Freedom is a Constant Struggle TV show, September 25, 2009
Our
guests are Michael Wong and Jeff Paterson, two war resisters. In every
war, only one GI gets to be the first to refuse orders to that war.
Jeff Paterson, a US Marine, was the first GI to refuse orders to his
war - Gulf War 1. He has since become one of the founding members of
the Courage to Resist collective of activists who specialize in helping
GI resisters who want to resist publicly. (The GI Rights Hotline helps
all resisters most of whom want to get out quietly:
http://www.girightshotline.org/). He was one of the key leaders who
helped launch the 1st Lt. Ehren Watada campaign, and has since helped a
long list of public GI resisters.
http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/
Mike
Wong was born and raised in San Francisco, and became a soldier during
the Vietnam War. He was very influenced by the anti-war movement. So
when he received Viet Nam orders, he went AWOL, then turned himself in
to the Presidio stockade with his lawyer, pleaded guilty to AWOL, and
attempted to press a limited conscientious objector case. The Army
turned him down, and put him back on Viet Nam orders. Mike escaped to
Canada and lived in exile for five years. He returned after the war,
pleaded guilty to Long Term AWOL, and received an Undesirable
Discharge. He later earned a Masters degree in Social Work, and has
been a social worker for 30 years, as well as war resistance activist.
http://www.veteransforpeace.org/
