The Nation - News from Oct. 8, 1986

Congressmen urged four veterans to halt their hunger strike on the Capitol steps, but the veterans, protesting U.S. aid to contra rebels, vowed to “put their bodies on the line” and urged others to join them. “We need you to live,” Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) told the demonstrators at a crowded Capitol Hill news conference called to praise the veterans’ efforts. “We need you desperately. We don’t need your deaths. We need your life and your dedication to bring peace. . . . Please end your fast.”