1500 Vets March in First Day of Protest

(Special to the CRIMSON)

WASHINGTON, D. C.-About 1000 Vietnam Veterans Against the War, including a number of amputees on crutches and in wheelchairs, were barred early yesterday morning from their National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.

Awaking at 7:30 a. m. yesterday under a cloudless sky, the veterans left their temporary encampment in West Potomac Park and marched across Key Bridge to Arlington Cemetery for the first scheduled protest of the week.

After a short service, two Gold Star mothers, a widow, and three of the veterans' representatives attempted to enter the cemetery to lay wreathes on their friends' and relatives' graves, but were told that groups of a political persuasion were not allowed to use the grounds. Fort Meyers spokesmen said later that the Army Technical Manual prohibits such action.

Some of the veterans threw their toy M-16 guns against the fence. At least one of the mothers cried. Alex Primm, a St. Louis veteran, said, "They were angry and more than a little bit disappointed."

After leaving Arlington, they marched back across the bridge, and started down Constitution Avenue, where their numbers, including late-arriving vets and a few non-vets, grew to approximately 1500.

They chanted as they went, singing softly the words of Country Joe's song, "One, two, three, four, what are we fightin' for," and ?? the old standard, "One, two, three, four, we don't want your fucking war." They waved peace signs andclenched fists at the few government employees who came to their windows, and smiling, politely explained to some of the early-rising tourists that they were "gonna end the war."

As the march swung past the White House where President Nixon was preparing to leave for a Governors' conference from the lawn, the tanned, shaggy vets were suddenly face to face with more than 100 startled Daughters of the American. Revolution.

In line awaiting entrance to their national convention, one silver-haired woman could not help but utter, "I hope my grandson is not in there," as the chants grew louder.

At that point, one vet broke from the march, pointed a finger in her face, and drawled, "Listen lady, I'd like you to know I'm directly descended from Martha Costa Washington, and I want you to know Vietnam is so full of shit, you can pack it and shuck it." The woman harrumphed.

A Congressional delegation consisting of Rep. Paul M. McCloskey (R-Calif.), Rep. Bella Abzug (D. N. Y.), and Rep. Thomas M. Rees (D-Calif.) met the marchers on the steps of the Capitol. Jan Crumb, president of the VVAW, read a list of 16 demands, including total withdrawal of troops, the end of appropriations for military operations in Indochina, amnesty for draft evaders who have refused induction or left the country, and appropriations for jobs and education for returning vets. Short speeches by McCloskey and Abzug followed.

The veterans, organized according to states and Congressional districts, spent the afternoon lobbying with members of Congress. Ramsey Clark meanwhile spent the 70-degree afternoon in the U. S. District Court of Appeals arguing an injunction obtained last Friday by the government, prohibiting the veterans from camping on the Mall. The Court overruled the injunction at 4:20 p. m. yesterday.

Today the veterans plan to carry out guerilla theatre "search and destroy" missions throughout the city, and increase lobbying efforts on members of Congress. One vet coordinator said last night that "the reliving of war experiences may give us a few surprises, but I hope the effects won't be too bad."