Ron Carver, curator of Waging Peace in Vietnam, displays his book at a panel in Eaton Humanities on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023. (Ann Marie Vanderveen/CU Independent)
Nov. 11 marks Veterans Day as the University of Colorado Boulder hosts “Waging Peace in Vietnam,” a traveling exhibit detailing the anti-war movement among veterans, along with a series of events dedicated to the Vietnam War’s impact.
On Monday, Nov. 6, a panel in Eaton Humanities moderated by CU Boulder alum and Vietnam War veteran Curt Stocker addressed the war aftermath, particularly the long-term psychological and physiological impacts.
“There’s so many of us that have no answers,” said guest speaker Heather Bowser, daughter of a Vietnam veteran and the founder of the Children of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance.
Bowser’s organization advocates for descendants like herself who experienced health problems or birth defects following parental exposure to Agent Orange, a toxic herbicide used by the U.S. military to target food crops during the Vietnam War. Many military members at the time were exposed to the chemical substance due to its widespread use.
Susan Hammond, also a daughter of a Vietnam veteran and founder of the non-profit War Legacies Project, spoke of her family’s experience and the broader regional damage done by the war.
“The job is not complete,” she said. “The U.S. really needs to begin to invest more than a small fraction of what it costs to wage war in order to address its impacts.”
Linda Yarr, a research associate at the Center for Asian Studies at CU Boulder, said that “understanding who we are” as a nation encompasses the lived experiences and impacts of the Vietnam War.
As for the war’s impact on CU Boulder’s campus, students organized and participated in multiple demonstrations for peace during wartime. According to Colorado Daily archives, over 100 CU students traveled to Denver to demonstrate against the war in 1969. In 1970, three days after National Guardsmen shot and killed several protesting students at Kent State University in Ohio, thousands of CU students marched from the University Memorial Center to the Boulder County Courthouse to call for the removal of troops from Southeast Asia.
Ron Carver, a photographer and civil and labor rights activist, curated the exhibit, which honors the contributions of veterans to the push for peace through photos, posters and artwork. It will be available in the Underground West Gallery of Norlin Library until Dec. 15, along with a student essay contest open until Dec. 13.
Bowser said of the current awareness being brought to post-war impacts, “The work that we do now reflects what will happen in the future in these current conflicts.”
Contact CU Independent Breaking News Editor Ann Marie Vanderveen at ann.vanderveen@colorado.edu.
