Barry Romo (July 24, 1947 – May 1, 2024) was an American antiwar activist. He joined the US military as a second lieutenant in 1967 and was initially a strong support of the Vietnam War, but within four years had become a leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
Biography
Romo earned a Bronze Star medal for his role in a battle in Tam Ky Province. At a demonstration in Washington in 1971 that he had helped organize, he joined about 700 soldiers in throwing away their medals in protest, hurling them over a fence in front of the Capitol.
In December 1972, Romo returned to Vietnam with Telford Taylor, a Nuremberg War Trials prosecutor, and the pacifist singer Joan Baez, delivering Christmas packages for 535 prisoners of war.
Romo worked for the veterans effected by Agent Orange, homeless veterans, and for veterans' post-traumatic stress disorder treatment, supporting Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Chicago Homeless Veterans Standdown.
Romo died from a heart attack on May 1, 2024, at the age of 76.
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