On first pass, this circular looks the part of an official military message. Look at details such as the bold title, black outline, “All Previous Editions Obsolete” disclaimer, and a long form name at bottom left.

On closer look, the poster focuses on clear, powerful anti-war messaging. Consider this excerpt: “‘Your job as a soldier is supposed to be to win the people of South Vietnam.’ To what — democracy? No, we keep military dictators in power. What then? The American way of life? But why should they care about their life any more than we care about theirs? We can’t speak their language or even pronounce their names.”

The Vietnam Day Committee (VDC) was a coalition of left-wing political groups, student groups, labour organizations, and pacifist religions in the United States of America that opposed the Vietnam War during the counterculture era. It was formed in Berkeley, California in the spring of 1965 by activist Jerry Rubin, and was active through the majority of the Vietnam war, organizing several rallies and marches in California as well as coordinating and sponsoring nationwide protests. Learn more at Wikipedia>>

Special thanks to the USC Digital Imaging Lab for their support in digitizing this item.