitte Anderson
Dave Anderson
Joan Andersson
Robert Anderson
Joel Andreas
David Applebaum
GeorgeC Archibeque
Christian Appy
Ninon Aprea
Ira Arlook
Kevin Armitage
Kenneth Ashe
Robert Atkins
Ti-Grace Atkinson
Helene Atwan
Paul Atwood
Rene Auberjonois
Bella August
Norman Aulabaugh
Steve Ault
Andy Ayers
William Ayers
Theodore Bagg
Gisela Bahr
Jeanne Baker
Kit Bakke
Jim Baldridge
Frank Bardacke
Elizabeth Barger
Alan Barnes
K. Barnett
MaryAnne Barnett
Jan Barry
John Bartley
JaneGriffith Barton
Thomas Bass
Wayne Bauer
Dale Baum
Rosalyn Baxandall
Thomas Baxter
Paul Beach
Margarette Beckwith
Madeline Belkin
Hope Benne
Asia Bennett
Lee Bennett
Scott Bennett
Phyllis Bennis
Sally Benson
Jeffrey Berchenko
Dennis Berg
Iris Berger
Richard Berliner
AndrewScott Berman
Jeff Bernstein
Anne Bernstein
Joe Berry
Robert Beverly
George Bieger
Ecrin Bilge
Stephen Bingham
TaylorF Binkley
Bruce Birchard
Robert Birchard
Herbert Bix
Jeffrey Blum
CarolynP Blum
Roy Boehm
Anne Boggan
Martin Boksenbaum
Joe Bonavita
Julian Bond
Gerald Bone
Carl Boone
Heather Booth
Paul Booth
James Borchert
Robert Borosage
Lady Borton
Kevin Bowen
Corey Brabon
Mark Bradley
Bob Brammer
Taylor Branch
Jan Brassil
JohnW Braxton
David Bremenstuhl
Howard Brick
Kaye Briegel
Robert Brigham
Ernest Brill
Keith Brinton
Beth Brockman
Frank Brodhead
Barry Brodsky
Carl Broege
Toney Brooks
Keith Brooks
Joshua Brown
Clyde Brown
Kenneth Brown
Sam Brown
Sharon Brown
Derek Buckaloo
Deborah Buffton
Robert Bughman
Robert Bughman
DavidH Bullard
Doug Bullock
John Burke
Lynn Burklow
Diane Bush
Kristin Cabral
Leslie Cagan
Steve Cagan
Scott Camil
MaryBaine Campbell
StanleyE Campbell
Ross Canton
Ken Carpenter
Bill Carpenter
MaryAnn Caton
Joe Cattolico
John Cavanagh
Courtney Cazden
Pat Cervelli
William Chafe
Helen Chauncey
Ana Chavez
Bob Chenoweth
Ben Chitty
Hilary Chiz
David Christman
Zeljko Cipris
Clay Claiborne
Thomas Clash
Charlie Clements
Dick Cluster
Kenton Clymer
Leon Clymore
Judith Coburn
Mardge Cohen
Robert Cohen
RobertDavid Cohen
Albert Cohen
Steve Cohen
Marjorie Cohn
Frank Colella
Linda Collery
Martha Collins
LloydStuart Colson, III
Jim Conn
MaryJo Connelly
AndrewFoster Connors
JV Connors
Tom Conrad
Rusty Conroy
Thomas Conroy
Charlie Cooper
Jack Cook
Ana Coria
Tom Cornell
EstherT Cornell
Tom Cornell
David Cortright
Bill Costley
Paul Couming
Andrew Courtney
Rachel Cowan
John Cox
Richard Crepeau
James Cromwell
John Cupples
Catherine Cusic
Daniel Czitrom
Donald Daiker
Victoria Daiker
Edward Damato
Stephen Dana
Bruce Dancis
Judy Danielson
Thad Danielson
Donald Danyko
Carl Davidson
Lawrence Davidson
Rebecca Davis
Rennie Davis
Joyce Davis
Charles Davis
JudyC DeBaca
Judth DeGroat
Julian DelGaudio
Winter Dellenbach
