The Veterans Fast for Life was a water-only fast that lasted from September 1 to October 17, 1986 on the steps of the United States Capitol

United States Capitol

The United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall...

, Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, as a protest against the U.S. policies in Central America (see Contra wars). Charles Liteky, former Army Chaplain, Vietnam veteran

Vietnam veteran

Vietnam veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War.The term has been used to describe veterans who were in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States armed forces, and countries allied to them, whether or...

 and recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, George Mizo, Vietnam veteran, Duncan Murphy, World War II veteran, and S. Brian Willson, Vietnam veteran, participated to the fast. Before embarking on the fast, Charles Liteky renounced in July 1986 to his Congressional Medal of Honor in protest against the U.S. policies in Central America.

Charles Liteky and George Mizo started the fast on September 1, 1986, whereas Duncan Murphy and Brian Willson started on September 15, 1986. By the end of September, people had been rallying to support the veterans. On October 15, 1986, the veterans appeared on The Phil Donahue Show

The Phil Donahue Show

The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, is an American television talk show that ran for 26 years on national television. Its run was preceded by three years of local broadcast in Dayton, Ohio, and it was broadcast nationwide between 1967 and 1996.In 2002, Donahue was ranked #29 on TV Guide's...

. The fast ended on October 17, 1986 when the four veterans decided that the fast had been sufficiently successful in raising awareness of the public and escalating opposition to Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

's policies. "By this time, there had been five hundred documented actions around the country in solidarity with the fast".

Various U.S. senators and members of the House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 expressed support for the then ongoing fast, including Tom Harkin

Tom Harkin

Thomas Richard "Tom" Harkin is the junior United States Senator from Iowa and a member of the Democratic Party. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives ....

, Charles Mathias, Robert J. Mrazek

Robert J. Mrazek

Robert Jan Mrazek was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing New York's 3rd congressional district on Long Island for most of the 1980s...

, Patrick Leahy

Patrick Leahy

Patrick Joseph Leahy is the senior United States Senator from Vermont and member of the Democratic Party. He is the first and only elected Democratic United States Senator in Vermont's history. He is the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Leahy is the second most senior U.S. Senator,...

 (who inserted a statement into the Congressional Record

Congressional Record

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...

to support the fast) and John Kerry

John Kerry

John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...

 in September 1986, and thirteen senators and seventy-five members of the House of Representatives issued a supportive joint public statement on October 7, 1986. In contrast, on October 11, 1986, Senator Warren Rudman

Warren Rudman

Warren Bruce Rudman is an American attorney and Republican politician who served as United States Senator from New Hampshire between 1980 and 1993...

 likened the four fasting veterans to terrorists.

Shortly thereafter, in late 1986, the FBI initiated a "terrorism" investigation of the activities of the Plowshares

Plowshares Movement

The Plowshares Movement is an anti-nuclear weapons movement that gained notoriety in the early 1980s when several members damaged government property and were subsequently convicted.-History:...

 group (who jammed the locks of eleven military recruitment stations in Chicago on October 29, 1986) and, at the same time, those of the Veterans Fast for Life peace group, an investigation which FBI agent John C. "Jack" Ryan

Jack Ryan (FBI agent)

John C. "Jack" Ryan is a former FBI agent and police officer. He had been an FBI agent between 1966 and 1987 before being fired for refusing to investigate nonviolent activists. He lost his job in September 1987 ten months short of retirement. He was thus ineligible for a full pension and had to...

refused to conduct, being notably "convinced of the totally non-violent posture of the [Veterans Fast for Life group]". Jack Ryan was fired for refusing to conduct the investigation.