Ted Allen Studebaker

Ted Studebaker, a true peace hero, worked for peace through nonviolence. By doing so, he left a peacemaking legacy that continues to impact mankind through the ages. He was a volunteer agriculturalist in the highlands of Vietnam during the war. As he began his third year of work, he married the love of his life, Pakdy, a Chinese coworker. One week after their marriage, Vietnamese forces, opposing the Americans, entered their house where they killed him. Ted was fully prepared and armed with confidence for the work that God had set before him. He was totally committed to give of himself without reservation. Ted gratefully acknowledged his government's position of accepting alternative service to serve mankind as opposed to military service. He wrote to his draft board, "I don't feel unpatriotic or disloyal to my country. However, I do think there are certain rights, beliefs, and values to which one should be more devoted to than his country if he has arrived at them through conscientious thought, learning and experience." Ted was aware of the opposition he would face for his peacemaking stand, yet he was true to his beliefs. In doing so, he remains an enduring force for peace.