It’s a common weekly sight in downtown Oneonta these days, of demonstrations urging peace with the war in the Middle East.
The same was true around our region during October 1969, regarding the war in Vietnam.
Readers of The Oneonta Star of Oct. 13 found out that plans were being made to observe the Oct. 15 Vietnam Moratorium, a nationwide peace demonstration. At SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College, faculty and students could choose to observe it, either by cancelling classes or not attending classes without penalty.
On Oct. 14 The Star reported, “President Nixon will take his Vietnam case to the people in a nationally broadcast speech Nov. 3. This White House announcement came a few hours after Nixon insisted anew that he will not be swayed by nationwide antiwar protests for Wednesday (Oct. 15).”
Whether it was in Oneonta or across the nation, it was also reported that day, “Participants in Wednesday’s Vietnam Moratorium will ask area residents to read — and if they agree with its sentiments — sign an ‘Open Letter to President Nixon.’
“Contents of the letter — drawn up in a form of a petition with space at the bottom of the sheet for names and addresses — have been made available.”
Some of the text read, “Thousands of men have died since your election to the presidency on a platform that promised and end to the war in Vietnam. Although nearly a year has passed, no solution appears to be forthcoming. As a consequence, the problems that confront our country remain unsolved — our money continues to decrease in value, taxes and interest rates rise without control, prices for food and shelter stagger the budgets of all but the most wealthy citizens, our cities remain a mess of pollution and overcrowding, and worse, our sons and brothers continue to waste their lives in a senseless war we can neither condone, or understand.
“Why must our people pay with life and treasure, for a war you have publicly disavowed? If the goal of your administration is to end the war in Vietnam, END IT.
“If the goal is to bring the troops home, bring them home now and allow the Vietnamese, free of all outside interference, including our own, to solve their own problems.”
Moratorium Day itself was reported to be a quiet day in The Star of Oct. 16, observed primarily by college students across the region. In Oneonta, “Several hundred young people canvassed all of Oneonta’s six wards and communities all over the area.
“Some of the participants met with sympathetic receptions, others with rebuffs. Some said they could not believe how well-informed people were in the area, others reported amazement at the hostility with which the subject was met.
“Some had doors slammed in their faces, their material accepted and then torn up. Others said they were invited in for tea and even listened to recitations of family problems.”
Overall, Oneonta police reported a quiet day, and were pleased by how participants conducted their tasks.
Later that month, the local Vietnam protests continued, as The Star of Oct. 27 reported, “An estimated 200 people, including men, women and children braced a cold and sunless Saturday morning to demonstrate their belief that the war in Vietnam should be brought to a swift conclusion.
“Led by 19th District Congressman Daniel E. Button, a Republican, and his wife, approximately 125 marchers covered the parade route from Wilber Park through the downtown district, heads held high and in total silence.
“After reaching Neahwa Park, the end of the route, and where more participants joined the assembly, the participants shared 10 minutes of silent vigil,” followed by an address from Congressman Button.
Whether it was the Moratorium or march, not all agreed with these actions, as Star readers of Oct. 29 learned, “Veterans of Foreign Wars in Oneonta — and across the nation — have called on all community organizations to join the VFW in ‘Operation Speak Out,’ a program designed to encourage the ‘silent majority’ to show their support of the Vietnam question.”
VFW Commander George McGurl said, “Vietnam Moratorium Day on October 15 has given the world, and especially Hanoi, a distorted view of the true feelings of the majority of the people in this country. It is the belief of the Veterans of Foreign wars that the majority of the people in this country do support our men in Vietnam and the position of our government.”
This weekend, some firsts for Sidney in the fall of 1934.