[HCCN] FW: IN MEMORY OF TOM STURTEVANT

Mon Jan 9 22:43:45 UTC 2012

Friends,
Peter and I are fortunate to have known Tom for many years. Tom is a
beautiful human being and a model for us all.
One of several tributes follows. There is also a posting on Bruce Gagnon¹s
blog at http://space4peace.blogspot.com/2012/01/great-man-passes.html

J and P

------ Forwarded Message
From: Doug Rawlings <rawlings at vfpmaine.org>

Tom Sturtevant: In Memoriam

Photo by Carole Whelan

Veterans for Peace members are in deep mourning as one of our Charter
members, former Chapter President and serving Board member, Tom Sturtevant,
died on Saturday.  To those in the peace community in Maine, Tom needs no
introduction; indeed, Tom¹s stature beyond our state¹s borders and even our
national borders is recognized by many who have struggled over the years
against American imperialist designs and for world peace.

Our state chapter has stood on the shoulders of Tom Sturtevant for years.
As chapter president, his quiet leadership and amazing doggedness in the
face of adversity  neither red tape nor neo-conservative attacks thwarted
Tom  made us a force to be reckoned with.  Tom is the epitome of a
non-violent direct activist.  In line with our organization¹s pledge to
refrain from violence of any kind, Tom also took seriously our mission to
³act in the best interests of the group for the larger purpose of world
peace.²  Throughout the years, no matter in what capacity he served Veterans
for Peace, we all knew that we could trust Tom to take care of the smallest
details while still holding onto our grand vision of abolishing war.  Tom
reserved rooms, made banners, attended countless meetings in Augusta,
stomped the pavements in Portland, always taking care of last minute
arrangements while staunchly advocating for peace.  He would sit in
senators¹ offices and representatives¹ foyers until someone would hear what
he had to say; as a Korean War veteran, he took it upon himself to keep our
military¹s complicity in the destruction of the Korean peoples alive in our
collective memories, even as he fought against our military¹s current
immoral campaigns.

Many who are active in the peace community have memories of Tom as the
stalwart nonviolent activist that he was, but those of us in Veterans for
Peace will also remember him as the chapter¹s unacknowledged wordsmith (he
was too modest to publicly accept this role) and diplomatically gifted
leader and mentor. Tom would sit through endless ³discussions² of strategies
and goals and then, quietly, bring whatever contention was in the room to a
halt with exactly the right words.  He was the master of cutting the Gordian
knot.  Here¹s one example  in the early years of the Iraq War, our chapter
was preparing for a major demonstration in Portland, showing our
organization¹s disapproval of the war.  The city had put together a parade
down Congress Street to ³welcome home the troops,² replete with New England
Patriots football players, bands, etc etc.  How could we, Veterans for
Peace, protest the war and still be seen as supporting the troops as
individual human beings?  How to do that in parade, in a fervently pro-war
atmosphere?  We wrangled about that for what seemed hours when Tom spoke up:
³Why not just have a banner saying ŒJoin Us¹²?  The bickering stopped on a
dime.  That was it.  We did just that  and of course Tom designed, made up
the banner, and paid for it  standing alongside the parade route, handing
out brochures, and holding up Tom¹s banner.

We could go on.  And we will.  We will hold Tom¹s presence in our hearts for
the rest of our lives.  We will tell stories of his work; we will quote him;
and we will hold firm to the message he unfailingly presented to the world:
³the only way to achieve peace in this world is to act peacefully,
forcefully, with dignity and integrity.²  Those who knew Tom Sturtevant know
that we are all better people for having known him; indeed, he is one of
those few individuals who leave a legacy for those who didn¹t even know him
 the world is a better place for all of us because of Tom¹s words and
deeds.

We are deeply saddened and will miss Tom beyond words, but in memory of
Tom¹s presence, we will not let Tom pass in silence.  Joe Hill famously
urged his friends  ³do not mourn; organize!²   We owe it to Tom to continue
his good work.  We are stronger because of him, and we will do what he bade
us to do  work to abolish war; keep peace in our hearts, and make this a
better world for our children and grandchildren. Rest in peace, good friend.

--
Doug Rawlings
"...the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends to justice...."
Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Probably no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization.  We
must make our choice; we cannot have both." Abraham Flexner

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------ End of Forwarded Message

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