'For the first time, they carried signs and banners decorated with a circle inscribed with a vertical line and inverted "V" - the peace symbol'

From The universal emblem was created 50 years ago :

The history of the symbol, from Aldermaston to its current status as a universal emblem of anti-war and other progressive causes, has been a life-long passion for Ken Kolsbun, 73, author of a bracing new book, appropriately titled "Peace."

"It pretty much started in '69 after I went to this major march in San Francisco," Kolsbun said in a recent interview, recalling his own first sighting of the symbol. "I started photographing it (the peace sign) more and trying to get more information on who created it."

Released this week for the 50th anniversary of the Aldermaston march, "Peace" features some of Kolsbun's photographs and his research on Holtom. Part eye-catching coffee table book, part evocative cultural history, the book follows the peace symbol through the changing political and social landscapes of the past five decades.

A 1969 shot catches folk singer Arlo Guthrie with a sky-written peace symbol floating in the air above him, while a 2005 photo documents a football field-sized peace symbol tromped in the sand in New Mexico.