Val Noone
Val Noone is a writer and activist whose 1993 book, Disturbing the War, is a detailed study of peace work within the Melbourne Catholic Church during the Vietnam War when church life was dominated by the pro-war and anti-worker Santamaria movement. He is a fellow of the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne. In 2013 the National University of Ireland awarded him the degree Doctor of Literature for his contribution to Irish Studies in Australia.
Recent articles by Val Noone
3 November 2024
Fake news, Melbourne 1966: migrant German priest was a U-boat commander who defied Hitler
A few years ago Ken Haddock, a retired social worker, discovered that a legendary folk tale of Melbourne Catholicism was false. For decades Father Wally Silvester (1919-2005), a charismatic Pallottine priest, has been treated with awe as a former U-boat commander, and hailed as a war hero who defied Hitler by saving enemy Russian sailors.
30 July 2023
War crimes and bravery: Meeting Daniel Ellsberg in 1977
For over seven years [working for the US government] I have been preoccupied with our involvement in Vietnam. In that time I have seen it first as a problem; then as a stalemate; then as a crime - Daniel Ellsberg, 1971.