Analysis: John Kerry's Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
John Kerry's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 22, 1971, marked a significant moment in the anti-Vietnam War movement. As a decorated Vietnam veteran and representative of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), Kerry shared his own experiences alongside those of fellow soldiers, highlighting the wartime atrocities many witnessed or participated in, such as murder, rape, and torture. His testimony served to amplify the voices of veterans who had previously testified during the "Winter Soldier" investigations. Kerry argued that the U.S. presence in Vietnam inflicted immense suffering on both the Vietnamese people and American soldiers, asserting that the war was based on misconceptions about the need to combat communism. He urged for an immediate end to American involvement, emphasizing the moral injuries inflicted on soldiers and questioning the rationale for continuing the conflict. Kerry's speech was not only a personal account but a call to action, challenging Congress to confront the reality of the war and pursue a cease-fire, accept a coalition government in Vietnam, and withdraw U.S. troops. This testimony contributed to the broader discourse on the Vietnam War and reflected the growing disillusionment among veterans and the American public.
Analysis: John Kerry's Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Date: April 22, 1971
Author: John Kerry
Genre: testimony
Summary Overview
On April 22, 1971, John Kerry, a decorated Vietnam veteran, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee not only about some of his own experiences as a soldier in Vietnam, but also about the experiences of some of his fellow soldiers. Representing the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), Kerry provided a veteran's antiwar perspective on the war and thus brought greater attention to this viewpoint. Kerry's testimony focused in large part on the experiences of soldiers who had testified a month earlier during the “Winter Soldier” investigations. According to these accounts, many American soldiers either witnessed or participated in war crimes against the Vietnamese, including murder, rape, and torture. While government officials claimed that the United States needed to be in Vietnam to protect the Vietnamese from communism, in reality, according to Kerry, their presence brought death and hardship to the Vietnamese and pain and guilt to American soldiers. He concluded that the only way to ease the pain and suffering of the Vietnamese and American soldiers was to end the war and pull American troops out of Vietnam.
Defining the Moment
When John Kerry testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in April 1971, he did not do so just as a concerned citizen, but rather as a Vietnam veteran and representative of the VVAW. Vietnam veterans had a long, significant involvement in the antiwar movement. As the largest Vietnam veteran organization during this period, the VVAW was at the forefront of the veteran antiwar movement. On April 15, 1967, Vietnam veteran Jan Barry carried a banner reading “Vietnam Veterans Against the War” during Mobilization to End the War protests in New York City. After the protest, Barry and five friends formed the VVAW. As the war continued, the VVAW's size and influence grew significantly. In September 1970, the VVAW conducted its first national demonstration called Operation Rapid American Withdrawal (RAW), which consisted of between 100 and 200 Vietnam veterans marching from Morristown, New Jersey, to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, retracing the steps taken by Revolutionary Army soldiers during the American Revolution.
From January 31 to February 2, 1971, the VVAW conducted a series of hearings known as the “Winter Soldier” investigations in Detroit. During the hearings, at least 100 Vietnam veterans revealed gruesome incidents of rape, torture, and murder, which they had either witnessed or participated in during their service in Vietnam. The testimony of these soldiers was meant to show that because wartime atrocities against the Vietnamese were not rare, but common and widespread, the war needed to end. The hearings garnered little media attention, but they did embolden the VVAW to confront Congress in a more direct manner. Between April 19 and 23 at least a few thousand VVAW members converged on Washington, DC, to conduct a series of protests known collectively as Dewey Canyon III. As part of these protests, Kerry testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The incidents revealed in the “Winter Soldier” investigations formed the core of Kerry's testimony
At the same time, hundreds of VVAW members met with their elected representatives to discuss their opposition to the war. The week's events culminated with a march to the Capitol. Here, at least 600 veterans, many of them dressed in their uniforms and battle fatigues, threw their discharge papers, and the medals and ribbons they had earned in Vietnam onto the Capitol steps.
Biography
John Kerry was born December 11, 1943 in Denver, Colorado. After graduating from Yale University in 1966, Kerry enlisted in the US Navy. In 1968, he was sent to Vietnam, where he commanded patrol boats and earned a Bronze Star, Silver Star, and three Purple Hearts. Returning to the United States, Kerry became disenchanted with the Vietnam War and joined the VVAW. Kerry participated in the “Winter Soldier” investigations and the Dewey Canyon III protests. After practicing law for a number of years, Kerry was elected lieutenant governor of Massachusetts in 1982. Two years later, he was elected to the United States Senate. During his time in the Senate, Kerry was instrumental in normalizing relations between the United States and Vietnam. The Democratic Party nominated him for the presidency in 2004, but he lost to incumbent president George W. Bush. In February 2013, he was appointed secretary of state by President Barack Obama.
Document Analysis
On April 22, 1971, John Kerry, representing the VVAW, provided testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the nature of the Vietnam War. Kerry provided an intensely critical assessment of the war, arguing that it had caused irreparable harm to both the Vietnamese and American soldiers. Kerry maintained that the only way to relieve the continued suffering of both groups was to end American participation in the war.
Kerry's testimony began by referencing the “Winter Soldier” investigation during which 150 honorably discharged and decorated veterans testified to war crimes they committed or witnessed in Vietnam. He recalled that veterans “relived the absolute horror of what this country, in a sense, made them do” including incidents of torture, rape, and murder. Many Vietnam veterans were not only deeply dismayed by their participation in such an immoral war, but also by their country, which sent them to Vietnam under false pretenses. He proclaimed, “The country doesn't know it yet, but it has created a monster, a monster in the form of millions of men who have been taught to deal and to trade in violence, and who are given the chance to die for the biggest nothing in history.” After spending only a short time in Vietnam, most soldiers came away realizing that the conflict was actually a civil war, which didn't require American intervention. Additionally, most Vietnamese just wanted to be left “alone in peace.”
Kerry was particular critical of the American military strategy in Vietnam, which treated Vietnamese lives as expendable. He expressed doubts that the United States would have conducted free fire zones, search and destroy missions, used napalm, or conducted indiscriminate bombings if the war had been waged against whites in Europe. Additionally, Kerry claimed that American soldiers were continually forced to engage in missions that had little strategic military purpose other than confirming that American soldiers shouldn't lose or retreat.
Kerry criticized the administration of President Richard Nixon for refusing to acknowledge something that most Americans realized—the war couldn't be won. Officials continued to send troops to Vietnam under the illusion that things might improve. Nixon's refusal to accept reality led to an expansion of the war and continued casualties. This led Kerry famously to question, “How do you ask a man to be the last man to die in Vietnam? How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?”
Kerry concluded by reminding members of the Senate that they had the ability to alter American policy in Vietnam. He encouraged his listeners to do everything in their power to end the war unilaterally and immediately. During the question and answer section that followed his testimony, Kerry elaborated that the United States should immediately declare a cease-fire; accept a coalition government in Vietnam, which would represent various political views; and pull all American troops out of Vietnam.
Biography and Additional Reading
Brinkley, Douglas. Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War. New York: HarperCollins, 2009. Print.
Cortright, David. Soldiers in Revolt: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War. Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2005. Print.
Moser, Richard. The New Winter Soldiers: GI and Veteran Dissent During the Vietnam Era. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996. Print.
Small, Melvin. Antiwarriors: The Vietnam War and the Battle For America's Hearts and Minds. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002. Vietnam: America in the War Years Ser. Print.