ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti sˈɪks, æt ðə hˈaɪt ʌvðə vˌiːətnˈɑːm wˈɔːɹ, wɪð mˈɛni ɐmˈɛɹɪkən sˈoʊldʒɚz dˈaɪɪŋ, ɐn ɛkstɹˈævəɡənt wˈaɪt hˈaʊs bˈɔːl ɹˈæn ˌɔn ʌntˈɪl θɹˈiː ˈeɪ.ˈɛm. dɪsɡˈʌstᵻd baɪ ðɪs kˈæləsnəs, ɡɹˈoʊs ɹᵻsˈaɪɾᵻd ˈælfɹɪd nˈɔɪz pˈoʊᵻm ðə vˈɪktɚɹi bˈɔːl ɪn kˈɑːŋɡɹəs ɪn pɹˈoʊtɛst; ðə pˈoʊᵻm kəndˈɛmz ðə hˈɛdənˌɪzəm əvə bɹˈɪɾɪʃ ˈɑːɹmɪstɪs bˈɔːl ænd kəntˈeɪnz ðə lˈaɪn "ˌʌndɚ ðə dˈænsɪŋ fˈiːt ɑːɹ ðə ɡɹˈeɪvz".
In 1966, at the height of the Vietnam War, with many American soldiers dying, an extravagant White House ball ran on until 3 A.M. Disgusted by this callousness, Gross recited Alfred Noyes' poem The Victory Ball in Congress in protest; the poem condemns the hedonism of a British Armistice ball and contains the line "under the dancing feet are the graves".