LibGuides: Quakers and the Anti-War Movement during the Vietnam War (1963-1975): Fayetteville Quaker House and GI Underground

Resources

Donald W. Duncan, 79, Ex-Green Beret and Early Critic of Vietnam War, Is Dead (Article 2016) by Robert McFadden
Donald Duncan was a Green Beret Master Sergeant who after doing a tour of duty in Vietnam became disillusioned with the war and eventually became a leading figure in the massive anti-war movement.
Quitting The Military ; Quakers provide refuge for troubled soldiers published by Morning Star (Oct 27, 1996)
COLUMBIA, S.C. - As they train to join the ranks of the nation's all-volunteer Army, young soldiers at Fort Jackson might be surprised to see this advertisement: The ad is published each week in the Fort Jackson Leader newspaper by a group of Columbia Quakers. The Quakers say they're not trying to undermine the Army, but instead aim to help troubled soldiers and, in some cases, talk the most desperate out of running away. The Quakers, who were well-known to GIs during the Vietnam War, have recently expanded efforts to counsel unhappy or confused service members across the country. In the military-rich Southeast, their home base is Quaker House in Fayetteville, N.C., founded in 1969 during the height of public resentment against the Vietnam War.
Quaker gets peace medal (Article) published by The Ottawa Citizen (Nov 11, 1987)
Nancy Pocock, an artist, began helping newcomers to Canada during the Vietnam War when she opened her doors to American draft dodgers and deserters and Vietnamese fleeing the United States.
Ideological Migration and War Resistance in British Columbia’s West Kootenays: An Analysis of Counterculture Politics and Community Networks among Doukhobor, Quaker, and American Migrants during The Vietnam War era (Article 2014) by Kathleen Rodgers and D
This paper addresses migration, war resistance, and counterculture activity in the West Kootenays region of British Columbia during the 1960s and 1970s. Through a combination of perspectives including S.N. Eisenstadt’s discussion of “multiple modernities,” it reveals an ongoing pattern of alternative, values-based migration we refer to as “ideological migration.” Most immediately associated with the influx of thousands of young Americans who came to the West Kootenays during the Vietnam War, this pattern, in fact, began much earlier, first with the arrival of the Doukhobors beginning in 1908, and subsequently in the 1950s with the development of a community of American Quakers at the north end of Kootenay Lake. From there, we show how common experiences of marginalization along with with shared values of pacifism, war resistance, community-building, and self-sufficiency facilitated the arrival of this new group, and with them the entrenchment in the region of a vibrant counterculture identity.
A history of war resistance in America (Book 2010) by James M. Volo
"Conventional classrooms portray U.S. history as a series of triumphant wars punctuated by industrial progress, and even students of war resistance rarely look past the Vietnam War, but American historian Volo, shows that resistance to war has been a consistent and sometimes dominant element in the U.S. since before it was born. He begins by setting out the principles of peace, learning the ways of war, and peace societies. Then he turns to actual cases, starting with religious pacifists during the French and Indian War 1754–63. Other topics include fair winds and following seas, the War of 1812, the 1846 war with Mexico, the Civil War 1861–65, churchmen and pacifists during the Indian Wars, the first period of little wars, the two world wars, Korea and the Cold War, and Vietnam. An epilogue describes how the antiwar movement has now been packaged for sale." - Reference & Research Book News
The politics of time and eternity: Quaker pacifists and their activism during the Vietnam War era (Thesis/dissertation 2006) by Tarik W. Kamil
This source provides a Quaker viewpoint. Two important topics covered in this thesis/dissertation are the American Friends Service Committee during the Vietnam era and draft resistance.

working Class WAR
No one can understand the complete tragedy of the American experience in Vietnam without reading this book. Nothing so underscores the ambivalence and confusion of the American commitment as does the composition of our fighting forces. The rich and the powerful may have supported the war initially, but they contributed little of themselves. That responsibility fell to the poor and the working class of America.--Senator George McGovern "Reminds us of the disturbing truth that some 80 percent of the 2.5 million enlisted men who served in Vietnam--out of 27 million men who reached draft age during the war--came from working-class and impoverished backgrounds. . . . Deals especially well with the apparent paradox that the working-class soldiers' families back home mainly opposed the antiwar movement, and for that matter so with few exceptions did the soldiers themselves.--New York Times Book Review "[Appy's] treatment of the subject makes it clear to his readers--almost as clear as it became for the soldiers in Vietnam--that class remains the tragic dividing wall between Americans.--Boston Globe

Underground G.I. Newspaper Collection Issues 1968-1975

During the Vietnam War, personnel from all branches of the U.S. military, who were opposed to the war, ran and published unauthorized newspapers. These newspapers informed members of the military about topics and issues relating to the conflict in Vietnam, along with topics and issues in the United States and throughout the world. The Underground G.I. Newspaper Collection is important because it shows that U.S. civilians were not the only ones who were involved in the anti-war movement.

This collection is available at the Quaker Archives in the library.

Quaker House Archives

The Quaker House Archives are from the Quaker Meeting House in Fayetteville, N.C., which was founded in 1969 during the Vietnam War. Members of the Meeting House assisted military personnel from Fort Bragg and other military bases in obtaining Conscientious Objector status and assisted them with various ways to get out of the military. Early in its history, the Quaker Meeting House was bombed, but was rebuilt and continued to help military personnel while also participating in trying to end the war in Vietnam.

The Quaker House Archives are available at the Quaker Archives in the library.