''The New Soldier'' was published as both a hard and soft cover book in October, 1971, by

Vietnam Veterans Against the War Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) is an American tax-exempt non-profit organization and corporation founded in 1967 to oppose the United States policy and participation in the Vietnam War. VVAW says it is a national veterans' organization ...

. Principally a photographic essay accompanied by text, the work was edited by David Thorne and George Butler, with a section written by

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

. The work includes photographs captured by many photographers across five days in April, 1971.

Overview

''The New Soldier'' documents what VVAW called Operation Dewey Canyon III. This pseudo-operation, "a limited incursion into the country of Congress", was basically a series of demonstrations, marches and

street theatre Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves, college or university c ...

designed to protest US involvement in the war in Vietnam. In one activity, Vietnam War combat veterans, wearing uniforms and carrying unloaded weapons, enacted for astonished visitors to Washington, DC, the actions common to descending upon and sweeping a Vietnamese village for enemy combatants. This theatre was performed on Constitution Mall, under heavy police supervision. This was only one of several events participated in by hundreds of Vietnam Veterans and not a few Gold Star Mothers from across the country. ''The New Soldier'' documents two events of emotional significance. In one, war veterans queue up in a long line to return their medals and decorations to the U.S. government. They hurled them upon the steps of Congress. This was a shocking scene on American television. A second event was a worship service held at the main gate to Arlington National Cemetery. The desire had been to hold the service on the actual hallowed grounds but the Vietnam Veteran demonstrators were locked out of Arlington. Marines guarded the gates with loaded weapons and kept them pointed outward. The worship service had to be conducted with the clergyman's back to those Marines. To some readers, a shortcoming of The New Soldier is that the words spoken by this Vietnam War battlefield chaplain, a United Methodist clergyman, were not included in the volume. That sermonette has not been lost to American history (see link below). The book contains excerpts of testimony by veterans at the

Winter Soldier Investigation The "Winter Soldier Investigation" was a media event sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) from January 31, 1971, to February 2, 1971. It was intended to publicize war crimes and atrocities by the United States Armed Forces ...

on war crimes committed during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, 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 Vie ...

and a portion of the

Fulbright Hearing The Fulbright Hearings refers to any of the set of U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings on Vietnam conducted between 1966 and 1971. This article concerns those held by the U.S. Senate in 1971 relating to the Vietnam War. By April 197 ...

testimony given by

to the Senate committee. ''The New Soldier'' documents a most unusual event in American history: returned veterans of a foreign war appearing en masse in the nation's capital to demand that the war be stopped. Only 5000 copies of the book were printed, consequently, the book is considered a collector's item.

References

External links

Rev. Day speaks at Arlington
{{DEFAULTSORT:New Soldier, The 1971 non-fiction books Books of photographs John Kerry Vietnam War books