Vietnam Veterans against the War (VVAW) was founded June 1, 1967, by six young veterans who met at a peace march in New York City in April of that year. Beginning with occasional speaking engagements and debates, newspaper advertisements, and radio and television talk show appearances, the small organization focused on political work and public education. In 1968, some VVAW members became involved in the Presidential campaign of Eugene McCarthy, but after the National Democratic Convention, the veterans' activity waned, and for a time the organization existed primarily as a list of names held by co-founder and president January Barry Crumb.
In general, the fortunes of VVAW fluctuated with those of the peace movement, and late in 1969, with the renewed activity within the national anti-war movement, Crumb and other veterans in New York City re-vitalized their organization. By the beginning of 1970, with nearly fifteen hundred members, VVAW was involved in planning major protest actions and individual members were active in student actions throughout the country. In addition to continuing their political and education activities, VVAW initiated rap sessions to help Vietnam veterans readjust psychologically. During the Labor Day holiday of 1970, VVAW held their first national protest action, Operation Rapid American Withdrawal (RAW), a simulation of war conditions by 150 veterans during a four-day march from Morristown, New Jersey to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
As a result of this event, Jane Fonda became briefly associated with VVAW, and she assisted in raising funds for the next national action, the Winter Soldier Investigation. The event took its name from a reference by Thomas Paine to "the summer soldier and the sunshine patriot." Held in Detroit on January 31 and February 1 and 2, 1971, the investigation consisted of testimony from over 100 veterans about the war crimes witnessed in Vietnam. The goal was not to indict individuals but to show that the war itself was the true crime. Selections from the Winter Soldiers transcripts were later published as The Winter Soldier: An Inquiry into American War Crimes (Beacon Press, 1972), and film and tape recordings of the proceedings were also distributed. Unfortunately, the event received little attention from the media.
During its early history, VVAW was loosely structured, with a central office in New York City. Al Hubbard, who assumed the newly-created position of executive secretary in 1970, introduced more structure, incorporated the organization, launched a movement to recruit veterans on campuses and in Veterans Administration hospitals, and initiated the organization of chapters around the country. In April of 1971, VVAW issued its first national newsletter.
VVAW's next national effort was Operation Dewey Canyon III, a five-day lobbying effort in Washington, D.C. in April of 1971. Although 5000 veterans were expected, only about 1000 took part. Nevertheless, the action was thought to be a success, for it catapulted VVAW to a position of leadership within the anti-war movement. In addition, Dewey Canyon brought VVAW leader John F. Kerry to national attention as a result of his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry's influence was partially responsible for the fact that Dewey Canyon did not become violent. The veterans' behavior contrasted markedly with that of other anti-war protesters in the Capitol, a fact which brought additional favorable media attention to VVAW. This press attention produced a substantial increase in membership, even including some active duty soldiers in Vietnam. Women and African American veterans, however, continued to be under-represented within the membership which, in 1972, was estimated at about 20,000. By 2003, membership was estimated at 30,000.
Dewey Canyon III also revealed the growing ideological split within VVAW. Some veterans, like Kerry, focused on the single goal of ending the war, and they advocated achieving this goal by working within the political system; others wished to broaden VVAW's purpose to encompass more radical political change. Kerry resigned shortly after Dewey Canyon, thus removing his moderating influence, while Hubbard, who was found at this time to have deceived the VVAW about his wartime rank, also lost influence within the organization. Radical members of the Revolutionary Union (RU) then became prominent in several local chapters as well as within the leadership vacuum in the national office. The RU influence was largely responsible for a more decentralized organizational structure and the relocation of the national office from New York City to Chicago in November of 1972. Revolutionary Union cadres were also responsible for the adoption of a new name in 1973, Vietnam Veterans Against the War/Winter Soldier Organization, to signify the admission of non-veteran members. In subsequent years, VVAW voted to formally affiliate with RU and to adopt its anti-imperialist program, but in November of 1975 the organization reverted to its earlier name.
After Dewey Canyon, VVAW became the subject of surveillance by the government. An intelligence program aimed at VVAW was initiated at the highest levels of the Nixon Administration. This surveillance included the introduction of informants into many local chapters. During the summer of 1972, VVAW planned a small action at the National Democratic Convention and a major demonstration, Operation Last Patrol, at the Republican convention in Miami. Based on evidence from the FBI informants, shortly before the Republican convention, eight VVAW leaders were indicted for conspiracy to riot. On August 31, 1973, the defendants, who were known as the Gainesville 8, were acquitted on all counts.
During the last months of the war, VVAW wrestled with its post-war role. Because of the inadequacy of health and educational services provided to Vietnam veterans, VVAW opened a lobbying office in Washington, D.C. and gradually turned to providing direct services to veterans and active-duty soldiers. VVAW chapters also sponsored rehabilitation farms, halfway houses, and psychotherapy programs, pushed for better conditions in Veterans' Administration hospitals, and lobbied for legislation favorable to veterans. VVAW also became actively involved in the cases of numerous veterans perceived as political prisoners. Both the national organization and some local chapters supported prisoners such as Gary Lawton, Billy Dean Smith, and the Leavenworth Brothers and advocated for improved prison conditions. During this period, VVAW representatives also attended several international peace conferences.
Despite a much-reduced membership, VVAW was able to survive the end of the Vietnam War by continuing to focus on veterans' benefits and, after 1987, on the Agent Orange health issue. Eventually, VVAW emerged as a small general veterans' peace organization, but it never became the alternative to the American Legion that many members envisioned. When the VVAW records were arranged and described at the Wisconsin Historical Society in 2008, the organization still maintained a national office in Chicago.
