Mission

We, having dutifully served our nation, do hereby affirm our greater responsibility to serve the cause of world peace. To this end we will work, with others
(a) Toward increasing public awareness of the costs of war.
(b) To restrain our government from intervening, overtly and covertly, in the internal affairs of other nations
(c) To end the arms race and to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons
(d) To seek justice for veterans and victims of war
(e) To abolish war as an instrument of national policy.
To achieve these goals, members of Veterans For Peace pledge to use non-violent means and to maintain an organization that is both democratic and open with the understanding that all members are trusted to act in the best interests of the group for the larger purpose of world peace.

We urge all people who share this vision to join us.

Description:
Veterans For Peace (VFP) is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) educational and humanitarian organization dedicated to the abolition of war. Santa Barbara Veterans for Peace, local chapter 54 was formed during Operation Desert Shield in 1990 to question the use of war as an instrument of foreign policy. Our chapter of Veterans for Peace initiated the Arlington West memorial to call attention to the human cost of the war in Iraq.
Monthly Meetings of VFP Santa Barbara Chapter 54 are held at 5 pm on the first Monday of every month at the Veterans Memorial Building, 112 West Cabrillo Boulevard, Santa Barbara, CA 93101.

History:
About Lt. Col. James and Dr. Shirley Kennedy

On Veterans Day, November 11, 2003 Chapter 54 of the Veterans For Peace dedicated their chapter to Lt. Col. James Kennedy and his wife Professor Shirley Kennedy, who was a black studies professor at U.C.S.B.

James Kennedy is one of the original Tuskegee Airmen, the first black military pilots in the United States, who were trained in the Army Air Corps Program at the Division of Aeronautics of Tuskegee Institute, the school founded by Booker T. Washington. James Kennedy also flew during WWII, and in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Between 1942 and 1946, 992 black airmen trained as pilots, flight surgeons, engineering officers, intelligence officers, parachute riggers, armament specialists, radio repairmen, aircraft and engine mechanics, meteorlogists and administrators. Once graduated as officers, the Tuskegee airmen, James Kennedy among them, attempted to enter the Freeman Field Base Officers Club against direct orders, and were denied entry. One hundred three of them were arrested and court martialed.

Ultimately, the charges were dropped, the last man being cleared of charges in 1995.

Contact person: Dan Seidenberg, President, (phone), (email)

Address:

PO Box 21852 Santa Barbara, CA 93121

Web Site: http://www.vfpsb.org

Directions:

Monthly Meetings of VFP Santa Barbara Chapter 54 are held at 5 pm on the first Monday of every month at the Veterans Memorial Building, 112 West Cabrillo Boulevard, Santa Barbara, CA 93101.