A Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War
A Matter of Conscience is the story of the Vietnam War that the U.S. government and military don't want you to know. Hosts Bill Short and Willa Seidenberg reveal a hidden history of the war born out of personal experience. As an Army infantry platoon sergeant, Bill was serving in heavy combat in South Vietnam in 1969 when he refused to keep fighting. He was imprisoned in South Vietnam by the U.S. Army and court-martialed twice.
The podcast shares the stories of GIs who took individual and collective action while in uniform to oppose the war—including refusing to go to Vietnam or to fight in the field, publishing underground GI newspapers, sabotaging operations, going AWOL (Absent Without Leave), and even deserting. These deeply personal stories remain highly relevant today in light of current wars and issues of free speech, the meaning of patriotism, and following your conscience.
A Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War
The War Against the War
A Matter of Conscience uncovers a story of the Vietnam War the U.S. government and the military would like to bury. Hosts Bill Short and Willa Seidenberg draw from firsthand experience to reveal a hidden chapter of the war—one shaped by resistance from within. In this opening episode, we set the stage for the rise of the GI anti-war movement, spotlighting acts of courage and defiance by soldiers who faced internal conflicts between their duty and their conscience. Historian Chris Appy unpacks the war’s moral and political consequences, while veterans share powerful personal stories of the struggle between duty and belief.