Keith F. Lynch
I was attending a private school in Loudon
county Virginia. One day our teacher asked us if we wanted to go to a
demonstration against the war. Most of the kids including me said yes.
So we went. We just stood around on the Capitol steps. There were
several speakers, including one Vietnamese woman who described the
bombing of her village. When the organizers passed the hat, I put a
quarter in. That seemed to shame several others into putting money in.
I don't recall the exact date, but J. Edgar Hoover was lying in state
in the Capitol, so that should pin it down. I went by and saw him,
and the guards who were standing inhumanly at extreme attention. Were
they afraid someone would steal the body?
After I heard that people were interpreting protests against the war as
support for North Vietnam, I vowed not to go to any more protests, so
that was the only one I went to.
