The National Conference of Viet Nam Veteran Ministers at the conclusion of its Second Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois, November 13-18, 1991 issued the following statement:
Last year when we first met, the nation stood on the brink of war. This year, as we celebrate the military victory of Desert Storm, we are once again reminded of the dehumanizing effects of war on ourselves, on our allies and on our foes.
100,000 Iraqis have already been killed, and 170,000 children are projected to die as a direct result of the war. We Americans have little noticed these deaths or our moral responsibility for them, any more than we noticed the millions of Southeast Asians killed as a result of the Vietnam War.
Moreover, we need also to reach out to our own victims of war found increasingly among the homeless population. According to the Federal Government, 150,000 to 250,000 Veterans are homeless on the streets of our nation on any given night. Most of these are Vietnam Veterans who are still living the agony of what their country asked them to do.
Our continued inhumanity to these victims make true healing and a just peace ever harder to achieve. We must not remain silent in the face of the evils of strife, pestilence and famine that follow war. As a people, we must reach forgiveness, justice, love and tangible aid.
Return to Peace and Justice Statements.