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The ceremony honored and expressed deep gratitude for the Weiss couple’s enduring and noble contributions to the struggle for peace and national independence of the Vietnamese people, as well as to the process of healing, reconciliation, and the development of friendship between Viet Nam and the United States.

Earlier, Phan Anh Son, President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations, and Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh, President of the Viet Nam-USA Society, had sent messages of condolence to the family of Peter and Cora Weiss.

The memorial service for American peace activists Peter and Cora Weiss, faithful friends of the Vietnamese people. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

The ceremony was attended by Dong Huy Cuong, Vice President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations; Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, former President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations; Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh; representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Viet Nam Fatherland Front, the Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences, the Viet Nam Veterans Association, the Viet Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin; along with leaders and staff of departments and units under the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations.

Joining online were many American friends currently living and working in Viet Nam, as well as close friends of Peter and Cora Weiss in the US.

Faithful friends of Viet Nam

In a solemn and moving atmosphere, Dong Huy Cuong delivered remarks expressing profound sorrow over the passing of Peter and Cora Weiss - individuals who devoted their entire lives to peace, to the conscience of humanity, and to Viet Nam.

According to him, their passing in the final days of 2025 is not only a loss for their family and friends, but also a deep sorrow for the Vietnamese people and peace-loving people around the world. They were not only renowned American peace activists, but also close and faithful friends who stood alongside Viet Nam during the most difficult periods of its history.

A moment of silence in memory of Peter and Cora Weiss. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

In the turbulent twentieth century, when wars divided nations, Peter and Cora Weiss chose to stand on the side of peace, justice, and human dignity, courageously going against the current of prejudice and political pressure to speak out against the US war in Viet Nam.

Cora Weiss became a prominent figure in the peace and anti-war movement in the US. She mobilized American women, intellectuals, and youth to say “no” to war and to support peace; at the same time, she directly engaged in humanitarian activities, carrying letters from US prisoners of war in Viet Nam back to their families, thereby opening humanitarian bridges between the two sides of the conflict. She served as a vital link between the anti-war movement in the US and peace-loving forces in Viet Nam, helping bring the just voice of the Vietnamese people to the American public and the world.

Peter Weiss, a human rights lawyer, accompanied Cora along the path of law and conscience, persistently fighting against human rights violations caused by war and contributing to the moral and legal foundations of the anti-war movement.

“These persistent efforts by Peter and Cora helped change social awareness in the US, enabling the anti-war movement to expand increasingly, exerting a powerful impact on public opinion and policy, and advancing the process toward ending the war in Viet Nam,” shared Dong Huy Cuong.

Beyond opposing an unjust war, for more than half a century, Peter and Cora Weiss were also companions of Viet Nam in the work of post-war healing and reconstruction. From supporting the restoration of Bach Mai Hospital, organizing shipments of food during times of hardship, to implementing humanitarian programs and fostering people-to-people connections, they raised a strong voice alongside American friends in advocating for the US government to lift the embargo on Viet Nam and laying the groundwork for the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1995.

Even in their 90s, despite declining health, the couple continued to participate in Viet Nam-US people-to-people exchange activities. Dong Huy Cuong movingly recalled images of the couple in wheelchairs attending meetings between leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State and American friends in New York in 2023 and 2024, demonstrating that their affection and deep bond with Viet Nam remained undiminished.

Dong Huy Cuong, Vice President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations, posthumously awards the Medal "For Peace and Friendship among Nations” to Peter and Cora Weiss. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

He affirmed: “The lives of Peter and Cora Weiss remind us that peace is not a given, but the result of commitment, courage, and an unwavering belief in human values. Their friendship with Viet Nam is a beautiful symbol of international solidarity, of the capacity to transcend hatred and move toward the future. The Vietnamese people will forever cherish and remember Peter and Cora as faithful friends, as messengers of conscience in a century full of upheaval.

The Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations regards their spiritual legacy as a precious part of the history of people-to-people diplomacy - where ordinary individuals have contributed to shaping profound transformations of the era.”

An enduring legacy

Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh emphasized that Peter and Cora Weiss were great and close friends of the Vietnamese people and of the Viet Nam-USA Society, symbols of peace, justice, conscience, and humanity. For more than five decades, they stood shoulder to shoulder with Viet Nam, from the years of war through the period of post-war recovery and the development of bilateral relations, helping to shape a “golden generation” of American friends of Viet Nam.

Mark Silverberg, National Council of Elders (USA), delivers a memorial address for Peter and Cora Weiss. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

Unable to attend in person, Frank Joyce (National Council of Elders of the US - NCOE) sent remarks that were read at the ceremony by Mark Silverberg (an NCOE member). He underscored the distinctive role of women in the global movement opposing the US war in Viet Nam, in which Cora Weiss stood out as the most emblematic figure.

According to Frank Joyce, from her earliest days with Women Strike for Peace, Cora Weiss demonstrated the rare bravery of a movement organizer and connector, overcoming barriers imposed by gender bias and a harsh political climate in the US. Her role in co-founding the Committee of Liaison, which facilitated visits by anti-war activists to Hanoi during wartime, laid a durable foundation for Viet Nam-US people-to-people diplomacy, with a lasting influence that endures to this day.

Frank Joyce also shared a remark by Cora Weiss that he believes remains strikingly relevant: “A very frequent role of mine was to make demonstrations safe for women and families. I wanted to see families come to demonstrations.”

He also paid special tribute to Peter Weiss, a human rights lawyer and Cora Weiss’s life partner, who stood by her throughout the long journey for peace and justice. In his view, Peter Weiss was not only a renowned human rights lawyer but also a quiet companion who shared family responsibilities with Cora, raised their children, and sustained a rare balance between personal life and a prolonged, arduous struggle against powerful forces. In this respect, Cora and Peter Weiss set a benchmark for partnership, mutual support, and commitment to higher values.

At the memorial ceremony, Dong Huy Cuong posthumously awarded the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations’ Medal "For Peace and Friendship among Nations” to Peter and Cora Weiss, in recognition of their contributions to the Vietnamese people in the struggle for national liberation and reunification.

Many American and Vietnamese friends sent condolences and signed the condolence book to bid farewell to the couple, expressing deep respect for the spiritual legacy left by Peter and Cora Weiss - a legacy of peace, friendship, and conscience that will continue to be preserved and spread within Viet Nam-US people-to-people relations.

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