ABSTRACT
This chapter first describes the rise and functional demise of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) between 1969 and 1972. Next, it examines in detail how the "atrocity problem" became the key issue that mobilized VVAW during that time and comments on the special character of "the Vietnam experience". VVAW leaders reasoned that fellow Americans who found atrocities repulsive should demand an end to US military involvement. Bill Crandell was one of the VVAW leaders who pondered this strategy. American involvement in Vietnam officially ended eight months after Dewey Canyon III on January 27, 1973. With the withdrawal of the last American combat troops, VVAW disintegrated rapidly. Once the troops were home, many VVAW members saw no need for further protest. Many of them who remained active gravitated toward more radical politics, and the organization splintered into warring regional and ideological factions.
