Amid concern about the role of military veterans in the January 6 siege of the Capitol and the recruitment of service members by white supremacist groups, this program will feature soldiers who have followed a different path in speaking out against racism and unjust wars from the Vietnam era to the present. The event will commemorate the Winter Soldier Investigation organized by Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) 50 years ago in February 1971, and similar hearings by Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) 37 years later in March 2008.
Echoing Thomas Paine’s famous Revolutionary War passage honoring soldiers who stand with their country in time of crisis in contrast to the "summer soldier" who shrinks from duty, these winter soldiers of the past and present will address the atrocities of war and the prevalence of racism within the military and in U.S. foreign policy. The event will emphasize the relevance of these issues to the continuing struggles for racial justice and ending the endless wars of today.
Virtual Event • Friday, March 12, 2021 • 4 - 6:00 pm EST (U.S.)
Speakers include:
- Thomas Baker, Ph.D. Student, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri-St. Louis
- Francisco Cantú, Former Border Patrol Agent; Author, The Line Becomes a River
- Al Hubbard and Joe Urgo, Former Vietnam Veterans Against the War Leaders
- Joshua Houze, Veteran, U.S. Army National Guard
- Adrienne Kinne, President, Veterans for Peace Board of Directors
- Barbara Kopple, Documentary Filmmaker
- Garett Reppenhagen, Executive Director, Veterans for Peace
- Susan Schnall, Co-coordinator of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign; Assistant Professor, New York University
- Margaret Stevens, Associate Professor of History, Essex County College
- Hart Viges, Member, Veterans for Peace, About Face: Veterans Against the War, and Sustainable Options for Youth
- David Zeiger, President, Displaced Films
For the full list of speakers, visit go.nd.edu/wintersoldiersagainstwar.
Co-sponsored by
Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies
Keough School of Global Affairs
About Face: Veterans Against the War
Veterans For Peace
Vietnam Peace Commemoration Committee.