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VFP 156 Activities
VFP National Convention in
Portland, Oregon, August 3-7, 2011
Several of our our
chapter members attended this conference which was held at Portland State
University's campus. Allen Hallmark, Daniel Guy, and myself
attended. We also visited with Emmet Band, an active member of the Rogue
Valley Chapter until his recent move to the Eugene area.
I intend to include
a variety of information about the conference since some members were unable to
attend. To help manage space on this website, I am creating a new page
called, naturally, "VFP
National Convention, 2011". Please click on the highlighted name
to reach this new page.
VFP
National Convention, 2011
Briefly I am planning to include the following:
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some pictures
taken at the conference
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a description of some
14 films shown at the conference
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the words to a
song, new to me, called "War Is Not the Answer - Never Was, Never
Will" which
was sung at least a couple of times at the conference.
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and a few
other notes and comments
Jim Woods
Web Editor
VFP marches in Ashland's Fourth of July parade
For the third consecutive year the
Rogue Valley Chapter of Veterans for Peace marched in Ashland's Fourth of July
parade. We gathered early to line up with other non-profit groups.
It was fun mingling with the other groups. Just in front of us was the Mad
Film Society's entry of a spaceship (built on an older VW bug chassis) complete
with assistants carrying "brain suckers". I am familiar with
this group and have attended a number of their monthly film showings in the
basement of Ashland's Elks Club.
For the second year we carried our
Giant Peace Dove down Siskiyou Blvd to the delight of many people. We also
carried our VFP banner and, new this year, we carried a large banner urging the
freeing of whistle-blower Bradley Manning.
We had a total of 27 wonderful members and supporters helping with the parade
this year!
I had a "date" with our oldest member, Charlotte Carter of
Ashland. She was proud to tell me that she recently turned 90 ... and is
still going strong! She is a veteran from service in the Navy during World
War Two. After we came to the end of the parade route we walked to Lithia
Park and enjoyed a nice lunch. Charlotte carried the American Flag over
much of the parade route. Since she lives in Ashland a number of her
friends called out her name while we were marching.
In addition to the dove, banners and flags we passed out literature and waved to
the crowd constantly. It is a great feeling to watch people lining the
parade route read "Veterans for Peace" and quickly realize that we
were advocates for peace who just happed to have experience dealing with war.
Jim Woods, Web Editor
Rogue Valley Chapter of VFP
Past
Projects (reverse chronological order)
Gerry Condon, longtime VFP member and past-president of the Seattle
chapter presented a very interesting discussion of Bradley Manning,
currently in the brig at Quantico, VA awaiting court-martial. He has
been allegedly linked to the release and subsequent publication of thousands
of classified documents causing great embarrassment to Pentagon
officials. Gerry spoke on Medford Central Library on February
19th. VFP, Citizens for Peace and Justice and Peace House co-sponsored
this event.
On November 9, 2010 the Rogue Valley Chapter of VFP screened
The Good Soldier, an award-winning documentary about five soldiers'
experiences. The general
public was invited to see the film and participate in a discussion
afterward. A good number of interested people came and most stayed for
the discussion session. If
others are interested in viewing this important and powerful film please contact
us. It is in a DVD format and is 79 minutes long. The film
isn't rated but has scenes of war footage which are very graphic. It
wouldn't be suitable for young children but high school students should
see it, especially if considering enlistment in the military.
|
 Grants Pass Daily Courier, May 27,
2010
Members of the Rogue Valley Chapter of Veterans For Peace (Jim Woods, foreground, Hal Anthony, Background)
building a giant dove with body and wings made from bed sheets as the group's entry in the 51st annual Boatnik parade on Saturday, May 29.
Jim Woods found a dove pattern on Roots and Shoots, a website by the Jane Goodall Institute.
"This is a symbol that's a positive thing," he said. The completed bird has a 21-foot wingspan and a
chicken-wire-wrapped-in-cloth head whose beak holds an olive branch.
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Peace Dove flies again! Ashland July 4, 2010 Parade
This year, the crowd was estimated at 27,000 and the participants at 1000. The next day Ashland Tidings said the parade judges
awarded
us 3rd place in the Social and Service Organization category.
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Our Giant Peace Dove appeared to be a very popular attraction in the Grants Pass Boatnik Parade on May
29th, 2010.
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Once again, the crowd was estimated at about 20,000.
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 Our
Chapter Treasurer and Vietnam Marine veteran, Emmet Band of Grants Pass, OR, adjusting wheel chairs as a volunteer for United Cerebral Palsy Wheels For Humanity in Kosovo, during the week of May 9-15, 2010.
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Grants Pass Daily Courier article here.
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Emmet and Marlene on the way to Kosovo.
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March 20, 2010, in Medford, a co-sponsored protest of the seven-year Iraq War
with a march through Medford..
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On Feb 24, 2010, we co-sponsored with Southern Oregon SafeHaven (SOSH), Peace House and CPJ to bring Gerry Condon to the SOU campus. In addition to assisting GI resisters get into Canada, Gerry runs two blogs, http://www.soldiersayno.blogspot.com/ and http://soldiersayno.blogspot.com/search/label/project%20safe%20haven, Gerry is also the President of VFP Chapter 92 in Seattle, WA.
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Nov 6-7,
2009, we worked with the Southern Oregon SafeHaven (SOSH) to bring in the cross-country bicycle team of Josh Stieber (left) & Conor Curran (right), who documented their cross-country bicycle ride at http://contagiousloveexperiment.wordpress.com/.
Josh continues to interview and speak out at http://rv-vfp156.org/Enlist.html#Discharges
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In November 2009, the Dahl Jamial presentation was an interorganizational effort.
Right: Jim Woods, Dahl Jamial and Hal
Anthony.
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May 2009, we helped to bring Benji Lewis to the Rogue Valley for a 3-city speaking tour Ex-Marine speaks out. Benji is a very dynamic speaker and can vividly describe his experiences during his Marine training and two tours in Iraq, which lead to his plans for a very public refusal to allow himself to be pulled back to Iraq under the IRR.
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Likewise, in the Ashland July 4th, 2009 parade, with a crowd estimated at about 25,000 and where our Chapter was applauded virtually the entire 45-minute route.
Left: Only a small part of the crowd (from the local Daily Tidings).
Upper
right: The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) contingent that marched with our Chapter. Far Right: Starting out.
Lower
left: Allen Hallmark at the Ashland July 4th parade.
Lower
right: JD Dixon and his wife Linda with the VFP parade group.
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We had a very successful Boatnik Parade in Grants Pass on May 23rd, 2009, with a crowd estimated at about 20,000.
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Ongoing Programs
We have various programs in progress:
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Working with other peace groups in the Rogue Valley, such as Ashland's Peace House, Nuclear Weapons Abolition Project,
Citizens for Peace and Justice and the Southern Oregon SafeHaven project.
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Chapter 156
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