Robert O. "Bobby" Muller (born 1946) is an American peace advocate.

He was born on Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

, and grew up in Great Neck, New York

Great Neck, New York

The term Great Neck is commonly applied to a peninsula on the North Shore of Long Island, which includes the village of Great Neck, the village of Great Neck Estates, the village of Great Neck Plaza, and others, as well as an area south of the peninsula near Lake Success and the border of Queens...

 and attended Hofstra University

Hofstra University

Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...

. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 in 1967, during the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

. His commission with the Marines began the same day he received his bachelor's degree in business administration from Hofstra University in 1968, and by September of that year he was a combat lieutenant leading a Marine infantry platoon. In April 1969, while leading an assault in Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

, a bullet entered his chest and severed his spinal cord

Spinal cord

The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain . The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system...

, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down

Paraplegia

Paraplegia is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek: παραπληγίη "half-striking". It is usually the result of spinal cord injury or a congenital condition such as spina bifida that affects the neural elements of the spinal canal...

.

After returning from Vietnam, Muller became a staunch advocate for veterans' rights and Peace activist

Peace activist

This list of peace activists includes people who proactively advocate diplomatic, non-military resolution of political disputes, usually through nonviolent means.A peace activist is an activist of the peace movement.*Jane Addams*Martti Ahtisaari...

. In 1974 he earned his law degree from the Hofstra University School of Law

Hofstra University School of Law

The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University is located in Hempstead, New York. Founded in 1970 and accredited by the ABA in 1971, the school offers a JD, a joint JD/MBA degree, and LL.M degrees in American Law and Family law...

. In the same year, he appeared in the anti-war documentary film Hearts and Minds

Hearts and Minds (film)

Hearts and Minds is a 1974 American documentary film about the Vietnam War directed by Peter Davis. The film's title is based on a quote from President Lyndon B. Johnson: "the ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there"...

, speaking about his life before, during, and after the Vietnam War. He founded Vietnam Veterans of America

Vietnam Veterans of America

Vietnam Veterans of America Inc. is a national non-profit corporation founded in 1978 in the United States that promotes the interests of United States military veterans of the Vietnam War era. It is funded without any contribution from any branch of government...

 (VVA) in 1978 and Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation

Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation

The Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation , established in 1980, now the Veterans for America , is a Washington, D.C.-based international humanitarian organization that addresses the consequences of war and conflict. The founder of VVAF is Bobby Muller, a former U.S...

 (VVAF) in 1980. The VVAF co-founded the International Campaign to Ban Landmines

International Campaign to Ban Landmines

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is a coalition of non-governmental organizations working for a world free of anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions, where mine and cluster munitions survivors see their rights respected and can lead fulfilling lives.The coalition was formed in...

, which won a 1997 Nobel Peace Prize

Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...

.

In 2004, Muller founded Alliance for Security

Alliance for Security

The Alliance for Security was founded in 2004 by Bobby Muller, a Vietnam War veteran and veterans' advocate. The Alliance "aims to provoke thoughtful and penetrating conversation on national security issues including the possibility of conscription, the war against terrorism, our foreign policy,...

. He is currently serving as an advisory board member for a new group called Operation Truth

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America , is an advocacy group dedicated to United States veterans of the War in Iraq and War in Afghanistan. The group claims to be the nation's first and largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars and has more than 200,000 Member Veterans...

.

Muller is president of Veterans for America

Veterans For America

Veterans for America is an advocacy and humanitarian organization that works to ensure that America meets the needs of servicemembers and veterans who have served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom . VFA focuses specifically on the signature wounds these conflicts:...

 (formerly known as the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation). Veterans for America is uniting the new generation of veterans with those from past wars to address the needs of veterans, service members and their families and their larger concerns about the impact of war. It is an advocacy and humanitarian organization. Veterans for America is committed to advancing policy and elevating public discourse on the causes, conduct and consequences of war.

Muller is a friend of Bill Wieman, Mark Clevinger, and Ron Kovic

Ron Kovic

Ronald Lawrence Kovic is an anti-war activist, veteran and writer who was paralyzed in the Vietnam War. He is best known as the author of the memoir Born on the Fourth of July, which was made into an Academy Award–winning movie directed by Oliver Stone, with Tom Cruise playing Kovic...

. He has lectured about his experiences on over 100 college campuses.

Television appearances

In a 1997 MSNBC

MSNBC

MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

 NewsChat segment Muller debated Ann Coulter

Ann Coulter

Ann Hart Coulter is an American lawyer, conservative social and political commentator, author, and syndicated columnist. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public events and private events...

. Muller attempted to explain to Ann that "In 90 percent of cases that U.S. soldiers got blown up—Ann, are you listening?—they were our own mines." She interrupted Muller's point about the role that landmines played in the Vietnam War with the statement "No wonder you guys lost." Muller responded to Coulter's remark with an incredulous "Say that again," while moderator Felicia Taylor

Felicia Taylor

Felicia Taylor is currently an anchor-correspondent for CNN International's "World Business Today" having previously been contributing to the Business Updates unit for CNN; She was previously the co-host of Retirement Living TV's Daily Cafe till November 2009.Previously, Taylor was a business...

 sharply rebuked the in-house pundit: "OK, we're not going to get into that conversation. Ann, that was unnecessary! Mr. Muller, please continue...."http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=1124

Time Magazine reported the incident differently:

Muller was misquoting a 1969 Pentagon report that found that 90 percent of the components used in enemy mines came from U.S. duds and refuse. Coulter, who found Muller's statement laughable, averted her eyes and responded sarcastically: "No wonder you guys lost." It became an infamous—and oft-misreported—Coulter moment. The Washington Post and others turned the line into a more personal attack: "People like you caused us to lose that war."

Films

• 1973 - Operation Last Patrol. Directed by Frank Cavestani and Catherine Leroy
  Catherine Leroy
  Catherine Leroy was a French-born photojournalist and war photographer, whose stark images of battle illustrated the story of the Vietnam War in the pages of Life magazine and other publications.-Life:...
  
  .
• 1974 - Hearts and Minds
  Hearts and Minds (film)
  Hearts and Minds is a 1974 American documentary film about the Vietnam War directed by Peter Davis. The film's title is based on a quote from President Lyndon B. Johnson: "the ultimate victory will depend on the hearts and minds of the people who actually live out there"...
  
  . Directed by Peter Davis.
• 2007 - Body of War
  Body of War
  Body of War, directed by Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue, is a 2007 documentary following Tomas Young, an Iraq War veteran paralyzed from a bullet to the spine, on a physical and emotional journey as he adapts to his new body and begins to question the decision to go to war in Iraq.As Tomas's journey...
  
  . Directed by Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue.

External links

• Bobby Muller page from Alliance for Security site
• Bobby Muller biography
• Bobby Muller biography
• Article from Newsday.com
• Vietnam Veterans Against the War
• Veterans for America