Veterans Honor WWI Christmas Truce with John McCutcheon Concert

Illustration from St. Louis Catholic.blogspot.com

For Immediate Release:

Contact: 212-228-8337
info@veteranspeacecouncil.org


Veterans Honor the Christmas Truce of World War I with Concert featuring John McCutcheon

Concert Date: December 20, 2014
Concert Time: 7:30pm, doors open at 6:30pm
Location: Great Hall, Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street, New York  NY.

New York City – November 9, 2014 — The Veterans Peace Council of Metro New York will sponsor a commemoration of the World War I Christmas Truce on Saturday, December 20th at 7:30pm. Renowned folk musician John McCutcheon will perform at the Great Hall of The Cooper Union in honor of the centennial of the truce created by soldiers fighting on opposing sides of the front line during the early months of the Great War.

Mr. McCutcheon’s audience will include many veterans of recent generations who have fought too many wars since The War to End All Wars failed to achieve its goal. Their longing for a true and lasting peace derives not only from first-hand experience in wars ranging from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, but acute awareness of war’s “collateral damage” including civilian deaths, population dislocation, lasting environmental devastation and waste of global resources.

John McCutcheon, acclaimed by music critics around the world, has released 36 albums to date and is the recipient of six Grammy nominations. An extraordinary instrumentalist, his repertoire includes virtuoso performances on hammered dulcimer, guitar, banjo, autoharp, mountain dulcimer, fiddle, and jaw harp. Mr. McCutcheon’s classic tribute to World War I truce, “Christmas in the Trenches,” is included in Folk Alley’s 100 Essential Folk Songs and will be a highlight of his Great Hall concert.

The concert is sponsored by the Veterans Peace Council of Metro New York, whose member organizations include Veterans For Peace (VFP), Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), and Friends and Family of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (FFALB). These organizations are involved in efforts that include the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign, which provides aid and support to those in both the U.S. and Vietnam afflicted with the multigenerational ravages of that chemical; the Iraq Water Project, which is helping to rebuild Iraq’s water infrastructure, largely destroyed by U.S. bombs; a number of programs directly aiding veterans grappling with moral injury and post traumatic stress; and groups like Warrior Writers, which encourage veterans to use the healing power of the written word to examine combat and military service.

Tickets available at: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/917668

$35 general admission; $25 limited income


Additional information:
http://www.folkmusic.com/contact
http://www.veteranspeacecouncil.org

Veterans Organizing Conference, New York City

By Susan Schnall

About 35 veterans and allies attended all or part of the day-long "Veterans Organizing Conference" sponsored by the Veterans Peace Council of Metro New York and its affiliated organizations, and staged at the Joseph S. Murphy Institute of the City University of New York on February 22, 2014. Susan Schnall (VVAW & VFP) and Ben Chitty (VVAW & VFP) moderated the event. Laurie Sandow provided staff support.

This conference followed up on the Council's "Conference on the Veterans Peace Movement," held last May at Rutgers Presbyterian Church in New York City. The May conference's morning sessions discussed veterans' witness to war, patriotic myths and rewriting history, and veterans and the politics of war. The conference's afternoon sessions focused on what veterans bring to the movement for peace and social justice, what the movement can do for veterans, and how to organize veterans as veterans in the movement.

The morning session of February 22 began with presentations by representatives from organizations affiliated or closely associated with the Council. Brian Mataresse (VVAW) focused on solidarity with Vietnam and projects such as Agent Orange relief and recovering Vietnamese MIAs. Matt Howard (IVAW) described Right to Heal. Tarak Kauff (Veterans Peace Teams and VFP) talked about direct actions by veterans. Al Stolzer and Tom Barton (Military Resistance) examined dissent and resistance in the military. Bill Gilson (VFP/NYC) discussed participation in Armistice Day events, commemorating the Christmas Peace Truce of 1914, and the Agent Orange campaign. Ken Dalton (VVAW and VFP/NJ) talked about the chapter's international composition and work with grassroots organizations.

Participants discussed many other activities and concerns, including: women veterans' issues, support for veterans in minority communities, challenges to restrictions on constitutional rights, lobbying campaigns, protesting drones, closing Guantánamo, work with US Labor Against War, counter recruitment, community organizing, intergenerational projects, and full disclosure of the real history of the American War in Vietnam. Ben Chitty opened the afternoon session with a summary of the morning's discussion. The various activities and campaigns fit into one or more of five categories: education, civic participation, outreach, direct action, and specific issues.

In the context of the Christmas Truce of 1914, three veterans' reconciliation projects were described. Jan Barry talked about Warrior Writers and Walt Nygard spoke about the therapeutic effects of the Combat Papers project, in which veterans turn their old uniforms into paper. Both projects work on the premise that art heals the soul. Susan Schnall presented the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign, based on the principle that we have a responsibility to care for people harmed by our weapons and wars.

Ben Chitty presented a short summary of the importance of the Christmas Peace Truce when ordinary soldiers made temporary peace with their enemies, causing the Western Front to fall silent during WWI. The truce broke out spontaneously in many places, and more than a hundred thousand soldiers took part. This was an extraordinary event, a peace created by soldiers. Conference participants agreed that veterans should issue a call to commemorate the Christmas Truce of 1914, with suggestions including a hundred-day campaign beginning on International Peace Day, festivals featuring armistice-related movies and performances, gatherings at Vietnam Memorials and issuing the call for peace.

This story is based on Ben Chitty's report on the conference. It previously appeared in VVAW's The Veteran, Spring 2014 issue. The full report is available on the Veterans Peace Council's Facebook site www.facebook.com/veteranspeacecouncil.

Susan Schnall is a co-coordinator of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign. She is currently a professor in Health Policy and Planning at NYU and a member of VFP and APHA. She is on the VVAW Board.