Regarding the first of the 2 (items), the VVA, or Vietnam Veterans of America: The fellow waving the flag in the picture is no doubt a good fellow, but the VVA’s roots go back to the radical Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), which reliably retailed the Marxist line on most issues, and railed against U.S. military and foreign policies. Robert O. Muller, one of the top VVAW activists, later formed the VVA (Vietnam Veterans of America), and, with the help of U.S. Sen. John Kerry (one of his VVAW comrades), obtained a federal charter for his new group. Kerry became National Co-ordinator of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, and Jane Fonda was named "Honorary National Co-ordinator."
Robert Muller was soon raising money from the likes of Fonda, Ed Asner, Bruce Springsteen, and porn peddler Bob Guccione (Penthouse). In 1981, Muller led a VVA delegation to Vietnam, where he provided the Communist government with a bonanza of propaganda victories. He placed a wreath on the tomb of Ho Chi Minh, and then gushed his admiration for the Communist butcher. Muller concluded his pilgrimage with an appeal for the U.S. government to shower Hanoi with foreign aid.
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http://www.ypsilanticourier.com/2004/letters/040715.htm