The three names listed on the DoD list of Prisoners of War, but the list is much, much longer. Stop Loss was enacted by Congress in order to keep soldiers and Marines in the service involuntarily until the military sees fit to let the members leave. These are also prisoners of war.

Goldsmith always wanted to be a soldier. After 9/11, he wanted nothing more than to deploy to the Middle East and kill as many Arabs as possible. Kris was nineteen years old when he deployed to Sadr City in Baghdad, the absolute worst neighborhood in Iraq. After serving in Sadr City, Chris lost the naivety that so many nineteen year olds have at that age.

Goldsmith was a good soldier; he graduated at the top of his class in basic training and was on the commandant's list in Warrior Leadership Course with a 94.6% average.

A video of Goldsmith filming Iraqis exhuming bodies. Chris was taking pictures of the dead presumably for identification purposes, but he knew that the authorities would never actually try to identify anyone. This is very similar to what my friends in Baghdad had to do at their police station in Baghdad. I remember one telling me stories so similar to the one Kris is telling right now about having to take pictures of the dead. Another of my friends, another IVAW member, had to go once a week to the Baghdad morgue to count bodies. Several members of his squad ended up contracting tuberculosis as a result.

Kris one day almost shot a six year old boy, and it took all he had not to do it. When he returned home, Kris and his fellow soldiers became alcoholic. He knew that he had major PTSD issues, but they were told that their careers would be ruined if they sought treatment for mental illness.

Goldsmith knew that he wanted to get out and go to college. He was about to get out of the military when George W. Bush announced "The Surge", which put 20,000-30,000 troops on Stop Loss, including Kris. The day before Kris was supposed to deploy back to Iraq, he attempted suicide with prescription pills and alcohol. After spending a week in a mental health ward, Goldsmith was discharged. EndStopLossNow.org reports 80,000 soldiers are on Stop Loss right now.

On Kris' DD 214, it says MISCONDUCT: SERIOUS OFFENSE. The serious offense? A suicide attempt due to mental illness.
The Stop Loss program is killing our troops, physically and emotionally. These men and women lived up to their side of the bargain; it's time for the military to do the same.