Courage to Resist

"And I just, I started crying...I can't do it. I can't pull the trigger. I don't want to kill anyone," shared Hart after serving 11 months in Iraq. The post Podcast: “I wanted to lay my rifle down.” – Hart Viges appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"We need the next generations of activists to carry forward, to complete the work that we can't get done in our lifetime." The post Podcast (VN-E46): “Arrested dozens of times, two years in prison” – Jim Albertini appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"It was pure hell... for the fact that I took that stand. I mean, all the labels, "Draft Dodger", "Pinko", "Commie", "Shirker"", recalls Fran Da Vinci. The post Podcast (VN-E45): “It was a leap of faith” – Francesco Da Vinci appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"Having signed a six-year contract, I thought there was absolutely nothing I could do. I just needed to hunker down and fulfill my contract." The post Podcast: “What? Yes. That term..I'm a conscientious objector!” – Rosa del Duca appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"You know what? This is all a bunch of bullshit, what they're telling us to do over here," recalls Iraq War veteran turned conscientious objector. The post Podcast: “Why are we guarding an oil field?” – Kevin Benderman appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"I think the whole idea of a "just war" at all is a sham that we're taught as part of this propaganda to support it." -recent USMC Capt. Michael Rasmussen The post Podcast: Michael Rasmussen, Meditations of a Conscientious Objector appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"You are doing the right thing because this is going to be horrible for the people of Iraq, but it's going to be horrible for the United States, too." The post Podcast: “The common thing is that no one wants war” – Col. Ann Wright (ret.) appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"[In] appeals to every level ... I pointed out that this policy was unconstitutional ... the right to peaceful protest is a constitutional right." The post Podcast: “I joined the military to fight fascism” – Capt. Alan Kennedy appeared first on Courage to Resist.

David Finke is a conscientious objector, military counselor, and lifetime nonviolent activist. David shares his personal history. The post Podcast (VN-E44): “Strong religious commitment against war” – David Finke appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"I could probably speak louder with my photography than I could with my painting....I consider myself not just an artist, but a cultural worker." The post Podcast (VN-E43): “I'm going in for a long time” – William Short appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"Man, I do not want...a career in something that is intrinsically chaotic and stupid. I didn't want to participate in that anymore." The post Podcast: “I was always the ‘Good Sailor'” – Mike James appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"Kyle, everything that you're telling me right now, you fit the mold of a conscientious objector," and I was speechless. The post Podcast: “I'm requesting discharge-not noncombatant status” – Kyle Toon appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"Wow, that was shocking. What is my response as a Christian to the US support of this sort of stuff?" Threatened with death penalty for refusing to kill. The post Podcast (GW-E06): Erik Larsen – Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience appeared first on Courage to Resist.

“I was shocked that he got…a whole group of guys to chant, ‘Kill'. But after that, it made me see…I don't really want to kill anyone." Gulf War 30 years. The post Podcast (GW-E05): “Well, You're a Conscientious Objector” – Dan Fahey appeared first on Courage to Resist.

Featuring Tom Wilber & Jerry Lembcke -- "The POWs who came out against the war ... as far as anything they said ... they did so as a matter of conscience." The post Podcast (VN-E42): “They did it of their own volition” – Dissenting POWs appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"I challenged the army ... This time I did dissent and went to the stockade," shared Steve who joined the Army to organize against the war from within. The post Podcast (VN-E41): “I was trying to put the army on trial” – Steve Morse appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"I was objecting to the abuse of prisoners [and] forwarding complaints ... I had issues with how prisoners were being tortured at Guantanamo." The post Podcast: “Falsely accused of being a spy” – former Chaplain James Yee appeared first on Courage to Resist.

Capt. David Wiggins went on a hunger strike, publicly resigned his commission, and eventually stopped obeying all orders while deployed for the Gulf War. The post Podcast (GW-E04): “It was a real snarl” – David Wiggins appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"We did not renounce the use of those constitutional rights simply because we were soldiers" - Andrew Pulley of the "Fort Jackson 8" anti-war GI defendants. The post Podcast (VN-E40): “We started to unite” – Cleve Andrew Pulley appeared first on Courage to Resist.

