Operation Dewey Canyon I took place during January and February
1969. During a five-day period in February, elements of the
Third Marine Division invaded Laos. Operation Dewey Canyon II
was the name given to the first seven days of the South Viet-
namese invasion of Laos in February 1971. The name of the oper-
ation was subsequently changed. Operation Dewey Canyon III took
place in Washington, D.C, April 19 through April 23, 1971. It
was called "a limited incursion into the country of Congress.
Sunday / April 18, 1971
Anti-war Vietnam veterans from nearly every state begin filtering
into West Potomac Park. By nightfall, only 900 have registered
and the veteran leaders are worried that they will not have the
requisite numbers for the desired impact.
Monday / April 19, 1971
About 1,100 veterans move across the Lincoln Memorial Bridge to
Arlington Cemetery, some in wheelchairs, some on crutches.
Mothers who lost their sons in Vietnam (Gold Star Mothers) lead
the procession.
A brief ceremony for the war dead is conducted by Reverend Jackson Day on the small plot of grass outside the Cemetery beneath the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the grave of John F. Kennedy. (Reverend Day had resigned his military chaplain- ship a few days before.
After the ceremony, a small delegation of mothers and veterans
is barred from entering the Cemetery and lays two memorial
wreaths at the entrance. The March re-forms and makes its way
to the Capitol.
The march reaches the Capitol steps. Congressman Paul Mc-
Closky, who joined the march en route, and representative Bella
Abzug, Donald Edwards, and Ogden Reid address the crowd. Jan
Crumb, member of the executive committee of VVAW, formally
presents sixteen demands to Congress.
The veterans march to the Mall and establish a campsite on
a grassy quadrangle between a Third and Fourth Streets. Some
veterans go directly to into the halls of Congress to lobby
against the war.
Washington District Court of Appeals lifts an injunction
barring veterans from camping on the Mall. The injunction had
been requested by the Justice Department.
Tuesday / April 20, 1971
About 200 veterans attend hearings by the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee on proposals to end the war.
Veterans lobby all day in Congress.
A contingent of 200 veterans, feeling that the affront of
the day before cannot be over looked, marches from the Mall
back to Arlington Cemetery. They march single file across the
Lincoln Memorial Bridge. The Superintendent tries to stop
the veterans at the gate but then backs down.
In the afternoon, a guerilla theatre performance is given
on the steps of the Capitol.
Senators Claiborn Pell and Philip Hart hold a fund-raising
party for the veterans. During the party it is announced that
Chief Justice Warren Burger has reversed the decision of the
Court of Appeals - allegedly, the speediest process of an
appeal to the Supreme Court on record. The injunction is once
again in effect and the Vietnam Veterans are given until 4:30
the followng afternoon to break camp.
Wednesday / April 21, 1971
A contingent of fifty veterans marches to the Pentagon to turn
themselves in as war criminals. They are not arrested.
Lobbying on Capitol Hill continues all day.
Guerilla theatre is perfomed in front of the Justice Depart-
ment.
At 4:30 PM, the appointed hour of eviction from the camp, an
alarm clock rings over the microphone on the speaker's platform.
No police are in sight. The area is packed with curious on-
lookers. The Supreme Court is meeting in special session.
At 5:30 PM, Ramsey Clark announces that the Supreme Court
has offered the veterans an option. Stay on the Mall, don't
sleep, and the government won't arrest you; or sleep on the
Mall and the government will arrest you. The veterans retire
into their various delegations and vote; in effect, on whether
to sleep or not to sleep. By a close vote choose to sleep.
All agree to abide by that decision.
Washington Park Police state they have no intention of in-
specting the campsite during the night. The cast of the musical
"Hair" entertains the troops.
Senator Edward Kennedy makes a midnight visit to the Mall.
He remains for one hour, talking and singing with the veterans.
The veterans sleep on the Mall without interruption.
Thursday / April 22, 1971
A large group of veterans marches to the steps of the Supreme
Court to ask the Court why it has not ruled on the constitu-
tionality of the war. They sing "God Bless America." One hun-
dred and ten are arrested for disturbing the peace and are
led off the steps with their hands clasped behind their heads.
John Kerry testifies before a special session of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee for two hours.
Lobbying on Capitol Hill continues all day. A District Court
judge angrily dissolves his injunction order, rebuking Justice
Departmet lawyers for requesting the court order and then not
enforcing it.
Veterans stage a candlelight march around the White House.
A huge American flag is carried upside down as a signal of
distress. The march ends back at the camp when the flag carriers
mount the stage.
Friday / April 23, 1971
Veterans cast down their medals and ribbons on the steps of
the Capitol. Congressman Jonathon Bingham holds hearings
with former intelligence and public information officers over
distortion of news and information concerning the war.
Senators George McGovern and Philip Hart hold hearings on
atrocities committed by U.S. soldiers in Vietnam.
Veterans begin breaking camp. A tree, donated by the veterans,
is planted as a symbolic plea for the preservation of all life
and the environment.
The quadrangle on the Mall is vacant. Not one act of violence
has been committed. They came in peace.
. . . .
The war in Indochina continues.
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