Vietnam Vet Takes Aim at War

http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/120703F.shtml

Purple Heart-winning officer a prominent peace activist in Colorado.

BRIGHTON - In his youth, Vietnam War veteran Charles Elliston recalls, "I was a conservative. I used to think war protesters were nut cases - agents of the enemy."

Today, former Chief Warrant Officer Elliston, 55, is an outspoken anti-war activist who proudly wears his Army uniform to give himself credibility.

The uniform is immaculate, as are his Vietnam combat ribbons, his Purple Heart, and the silver wings with wreath and star that identify him as a senior Army aviator.

Elliston also wears pins on his uniform. One reads "NO perpetual war for perpetual peace." Another reads: "Vietnam Veterans Against the War."

Fourteen months ago he attended his first anti-war rally in Denver, in full uniform. Another vet handed him a "No Blood for Oil" sign and one reading "Bush Lied. Our Soldiers Died. End of Story."