The war felt pointless. It was a messy fight in Southeast Asia. Bombs and napalm killed villagers. It also killed over 58,000 American soldiers. Many of those troops had just left high school. Some men fled to Canada to avoid serving. The rest of us demanded the U.S. stop fighting.

This pressure grew for years. We went from small campus vigils to huge marches on the Pentagon. The Paris Peace Accords arrived in January 1973. Nixon’s staff met with North Vietnam. They agreed to pull out all U.S. ground forces fast. The last soldiers left in March, stopping the combat.

Historians call those protests vital. Without the public outcry, the conflict might have dragged on longer. More people would have died. My life might have ended in that war. More than 500,000 Americans served there overall. The anti-war effort proved people have power. Students, workers, and families changed history. Leaders must listen when millions speak up. I felt that same energy this weekend. Crowds swelled again. People marched against bad policies and unfair officials. It showed me that ordinary people still drive true change today.  bwc
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