Handout for WNC Veterans for Peace Chapter 099 vigil on November 15, 2022

 

                                                     Photo from Veterans for Peace website.

Veterans for Peace Statement on Ukraine

Veterans For Peace (VFP) unequivocally condemns Russia’s horrific invasion of
Ukraine. VFP opposes western militarism and increased US military spending, and
we are deeply concerned about even the possibility of nuclear warfare.

Veterans For Peace maintains:
● That the people of Ukraine have the right to self determination and to
lead their own struggle for national liberation.
● That all people deserve to live without military invasions, occupation or
threats of war, including the militarization of Russia’s borders by the
U.S. and NATO.
● All parties to the Russia-Ukraine War should commit to genuine
diplomacy with serious negotiations.
● War resisters from every nation deserve support and safe refuge. 

Veterans For Peace has consistently advocated for an end to war and as U.S.
veterans to “restrain our government from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the
internal affairs of other nations”.

As veterans who know the enormous costs of wars, Veterans For Peace will
continue to advocate for: (a) reduction of global arms sales, (b) limiting the
expansion of US militarism globally, and (c) nuclear disarmament.

To join Veterans for Peace, or to sign up for VFP e-News, go to:
https://www.veteransforpeace.org
Western North Carolina Website: www.vfp099.org / Facebook: Veterans for Peace Western North Carolina Chapter 099

Email: president@vfp099.org

Mailing address: VFP Chapter 099, PO Box 1024, Asheville NC 28802

Armistice Day rememberance in 2022 in Asheville.

 

Gerry Werhan, member of VFP Chapter 099, read Ken Jone's poem this morning at the war memorial at the courthouse in downtown Asheville. It is a rainy day here for sure. This was done to mark Armistice Day. Photos by Gerry Werhan.

Poem by Ken Jones in honor of Armistice Day

 

Photo of Asheville War Memorial by Gerry Werhan

Remember: Act Here Now

An Armistice Day Calling

Today I want to remember, and grieve

all who have suffered - and still suffer - from war:

the dead, so many dead, on all sides,

the living wounded, in body and mind and spirit

the hungry, the heartbroken

the survivors.

I find myself among them all,

witnessing in our own time and place

a world gone mad, addicted to war

over there, in the name of oil and gas

and conquest;

here, in the name of jobs

and righteousness.

And yet

I remember -

we are all one people

on only one earth,

one miracle among billions of miracles

spinning through infinite space,

gifted to be part of a divine creation.

We all see the same sun rising

the same moon eclipsing,

drink the same water,

breathe the same air

eat from the same garden

of Mother Earth.

We are within the same

Great Spirit.

We who yearn for peace

for justice

for freedom

for the very blessing of life to continue

for our children and grandchildren -

It is we who are called

not just to remember,

not just to see the truth,

not just to wish for the best

but to act 

as though there is an emergency.

Because there is.

All we hold dear, all that we know

is under attack

by

endless war

climate catastrophe

racial hatred and fear

capitalism gone amok

fascism.

And so, on this day of remembering,

let us also look forward

and commit ourselves

here and now

to work for peace and justice,

to put an end to all forms of violence

here, there, and everywhere -

In our

hearts

homes

schools

streets

towns

workplaces

borders

world.

Let us be prophetic voices

in these troubled times -

for peace, not war,

for 

Living in harmony with nature

Sharing the wealth

Understanding “the other”

Healing the injuries

Caring, not punishing

Freeing, not enslaving

Loving, not fearing.

Our time is fleeting.

How will we spend 

our remaining days?

Armistice is good, but not enough;

remembering is good, but not enough.

Now, more than ever,

we must act,

with love,

to heal and protect all life

in this home we call Earth.

 - Ken Jones

Handout for WNC Veterans for Peace Chapter 099 vigil on November 8, 2022

 

From a letter by Gerry Werham, WNC Veterans for Peace member:

A Veterans Day for Peace, not War

Veterans For Peace - Western North Carolina will again this year assemble in remembrance and reclamation of the origins of Armistice Day.

