Veterans for Peace

Veterans for Peace (VFP) is a national organization founded in 1985. Members include those who fought in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War, as well as others who served during various conflicts and peacetime. VFP members work to expose the true cost of every war and advocate for peace. VFP is an official non-governmental organization and is represented at the United Nations. The national office is in St. Louis, Missouri.

The goal of VFP is to work toward effective, peaceful solutions and alternatives to the actions of the U.S. government. Members of VFP on the local and national levels take actions to secure veterans' rights and provide counseling through a GI Rights Hotline. VFP serves as a support system for veterans and their families.

Many local chapters have staged weekly tributes for the soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. The memorials involve placing rows of crosses in the ground, one for each U.S. solider lost. Arlington West is a documentary film about one California chapter's efforts to honor those lost and bring attention to the cost of the war in Iraq.

Veterans for Peace participate in and plan national and local educational forums, teach-ins, protests, marches, and demonstrations. Members of VFP also aid [Page 1435]counter-military-recruitment in schools. Each year members gather from around the nation to protest the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia. VFP chapters have launched bus tours for peace, driving buses with protest signs and literature across the United States.

National and local chapters supported the formation of Iraq Veterans Against the War, a group formed by veterans returning home from the current war in Iraq. VFP often unites with other groups in protest. Some examples are Military Families Speak Out, Gold Star Families for Peace, United for Peace and Justice, and the Bring Them Home Now campaign. In August 2005, the annual national VFP conference was held in Dallas, Texas. Many members joined Cindy Sheehan as she went to Crawford, Texas, to confront George W. Bush. VFP is one of the groups that help compose Camp Casey.

The national chapter hosts an annual convention in August to disseminate information, organize on the national level, and provide a space for veterans and their families to gather. The national chapter of VFP also distributes a quarterly newsletter and maintains a website. VFP chapters maintain daily listserves and websites to connect members, spread information, and make veteran resources easier to access.

Members of VFP work internationally to help those afflicted by war and other operations performed by the U.S. military. In Vietnam, veterans bring in supplies and help with rebuilding efforts. VFP also serves as advocates for victims of Agent Orange. VFP seeks to bring awareness to the ongoing concerns in Korea through actions that support the Korea Peace Campaign. Efforts are also being made to raise public awareness about Vieques and the damage to the environment caused by 6 years of military training by the U.S. Navy.