Anthony DelPlato
Lance DelPlato
Karen DeLue
Michael Dennis
Steven Deutsch
Rodney Dickson
David Dittemore
Linda Dittmar
Phyllis Dolgin
Shawn Donovan
DoloresA Donovan
Dan Dorfman
Arthur Dorland
John Dowling
Stuart Dowty
William Draper
Mara Drogan
Rebecca Drysdale
Thomas Dublin
Mary Dudziak
Mary Duerksen
Julianne Dumas
Kurt Dunbar
Geoffrey Dunbar
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
George Dutton
Janis Dutton
Arthur Eckstein
Tom Edminster
Corrine Egan
John Ehrenreich
Joanne Ehrhardt
Carolyn Eisenberg
Art Eisenson
David Elder
Geoff Eley
June Ellen Pulcini
John Ellig
DavidE Ellington
Heather Ellis
Daniel Ellsberg
Marilyn Elzey
Richard Erlich
GilS Espinosa
RaymondLee Eurquhart
Marilee Eusebio
James Eusebio
Kathleen Evans
Stuart Ewen
Steve Ewoldt
Benjamin Faber
Richard Falk
Dorothy Fall
Jim Fallon
Jim Fallon
Mike Farrell
Lawrence Faulkner
Gordon Fellman
Michael Felsen
David Fergusson
Richard Fernandez
Emily Fernbaugh
Connie Field
Anita Fiessi
Barbara Filner
David Finke
Wendy Fisher
Dena Fisher
Allan Fisher
John Fitzgerald
Ed Flaherty
Art Fleischner
Elisha Fleming
Cheri Fleming
Bill Fletcher
Jeffrey Fogel
Jerise Fogel
June Foran
Geraldine Forbes
Reese Forbes
Mark Foreman
Robert Forrant
Ernest Foss III
Diane Fox
Douglas Foy
Joseph Frankl
H.Bruce Franklin
Jane Franklin
Ellen Franzen
Anita Frijhoff
Patricia Froelich
John Froines
Ann Froines
Rich Fuller
John Funiciello
Stephanie Funiciello
Eric Gable
Nicholas Galinski
Janet Gallagher
Ruth Gallo
William Gamson
Zerlda Gamson
Jerry Garcia
Geoffrey Gardner
Sheridan Gardner
Tom Gardner
Reebee Garofalo
Helen Garvy
Greg Gaut
Don Gayton
Maggie Geddes
Geoff Geiger
Christine George
David Gerber
Deborah Gerson
Joseph Gerson
David Gerwin
Paul Giannone
Jim Giatdina
Christoph Giebel
Kathleen Gilberd
Daniel Gilman
Lawrence Gilpatric
Carter Giorgi
Greg Giorgio
Todd Gitlin
Diana Glasgow
Ted Gleichman
Pete Gleichman
Harriet Glickman
ShernaB Gluck
Fred Goda
Louis Godena
Petra Goedde
Beryl Goldberg
Bruce Goldberg
Jackie Goldberg
Janet Golden
Steven Goldfield
Warren Goldstein
William Goodfellow
Andrew Gordon
AnnD Gordon
Linda Gordon
Stephen Gosch
Van Gosse
Patricia Goudvis
Donna Gould
Thomas Grace
David Gradwohl
Ivan Greenberg
Robert Greene
LesterMuata Greene
RonaldJ. Grele
RonaldJ Grele
Ellen Griffin
EricaRapport Gringle
Richard Grossman
Atina Grossmann
Mary Groves
Dorien Grunbaum
Tom Grunfeld
Kay Guinane
Peter Gunther
Alan Haber
Marilyn Hacker
Tom Hall
Morton Halperin
Victoria Hamlin
Susan Hammond
Jennifer Handley
John Hanrahan
Peno Hardesty
Roger Harris
Benjamin Harrison
Martin Hart-Landsberg
Tom Hayden
Thomas Heck
Laura Hein
Larry Heinemann
Marjorie Heins
Jerry Henderson
Dud Hendrick
Mundy Hendrickson
Beverly Henkel
