doing to the children of Vietnam may become clearer if the same percentages are applied to the American population. They mean that one out of every two American families with four children would be struck with having at least one child killed or. maimed. There is a good chance, too, that the father would be dead as well. At the very least, he is probably far from home." ; oy
Pepper describes in the most vivid detail the fate of the children in Vietnam -those in hospitals, in camps, or in the streets, orphans without homes or known relatives. Here is an example:
"Torn flesh, splintered bones, screaming agony are bad enough. But perhaps most heart-rending of all are the tiny faces and bodies scorched and seared by fire.
"Napalm, and its more horrible companion, white phosphorous, liquidize young flesh and carve it into grotesque forms. The little figures are afterward. often scarcely human in appearance, and one cannot be confronted with the monstrous effects of the burning without being totally shaken. Perhaps it was due to a previous lack of direct contact with war, but I never left the tiny victims without losing composure. The initial urge to reach out and soothe bhe hurt was restrained by the fear that the ash-like skin could crumble in my fingers."
“In a preface to: the article, Dr. Benjamin Spock had the following to say:
"A million children have been killed or wounded or burned in the war America is carrying on in Vietnam, according to the estimate of William Pepper. Not many of them even get to hospitals, which are few and far between, but when they do, they may lie three in a bed or on newspapers on the floor. Flies are in the wounds. Even such simple equipment as cups and plates are in short supply. Materials for the adequate. treatment of burns ~~ gauze, ointments, antibiotics and plasma -- are usually non-existent. This contrasts with the incredible speed and efficiency with which American troops napalmed by mistake are given elaborate first aid while being lifted out of the battlefield and then flown to a Texas hospital for treatment.
"When Terre des Hommes, a Swiss humanitarian organization, asked for American government assistance in flying burned and wounded children to Europe for repair, our officials refused. With crocodile tears they explained children are unhappy when separated from their families. The fact is that a third of ail Vietnamese children in institutions have already lost both parents or been abandoned.
"Can America, which manufactures and delivers the efficient: napalm that causes deep and deforming burns, deny all responsibility for their treatment?
"Many American physicians are now volunteering to treat the children if they are brought to America. But citizens must be asked to pay the bill for transportation and hospitalization. They will also have to persuade our government to allow the children to be brought here."
Dr. Spock's humanitarian instincts are laudable. However, he might have added a political demand: This massacre of children must be stopped at once! The American people
are duty bound to demonstrate in such numbers and with such power that even the sadistic monsters in Washington will feel they have no choice but to immediately withdraw their troops from Vietnan.
JOHNSON'S