From March 14th to 16th 2008, Pacifica Radio provided coverage of the historic Winter Soldier 2008 gathering in Washington, DC.
Podcast URL:
http://warcomeshome.org/podcast
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Clifton Hicks was a tank driver, humvee .50cal gunner, and an amateur infantryman in southern Baghdad in 2003 and 2004. He lives in Gainsville, Florida. His profile page for Iraq Veterans Against the War reads "The whole damned thing was a tremendous waste of time, energy, and human life. Too many of my friends and acquaintances have been slain for naught and too many spineless, neck-tied curs have profited from their blood."
Fellow infantryman Steven Casey joined Clifton Hicks to give joint testimony during the "Rules of Engagement: Part 1" Panel.
Former US Army Sergeant Logan Laituri served a tour in Iraq before returning home and filing to be discharged as a conscientious objector. He describes how the rules of engagement he operated under lead to the approved killings of innocent civilians and the destruction of ancient landmarks.
Jason Lemieux is a former Marine Corps Sergeant, who did three tours as an infantryman in Iraq. After returning from Iraq, he was banned from marching in Long Beach, California’s Veterans Day parade in an “Iraq Veterans Against the War” T-Shirt, because the organizers said it was a non-political event.
Corporal Jason Washburn did three tours in Iraq including the invasion. On his first tour, California native was stationed in Sadr City for a while and eventually settled in to Al Hillah. On his second tour in '04-'05 he fought Al Sadr and the Mahdi Army in Najaf. During my third and final tour in '05-'06, he served in Haditha and much of Anbar Province. A squad in his unit was responsible for the massacre of 26 civilians in Haditha in November 2005.
Former US Army Captain Luis Montalvan served two tours in Iraq. Before joining the officer corps in 2003, Montalván spent over a decade as a communications specialist, military policeman and infantryman in the enlisted ranks, having joined the U.S. Army on his 17th birthday in 1990. He personally witnessed the September 11th attacks in New York. He currently lives in Brooklyn.
Former Lance Corporal Matthew Howard served in Iraq. He says: "I find it amazing how people refuse to acknowledge that I actually went through a war. Society does not allow us any time to sit with what we just went through. Since getting out I have been constantly forced to justify my life to friends and family, they need to know the plan - what's next." Howard grew up in Massachusetts and now lives in Vermont.