Jim Henle
Tom Herbert
Julie Herrada
George Herring
Susannah Heschel
John Hess
John Heuer
Craig Hexham
Shawn Hicks
Daniel Higgins
Anne Hill
Donald Hindley
Alex Hing
Agatha Hinman
Clarissa Hinman
Priscilla Hinman
Tony Hintze
Felicia Hirata
Steven Hirsch
Doan Hoang
Adam Hochschild
Joan Hoff
Connie Hogarth
Charles Holmes
James Hornbeck
Dan Hosse
Doug Hostetter
David Hunt
Richard Immerman
Jean Inglis
Maurice Isserman
Geoffrey Ithen
Daniel Jackson
Cecelia Jackson
Miriam Jackson
Harold Jacobs
Walter James McIntosh
Christopher Jencks
Rebecca Jennison
Lawrence Johnson
Michael Johnson
T Johnson
Thomas Johnston
PatriciaA Johnston
GeorgeL Johnston
Diane Jones
Patrick Jones
Suel Jones
Margot Jones
Larry Jones
Frank Jordan
Steen Jorgensen
Frank Joyce
Jay Jurie
Torsten Kaiser
Terry Kalb
MaryQuinn Kambic
Fred Kaplan
Amy Kaplan
Ellen Kaplan-Maxfield
Gabriella Karsch
Michael Kazin
Kevin Kelly
Brian Kelly
Sanford Kelson
Myrna Kelt
MaryDay Kent
BenedictTria Kerkvliet
Jeffrey Kerr-Ritchie
Amy Kesselman
Alice Kessler-Harris
John Ketwig
Sallie Killian
Jeffrey Kimball
Jane Kirk
Eugene Kirkham
Paul Kittlaus
Karl Klapper
Andy Klatt
Matt Klein
Gretchen Klotz
Jon Knowles
Cynthia Koch
Ted Kogon
Ellen Kolba
Lawrence Korb
Dennis Kortheuer
Steve Kramer
Claudia Krich
Airy Krich-Brinton
Kitty Krupat
Heidi Kuglin
John Kulczycki
Jim Kurtz
Carol Kurtz
Demie Kurz
Peter Kuttner
Jeremy Kuzmarov
Barbara LaBelle
Scott Laderman
David Lamb
Jodi Lamhut
Joanne Landy
Elaine Langley
Susan Lathrop
Darrell Laurant
Daniel Lavery
Bob Lawson
Shari Lawson
Linda Laz
Mia Le
Dawn Le
Jackson Lears
KarenParker Lears
Rachel Lears
Adin Lears
MichaelR Leaveck
Judith LeBlanc
GL LeBlanc
PamelaTau Lee
Louise Legun
Roger Leisner
Jesse Lemisch
Barbara Leon
Robert Lerner
Mary Letterii
Nina Levine
Fred Levy
Penny Lewis
Jack Lieberman
Elliot Linzer
Julia Liss
Martha Livingston
Roget Lockard
Michael Locker
John Lodge
JamesW Loewen
Dave Logsdon
Rochelle Lokting
Leslie Lomas
Martha London
James Long
NgoVinh Long
Jacqueline Loomis
Linda Lotz
RupertCharles Loucks
Stephen Louie
Jeannette Love
Susan Lovell
Rosa Lucas
Don Luce
Rebecca Luening
Meizhu Lui
C. Douglas Lummis
Staughton Lynd
David M. Fahey
Eileen MacDougall
Arthur MacEwan
Robert Macieski
Don MacLeod
Christy Macy
Doug Magee
Peter Mahoney
Joseph Maizlish
Marion Malcolm
Jack Malinowski
Harriet Maneval
Kay Mann
Fred Marchant
MichaelL Marchino
Maria Margetis
Norman Markowitz
David Marr
JohnDouglas Marshall
Nancy Marshall
Dan Martin
Earl Martin
Jane Martin
Sante Matteo
Glenna Matthews
Michael Mauer
ElaineTyler May
Kenneth Mayers
John Maynard
John McAuliff
Chris McCabe
Gordon McClelland
Dennis McDougal
Susan McGarvey
Ray McGovern
Dermot McGrath
Stephen McKiernan
