VFP 159 action at old Federal Building corner of 7th and Pearl. Photo courtesy of Carol Scheerer
Criminal Federal ICE thugs are illegally terrorizing our neighborhoods here in Lane County, abducting, assaulting, and detaining not only undocumented immigrants but CITIZENS including VETERANS!
Join us every Monday on the corner of 7th and Pearl starting at 1 p.m. for an hour. Bring you signs and whistles! You can also be notified on Signal chat of any local ICE activity by signing up with Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition, see below:
Left to right: Jackie (taking pic), Tim on banner, Michelle behind with flag, Rick, John with SOVA poster, Pat, our scout, and Rodger on other end of Armistice Day banner.
On Armistice Day, 11 November 2025, VFP 159 participated in two Oregon Veteran’s Day events, a parade in Albany (touted as the largest parade west of the Mississippi) and a protest rally in South Portland. Chapter member Frank Harper earned coverage by the Oregonian with the follow quote:
“We gave an oath to this country, to stop authoritarianism. We’re here to protect this country and (stop) what’s happening with our government right now,” said Frank Harper, a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam. He drove up from Springfield to join Tuesday afternoon’s protest.
Frank also got a letter published in the Eugene Weekly titled “A New Twist to the Work Day“. Well done, Frank!
The parade in Albany was coordinated with Rick Staggenborg, President of the VFP Linus Pauling Chapter. At 3.5 miles, it was a long march beginning with 1 1/2 hours of standing around in staging. Our unit was led by a Jeep with a VFP banner on the front (thanks to Micehlle for the video). Got positive reactions from folks lining the parade route. Lots of flyers and clever bubble bottles crafted by Jackie – labelled with “bubbles not bombs”and VFP info – were handed out to eager kids by our scout. Interesting to see a significant Hispanic presence in the crowd.
Future parade action areas for improvement:
more marchers
better logistics
more flyers!
more bubbles!
a marching cadence chant? “I don’t know but I’ve been told …”
Rodger, Shelley, and Mike tabling at Eugene No Kings Rally 4 October 2025
Our presence was well received at the rally estimated at 5,000 people. We also supplied crossing guards for duty at busy intersections to insure folk’s safety.
Frank, Ron, Peter, Mike, Christine (kneeling), Ron, and Shelley on 30 September 2025
Veterans For Peace (VFP) Chapter 159 held a rally and press conference in Eugene on Saturday, October 4, 2025, at 11:00am at the Federal Courthouse on the corner of E 8th Ave and Ferry St.
The rally called for the immediate release of U.S. veterans and all passengers aboard the Gaza Aid Flotilla, who organizers say have been abducted by the Israeli military.
“We are demanding the safe return of our brothers and sisters, U.S. veterans who courageously joined this humanitarian mission,” said Pat Driscoll, spokesperson for VFP Chapter 159. “Their abduction is unacceptable, and we call on the U.S. government to take swift action.”
Veterans For Peace also demands the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, where Palestinians face mass starvation and suffering under an Israeli-imposed blockade. “Blocking life-saving aid is a violation of international law” said Pat Driscoll, “and constitutes a crime against humanity.”
Thanks to Todd Boyle for recording our ceremony calling out for the other Veterans aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla and abduced by the Israeli military.
Six US Veterans including one VFP member abduced by Israel.
Rally outside Eugene Federal Building, left to right Mike, Larry, Jeanine, Frank, Ron, Pat, Peter, and Rick from Corvallis
Veterans For Peace (VFP) Chapter 159 held a rally and press conference in Eugene on Wednesday, September 30, to expose and condemn authoritarian abuses by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Veterans are uniting to oppose fascist practices on U.S. soil, highlighting the case of Zahid Chaudry, a decorated and disabled U.S. Army veteran who was abducted by ICE during his citizenship interview in Washington State.
Chaudry, president of the Rachel Corrie Chapter 109 of Veterans For Peace in Olympia, was detained in Tukwila, WA, despite his honorable service. Even more troubling, he is being denied urgent medical treatment necessary to prevent permanent vision loss.
“As veterans, we are all anti-fascist—our service was a direct rejection of tyranny and authoritarianism,” said Pat Driscoll, spokesperson for VFP Chapter 159. “ICE’s treatment of Zahid Chaudry is not only a betrayal of his service, but an unmistakable sign of fascist tactics creeping into our own country. Veterans will not stand by while the rights we fought to defend are trampled here at home.”
Our action received both local and statewide coverage.
Photo is from our action August 20th 2025 at Congresswoman Val Hoyle’s Town Hall which received statewide media coverage. Left to right Shelley, Ron, Mike (behind banner), and Frank
Shelley, Michelle, and Pat representing for the Veterans aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla at Senator Wyden’s 24 September Town Hall in Eugene.
Veterans For Peace (VFP) Chapter 159 held a Flotilla Solidarity Rally on Thursday, September 24, 2025, outside Senator Ron Wyden’s town hall meeting. The action is in support of the Sumud Flotilla, a global initiative currently approaching Gaza with essential food and relief supplies intended to break the Israeli blockade.
The rally brought public attention to the flotilla’s mission of delivering humanitarian aid and to protest the blockade, which organizers state is intentionally starving the Palestinian population. U.S. veterans, including members of various VFP chapters, are participating directly in the flotilla.
During the Town Hall, Pat Driscoll was able to pose a question to Senator Ron Wyden regarding whether a single-state solution was more appropriate for an apartheid state like Israel, as happened with South Africa. Many thanks to Todd Boyle for posting video of this question on his youtube channel.
We achieved positive results for nearly all of our action objectives. Great example of what a focused, disciplined, smart, resourceful, collaborative, and hard working yet small crew can accomplish. Subjective grading of results:
Attract media attention: A Our first formal contact with the media was quite successful.
Hand out flyers to attendees stating our challenges: A
Messaging: A – The action lede: “Veterans Challenge Val Hoyle” was controversial enough to attract four media editors to invest reporter resources in covering our action, and we got statewide coverage from OPB
Chant as a unit inside the Town Hall: C – first time out, didn’t practice beforehand so timing was off, sat in back
Get Val Hoyle to say the word Genocide: D – expected, but she did say ethnic cleansing so …
Get Val Hoyle to refund the $70,511 contribution from J-Street PAC: F – expected
Ask questions of Val Hoyle: F – it’s a raffle and we had only one ticket
Recruitment: F – no vet approached us to sign up for VFP chapter
