A Minnesota PBS Initiative
Still Angry After All These Years
I first became active in the anti-war movement as a student at what was then Mankato State College way back in 1965. As I learned more about why we were really involved in the war, the more involved I became. The more I discovered the so called facts about battles and body counts reported in the press were far from the truth. As we now know the actual numbers were later verified and widely reported and we know about some of the horrific incidents our troops engaged in.
Those were the early days of the anti-war movement and activist were viewed as unpatriotic and communist sympathizers, neither were true, but we were threatened and sometimes the threat was carried out, a good friend of mine was found hanging in woods, it was called a suicide, but I know it wasn't.
Draft dodgers being counseled 1967. Public domain photo by Laura Jones.
In 1967, I moved to Upstate New York and became involved with groups in the Poughkeepsie area. By this time the anti-war movement had really picked up and people were starting to question our involvement in the war and draft resistance was growing as well. In my mind, the real heroes were the people who said "hell no, we won't go."
One event, I'll never forget was when we held a march in Poughkeepsie and the Minutemen showed up with rocks tied to clubs, we had to pass through them, I was terrified. At one point I said to a police officer "aren't you glad you're protecting us instead of them." His reply was "let's put it this way, I'm with them."
In 1969, I moved to Albany and joined some groups at SUNY-Albany. By this time I was meeting men who had returned from Vietnam, many of them joined us at demonstrations and marches. The stories they told were hard to hear, especially the stories of what happened to pow's who didn't cooperate. The rumors of LSD experiments on soldiers were also true. It's no secret of how many troops came back addicted to heroin and other drugs. Exposure to Agent Orange and napalm caused so much pain to soldiers, years after their return. While the government denied all claims. The sad thing is when we tried to tell the 'our government, right or wrong' folks what was going on, they still didn't want to believe it.
Living in Albany at that time meant living with tapped telephones, being followed by local cops, having our picture taken at demonstrations and having an FBI file.
I remember being at demonstrations with guys that had been there and hearing people shouting at them to leave the country if they didn't like it. Living in Albany at that time meant living with tapped telephones, being followed by local cops, having our picture taken at demonstrations and having an FBI file. People I knew that got copies their FBI files, had a good laugh at some of the contents. I never got mine, but I wish I had.
One thing I am especially proud of is the work I did as a draft counselor, helping guys avoid the draft. I know a lot of people would not see that positive thing, but I will never regret it as long as I live.
One of the events I'll always remember was meeting the Chicago 7 lawyer Bill Kunstler, I thought he was a pretty cool guy. It was exciting, meeting some of the big names in the movement.
Some of the memories aren't so pleasant, like getting tear gassed at demonstrations and being watched.
To this day, I believe that those of us who fought the war on the streets made a difference. People started to question what they were told and that standing up for what you believe even if it is contrary to government policy is patriotic and is the right thing to do.
Biographical Details
Submitted From: Minneapolis, MN
Primary Location During Vietnam: Albany, New York, United States 
Story Subject: Activist
This story is part of Stories of Protest.
View the collection.
Story Themes: Addiction, Agent Orange, Anti-war Movement, Antiwar Movement, Chicago 7, Dissent, Draft, Drugs and Alcohol, Mankato State College, Patriotism, Protest, Reflection