Rachel McMahan
Ronald McMahan
Marilyn McNabb
David McReynolds
Teresa Meade
Jonathan Meade
Ronald Mendel
Everett Mendelsohn
Laurie Mercier
Harry Meserver
Matt Meyer
JanieNelson Meyer
Steve Meyer
George Miische
James Miller
Carol Miller
Joseph Miller
Tom Miller
Wilbur Miller
Larry Miller
Timothy Milligan
Daniel Millstone
Bill Mims
Richard Minear
Steve Mirkin
David Mitchell
EllenSchneider Mitchell
Marcia Moonan
Regina Morantz-Sanchez
V.Tupper Morehead
Joel Morris
Sidney Moss
Sekou Mtayari
Tara Mullaney
Bobby Muller
Alan Myerson
Laura Myerson
Michael Myerson
Susan Naeye
Holly Near
Colin Neiburger
Lois Nelson
Lam Nguyen
Chung Nguyen
Thoa Nguyen
TranTuong Nhu
Jack Nicholl
Steve Nichols
Vince Nobile
Stephen Noetzel
Mary Nolan
IrwinH Noparstak
Don North
Carlie Numi
Karen Nussbaum
David O'Brien
John O'Brien
James O'Brien
Joanne O'Brien
Enrique Ochoa
Fancesca Ochoa
CharlesW O'Dowd
Arnold Offner
Diana Oleskevich
Joseph Onello
David Oppenheimer
Linda Orell
Gloria Osborne
Carolyn P Blum
Chuck Palazzo
Luce Palazzolo
Thea Paneth
Stephen Parry
Lewis Patrie
Thomas Pauly
Roger Peace
Rosemarie Pease
Bruce Pech
Peter Pedroni
AlbertJ Penta
Anne Peretz
Ron Perez
Rick Perlstein
Deryle Perryman
Dan Petegorsky
LyndaJackson Petito
Fred Pfeiffer
William Phillips
JonathanD Phillips
PeterNguyenThe Phuong
Robert Pike
Charles Pinderhughes
Ellen Pinzur
Mark Pittenger
LettyCottin Pogrebin
ML Polak
Harry Pontiff
James Gray Pope
Charles Powell
Margaret Power
Melinda Power
John Prados
Jim Price
Patrick Prein
Mary Prophet
Terry Provance
Michael Prucker
Louis Pumphrey
Maurine Pyle
Mary Quijano
Sophie Quinn-Judge
John Quist
Christine Rack
Jack Radey
Bill Ramsey
Anita Rapone
Marcus Raskin
Merle Ratner
Susan Ray
Linda Ray
Michael Reagan
Bob Redig
Kathy Redig
Ted Reed
Collin Rees
Mark Reeve
Danis Regal
Dick Reilly
Joan Reilly
Ward Reilly
Rick Reinhard
Larry Remer
David Rensberger
Susan Reverby
Ruth Reynolds
Brewster Rhoads
Cheryl Rhoden
Lucille Riccitelli
Thomas Richards
RosalieG Riegle
Beth Rimanoczy
GlenA Risdon
John Roberts
John Roberts
Neil Robertson
Jamala Rogers
CarlDouglas Rogers
David Rogg
Nora Roman
Dirck Roosevelt
Huck Rorick
Eve Rosahn
IrmaGarcia Rose
Peter Rose
Bruce Rosen
Ken Rosenberg
Murray Rosenblith
Robert Ross
Gary Rothberger
Richard Rothstein
Vivian Rothstein
Dawn Rubbert
Paul Rubeo
JackiFox Ruby
Jo-Ellen Rudolf
Richard Rudolf
Danilyn Rutherford
Paul Ryder
Ed Sacco
Toby Sackton
Josh Sale
June Sale
Beth Sanders
Laurie Sandow
Mark Santow
Judith Saraceno
Susan Sattel
NancyMiller Saunders
JohnW Sayer
John Schaefer
Jay Schaffner
David Schalk
Bill Scheurer
Gordy Schiff
Bruce Schmiechen
Steven Schneider
Wendy Schoener
Ellen Schrecker
Susan Schuurman
Joel Schwartz
