What steps did Quakers take during the Vietnam War to defend human rights and human dignity? How might this impact Quaker witness today? This essay is by Henry Morgan.

Henry is a Georgetown student who served as an intern to FGC in 2024. This essay shows the opinions of the author only. It does not represent view of FGC or Georgetown University.

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The theme of strength through peace, as seen in the Civil and World Wars, is further enshrined by the Quaker approach to the Vietnam War. Quakers’ compassion for all humans involved – regardless of their position on the war or view on capitalism – was unencumbered by politics and nativism. 

The Vietnam War presented an especially interesting dilemma for Quakers. On one hand, Quakers (as they had in previous conflicts) generally opposed the war. In 1972, over 1,000 Quakers held a silent vigil outside of the White House in opposition to the Vietnam War. The protested White House resident in question, Richard Nixon, was the second Quaker to ascend to the presidency. While he claimed to support a peaceful end to the conflict, Nixon arguably prolonged the war in his 1968 presidential campaign and expanded military operations in Cambodia.¹ Simply put, Nixon’s support for the Vietnam War directly conflicted with the Quaker tenet of pacifism. Instead of following Nixon because of shared identities, many Quakers criticized him for exacerbating the bloodshed. This demonstrates the critical thinking skills inherent to Friends.

Of course, the protest didn’t achieve peace. As we know, the war raged until 1975, after Nixon had resigned. Throughout the war, Quakers continued to promote human rights and provide humanitarian aid across borders, yet again transcending politics to nurture humanity’s Light Within.

Quakers provided humanitarian aid in both North and South Vietnam. This largely began as conflict heightened in 1966. The American Friends Service Committee sponsored David and Mary Stickney to run a makeshift hospital in the Southern Quang Ngai Province, which was filled with over 100,000 refugees. This clinic specialized in creating prosthetic limbs, working with around 65 people a month and simultaneously refusing any military protection.²

The Quaker support for aiding North Vietnam’s people was highly controversial but crucial for protecting humanity in the war. In 1966, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) applied for permission to send $6,000 to North Vietnam, but the U.S. government refused because there would be no independent observation of the aid. To proceed would pose serious legal issues, so the AFSC found a loophole: American Friends would drive over the Canadian border with bushels of cash, thus funding relief in a legal, unofficial way. This funding was directed to A Quaker Action Group (AQAG) which in turn sent medicine, particularly penicillin, to Northern Vietnamese harbors.³ By doing this, Quakers did what was right instead of what was convenient. By supporting Northern Vietnamese citizens, who were helpless in the face of the war, AQAG had a marked impact.

Additionally, Quakers often adopted Vietnamese children. They founded the Friends Meeting for Sufferings of Vietnamese Children, which aimed to bring injured Vietnamese children to the United States for medical treatment. Despite being a small, underfunded group, they were able to adopt 12 children.⁴ Unfortunately, because of logistical problems, the group disbanded in 1969 and ceded its remaining funds to the AFSC for other rehabilitation programs.

Simply put, Quakers in the Vietnam War endeavored primarily to end the war but, acknowledging the realities of the situation, they provided aid to those most in need. By providing aid to Northern Vietnamese people and adopting children from war-torn areas, Quakers did their part to brighten a truly bleak, treacherous war.

Sources

1. https://www.britannica.com/question/Did-Richard-Nixon-support-the-Vietnam-War ↩︎
2. https://www.quakersintheworld.org/quakers-in-action/315/Peace-Witness-and-Relief-Efforts-during-the-Vietnam-War#:~:text=Quaker%20action%20during%20the%201954,both%20North%20and%20South%20Vietnam. ↩︎
3. ibid. ↩︎
4. https://archives.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/resources/scpc-dg-111 ↩︎