What Now? Military Peace Activism in the Wake of the Vietnam War

ABSTRACT

This article defines military peace activism as peace activism related to military manpower policy and military personnel, including active, reserve, potential, and former servicemembers. It argues that when the US war in Vietnam and the draft that supported it ended, antiwar activists who worked with GIs had to reframe their work, as the majority of men and women seeking help after 1972 wanted to remain in the military. It argues that military peace activism, as a subset of peace activism more generally, followed the same general patterns as other activist movements of the era. Small groups of individuals and organizations maintained their networks but focused on local and individual issues. They helped thousands of GIs and set the stage for future peace and antiwar work. Ultimately, the work of military peace activists in the mid‐1970s represents a forward‐facing evolution in military peace activism rather than a simple coda to the Vietnam‐War years.