Over one hundred years ago the world celebrated peace as a universal principle. The first World War had just ended and nations mourning their dead collectively called for an end to all wars. Armistice Day was born and was designated as “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated”. 

After World War II, the U.S. Congress decided to rebrand November 11 as Veterans Day. Honoring the warrior quickly morphed into honoring the military and glorifying war. Armistice Day was flipped from a day for peace into a day for displays of militarism.

Join us at the WNC Veterans Memorial near the Buncombe County Courthouse at 10AM on Friday, November 11 for an hour of reflections on the local influence of militarism, readings and music leading up to hearing bells ring 11 times in honoring that day 104 years ago when the world celebrated the end of “the war to end all wars.”

To join Veterans for Peace, or to sign up for VFP e-News, go to: https://www.veteransforpeace.org
Western North Carolina Website: www.vfp099.org /  

Facebook: Veterans for Peace Western North Carolina Chapter 099

Email: president@vfp099.org

Reclaiming 11/11 as a Day For Peace

 Veterans For Peace - Western North Carolina will again this year assemble in remembrance and reclamation of the origins of Armistice Day.

Over one hundred years ago the world celebrated peace as a universal principle. The first World War had just ended and nations mourning their dead collectively called for an end to all wars.  Armistice Day was born and was designated as “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated."

After World War II, the U.S. Congress decided to rebrand November 11 as Veterans Day. Honoring the warrior quickly morphed into honoring the military and glorifying war. Armistice Day was flipped from a day for peace into a day for displays of militarism.

Join us at the WNC Veterans Memorial near the Buncombe County Courthouse at 10AM on Friday, November 11 for an hour of reflections on the local influence of militarism, readings and music leading up to hearing bells ring 11 times in honoring that day 104 years ago when the world celebrated the end of 'the war to end all wars.'

Handout for WNC Veterans for Peace Chapter 099 on November 1, 2022

 

 

The above image came from Peace & Planet News.

From Peace & Planet News, a Publication of the NYC VFP chapter: American and Russian Women Call for Peace

     We are united in the belief that diplomacy, dialogue, engagement, and exchange are urgently needed to end the current crisis and avert a catastrophic military conflict that could spiral out of control –  even push the world to the precipice of nuclear war.

     For the United States and Russia, the only sane and humane course of action now is a principled commitment to clear, creative and persistent diplomacy –  not military action. 

     We must redefine security so that women, families, and our children can live in peace.

To join Veterans for Peace, or to sign up for VFP e-News, go to: https://www.veteransforpeace.org

Website: www.vfp099.org /  Facebook: Veterans for Peace Western North Carolina Chapter 099        Email: president@vfp099.org
Mailing address: VFP Chapter 099, PO Box 1024, Asheville NC 28802

Handout for WNC Veterans for Peace Chapter 099 on October 18, 2022

 

 At the Boston Veterans Day parade, November 11, 2014.

An Excerpt from Peace & Planet News, a Publication of the New York City VFP chapter:

This piece is an excerpt, adapted from Ann Jones's book They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return from America's Wars –  the Untold Story. 

An older army officer calls me over... “I've been in the Army 26 years”, he says, “and I can tell you it's a con”.

He has been an adviser to the chief counterterrorism officer in Iraq. He doesn't think much of military bosses or politicians or Americans in general who send the lowliest 1% to fight wars that make the other one percent, on the high end, “monu-fuckin’-mentally rich”.

“ War is absurd”, he says. “Boys don't know any better.  But for a grown man to be trapped in stupid wars –  it's embarrassing, it's humiliating, it's absurd”.

To join Veterans for Peace, or to sign up for VFP e-News, go to: https://www.veteransforpeace.org
Western North Carolina Website: www.vfp099.org

Facebook: Veterans for Peace Western North Carolina Chapter 099 

Email: president@vfp099.org

Mailing address: VFP Chapter 099, PO Box 1024, Asheville NC 28802