Know Winter Soldier
For Sunday, July 3, 2008

I’m upset with myself and more upset with the national news machine that I have never heard of the Winter Soldier Investigation until about two weeks ago, though it took place in 1971. I like to consider myself astute, a worthy researcher, a concerned citizen, yet this one slipped by me like the contents of a closed truck on the highway.

I was scouring Netflix looking for something interesting and found a documentary on Vietnam that grabbed my fleeting attention, until I read the summary, then it had my full attention:

“Banned by network television when released, this daring 1972 documentary examines reports of atrocities committed by U.S. soldiers during the Vietnam War.”

Anything that’s been banned by the networks peaks my curiosity because that’s often where the good stuff lies. I ordered it, expecting it to be just one more interesting documentary for a random Tuesday. What I saw left me slack-jawed, dazed, agitated, angry, fascinated, angrier, and hungry for more. I watched not just the film, but all the bonus footage, then ran to the Internet to further my research. I’ve been at it for four days, reading, following links, watching support videos, and downloading free documentaries on the subject. I learned Winter Soldier was not covered outside of Detroit, except by Pacifica Radio (papa to KPFA).

I couldn’t help wondering as I dug and gasped, “Am I alone in my lack of knowing of the Winter Soldier? Our soldiers must know of it. It is so immensely important today considering all the talk of torture, prisoner abuse, and injury to non-combatants. It strikes at the central nerve of current affairs.

I won’t go too deeply in describing the content specifics because it is disturbing and this is a family publication, but I will walk you through the front door into the lobby so that you can hear snippets of the soundtrack and peek through the cracks in the door at the film itself.

In Detroit, January 1 – February 2, 1971, 109 Vietnam veterans and 16 civilian contractors and support personnel gathered in an auditorium and gave public testimony of first-hand, personally witnessed, sometimes personally committed, accounts of atrocities in Vietnam. The event rose from American veterans’ widespread concern over the court martial trails of William Calley and others involved in the My Lai Massacre. There purpose was to show that My Lai was not an isolated incident, but the result of policy. It was about soldiers protecting soldiers back home in the aftermath.

Before testifying, each panelist when through elaborate scrutiny by organizers, Detroit journalists, and Pentagon officials of their military records, discharge papers, units and locations of service. They testified by units so as to corroborate each others’ stories.

Here is what was said by Scott Camil, one of the veterans who became so involved in the anti-war movement after his disillusionment that a separate movie was made of his life. It is on the DVD as a bonus. He said at his first encounter with the enemy he was guarding an US encampment with other men, a few guarding each corner. By orders, their grenades were taped shut and their rifles were empty. They needed permission to fire from the officer in charge, who spent nights walking between guard posts making sure no one was asleep. The enemy attacked quietly and first killed the roving officer. When the full assault came, guards cried out in vain, “Permission to fire! Permission to fire!” which went unanswered. Three guard posts were overrun and unarmed men were killed. Scott loaded and fired without permission and in the end five Americans were dead and 40 Vietnamese combatants. He said, and I’m paraphrasing, “After that, I realized how easily I could die and decided I would shoot anything that moved to protect myself. If I entered a village and had to kill 100 people so that I wouldn’t get shot leaving, I would do it.” That was a common mindset of these men at war.

The number of kills was a big concern for everyone, and a source of competition and reward. One common way to prove kills was to collect ears. “Ears for beers,” was the phrase used.


In March 2008 Winter Soldier returned. More than 200 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan convened in Washington to hold the second round of Winter Soldier hearings. Again publicity surrounding the event has been minimal. Those interested can visit ivaw.org to learn more. About 100 theater-quality videos of individual testimonies are available for download. Most are a gigabyte or larger. It takes sincere dedication to collect them. I’m doing that. If you’re curious for an easier introduction to these events, visit Youtube and search for Winter Soldier. The stories told by Jon Turner are powerful and revealing.

How good, kind-hearted, average Americans can be turned into indiscriminant killing machines is a sad legacy for our land. We can only hope that education and enlightenment can quell the beast.