I was a student at PSU from 1967 to 1970 and recall a great deal of anti-Vietnam War activity during that era. There were marches through the city of many thousands of people and actions from our campus which made national headlines in several cases. It all began in 1967 when one man scrawled a placard reading “Silent Vigil For Peace” and stood silent in the Park Blocks across from the Smith Center every Wednesday from noon until 1 p.m. He was quickly joined by other people who saw him and eventually dozens more appeared every week to make their silent vigil with him. This went on until 1975, when the Vietnam War finally ended.
I haven’t lived in Portland for many years and I was just curious if anyone had re-started the “Silent Vigil for Peace” tradition in the Park Blocks. If not, I hope that perhaps some good soul out there might start it anew. As with the protests of the Vietnam war at PSU, one person did make a difference and can again.
Doug Weiskopf, PSU class of 1970