Robert O. Muller (born 1946) is an American peace advocate. He was born on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

, and grew up in

Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Point, and Russell Gardens, and a number of unincorpor ...

. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1967, during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and ...

. His commission with the Marines began the same day he received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

from

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New ...

in 1968, and by September of that year he was a combat

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

leading a marine infantry platoon. In April 1969, while leading an assault in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

, a bullet entered his chest and severed his

spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue, which extends from the medulla oblongata in the brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone). The backbone encloses the central canal of the spin ...

, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. After returning from Vietnam, Muller became a staunch advocate for veterans' rights and a peace activist. In 1974, he earned his J.D. degree from the Hofstra University School of Law. In the same year, he appeared in the anti-war documentary film '' Hearts and Minds'', speaking about his life before, during, and after the Vietnam War. He founded

Vietnam Veterans of America Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. (VVA) is a national non-profit corporation founded in 1978 in the United States that is committed to serving the needs of all veterans. It is funded without any contribution from any branch of government. VVA is th ...

in 1978 and Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) in 1980. The VVAF co-founded the

International Campaign to Ban Landmines The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) is a coalition of non-governmental organizations whose stated objective is a world free of anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions, where mine and cluster munitions survivors see their right ...

, which won a 1997

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology ...

. In 2004, Muller founded Alliance for Security. He is currently serving as an advisory board member for a group called Operation Truth and for the

Military Religious Freedom Foundation The Military Religious Freedom Foundation'' (MRFF) is a watchdog group and advocacy organization founded in 2005 by Michael L. "Mikey" Weinstein. The group's goal states it will, "Ensure that members of the United States Armed Forces receive the ...

. Muller is president of Veterans for America (formerly known as the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation). Veterans for America is uniting the new generation of veterans with those from past wars to address the needs of veterans, service members and their families and their larger concerns about the impact of war. It is an advocacy and humanitarian organization. Veterans for America is committed to advancing policy and elevating public discourse on the causes, conduct and consequences of war. Muller is a friend of Bill Wieman, Mark Clevinger, and

Ron Kovic Ronald Lawrence Kovic (born July 4, 1946) is an American anti-war activist, writer, and United States Marine Corps sergeant who was wounded and paralyzed in the Vietnam War. His 1976 memoir ''Born on the Fourth of July'' was made into the Acad ...

. He has lectured about his experiences on over 100 college campuses.

Appearances

In 1994, Muller was the subject of an ABCNews magazine story called, Muller's Mission. The piece, which aired on DayOne, focused on Muller's life story, his experience in a Vietnam Vet's hospital system, and building the Vietnam Vets of America movement in the 1970s. It also documented his work with landmine victims in Cambodia and included the first ever network news interview with his friend and supporter Bruce Springsteen. The piece would go on to win an EMMY award the following year. In a 1997

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

''NewsChat'' segment, Muller debated Ann Coulter. Muller attempted to explain to Coulter that "In 90 percent of cases that U.S. soldiers got blown up—Ann, are you listening?—they were our own mines." She interrupted Muller's point about the role that landmines played in the Vietnam War with the statement "No wonder you guys lost." Muller responded to Coulter's remark with an incredulous "Say that again," while moderator

Felicia Taylor Felicia Rodrica Sturt Taylor (born August 28, 1964) is a retired American anchor-correspondent who worked for CNN International's ''World Business Today'', and contributed to the Business Updates unit for CNN. She was the co-host of Retirement L ...

sharply rebuked the in-house pundit: "OK, we're not going to get into that conversation. Ann, that was unnecessary! Mr. Muller, please continue...." ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' magazine reported the incident differently: ; Films *1973 – ''Operation Last Patrol'', directed by Frank Cavestani and Catherine Leroy. *1974 – '' Hearts and Minds'', directed by Peter Davis. *2007 – ''

Body of War ''Body of War'' is a 2007 documentary film about Iraq War veteran Tomas Young. ''Bill Moyers Journal'' featured a one-hour special about ''Body of War'' including interviews with filmmakers Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue. Summary Shocked by the Se ...

,'' directed by

Ellen Spiro Ellen Spiro is an American documentary filmmaker. She was a producer and director of a television documentary '' Are the kids alright?'', which won an Emmy Award in 2005. She is a professor emerita of the University of Texas at Austin, where ...

and

Phil Donahue Phillip John Donahue (born December 21, 1935) is an American media personality, writer, film producer and the creator and host of ''The Phil Donahue Show''. The television program, later known simply as ''Donahue'', was the first talk show forma ...

References

External links

Bobby Muller page
from Alliance for Security site
Bobby Muller biographyArticle from Newsday.comVietnam Veterans Against the WarVeterans for Americawith Bobby Muller
�by Stephen McKiernan, Binghamton University Libraries Center for the Study of the 1960s, August 7, 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Bobby 1946 births Living people Date of birth missing (living people) American anti–Vietnam War activists United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War Hofstra University alumni Maurice A. Deane School of Law alumni People from Long Island Recipients of the Four Freedoms Award

Appearances

See also

References

External links