George Mizo

On March 18, 2002, George Mizo passed away from complications related to Agent Orange.

In 1986, Mizo joined fellow war veterans Charles Liteky, S. Brian Wilson, and Duncan Murphy in the Veterans Fast for Life. Advocating for change in U.S. policy in Latin America, the group fasted on the steps of the United States Capitol for 46 days and renounced the medals they received for their prior military service. When their fast came to a close on October 10, The New York Times described Mizo as ″...closer to death. He [George Mizo] has lost 45 pounds, 25 percent of his body weight. And because of a respiratory infection, he says, the doctor has told him he will slip away in five or six days. His muscles are contracting as they atrophy, and at night, he said, I wake up with agonizing cramps all up and down my legs.″ One month after their fast, the Iran-Contra Scandal broke.

Mizo met his wife, Rosemarie Höhn-Mizo, during a German peace march in 1986. Later that year, she joined him in Washington, DC to support his fast. Following the fast, George and Rosemarie returned to Germany, where she gave birth to their son, Michael. Today, Rosemarie is the head of the German Friendship Village Committee.

George Mizo (October 21, 1945 – March 18, 2002) was an American activist, veteran, and founder of the Vietnam Friendship Village in Hanoi, Vietnam. The institution serves individuals afflicted by conditions related to Agent Orange while also opening channels of cross-cultural dialogue.

Born into a working-class family on October 21, 1945, in Waltham, Massachusetts, George was the son of a Blackfoot Sioux father and Irish-American mother. Before contracting Lou Gehrig's disease, his father worked for Raytheon, a U.S. defense contractor. In Autumn of 1963, George joined the U.S. Army, where he served until 1966. After the end of his first stint in the army, and due to the growing effort in Vietnam, Mizo chose to re-enlist with the intent of serving in the conflict.