Letters of May 7

GI Rebellions Turned Guns Around in Vietnam War
Eleven people — teachers, a nurse, two EMT workers, and a professional actress — watched, discussed, and were motivated by “Sir! No Sir!”, the terrific film about how soldiers organized against the Vietnam War. This was an unprecedented period of GI resistance and rebellion, a time when the U.S. generals could no longer count on soldiers to fight their imperialist war.
All of us were inspired by the brave acts of rebellion, including the Presidio Mutiny in which 27 military prisoners in the San Francisco stockade held a sit-down protest over prison conditions. The soldiers were sentenced up to 16 years in prison. Other soldiers announced their refusal to serve in Vietnam and were also sent to prison. Entire units in Vietnam refused to fight.
The film showed how rebellious soldiers put out underground newspapers and established antiwar coffeehouses, which became centers of antiwar organizing. Entertainers like Pete Seeger, Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Country Joe McDonald and others performed free antiwar shows to tens of thousands of enthusiastic soldiers and sailors.
Since the history is kept hidden from most people, here are some of the facts:
Between July 1, 1966 and December 31, 1973, there were 503,926 “incidents of desertion,” (U.S. Department of Defense).
A thousand Vietnam veterans, some in wheelchairs and on crutches, marched in Washington, DC in 1971 against the war. Many threw their purple heart medals and bronze stars at the Capitol building. Hundreds spoke at campus forums and rallies, countering the lie that soldiers supported the war. In fact, a 1975 survey revealed that 75 percent of veterans opposed the war.
Sailors sabotaged the engines of ships destined for Vietnam. Antiwar sailors on three huge aircraft carriers — the USS Constellation, the USS Coral Sea, and the USS Kitty Hawk — formed an organization called SOS (Stop Our Ships/Support Our Sailors). Thousands of crew members signed antiwar petitions, published antiwar newspapers and supported crew members who refused service.
There were 551 reported incidents of “fraggings” — grenade attacks by soldiers on their officers. This number didn’t include rifle attacks on unpopular officers.
We then discussed the contradiction facing military planners: a volunteer army tends to have more motivated and gung-ho soldiers, but there aren’t enough to fight a major imperialist war. A draft gives them the numbers bosses need, but at the risk of having many more disgruntled and rebellious soldiers and sailors. “Sir! No Sir!” shows it’s possible to win large numbers of soldiers to rebel against fighting imperialist wars.
People often ask how it’s possible to have a revolution in a country where a powerful military and police force exist to suppress it. “Sir! No Sir!” shows that soldiers can and will reject the roles that have been assigned to them, and they can turn the guns around and fight for what’s in their class interests.
We invited our friends to PLP’s May Day celebration.
A reader

Minimum Wage and Maximum Exploitation
My son is an organizer for a major union out here in Western Pennsylvania. Currently, he’s very involved in the “Fight For Fifteen” campaign, which is a reform struggle to win a raise in the minimum wage to $15/an/hour for fast food workers and others. I’ve discussed this question with my son and others.
It appears that many workers support this raise, which itself is barely enough to survive on. I think we should be involved in this struggle, while putting forth our communist analysis. I think it’s clear that raising the minimum wage will do next to nothing to eradicate wage slavery and we must explain this to fellow workers.
I would use this analogy. Suppose a plantation owner in the south reduced the hours slaves were forced to work from 14 to 12. Would this mean the slave system would become more humane? I think not. Would the lives of the slave have improved due to this? Hardly at all. Some may think this analogy doesn’t hold water, but I think it contains a kernel of truth.
Then there is the question of the cost of living, which will inevitably rise alongside the minimum-wage increase, negating the raise for the low-paid workers. In fact, due to inflation the current minimum wage is actually worth less than 50 years ago.
As we know, it took a bloody Civil War to overturn the slave system and it will take a communist revolution to uproot capitalism and wage slavery, the only real solution for very exploited low-wage workers, as well as for all workers. I would be interested in hearing other views on the minimum-wage question.
Red Coal

Expose Nazi Lies about Katyn Massacre
April 13 is Katyn Memorial Day. This is the day that Polish nationalists and anticommunists commemorate the alleged murder of 22,000 Polish prisoners of war by the Soviets and Stalin in1940. Problem is that it did not happen!
This is an anticommunist lie. It was invented by the Nazis in 1943, and taken up by all the capitalist powers during the Cold War. In 1990-1992, two fanatic anticommunists, Gorbachev and Yeltsin “admitted” Soviet guilt. I myself, a researcher, believed it for a few years. Then, for a longer time, I was agnostic, believing that we just can’t know; there’s too much conflicting evidence.
But now we know this story simply cannot possibly be true. I published the reasons why in the journal Socialism and Democracy last August in the article titled, “The ‘Official’ Version of the Katyn Massacre Disproven? Discoveries at a German Mass Murder Site in Ukraine.” (See http://msuweb.montclair.edu/~furrg/research/furr_katyn_preprint_0813.pdf for a copy.)
It wasn’t me who made the discoveries that utterly disprove the Katyn story. Polish and Ukrainian archeologists did that. They found things they never expected to find, and certainly hoped no one would ever find. And now they are keeping quiet about it. Yes, the Poles, the Ukrainians, and the Russians too, are keeping this secret. This — the biggest World War II-related discovery of the past several years — is simply hushed up. It is a real “conspiracy of silence.”
Katyn Memorial Day, April 13, is a good day to tell the world: “Stalin Is Innocent! The Soviets Are Not Guilty of Killing 22,000 Polish Prisoners of War!” This isn’t going to stop the anticommunists. Of course not!
Since when have anticommunists cared about the truth and evidence? Capitalist Poland has spent at least $500 million on hundreds of memorials all over Poland, and three of them in Russia. They aren’t going to allow a little thing like historical truth spoil their wonderful anticommunist orgy!
So we should do our best to spoil it for them. Today is a good day to tell the world: “The ‘Katyn Massacre’ Is An Anticommunist Fraud!” Spread the word!
Soviet History Researcher