01/30/2025
By Shawn Driscoll

The Global Studies Program invites you to attend a doctoral dissertation defense by Shawn Driscoll on “The History of the United States Servicemen’s Fund.”

Candidate Name: Shawn Driscoll
Degree: Ph.D. in Global Studies
Defense Date: Friday, March 7, 2025
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: South Campus, Health and Social Science Building, Room HSS 431

Thesis/Dissertation Title: Funding the Fight: A History of the United States Servicemen’s Fund

Dissertation Committee:
Chair Robert Forrant, Ph.D., Distinguished University Professor, Co-Director, Senior Research Fellow , University of Massachusetts Lowell
Angelica Duran-Martinez, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Director of Global Studies Ph.D. Program , University of Massachusetts Lowell
Cheryl Llewellyn, Ph.D., Chair, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Christopher Carlsmith, Ph.D. Professor, Department of History, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Abstract:
The United States Servicemen's Fund (USSF) provided significant financial support to the Vietnam antiwar movement during the early 1970s and helped shift public opinion about the war. While groups like Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) engaged in civilian protests and disruptions, the USSF raised funds and supported efforts for active-duty soldiers and sailors to disrupt military operations and to show that the military was not universally behind the war effort. Both scholars and the public alike have overlooked the actions of this organization. This dissertation traces the creation, actions, challenges, disbanding, and legacy of the Servicemen’s Fund from the late 1960s through the late 1970s. My research draws from the USSF's archival records and oral histories with ten individuals who played vital roles within the organization. The dissertation adds to the historical record of opposition to the Vietnam War, establishes the Fund's significance within the larger antiwar movement, and critically examines the organization's role in hastening troop withdrawals and peace processes that helped shorten the war.

All interested persons are welcome to attend.