Vietnam Veterans Against the War/Winter Soldier Organization California Nevada Regional records, 1966-1978, bulk 1972-1974

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Summary

Title:
Vietnam Veterans Against the War/Winter Soldier Organization, California Nevada Regional records
Dates:
1966-1978, bulk 1972-1974
Creators:
Vietnam Veterans Against the War/Winter Soldier Organization
Abstract:
The Vietnam Veterans Against the War/Winter Soldier Organization, California Nevada Regional Records, 1966-1978, consist of the office files from the California Nevada division of the national organization.
Extent:
9 cartons, 2 oversize folders (11.25 linear feet).
Language:
Collection materials are in English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Vietnam Veterans Against the War/Winter Soldier Organization, California Nevada Regional records, BANC MSS 81/20 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

Background

Scope and content:

The Vietnam Veterans Against the War/Winter Soldier Organization, California Nevada Regional Records, 1966-1978, consist of the office files from the California Nevada division of the national organization. Their headquarters were alternately in San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles, Calif. The collection also includes some files from the Discharge Upgrade Project, originally started in the San Francisco chapter of the VVAW/WSO and incorporated into the national organization, and some from the National Anti-Imperialist Caucus (NAIC), a splinter group from VVAW/WSO. The bulk of the collection spans the years 1972 to 1974, and consists of correspondence, position papers and statements, meeting minutes, leaflets, resource files, publications, and miscellaneous ephemera.

Biographical / historical:

Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Inc. (VVAW) was a national veterans' organization that was founded in New York City in 1967, after six Vietnam vets marched together in a peace demonstration. During the 1970s, the organization added Winter Soldier Organization to its name, but has since removed it. The VVAW was organized to voice the growing opposition among returning servicemen and women to the war in Indochina, and grew rapidly to a membership of over 30,000 throughout the United States, as well as active duty GIs stationed in Vietnam.

VVAW quickly took up the struggle for the rights and needs of veterans. In 1970, the first rap groups were formed to deal with traumatic after effects of war. They fought for amnesty for war resisters, including vets with bad discharges, and publicized the negative health effects of exposure to chemical defoliants and the Veterans Administration’s attempts to cover up these conditions, as well as their continued refusal to provide treatment and compensation for many Agent Orange Victims.

Acquisition information:
The Vietnam Veterans Against the War/Winter Soldier Organization, California Nevada Regional records were given to The Bancroft Library by Jeanne Friedman in 1980.
Processing information:

Processed by Elizabeth Stephens in 2001.

Physical location:
Many of the Bancroft Library collections are stored offsite and advance notice may be required for use. For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Finding Aid prepared using Describing Archives: a Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Elizabeth Stephens
Sponsor:
Funding for processing provided by the Free Speech Movement Digital Project.
Date Prepared:
© 2011
Date Encoded:
Machine-readable finding aid generated by GenX; markup validated by The Bancroft Library using CDL validation tools; Date of source: April 2011

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Vietnam Veterans Against the War/Winter Soldier Organization, California Nevada Regional records, BANC MSS 81/20 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley

Location of this collection:
University of California, Berkeley, The Bancroft Library
Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, US
Contact:
510-642-6481
bancref-library@berkeley.edu
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