Some of the stories and pictures from the era may evoke feelings of anger. Others may evoke cynicism, disappointment or resignation. I hope it gives you a feeling of the widespread polarization that existed back then. It was a time for confrontation instead of dialog.
The Vietnam antiwar movement stands to be relegated to historical oblivion unless steps are taken to preserve its history. Its members have been portrayed as traitorous fools, and the antiwar rallies little more than riotous social gatherings. I remember there was much more substance to the movement. We believed in a good cause: to stop an immoral war.
Until now, the nation has come to terms with the Vietnam War by ignoring the antiwar movement. The reasons why the antiwar coalition emerged and grew so rapidly are likely to be forgotten unless steps are taken to preserve its story. If this is not done, valuable lessons will be lost -- and future generations may be obliged to repeat some of the tragedies we experienced.
This anthology is supposed to be a memorial for the antiwar coalition. It is more utilitarian than traditional memorials. I hope that people will turn to the anthology to remember, and to share their own recollections with others. In that way, the antiwar anthology will continue to promote the ideals that were so important to us.
This anthology can be viewed in a variety of ways. Regardless of how it is viewed, it is navigated in the same manner.
Every text page in the anthology has a terminus point that looks like this:
When you reach the terminus point for a page, you have two choices:
1) Move forward by selecting a link to a new page, always indicated by underscored text or a bordered picture.
2) Return to the previous page by using the Back button (extreme upper left hand corner of this window) or the Back item from the Navigate menu. The prompt in the preceding picture is supposed to remind you to use the Back facility. There is no other way to return to the preceding page.
The anthology is organized in a hierarchical three-tiered manner. The highest tier of the hierarchy are the index page (the first page you saw before coming to this page), the five topic pages ( My Back Pages, Across the Great Divide, Tears of Rage, Up Against the Wall... and Yesterday and Today) and the Contributors page. If you select a topic from the topic pages, you will see a page that contains a collection of excerpts about that topic. At the end of each excerpt, you wil see this outlined picture:
Select this to read [the Whole Story].
This picture will guide you to the page that contains the complete story that was excerpted. You will not see this picture if you view the anthology from the Contributors page, since you will already be viewing the whole story.
This collection will always be incomplete until you contribute your story. I have made arrangements with Software Tool & Die to collect oral histories and anecdotes from the Vietnam era from persons who were around at the time, and to house their recollections as part of Software Tool & Die's "Online Book Initiative" (OBI), where each person has an opportunity to record his or her own story.
OBI has the capacity to house everyone's story. Anyone who wants to study the era won't have to read someone else's interpretation of events. This anthology will be a collection of first-person accounts from thousands of participants (I hope). It will be revised periodically, and new stories that have been submitted will be integrated into the existing record.
As I collected these stories, I learned that the experiences of others tend to validate my own feelings about the era. A few stories can be dismissed by detractors of the antiwar movement as exceptional or extraordinary. As many concurring accounts are collected, the irrefutable truth emerges. The only way to uncover the real truth about the antiwar movement is for hundreds (or thousands) of people to come forward and contribute their recollections. That is why history needs your stories. Please submit them.
I don't care how insignificant you think your story may be. Everybody's story is important. All relevant stories will be accepted. I will be happy to work with anyone who wants to prepare one.
How will I help? You and I will have an email "interview" or "interviews." I will ask you some questions in an attempt to jar your memory. You will answer the questions with which you feel most comfortable. I may ask you followup questions where I think an aspect of your story is interesting and more information is necessary. After both of us think your story is complete, I will email the completed story to you. You will have a chance to add more remarks, or remove them. The story will only be deposited in the collection when you are content with it. You may supply your name/email address with it if you wish. If you think it best to submit your story anonymously, you may do so.
This is an excellent opportunity to set the record straight. Do you think it is important that a complete, accurate account of the antiwar movement's perspective is made available to the public? I hope you agree. If you wish you contribute your stories, please email them to me. I will reply to all of your emails.
