War will commemorate the 1971 Winter Soldier hearings on Saturday,
March 15th at 2pm at the original hearing site, 2921 West Grand
Boulevard in Detroit. The Detroit commemoration is being held at the
same time Iraq veterans are holding their own Winter Soldier hearings
in Washington, DC.
The "Winter Soldier Investigation" was a gathering sponsored by the
Vietnam Veterans Against the War intended to
publicize war crimes and atrocities by the United States Armed Forces
and their allies in the Vietnam War. The VVAW challenged the morality
and conduct of the war by showing the direct relationship between
military policies and war crimes in Vietnam. The three-day gathering
of 109 veterans and 16 civilians took place in Detroit from January
31-February 2, 1971. Discharged servicemen from each branch of
military service, as well as civilian contractors, medical personnel
and academics, all gave testimony about war crimes they had committed
or witnessed during the years of 1963-1970.
On Thursday March 13 to Sunday March 16, 2008, the Iraq Veterans
Against the War will hold their own Winter
Soldier hearings. The event will feature testimony from U.S. veterans
who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, giving an accurate account
of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground. The
four-day event will bring together veterans from across the country
to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan - and
present video and photographic evidence. In addition, there will be
panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and other specialists to
give context to the testimony. These panels will cover everything
from the history of the GI resistance movement to the fight for
veterans' health benefits and support.
The original Winter Soldier hearings were held at the Howard
Johnson's New Center, which was torn down in the late 1990's. The
commemoration event in Detroit on March 15th will be at the site of
the Howard Johnson's hotel, on the corner of West Grand Boulevard and
3rd Street, which is now a parking lot. The event will consist of
veterans reading the names of the first 100 soldiers killed in both
the Vietnam and present Iraq war, along with statements by veterans
about the parallels between Iraq and Vietnam. The public is invited.
The event is being sponsored by Veterans For Peace – Michigan.
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