Vietnam Veterans Charge Unreported Crimes

Twelve members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) yesterday told an antiwar rally on Boston's Government Center Plaza that they had witnessed previously unpublicized American war crimes.

Referring to their own experiences, the former soldiers described the frequent American practice of "killing everything that moves, civilian or military," in villages thought to be NLF strongholds; the CIA-run Phoenix Program to assassinate 35,000 local Vietnamese leaders suspected of being NLF sympathizers; and clandestine American combat operations in Cambodia as early as June 1968.

Getting Interested

VVAW organized the war crimes discussion to climax a day of antiwar protest in Boston which began with guerrilla theatre performances yesterday morning on the Plaza. The aim of the protest was to interest Boston-area veteran in attending Operation Dewey Canyon III-the antiwar demonstration VVAW is sponsoring in Washington April 19-23.

Dressed up as American and Vietnamese combatants, about 40 VVAW members staged "search-and-destroy missions" and "prisoner interrogations" throughout the morning on the Plaza. Periodically, the "Americans" charged the subway station and yelling "Kill the Gooks!" fired their toy machine guns point-blank at people emerging from the station.

Getting Involved

Most bystanders appeared startled by the performances. One man tried to stop a mock "prisoner interrogation," but was restrained by police. Several veterans distributed explanatory leaflets and talked with spectators.

At 12:30 p.m., Rep. Robert Drinan (D-Mass.) addressed the crowd which had gathered near VVAW's display van at the edge of the Plaza. "I commend, I admire and I endorse the VVAW," he said.

"These veterans have tremendous credibility," Drinan added, "because they have been involved in the Vietnam atrocities and are willing to stand trial-if necessary-for their involvement, in order to make these war crimes known."