--- description: It had nothing to do with immortality title: March Against Death: Vietnam War Protest History image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2fcd4aa1477fca1e/6987683f5f570f678bb13815/march-against-death.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [conflict](/tag/conflict/) ## conflict Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Why Were Activists 45 Years Ago Protesting 'Against Death?'  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Nov 13, 2014 4:00 PM CUT  Wearing the name of a serviceman who died in Vietnam, a marcher pauses in front of the White House on Nov. 14, 1969 Wearing the name of a serviceman who died in Vietnam, a marcher pauses in front of the White House on Nov. 14, 1969AP Images  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Nov 13, 2014 4:00 PM CUT On the night of Thursday, Nov. 13, 1969, the “March Against Death” began. By the time that weekend was over, Washington, D.C., had seen more protesters than any single event in its history had drawn. Attendance was higher, by tens of thousands, than at the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington. And despite a name that, 45 years later, may seem overblown or vague, the march was actually about something very specific. The deaths they were protesting were those of soldiers and civilians in Vietnam. As TIME reported in the Nov. 21, 1969, issue: --- > “” --- Another march took place that Saturday, capped by speeches and musical performances watched by at least 250,000 people. A connected event in San Francisco also drew record crowds for that city. **_Read the full story here, in TIME’s archives:_** [Parades for Peace and Patriotism](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,841621,00.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3579109/march-against-death/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3579109/march-against-death/"},"headline":"Why Were Activists 45 Years Ago Protesting 'Against Death?'","datePublished":"2014-11-13T16:00:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:22:14.438Z","description":"It had nothing to do with immortality","url":"https://time.com/3579109/march-against-death/","keywords":["conflict","Vietnam","Peace"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2fcd4aa1477fca1e/6987683f5f570f678bb13815/march-against-death.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2fcd4aa1477fca1e/6987683f5f570f678bb13815/march-against-death.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"March Against Death","caption":"March Against Death","creditText":"AP Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/conflict/","name":"conflict"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3579109/march-against-death/","name":"Why Were Activists 45 Years Ago Protesting 'Against Death?'"}}]}] ```