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
BONUS EPISODE: Extended Interview with Historian Chris Appy
Episode 3 gives listeners a brief overview of the history of the war in Vietnam. If you want to get more detailed information, listen to this extended interview with Chris Appy, a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, and director of the Daniel Ellsberg Initiative for Peace and Democracy. Chris gives his thoughts on the history of Vietnam's occupation by foreign powers, the re-education camps run by the communist government after 1975, and the more details on the student and GI anti-war movement.