Huntington Advertiser
Chairman Raps SDS, Says Parade Celebrates End of War
Will Respect Right to Protest
November 8, 1968
Robert A. Broce, co-chairman of the committee planning Monday's Veterans Day parade by Post 1064 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, today countered a statement issued by Students for a Democratic Society at Marshall University. The students said Thursday they would protest Monday's parade and called it an "obscene glorification of war."
Mr. Broce's statement said:
"It's somewhat ironic since we fought for their right to protest. "[sic] I doubt seriously if this type of protest would be allowed if Hitler, Tojo, or Mussolini had taken over our country.
"Their ignorance as to the real meaning of Veterans Day is deplorable, as in the true sense we are celebrating the end of war with Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1918, "VE" Day, May 8, 1945, "VJ" Day, Aug. 14, 1945, and the truce in Korea.
"However, if in time of war we are able to promote patriotism and support for our fighting men in Vietnam, we certainly want to. I think the very fact that a minute group would feel this way indicates strongly the need for what we are trying to do.
"We will respect their right to peacefully hand out protest literature. As a matter of fact, I recommend colored paper; yellow or pink woull [sic] be appropriate for immediate identification.
"I feel somewhat sorry for both the very small number of students involved and their parents.
"Let me add that the cooperation that we have received from Marshall University, the Cabell and Wayne County Boards of Education, area high school principals, and student bodies have been nothing less than magnificent."
The Marshall University chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) will protest two local events next week - the Veterans Day Parade Monday and campus recruiting for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Wednesday and Thursday.
In a meeting Thursday which was closed to reporters of the Huntington Publishing Co. and the school newspaper, The Parthenon, the group denounced the Veterans of Foreign Wars-sponsored parade Monday as "an obscene glorification of war."
An unsigned press release said, "a committee will draft a handbill denouncing U.S. military actions at home and abroad."
About 20 of the 35 students assembled in the Campus Christian Center agreed to help picket the CIA representatives Nov. 13 and 14 in Old Main.
Dean Olen E. Jones of the Student Affairs Office said both demonstrations were registered with the university but stressed that SDS is not formally recognized by the administration.
He said protesters would be acting as individuals and not as an official group.
Student members have planned to seek official recognition as a campus organization.