CPTnet
1 June 2007
JONESBOROUGH, TN REFLECTION: What do VFW and CPT have in common?

by Genie Durland

Bill Hampton is a 60ish Vietnam veteran and retired Tennessee State Trooper.
He's also part of Rolling Thunder, a group of primarily but not exclusively
motorcyclists and veterans whose purpose is to bring attention to the
ongoing reality of soldiers who are/were MIA-POWs (Missing in
Action-Prisoners of War.) People like Bill Hampton are not usually our
natural companions in the peace movement.

But on Sunday, 20 May in Jonesborough, Tennessee, our Christian Peacemaker
Team (CPT) delegation listened with rapt appreciation as Bill described his
service in Vietnam and shared the stories of several friends who suffered
and died from their exposure to Agent Orange. The U.S. government took at
least twenty-five years to acknowledge the toxicity of that compound and
take some responsibility for its victims.

In our conversations with "Hamp" following his presentation, our surprising
mutuality began to surface. He is no pacifist or anti-war activist as we
are. However, he is a sensitive human being, grieving in his own way over
the indefensible costs of modern warfare--a grief we all share.

We came to Jonesborough to discover as much as possible about the toxic
effects of Depleted Uranium DU munitions, not only on the countless civilian
victims in Iraq and Afghanistan, but on our own troops and their
offspring--a potentially endless health crisis worldwide. We also wanted to
help create and energize a campaign to stop the production of these deadly
weapons. Bill Hampton could readily see and affirm parallels between the
effects of Agent Orange, Gulf War Syndrome and the mysterious complex of
illnesses afflicting veterans of the current Iraq War. With him, we
recognized that an important part of our work needs to be advocating for the
care and support of veterans who are casualties of war.

In the meeting with Bill Hampton, we gained a new ally in our work as peace
and justice activists. He enthusiastically agreed to take our concerns
about DU to the leadership of Rolling Thunder, at their Washington DC rally.
Their leaders meet regularly with President Bush. I confess to what I now
recognize as prejudice in myself causing me to discount possible alliances
with people like Bill or organizations such as the VFW (Veterans of Foreign
Wars) and DAV (Disabled American Veterans.)

I suggest we look at these relationships again. In my case, I intend to
shed my assumptions and broaden my circles of interest and support.

[Members of CPT's May 18-27 delegation focusing on DU munitions were Russell
Attoe and Judy Leurquin (Madison, Wisconsin), Bill and Genie Durland
(Colorado Springs, Colorado), Ron Forthofer (Longmont, Colorado), Ron
Friesen (Loveland, Colorado), Anne Herman (El Paso, Texas), Kirsten Romaine
Jones (Toronto, Ontario), Cliff Kindy (N, North Manchester, Indiana) Murray
Lumley (Toronto, Ontario), Jane MacKay Wright (Providence Bay, Ontario), Wes
Rehberg (Chattanooga, Tennessee), Michael Smith (Gibson City, Illinois) and
Dick and Gretchen Williams (Boulder, Colorado.)