• An end to peace corps? Thursday, August 25, 2005 - 11:56 am [1]

I was drafted out of country (Tonga '67-'68) and ended up spending 13 months with the First Cav Division in Vietnam. Many volunteers were in the Peace Corps primarily to avoid the draft and fled the day they turned 26 and were safe. The Peace Corps was one of the best experiences and the Army one of the worst of my life. Still, I can't imagine anyone wanting to leave home for the Peace Corps to finish a reserve obligation. The Peace Corps should welcome those have learned the hard way that military actions seldom bring peace and use their efforts and talents to represent the United States in someting that does. I hardly see that someone raising chickens and teaching or being a health worker in a developing (or badly hurting) country will be confused with being a spy. I was in a combat infantry division durng the height of the Vietnam war ('69-'70) and know many, many, vets who have returned to Vietnam and other places to do volunteer humanitarian work. PVCs don't have a corner on compassion. I think it is unbecoming and not helpful for the Peace Corps to turn away those who want to work for peace in a constructive way.