JosephM Schwartz
ValerieStoll Schwimmer
GeraldAllan Schwinn
Donald Scott
Joan Scott
PeterDale Scott
Cynthia Scully
Chuck Searcy
Jeffrey Segal
Louis Segal
Mark Selden
Jessica Semon
Gunja Sengupta
Robert Shaffer
Grace Shahrokh
Duane Shank
Laurie Sheridan
Paul Sheridan
Michael Sherry
Robert Shetterly
Nancy Shier
Lynn Shoemaker
Richard Short
Steve Siegelbaum
Bobbi Siegelbaum
Lewis Siegelbaum
Sonia Silbert
Ramona Silipo
William Sinderbrand
Alan Singer
Phillip Singerman
Roy Skellenger
Andor Skotnes
David Slavin
Melvin Small
Amy Smiley
Wayne Smith
Benita Smith
Carol Smith
Billy Smith
SueMarx Smock
John Sniegocki
Peter Snoad
Elaine Sokoloff
Jeffrey Sokolow
Mark Solomon
Robert Spann
Robyn Spencer
JackBradigan Spula
Todd Stafford
Moe Stavnezer
KathleenB Stayton
Bernard Stein
Jon Steinberg
Ted Steinberg
Roberta Stern
DavidN Stern
EllenKadra Stewart
David Stewart
Ona Stonkus
Susan Strasser
LorettaM Strharsky
Tracy Strong
Philippa Strum
TommieLee Suber
David Suisman
Marianna Sullivan
Michael SullivanIII
Jim Sullivan
Jon Sumida
Roger Sundy
Chuck Sutter
James Swarts
Howard Swerdloff
Martin Tandler
Jennifer Tanner
Harry Targ
David Tarlo
Michael Tassone
Richard Taylor
Bruce Teague
Walter Teague
Noell Teasley
Anthony Tedesco
Glenn Tepper
John Terzano
William Thomas
JuliaAdeney Thomas
Allisyn Thomas
Barrie Thorne
Diane Tinnes
Ted Tipton
Sylvia Tiwon
David Tobis
Alex Tom
Monique Tonet
Kim Tormey
DorcasSantiago Torres
Robert Traller
John Trauger
Socrates Triantafillou
Bruce Trigg
John Trinkl
Phil Trounstine
Michael True
William Turley
Mac Turner (JohnM Turner)
Patricia Turner
Paul Turner
Margaret Ullman
JuanCarlos Vallejo
Charles Vandagriff
John VanEyck
John VanSant
Ted Varney
Stephen Viederman
Don Villarejo
Elias Vlanton
Beth Volk
Joe Volk
VietQuang Vu
KarenLee Wald
Richard Walden
L.Ling-chi Wang
Arthur Waskow
Steve Wasserman
Harry Watson
Tom Webb
Devra Weber
Barbara Webster
Bruce Weigl
Peter Weiler
Anne Weills
Barbara Weinstein
Cora Weiss
Peter Weiss
Jayne Werner
Rinda West
Patricia White
Joan Widdifield
Tobey Wiebe
Jon Wiener
Seth Wigderson
Robert Wilcox
Dan Wilcox
DebrahS Wiley
Carol Williams
James(Jim) Williams
RogerNeville Williams
Nadya Williams
David Willinger
Jocelyn Wills
Martin Wilson
Jim Wilson
Susan Wind-Early
Martha Winnacker
Barbara Winslow
Christopher Winter
Steve Wise
Leslie Withers
Warren Witte
Eric Witte
Lawrence Wittner
John Wolcott
Renee Wolters
John WomackJr
Deborah Wong
Linda Worthington
Mel Wulf
Carole Wullum
MaryAnn Wynkoop
Linda Yarr
Peter Yarrow
DennisKeith Yergler
Richard York
Ethan Young
Marilyn Young
Ron Young
Doug Zachary
Ellen Zaltzberg
Melinda Zarrett
Bob Zaugh
Andrew Zimmerman
Bill Zimmerman
David Zimmerman
Joan Zorza
Alex Zukas
John Zutz