In Somber Gathering, Vets Speak Out for Peace

To the strains of a lone bagpiper, a group of veterans gathered near the Minnesota Vietnam Memorial on Monday morning to call for an end to the Iraq War.

The gathering, organized by Veterans for Peace, was a sober affair, marked by sharp denunciations of war in general, as well as criticism of the Democratic Congress.

After reading from Archibald MacLeish’s poem “The Young Dead Soldiers,” veteran Barry Riesch said simply, “The best way to honor them is to end illegal, unnecessary wars.”

Dave Rovics drew applause by stating, “It doesn’t look like Congress has what it takes to end the war, so it looks like the people will have to do it.”  He called on war opponents to strike starting Sept. 21 and the third Friday of each month thereafter.

Roy Wolff, a Korean War veteran, read from an address he’d given at an Eagan church, saying “I’m here to tell you what the Holy Spirit has been trying to tell us, perhaps whispering in our ears, that war is on the way out.”  He added, “God working through us will do it.”

Kathleen O’Donovan spoke out for her brother Bobby, a Vietnam veteran she described as “homeless and alcoholic.” 

“When we talk about honoring the dead, let’s not forget about the living,” she said.

Chante Wolf, who served in the Air Force during the first Gulf War, asked for a moment of silence for 27 soldiers who died in that war, “killed by a SCUD missile that some of us cheered.”

Visibly emotional, Wolf said, “It’s not a game, it was nothing for us to laugh about.  And I carry that guilt and that ignorance.”

Not everyone who spoke was a war opponent.  One veteran passing through took the opportunity to speak, saying, “I would like to honor the soldiers who gave their lives so that even people like you can say the bullshit and gibberish that you do.”

His statement was met with some laughter and respectful applause, and he left as the event continued.