Madison Veterans for Peace, an antiwar group active in Madison during the late 1960's and early 1970's, was organized in the fall of 1967 by veterans who were members of Madison's Committee to End the War. Its purpose was to inform the public that not all veterans supported American intervention in Vietnam and to protest glorification of war. They hoped to use the special consideration the public holds for veterans to refute the image of dissent as unpatriotic, cowardly, and unsupportive of the men stationed in the war zones.
The organization was open to veterans who had served more than 180 days active duty and who had received a discharge other than dishonorable, unless the dishonorable discharge resulted from opposition to the Vietnam War. About one-third of its members were students; at one time 35% of its members had served in Vietnam and 50% in other wars. In 1971, the group numbered about 200 veterans. There was no national policy-making body, but the Chicago chapter acted as coordinator, supplying information and materials. A 1970 national convention held in Madison drafted a constitution, but due to differing views over tactics and fear of too much organization, no nationwide unity resulted.
Although there was continuing debate over tactics within the Madison group, its activities remained non-violent and educational. They included: distributing leaflets, participating in local and national demonstrations and Veterans Day parades, serving as ushers at peace rallies, operating booths at county fairs, serving as volunteers at the Veterans Hospital, and issuing press releases responding to Vietnam policies. The veterans campaigned for Madison's peace referendum in 1968, participated in the Winter Soldier Investigation in Detroit, and conducted a campaign against the sale of war toys in 1971. They received permission from the commanding officer of Camp McCoy near Tomah to read the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights from the Constitution at the camp on July 24, 1971. This would have been the first authorized demonstration on a military base. After Headquarters, Fifth U.S. Army, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, cancelled the agreement, the group conducted a night “raid” on Camp McCoy distributing leaflets of the Declaration. A similar raid was conducted on Fort Sheridan in Illinois by the Madison group on August 9, 1971.
