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About VFP

Welcome!

Veterans For Peace is a global organization of Military Veterans and allies whose collective efforts are to build a culture of peace by using our experiences and lifting our voices. We inform the public of the true causes of war and the enormous costs of wars, with an obligation to heal the wounds of wars. Our network is comprised of over 140 chapters worldwide whose work includes: educating the public, advocating for a dismantling of the war economy, providing services that assist veterans and victims of war, and most significantly, working to end all wars.

VFP Chapter 72 is located in Portland, Oregon, USA, and has been at the forefront of social justice and demilitarization efforts since 1985. We are a non-partisan 501(c)(3) non-profit organization charged with advocating for peace at home and abroad.

Statement of Purpose

We, as military veterans, do hereby affirm our greater responsibility to serve the cause of world peace. To this end we will work, with others both nationally and internationally

  • To increase public awareness of the causes and costs of war
  • To restrain our governments from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations
  • To end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons
  • To seek justice for veterans and victims of war
  • To abolish war as an instrument of national policy.

To achieve these goals, members of Veterans For Peace pledge to use non-violent means and to maintain an organization that is both democratic and open with the understanding that all members are trusted to act in the best interests of the group for the larger purpose of world peace.

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VFP Statements

VFP National Statement on Hamas-Israel

Below are excerpts from the Veterans For Peace Hamas-Israel Statement. Find the full statement here.

We oppose all targeting of civilians. We denounce Hamas’ attacks on Israeli civilians and deplore Israel’s crushing response in Gaza. We also recognize this war did not start last week, it has gone on for decades. Over $150 billion of our tax dollars have provided Israel unlimited weaponry and diplomatic cover has allowed it to expand its occupation such that 16 years ago former President Jimmy Carter clearly labeled it apartheid. …

We lift up the words of our brother and sister military veterans, both Palestinian and Israeli members of Combatants for Peace:

“Our hearts are with all of the victims and their families, and we hope for the safe return of those held captive, and for the safety of the civilians trapped inside Gaza… Together, we must retain our humanity, and value all life as sacred and cherished… The only solution is ending the occupation, uniting Israelis and Palestinians and focusing our collective efforts on achieving peace.”

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Events

Watch Crossings With Us!

Join Veterans For Peace Chapter 72 on Friday, August 18, 2023, for a Watch Party for the film Crossings, with introduction provided by Martin Hart-Landsberg, board member of the Korea Policy Institute.

The award-winning documentary film directed by Deann Borshay Liem of Mu Films follows 30 international feminist peacemakers as they travel to North Korea and prepare to cross the Demilitarized Zone into South Korea to call for an end to the 70-year war that has divided the Korean peninsula since the Korean Armistice was signed in 1953.

Click here to view/download our event flyer. For a trailer and much more info. about Crossings, go here.

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VFP Statements

VFP National Statement on Ukraine situation

On 24 February, Veterans For Peace published an important statement encouraging diplomacy rather than belligerence when dealing with the ongoing issues in Eastern Europe.

Please find the complete statement HERE as well as ways to support the peace movement.

We appreciate your support and efforts during this trying time for our world.

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Visibility Actions

Memorial Day 2021

Memorial Day ceremony

On May 31st, members of Veterans for Peace gathered in the Peace Memorial Park in Portland, OR for a demonstration and conversation about the true costs of war. The day was unseasonably warm, and it was our first in-person gathering since the pandemic began.

This year, we focused on veterans who had willfully served yet were deported after their term of service was up. In conjunction with the Leave No One Behind Mural Project, we are making progress to help raise visibility for these vets so they will be repatriated and honored for their service.

The mural project launched in Tijuana, Baja California and will be installed in over thirty locations in the U.S., Mexico, and other countries. We in Portland are proud to be one of those locations. The project’s coaltion partners staged a grand mural installation in Washington, D.C., coinciding with the end of President Biden’s first 100 days in office.

The coalition urges elected officials, Congress, and the Biden-Harris administration to take a series of policy steps to protect immigrants by:

➤Passing an Executive Action or a series of actions as outlined by Senator Tammy Duckworth to begin the process of repatriating deported veterans.

➤Implementing the New Way Forward Act into law as reintroduced by Representative Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.

➤Taking concrete steps to end family separation and support family reunification.

For more information, please contact our local organizers

Dan Shea; shea@veteransforpeace.org

Jennifer Martinez-Medina; jennifer@repatriateourpatriots.org

or the project’s website: Leavenoonebehindmuralproject.org