Winter Soldier and the Legacy of GI Resistance
 Kelly Dougherty, IVAW’s executive director, served as a medic and MP with the Colorado Army National Guard in the Balkans and Iraq. A co-founder of the organization, she was spurred on by her firsthand knowledge of the damage the occupation causwa to Iraqis, the U.S. military, and the men and women she served with. Speaking of what compelled her to become involved, she says of the veterans and their supporters at Winter Soldier, “We’ve been transformed in our own lives and feel like we have a responsibility to continue fighting, to uphold values that we took very seriously when we enlisted or that came to be very important to us through our service.”
Dougherty reiterates IVAW’s three goals: immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces from Iraq, full benefits and healthcare for returning veterans, and reparations and compensation for the people of Iraq. She notes that, like the winter soldiers lauded by Thomas Paine, the testifiers this weekend are continuing a legacy of veterans and soldiers speaking out against unjust, inhumane, and damaging policies.
 Gerald Nicosia, author of the definitive history of the Vietnam veterans movement, Home to War, reads a statement from Ron Kovic, a former Marine sergeant, who was paralyzed during his second tour of duty in Vietnam. He wrote about his life and antiwar activism in the best-selling Born on the Fourth of July. Nicosia introduces the statement with two comments by Kovic: the courage required of soldiers and veterans to speak against the policies and actions of their own nation deserves recognition and honor; and in testifying, they are not just saving lives, but also saving the soul of their country. In his statement, Kovic attests to his horror at watching what he calls “the mirror image of another Vietnam unfolding in Iraq,” noting ruefully that many Vietnam veterans promised themselves long ago that they would never allow what happened to them happen again. He ends with a call to action “It is time to stop the war machine,” he writes. “Precious lives are at stake, both American and Iraqi.”
 David Cortright, professor of peace studies at Notre Dame University and author of Soldiers In Revolt – GI Resistance During The Vietnam War, notes the irony of being set on commitment to peace by the draft notice that arrived at his home 40 years ago, which led him to become what was then called a draft-induced volunteer. Cortright draws parallels between the GI resistance movements during the Vietnam war and today: war crimes hearings, ads and petitions, organizing on active-duty bases, and publications using whatever technology is at hand. “Then as now, we were lied to,” he says. “Then as now we realized that this war was wrong. Then as now we realized that our political leaders were placing us in impossible situations.” But the GI resistance movement played a crucial role in ending the Vietnam war because people in uniform refused to serve any longer, and the military machine began to break down. Because te power of the war makers depends on the consent of service people and the public, Cortright urges his listeners to keep organizing and resisting until this war is also over.
-
-
|
