Vietnam Veterans Against The War - Similarly Named Different Group

Similarly Named Different Group

The relatively small group Vietnam Veterans Against The War Anti-Imperialist (VVAW-AI) is not a faction, caucus or part of VVAW. The VVAW web site describes VVAW-AI as "the creation of an obscure, ultra-left sect called the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) ... designed to pimp off of VVAW's history of struggle." In the mid-1970s, as VVAW membership severely dropped after the end of the war, members of Bob Avakian's militant RCP were able to gain influential positions in the VVAW, including the National Office. A rift in the remaining membership formed due to the opposed ideologies, and the RCP group formed a separate organization, Vietnam Veterans Against the War Anti-Imperialist (VVAW-AI). VVAW filed and won a lawsuit prohibiting the RCP group from using the VVAW name, logos and materials.

In 1973, after months of heated debate, the VVAW changed the name of the organization to VVAW/WSO (Winter Soldier Organization), and opened its membership to non-veterans as a remedy to its diminishing size. With these relaxed membership requirements, members of ultra-left factions like Bob Avakian's militant Revolutionary Union were able to join VVAW, ultimately leading to a takeover of the VVAW’s National Office and steering committee. By 1975, the RCP cadre had managed to obtain many key leadership positions in the organization, and tried to control the splintered organization. A rift in the remaining membership formed due to the opposed ideologies, and the RCP group splintered off to form a smaller separate organization, Vietnam Veterans Against the War Anti-Imperialist (VVAW-AI). With the radical fringe elements influence removed, VVAW dropped the WSO from their name, won the court injunction against the radical group and struggled to rebuild. Deep animosity still exists between the two organizations.

The organization survived the conflict with the RCP and its general decline after the end of the Vietnam War, but as historian Andrew Hunt put it, only as “an ineffectual fragment of its former self. ...VVAW never ceased to exist. It split, dwindled, and underwent additional transformation. Yet it did not fold.”