Peacemaking Under Fire

By the fall of 1968, the Vietnam War was tearing apart America as well as Vietnam. But what could a 17-year-old college freshman do to stop such a conflict? As he walked to class one day pondering that question, John Arnold suddenly heard an answer in his thoughts as clearly as if someone had spoken it: "You can't stop a war if you aren't where the war is." His first reaction was, "You're kidding, right?" But 1968 was not a time for kidding. People were dying. Thousands of people, every week. So after considering the matter for a few minutes, John dumped his books in a trash can, dropped out of college, and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, the only military branch that could guarantee that he would get to Vietnam in his pursuit of peace.