Cover art by Mike Grell
“This quiet little town on the slopes of the Olympics has become the eye of the storm of controversy since Wednesday when the city council voted to make the town of Sutton Mill a sanctuary for resisters in the event the draft is reinstated,” a news reporter explains in the opening pages of Green Arrow #61, published in 1992.
When the residents of Sutton Mill object to the measure because it was passed without their input, the city council rescinds its decision. “But not before word got out and supporters of both camps began to pour into town,” the reporter continues. “Protesters against U.S. military policy organized a rally on the courthouse steps, while the local American Legion paraded in the streets.”
The Vietnam War officially ended in 1975 but the aftershocks could still be felt throughout the following decade. Was the conflict a justified intervention to prevent the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia or an intrusion on the rights of the Vietnamese to choose their own destiny? By the same token, was patriotism a belief in “my country, right or wrong,” or a willingness to stand in opposition to laws – and a war – that did not live up to the ideals on which the nation was founded?
Writer Mike Grell – who enlisted in the Air Force in 1967 and served on the outer edges of Vietnam in 1971 – doesn’t directly answer those questions in Green Arrow but raises them nonetheless, allowing each side to argue their points. Caught in the middle of the erupting debate is Josh Goldman, the son of a fictional antiwar activist who registered as a conscientious objector when drafted during the 1960s. A conscientious objector is someone who refuses to engage in warfare but is willing to serve in a noncombative role. In the case of Jimmy Goldman, the antiwar advocate became a medic in Vietnam and sacrificed his own life to save numerous injured soldiers.
Over the course of two years, the real-world Gerald Gioglio – himself a conscientious objector of the Vietnam War – conducted a series of interviews with other objectors, then collected the results in his 1989 book, Days of Decision: An Oral History of Conscientious Objectors in the Military During the Vietnam War. A deeper understanding of conscientious objectors can be gained from reading the experiences of those interviewed, as well as the realization that most were motivated by moral and religious convictions rather than political considerations.
John Lawrence, for instance, was the polar opposite of the fictional Jimmy Goldman from Green Arrow. Instead of a left-leaning antiwar activist, Lawrence was raised as a conservative Republican whose father and grandfather served in the armed forces. His parents were also devout Christians, although it was only the young John who perceived the contradictions between the teachings of the Bible and the concept of war. He therefore declared himself a conscientious objector for religious reasons, although he likewise noted that he was willing to serve in other ways.
“You see, I wanted the best of both worlds,” he explains in Days of Decision. “I was willing to meet my obligations as a citizen of this country, at the same time not going so far as killing somebody. I had been raised on the diet that you do serve your country and it was my full intent to serve my country in a noncombatant position.”
John Lawrence became a medic upon being drafted, but unlike Jimmy Goldman – who served on the front lines – Lawrence was assigned to a MASH unit. Although not in the midst of battle, he still witnessed the travesties of war. “We worked twelve hours on, twelve hours off and when mass casualties would come, they would just pile the bodies up on the ground and we’d pull them in and do whatever we could,” he said. “Other Vietnam veterans refer to me as a walking war memorial, because of the number of dead I saw. It was just blood and guts of the worst kind.”
In Green Arrow, Josh Goldman inevitably draws attention to himself after being interviewed by a television reporter. “I just think we have enough problems of our own without trying to solve everyone else’s,” he says. “When was the last time you heard of the government spending a hundred million dollars on cancer research, or a cure for AIDS, or illiteracy?” The interview catches the eye of a newspaper editor who went to college with Goldman’s father and was himself a Sixties radical. Sensing both a Pulitzer Prize and a way to relive his glory days through Josh Goldman, he heads to Sutton Mill.
The military likewise take an interest in Goldman, especially since his father received a post-humous medal of honor for his service in Vietnam. “Have you forgotten something, general?” Josh Goldman asks. “My dad was a conscientious objector. He hated that damn war and everything it stood for. He fought like hell against it. And when he was drafted, he refused to carry a gun so they made him a medic and put him on the front lines. He could have run – gone to Canada – but he didn’t. He said the only way people would believe what he said is if they believed what he stood for.”
John Lawrence was from the small town of Abilene, Texas, a “promilitary” community that held marches in favor of the Vietnam War as opposed to against it. “I was definitely the odd one out and I was receiving a great deal of flak from my peers,” he explains in Days of Decision. Still, he was mostly “tolerated” and “accepted” by other residents, although “they’d look at me askance and wondered what was wrong with me.” When he was officially drafted and reported to the induction center, however, Lawrence was immediately branded a “traitor” by the captain who performed the oaths of service.
In a later section of Days of Decision, John Lawrence offered his personal thoughts on the meaning of patriotism. “I had always heard love America or leave it,” he began. “Well, maybe I do love America, much more than people realize. I would like America to be an upstanding nation with good morals and values, and overriding principle of good will towards all. I mean, that’s loving your country as much as going to war and killing people indiscriminately.”
Word quickly spreads in Green Arrow that Josh Goldman already registered for the draft as a conscientious objector, which inevitably draws the wrath of the more conservative residents of Sutton Mill. “Damn it, Josh, we’ve got a lot at stake here,” they tell him. “This town lives off two things – lumber and the military trade from the bases. If that dries up, what’s gonna happen here? We’re gonna be another ghost town.”
The plea to come out in favor of the draft falls on deaf ears, however, and a riot breaks out between those on the right and those on the left. Although absent for much of the proceedings, Green Arrow and his partner Black Canary make an appearance at that point and help calm the crowd.
“You all came here expecting me to have some answers,” Josh Goldman says afterwards. “Something to tell you to let you know you’re doing the right thing. I can’t do that. I only know what’s right for me. What I believe. I can’t tell you what to do, and I can’t tell you how to live your lives. The general would like me to be a ‘spokesman,’ to lead you all back to the straight and narrow path. Trouble is, I’m not so sure you wouldn’t be walking the plank.”
Goldman then points at the newspaper editor and adds, “You’re no better. If your kind had lived up to your promise to change the world, it might really be a better place to live instead of a powder keg with a short fuse. You all want a martyr, a symbol. Well, you’re not going to find one here. Go home.”
As Goldman turns to walk away and the comic book concludes, Green Arrow simply places his hand on the boy’s shoulder in a gesture of solidarity.
Anthony Letizia