On December 22 I am scheduled to fly to Vietnam, if the weather allows. We are having a snow fall with cold snap. The occasion is the commemoration of the 40Th anniversary of the DC Nine action in March 1969. We decided to have a reunion next May. Most of us have not seen one another since the sentencing on May 5Th, 1970, the day after the Kent State University killing of four students and wounding of 12 by the National Guard. Catherine Sagan, one of the nine will meet me in Seoul Korea airport, from which we will fly to Ha Noi for a 16 day tour.
The DC Nine entered the Dow Chemical Company's lobbying office in Washington DC to protest Dow's production of napalm and Agent Orange used in the Vietnam war to defoliate the jungle. Nine of us entered the office on a Saturday, hung photos of napalmed children, splattered blood, broke office equipment, and threw files out the window. Then, we waited for the police to come as the media covered the story. My role was to lead the media to the site. (This is more fully described in my book, THE AMERICAN GANDHI, My Seeking Truth With Humanity at the Crossroads.) Catherine and I went to prison for this action.
Agent Orange has not stopped maiming and killing. 3,000,000 Vietnam citizens suffer the effects because the dioxin remains in the soil and the water. American Veterans also suffer along with many of their family members. For the next two plus weeks I will journal the experiences of this trip on this blog.
We will begin in Ha Noi at The Friendship Village, later proceed to the Central Highlands and Hue, and end up in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly, Saigon). The Vietnam Association for the Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA) is facilitating the visits with treatment sites and their work to redress the wrongs. Peace Tours will facilitate our itinerary.
No comments:
Post a Comment