A Vietnamese Woman's Journey from War to Peace

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Harvey Richards

Navy Lieutenant Susan Schnall leading over 500 sailors and soldiers on a peace march down San Francisco's Market Street, on October 12, 1968.

Navy Lieutenant Susan Schnall leading over 500 sailors and soldiers on a peace march down San Francisco's Market Street, on October 12, 1968.

This historical exhibit documents the stories of active duty military members and vets who found a way to participate in the anti-war movement during the conflict in Vietnam. “Waging Peace in Vietnam: U.S. Soldiers and Veterans who Opposed the War” first opened in 2018 at the Vietnam’s War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, and has since traveled to more than 20 locations around the U.S.; its Madison stop is scheduled to be the end of the tour. Events still to come include a screening of the documentary The Whistleblower of My Lai accompanied by a performance on đàn tranh and Q&A with Vân-Ánh Võ (5:30 p.m., April 14); and a talk about the memoir When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, with author Le Ly Hayslip in conversation with Norman Stockwell (7 p.m., April 16). Find the full schedule below and updates at wagingpeaceinvietnam.com.

media release: During America’s War in Vietnam, tens of thousands of GIs and veterans created a robust movement in opposition to the war. Yet its history is largely unknown. 

The Waging Peace in Vietnam exhibit and its companion book show how the GI movement unfolded, from the numerous anti-war coffeehouses springing up outside military bases, to the hundreds of GI newspapers giving an independent voice to active soldiers, to the stockade revolts and the strikes and near-mutinies on naval vessels and in the air force.

It’s time to set the record straight.

Exhibit photographs and informational panels will be on display in the Wisconsin Historical Society lobby, April 1-22.

Scheduled Events and Participants

All programs will be in the WHS auditorium

Tuesday April 2, 5 PM: Opening reception, with talk: Dissent and Resistance Within the Armed Forces, with Susan Schnall, national president, Veterans for Peace; Ronald L. Haeberle, former Army photographer of the iconic My Lai Massacre photographs; David Cortright, Professor Emeritus and special advisor for policy, Kroc Institute, University of Notre Dame. Author and editor of over 20 books including Waging Peace in Vietnam: U.S. Soldiers and Veterans who Opposed the War.

Friday April 5, noon: Healing War's Legacies: Moderator Edwin Martini, provost, UW Oshkosh

• Ngo Xuan Hien and Chuck Searcy, Direct from Vietnam's RENEW Bomb and Landmine Clearance project.
• Heather Bowser, suffers effects of her father's exposure to American chemical weapons. Comments by: Brad Geyer, Madison Veterans For Peace, Dr. Eileen Ahearn on healing moral harm, Mike Boehm, exec. director, Madison Quakers Inc.

Tuesday April 9, 7 PM: Movie: The War at Home, with director Glenn Silber

Wednesday April 10, 7 PM: Movie: Sir! No Sir! with director David Zeiger

Sunday, April 14, 5:30 PM: Movie: The Whistleblower of My Lai, documentary on the Kronos Quartet’s making of the opera My Lai, plus live performance by Vanessa Vo, Kronos Quartet soloist. traditional Vietnamese instruments.

Tuesday April 16, 7 PM A Vietnamese Woman's Journey from War to Peace, talk and book signing of her memoir When Heaven and Earth Changed Places, by Le Ly Hayslip, Vietnamese-American author, philanthropist, peace activist, and speaker, with Norman Stockwell, interlocutor

Sunday April 21, 2 pm: Movie: Hunting in Wartime, directed by Samantha Farinella. A documentary film exposing the mistreatment of patriotic Native American soldiers while they served in Vietnam and upon their return to the United States. Introduced by Samantha Skenandore, tribal advocate.

Student Essay Contest, Deadline, April 25, 2024: Students are invited to submit a 500- 650 word essay with their reflections and impressions after having viewed the Waging Peace Exhibit. The student with the winning essay, as selected by the guest judge will receive an award of $500. Craig McNamara, son of the Vietnam War era Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara and author of the book Because our Fathers Lied, will serve as the Guest Judge. Contest sponsored by Madison Veterans For Peace Clarence Kailin Chapter 25 and UW International Division.

Event Sponsors: Wisconsin Historical Society; The Harvey Goldberg Center of the UW Department of History; The UW Center for Southeast Asian Studies; The UW International Division

Community Sponsors: The Capital Times; The Havens Wright Center for Social Justice; Chino Cienega Foundation; Madison Veterans For Peace Clarence Kailin Chapter 25; Pax Christi Madison; PSR Madison; Interfaith Peace Working Group; Madison Friends Meeting (Quakers)

Further information: Judy Karofsky judykarofsky@gmail.com Phone: 608-770-5600