How a Teen and a Marine Resisted the Vietnam War and Racism at Home
During the Vietnam War, not all the battles were fought in Vietnam. Enlisted men were also fighting a war against racism within the ranks. We’ll hear how that revolt took hold at Camp Pendleton, and sparked an unlikely friendship. He was a young marine. She was the daughter of a farmworker. They met at a coffeehouse called ‘The Green Machine.’ It was one of many around the country where active duty GIs could get free coffee, listen to music, read underground newspapers, and talk with peace activists. These coffeehouses were key in building the GI movement to end the war in Vietnam.
After the Story: Ode to a Vietnam Vet
As journalists, we develop relationships with people we report on that are often deeply intimate, but fleeting. We talk with people about some of their most vulnerable moments, write a story, and then usually never see them again. For KQED’s health reporter April Dembosky, that’s not how it went with Vietnam veteran Ron Fleming.
We also find out how the candidates we profiled for our series The Long Run did on Election Day.