Philip Jones Griffith was an award-winning Magnum photographer who photographed extensively in Viet Nam, both during and after the war. Taken from his exhibit and book, these 29 photographs have been reproduced for use by Veterans For Peace chapters. There is no charge apart from the cost of shipping. Images are museum quality, foam-core mounted with captions, and ready to display. VFP members may offer the exhibit to their local community arts centers, galleries and schools. For information about exhibiting them in local communities, members should contact Jeanne Friedman (jeannetoby@gmail.com).
VIETNAM. The battle for Saigon. American G.I’s often showed compassion toward the Vietcong. This sprang from a soldierly admiration for their dedication and bravery; qualities difficult to discern in the average government soldier. This VC had fought for three days with his intestines in a cooking bowl strapped onto his stomach. 1968
Toward an honest commemoration of the American War in Vietnam
Mission statement
The Full Disclosure campaign is a Veterans For Peace effort to speak truth to power and keep alive the antiwar perspective on the American war in Viet Nam — which is being commemorated during this decade with a series of 50th anniversary events. Full Disclosure represents a clear alternative to the Pentagon’s current efforts to sanitize and mythologize that war, and to thereby legitimize further unnecessary and destructive wars.
February 8 In Operation Lam Son 719, three South Vietnamese divisions drive into Laos to attack two major enemy bases. Unknowingly, they are walking into a North Vietnamese trap. Over the next month, more than 9,000 South Vietnamese troops are killed or wounded. More than two thirds of the South Vietnamese Army’s armored vehicles are destroyed, along with hundreds of U.S. helicopters and planes. (See entry for Jan30-April 6)
February 10 Congressman Aiken (R-VT) recommended convening an Indochina conference to negotiate a settlement of the area’s disputes.
February 23 Senate Democrats voted (38-13) to adopt a “resolution of purpose” for the 92nd Congress to end US involvement in Indochina and “bring about the withdrawal of all US forces and the release of prisoners in a time certain.”
Late February The National Coalition Against War, Racism, and Repression changes to People’s Coalition for Peace and Justice (PCPJ) coordinated by Dave Dellinger, Sidney Peck, Rennie Davis, Bradford Lyttle, Ron Young, William Douthard, and Carol Henderson Evans.
2016 National Book Award Finalist, Viet Thanh Nguyen:
“All wars are fought twice, the first time on the battlefield, the second time in memory . . . . Memory is haunted, not just by ghostly others but by the horrors we have done, seen, and condoned, or by the unspeakable things from which we have profited.”