Thank you,
Dennis Snow
dhs@world.std.com
What would you like to see next? If you don't want to continue reading the anthology at this time, please select:
I originally began this anthology as a history of the antiwar movement. As I looked for information, I learned the antiwar movement was still held in contempt:
We need to show how destructive the [antiwar] movement was to our country. We need to remember it so that it is never repeated.
or this:
Take your Marxist/Pragmatist bullshit elsewhere.
or this:
You must be joking. I *opposed* the counterculture then, and I *still*
do today. Traitors.
And *YOU* are a fool.
One gentleman who spent years in Vietnam as a career soldier asked:
Was the "anti-war" movement just a gross social affair? Being thousands miles away, really not studying the politics and culture of the situation, and not knowing actually what was happening (being fed condensed media over prolonged periods of time) was really in tune with Hanoi's general plan.
Please select this to read: [the Whole Story].
On the other hand, some have found value in remembering those difficult years:
i would be very interested in hearing the other stories. i have found this
whole experience to be very cathartic. many memories have come back which have
brought tears to my eyes. and although i have continued organizing since that
time, and thus would not have lumped myself into the "drop-out" category, as i
have thought about those years, it has become clear to me how much of that time
i have disregarded and undervalued, and basically shut myself off from.
it has also brought home a sense of generation. i am always shocked when i find
that someone i am close to has no memory of the jfk assasination. it is so
central to my internal landscape that i forget that it is not a universal
experience but one that pinpoints a certain group of people in a certain time.
so it is with the whole anitwar era. i have been talking about this to my
friends and realized that many of them are either too young to remember or come
from other countries. yet for me it was a central defining time.
anyway this whole project has been a great experience for me, and opened up
many channels of thought.
I will not even try to become an apologist for the antiwar movement. I don't need to. The stories that have been donated have a life of their own, and are perfectly capable of speaking for themselves.
If they speak for themselves, what do they say?
They suggest the zeitgeist of the Vietnam years -- the soul-searching, the anguish, the sorrow, the cynicism, the anger and the elation. Consequently, I have divided the anthology into five sections:
My Back Pages describes the origins of the contributors to this anthology.
Across the Great Divide describes the introspection and anguish which many contributors went through as they recognized a personal decision had to be made about the war -- and a stand had to be taken.
Tears of Rage describes the sorrow, pain, cynicism and frustration as many people joined with the movement to publicly express their concerns and doubts about the war, and ended up confronting "democracy in action."
Up Against the Wall... describes the anger and elation that was experienced as some changed the world around them, while others turned against American society.
Yesterday and Today contains contributors' retrospections after the passage of almost three decades. Has the American Dream vanished? How has American society changed? How should it continue to change?
Perhaps I ask too many questions. I have already asked thousands of questions to contributors in the process of collecting these materials -- and I hope to ask many more. I cannot stop now. The Questions section contains the questions I have asked most frequently as I have tried to jar contributors' memories. Perhaps it will jar yours, as well. In addition, Questions topics have been included whenever appropriate within each of the preceding sections. Some of these questions may seem to be rhetorical. All of them are intended to stir your thoughts and encourage you to share them with the anthology. Please do so.
I you want to read a specific person's story (and you don't know the topics that are discussed in his or her story), you can select the Contributors at the end of the anthology, which allows you to find a story by its author's name. Of course this will not be of much use if the story has been submitted anonymously.
If you supported the war, your comments are welcome, too. It is important to hear opposing points of view in the interests of eliciting the truth. If you have already contributed to the anthology, and you remember something else after reading this, please share it with me. I don't think anyone's remarks will ever be unwelcome. This anthology is an open book.
I don't have anything else to say. The time has come for you to make your choice. Go back to the preceding page (the Index) or select the topic you want to read from this list:
My Back Pages
Across the Great Divide
Tears of Rage
Up Against the Wall...
Yesterday and Today
Questions