Inspired by the Vietnam Era GI Resistance Movement, Jonathan co-founded Appeal for Redress so that active duty US military personnel could speak out. The post Podcast: “What we could do to harness our power” – Jonathan Hutto appeared first on Courage to Resist.

His traumatic experiences in heavy fighting in Iraq during Desert Storm led Charles Sheehan-Miles to become a conscientious objector. The post Podcast (GW-E03): “Still remember it like it was an hour ago” – Charles Sheehan-Miles appeared first on Courage to Resist.

Dissenters, Deserters, and Objectors to America's Wars. "It's not about a matter of being a coward... like all non-violent action, it takes a lot of rigor." The post Podcast: Chris Lombardi’s new book “I Ain’t Marching Anymore…” appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"People found my actions personally offensive. Somehow my not going to the Gulf War would affect their patriotism," recalls military resister Stephanie Atkinson. The post Podcast (GW-E02): “How did our oil get under their land?” – Stephanie Atkinson appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"Why would I want to blow a hole the size of a grapefruit into someone, just because somebody said, 'Hey, that's your enemy''"? The post Podcast (VN-E39): “It didn’t make any sense to me” – Mike Wittels appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"Those soldiers are the ones who actually got the sickest from breathing in the particles.," Dennis Kyne on depleted uranium and Gulf War Syndrome. The post Podcast (GW-E01): “We were sick as dogs” – Dennis Kyne, Gulf War vet appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"Put more and more of the puzzle pieces together, and then you realize that you've got to bear witness," Mike Hastie, Vietnam War medic. The post Podcast: “You’ve got to bear witness” – Mike Hastie appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"The only thing I'm proud of was my involvement with the anti-war movement," Mike Turek, Vietnam Era Air Force. The post Podcast: “The only thing I’m proud of” – Mike Turek appeared first on Courage to Resist.

Mike Tork joined the Navy before turning 18 and served in Vietnam with the Mobile Riverine Force (1966-1967). The post Podcast: “I wanted to forget about it” – Mike Tork, Vietnam Veteran appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"I wanted to show that an actual active duty GI in 1968 could do this, could take a very public stance against the war," shares Vietnam War GI resister. The post Podcast: “Based on nothing but a stack of lies” – Greg Laxer appeared first on Courage to Resist.

Courage to Resist: Rivera Sun and Edward Hasbrouck on upcoming changes to military draft registration laws, and the history of resistance by men and women. The post Podcast: Congress leaning towards drafting women for next war appeared first on Courage to Resist.

Air force pilot Howard Morland's exposure to the atrocities in Vietnam and extreme military training led him to question what the war was really about. The post Podcast: “That’s me — I AM the enemy” – Howard Morland appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"I walked up into that plane ... on both sides, there were no seats, but just hooks for the stretchers to be placed on," recalled Mike Ferner, Navy Corpsman. The post Podcast: “Real awakening for someone … brought up on John Wayne” – Mike Ferner appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"I went to command and announced that I would not carry a weapon anymore and that I would not participate," Agent Orange vet Ray Cage The post Podcast: “I would not carry a weapon anymore” – Ray Cage appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"We came in sweeping through the valley killing absolutely everyone, no matter what age," recalls Dennis Stout, who went on to report war crimes he witnessed in Vietnam. The post Podcast: “We killed every animal, every person” – Dennis Stout appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"I'd probably seen somewheres between 700 to 900 dead Vietnamese, most of whom were children or very young people. I was both shocked and sickened." The post Podcast: “What am I doing here? This is crazy!” – Brian Willson appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"We would certainly rather think ourselves heroes rather than murderers or dupes," shares Vietnam Veteran Dr. Bica, former Marine Officer. The post Podcast: “What did I do that you’re thanking me for?” – Camillo Bica appeared first on Courage to Resist.

Gerry Condon, Veterans For Peace President, spoke out against the Vietnam War as a Green Beret, refused orders, and lived and organized six years in exile. The post Podcast: “Very jarring and brutal and dehumanizing” – Gerry Condon appeared first on Courage to Resist.

"When they tell stories to their children of the evil that awaits misbehavior, is it me they conjure?" Vietnam Veteran Bill Ehrhart, writer and poet. The post Podcast: “Within a few months nothing made sense” – Bill Ehrhart appeared first on Courage to Resist.