Seeking Sanctuary: Draft Dodgers

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Topic spans: 1965 - 2000

Seeking Sanctuary: Draft Dodgers

No one expected the Vietnam War to play out as it did. With thousands of young men fighting to the death overseas, another group of American sons fled their homeland and journeyed north to Canada. As the battle raged on and the antiwar movement divided the United States, draft dodgers and deserters struggled to forge new lives for themselves. Seeking sanctuary and the opportunity to make a difference, they changed their adopted country unquestionably. (Note: Some clips contain explicit language.)

Photo of draft dodgers by Bruno Massenet/Library and Archives Canada/PA-153762

13 television clips

8 radio clips

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The life of Jack Todd — A resister remembers

Broadcast Date: April 28, 2000

"Leaving was the bravest thing I ever did and I'm damn proud of it," says author Jack Todd unwaveringly. Twenty-five years after the end of the Vietnam War, Todd is still certain that he made the right choice in leaving the US military and moving to Canada. Now a Montreal sportswriter, he has switched genres and is telling the story of his life-changing journey. This CBC Television report looks back on Draft Dodger movement and how it shaped and changed a generation.

The life of Jack Todd — A resister remembers

• The United States sent a total of 8,744,000 troops to Vietnam and suffered approximately 50,000 battle deaths. The South Vietnamese are estimated to have lost 400,000 and the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese over 900,000.
• In April 1975, the South Vietnamese resistance collapsed and the North Vietnamese claimed Saigon. In 1976, Vietnam was reunified and Saigon was redesginated Ho Chi Minh City.

• Draft dodgers were widely regarded as one of the greatest contributing groups of immigrants to Canadian society. Many of the politically astute resisters fought to make Canada a better place. Famous draft dodgers include Bill King, a former musician in Janis Joplin's band, who served as the artistic director of the Toronto Beaches Jazz Festival. CBC Radio's Andy Barrie, children's performer Eric Nagler, politician Corky Evans and the late film critic Jay Scott were also draft dodgers.

The life of Jack Todd — A resister remembers

Medium: Television

Program: The National

Broadcast Date: April 28, 2000

Guest(s): Morton Bain, Jack Todd

Host: Ben Chin
Reporter: Kelly Crowe

Duration: 3:09

Last updated:
April 3, 2008

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