While I never believed that any of us sought to compromise our integrity regarding our stance on the war in VietNam and our resistance to it, I do believe that many of us felt that the case just wouldn't be closed until we knew one way or the other, that we were either going to be able to eventually return to our homeland or be forced to once and for all accept our place in our adopted homeland of Canada.

Many men had married, had children and begun careers, and I think we all just wanted to be able to get on with our lives. But having that seed of uncertainty, that possibility of having to uproot and start all over yet again by returning to our families, friends and former homes in the United States if and when the chance availed itself, held us in a sense of limbo. Did we want an amnesty as a means of resolving the matter? Of course not, not an "amnesty" per se perhaps, but was there any other way to bring an end to it?

It was generally believed that "any" talk of an amnesty was at least a day closer to getting one and finally having the entire ordeal over with. Ford's offer however was more of a condition of submission. It included repatriation upon performance of "x" amount of years of public or community service, basically, what many of us had offered or requested to do in the first place years before by entering the Peace Corps, or, in the case of many conscientious objectors, serving in the military in a non-combatant role. The word, "amnesty" belonged no where near the program he offered. Nonetheless we at the aid groups were tutored by the ACLU in the basics of the program and then we passed along what we knew to those that knew even less. We were supposed to be impartial in our doling out of this information. "Let the individual decide for themselves." That was actually the stipulation which came with the funding for the effort from The World Council Of Churches. We were to not actively influence the individual's decision. Right. The plan sucked. Resisters were getting screwed for a second time by the U.S. Government and we in Montreal did not hesitate to tell any and all that would listen, exactly what we thought about it.

Of course, we don't know if it did any good or not, not a lot of those that we counseled through the years stayed in contact with us. Sad in a way but then I guess I understand. Some I suppose just put us and that part of their lives behind them. Moved on. Made new lives for themselves. Just accepted it all as their destiny. Still, sad though. I've often had times through the years when just out of nowhere I'll think about one of them, see their face, maybe even remember a first or a last name. I sincerely wonder about some of their fates. How did their lives turn out compared to how they might have turned out had none of it ever happened? I know I'll never know but still I sometimes wonder. So, for those of you who may read this and accepted the amnesty, and for those of you who might read this and didn't, I hope we were of some help to you, either way.