Screening of "Citizen Soldier"

We invite the peace and progressive community to a special Madison screening of "Citizen Soldier: the Story of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War" (1997, 63 min) with director Denis Mueller, Sunday October 10th, 7pm, at Michelangelo's Coffee House, 114 State St in Madison, sponsored by the People's History Peace Project, the Peregrine Forum, Iraq Veterans Against the War - Madison, and the Wisconsin Network For Peace & Justice. Voluntary donation asked. More info 442-8399.

A summary of the film is appended below.

Denis Mueller is an independent filmmaker best-known for "Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train" (2004) about the life and work of the historian and author of A People's History of the United States.

Denis has recently re-done his 1997 film about the VVAW and is screening it here to raise funds for another film he is completing about U.S. military war resisters in Canada who are fighting extradition back to the U.S. at the hands of the conservative Harper government.

Denis will be introduced by radical historian Paul Buhle, formerly Senior Lecturer in History and American Civilization at Brown University and now retired in Madison. Paul is author or editor of 35 works including histories of radicalism in the U.S. and Caribbean, studies of popular culture, and a series of nonfiction comic art volumes. He is co-author of four books on the history of the Hollywood Blacklist and editor of a series of graphic non-fiction works by American comics artists and writers, among them Harvey Pekar.

We urge those attending this event and others in the local peace community to give generously to Denis to enable him to complete his film about these courageous American Iraq War military resisters.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citizen Soldier: The Story of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War

(Summary by film critic Fred Camper)

This video documentary by Chicagoan Denis Mueller includes footage of Vietnam-era demonstrations by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War, many of whose members returned their medals; interviews with members today; military training films; and interviews with gulf war veterans who've become antiwar. Mueller goes beyond the usual demonstration and protest footage, letting us hear substantive reasons for opposing these wars. Though many of the Vietnam vets came to their positions because of personal crises, such as having Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), they place a welcome emphasis on the horrible effects the war had on the Vietnamese, a perspective continued when a Gulf War vet speaks of the massive casualties among Iraqis. Skillful inter-cutting that effectively mixes past and present suggests that vets can never forget the wars they fought in.