Bobby Muller
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Bobby Muller (born 1946) is an American peace advocate. He was born on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
, and grew up in
Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a region contained within Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, which covers a peninsula on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore and includes nine incorporated villages, among th ...
. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1967, during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. His commission with the Marines began the same day he received his
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...
in
business administration Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...
from
Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...
in 1968, and by September of that year he was a combat
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
leading a marine infantry platoon. In April 1969, while leading an assault in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, a bullet entered his chest and severed his
spinal cord The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular structure made up of nervous tissue that extends from the medulla oblongata in the lower brainstem to the lumbar region of the vertebral column (backbone) of vertebrate animals. The center of the spinal c ...
, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. After returning from Vietnam, Muller became a staunch advocate for veterans' rights and a peace activist. In 1974, he earned his J.D. degree from the
Hofstra University School of Law The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University – also known as Hofstra Law School and colloquially as Hofstra Law – is a law school located in Hempstead, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It is affiliated with Hofstra U ...
. In the same year, he appeared in the
anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...
documentary film '' Hearts and Minds'', speaking about his life before, during, and after the Vietnam War. He founded
Vietnam Veterans of America Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. (VVA) is a national non-profit corporation founded in 1978 in the United States that is committed to serving the needs of all veterans. It is funded without any contribution from any branch of government. VVA is t ...
in 1978 and Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) in 1980. The VVAF co-founded the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which won a 1997
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
. In 2004, Muller founded Alliance for Security. He is currently serving as an advisory board member for a group called Operation Truth and for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Muller is president of Veterans for America (formerly known as the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation). Veterans for America is uniting the new generation of veterans with those from past wars to address the needs of veterans, service members and their families and their larger concerns about the impact of war. It is an advocacy and humanitarian organization. Veterans for America is committed to advancing policy and elevating public discourse on the causes, conduct and consequences of war. Muller is a friend of Bill Wieman, Mark Clevinger, and Ron Kovic. He has lectured about his experiences on over 100 college campuses.


Appearances

In 1994, Muller was the subject of an ABCNews magazine story called, Muller's Mission. The piece, which aired on DayOne, focused on Muller's life story, his experience in a Vietnam Vet's hospital system, and building the Vietnam Vets of America movement in the 1970s. It also documented his work with landmine victims in Cambodia and included the first ever network news interview with his friend and supporter Bruce Springsteen. The piece would go on to win an EMMY award the following year. In a 1997
MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
''NewsChat'' segment, Muller debated Ann Coulter. Muller attempted to explain to Coulter that "In 90 percent of cases that U.S. soldiers got blown up—Ann, are you listening?—they were our own mines." She interrupted Muller's point about the role that landmines played in the Vietnam War with the statement "No wonder you guys lost." Muller responded to Coulter's remark with an incredulous "Say that again," while moderator Felicia Taylor sharply rebuked the in-house pundit: "OK, we're not going to get into that conversation. Ann, that was unnecessary! Mr. Muller, please continue...." ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine reported the incident differently: ; Films *1973 – ''Operation Last Patrol'', directed by Frank Cavestani and Catherine Leroy. *1974 – '' Hearts and Minds'', directed by Peter Davis. *1981 - ''Heroes, directed by John Pilger. *2007 – '' Body of War,'' directed by
Ellen Spiro Ellen Spiro is an American documentary filmmaker. She is a producer and director of the television documentary '' Are the Kids Alright?'', which won an Emmy Award in 2005. Spiro is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where she h ...
and Phil Donahue.


See also

*
List of films This is a list of film lists. By title This is an alphabetical list of film articles (or sections within articles about films). It includes Television film, made for television films. See the talk page in List of films: A, A for the method of ...
John Pilger - Heroes 1981


References


External links


Bobby Muller page
from Alliance for Security site
Bobby Muller biographyArticle from Newsday.comVietnam Veterans Against the WarVeterans for Americawith Bobby Muller
 by Stephen McKiernan, Binghamton University Libraries Center for the Study of the 1960s, August 7, 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Bobby 1946 births Living people Date of birth missing (living people) American anti–Vietnam War activists United States Marine Corps officers United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War Hofstra University alumni Maurice A. Deane School of Law alumni People from Long Island