BELFAST — Doug Rawlings, president of the Maine Chapter of Veterans for Peace and an award-winning anti-war poet, will speak Wednesday, April 17, at 6 p.m., of his recent return to Vietnam, in the Abbott Room of the Belfast Free Library, hosted by the Peace and Justice Group of Waldo County.

In August 2023, Rawlings returned to Vietnam after a 53-year absence when he was invited to speak of G.I. resistance to the war and to present his poetry at the 14th annual Engaging With Vietnam conference in Hue City. Rawlings’s son Josh traveled with him. After the conference, they travelled to the DMZ, to Khe Sahn, Danang and Dong Ha. Their journey took them to the VFP programs RENEW (dedicated to the disposal of unexploded ordnance) and the Vietnam Friendship Village, a residential facility for the victims of Agent Orange founded by veteran George Mizo.

Rawlings will share slides from this journey and some of the poetry he shared at the conference.

In 1985, Rawlings co-founded Veterans for Peace, an organization that now has thousands of members worldwide and is a prominent player in the growing opposition to war as an instrument of foreign policy.

“There is no issue more relevant in today’s world, and no one who can address this more authentically than someone with Rawlings’ experience,” said Peace and Justice Group of Waldo County, in a news release.

All are welcome.

This event was rescheduled from February 21. 

FMI: peace.and.justice.waldo@gmail.com