Soldiers Testify at Winter Soldier Hearings in 1971 and 2008

I am going to talk about “winter soldiers” that were involved in the war in Iraq and their psychical consequences. I will also (from other sources) present the war in other conflict places in history like the one in Vietnam.

CORE:

First assembly of “winter soldiers” was held in Detroit, Michigan. It was three-day gathering of 109 veterans and 16 civilians, from January 31 - February 2, 1971.
Vietnam veterans spoke about war crimes and atrocities by the United States Armed Forces and their allies in the Vietnam War, but first let me explain how the term “winter soldier” originated..

The term “winter soldier” first invented Thomas Paine, so-called father of the American Revolution when he spoke about “Sunshine Patriot” and “summertime soldiers” who deserted at Valley Forge, when they were fighting for independence of America.
This term was then used for the purpose of the Winter Soldier rally where they tried to show that American policies in Vietnam had led to war crimes.

The first testimonials at winter soldier gathering were very frightful. They told the stories of times that they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam.

The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Survey (NVVRS), conducted between 1986 and 1988, estimated that more than half of all male Vietnam veterans and almost half of all female Vietnam veterans that is about 1,700,000 in all have experienced “clinically serious stress reaction symptoms.”

The estimated lifetime prevalence (spread) of PTSD among American Vietnam veterans is 30.9 % for men and 26.9 % for women. An additional 22.5 % of men and 21.2 % of women have had partial PTSD at some point in their lives.

Male Vietnam veterans also have a 40 percent divorce rate, 23 percent of them having high levels of parenting problems. Almost half of all male Vietnam veterans suffering from PTSD between 1986 and 1988 have been arrested or jailed at least once, and the estimated lifetime prevalence of substance abuse or dependency (addiction) among male Vietnam veterans is nearly 40 percent.


Second Winter Soldier rally was actually continuation of the first Winter Soldier hearings held 37 years ago by Vietnam Veterans against the War.

Soldiers gathered at the National Labour College in Silver Spring, Maryland. They were again talking about their eyewitness experiences in that war. They basically followed the tradition of resistance in the military by gathering veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan to testify about their comprehension what was really happening in those two wars.

Some soldiers and marines at Winter Soldier described the frustration of routinely raiding the wrong homes and arresting the wrong people. It was common for unarmed Iraqis to be killed at US checkpoints or by US convoys, they said. Many said they were congratulated on their “first kill.” Some even desecrated Iraqi corpses. One soldier said that he refused to pose in a photograph with a corpse when his fellow soldiers prodded him. He said no–not in the context of an ethical basis, but he sad no because it wasn’t his kill. You shouldn’t take trophies for things you didn’t kill. That’s how his mind was set back then.”

Several veterans said it was common to carry a stash of extra automatic weapons and shovels to plant near the bodies of unarmed civilians they had killed to make it look as if they were combatants. Others described the surreal sensation of committing cold-blooded murder without facing any consequences. Jon Michael Turner, who served as a machine gunner with Kilo Company, Third Battalion, Eighth Marines, said he shot an unarmed Iraqi in front of the man's father and friend. "The first round didn't kill him, after He had hit him in his neck area. Afterwards he started screaming and looked right into his eyes. Because he couldn’t stand it watching him he took another shot and took him out. The man was then carried away by the rest of his family.

Some researchers are saying that large numbers of American soldiers returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychiatric difficulties, like post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, substance abuse, impairment in social functioning and in the ability to work, and the increased use of health care services, very similar to those in Vietnam War. One of the reasons is that average age of the fighting personnel is just 19.

A study published by the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) found that one in six soldiers returning from Iraq was suffering from a variety of emotional problems.

Today, five years after the invasion began, nearly 160,000 troops remain stationed in Iraq, close to 4,000 have died. The number of Iraqis dead is still unknown. It could be more than a million.

Morality of war

Throughout history war has been the source of serious moral questions. Although many ancient nations and some modern ones have viewed war as noble, over the sweep of history, concerns about the morality of war have gradually increased. Today, war is seen by some as undesirable and morally problematic. At the same time, many view war, or at least the preparation and readiness and willingness to engage in war, as necessary for the defence of their country. Pacifists believe that war is inherently immoral and that no war should ever be fought.