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
Leaving America Behind: Deserters and the War
More than half a million soldiers abandoned their posts during the Vietnam War, seeking refuge primarily in Canada and Sweden. In this gripping episode of A Matter of Conscience: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War, we plunge into the emotional and personal sacrifice of desertion. Hear the extraordinary journeys of four men: Mike Wong, who crossed the border into Canada; Gerry Condon, whose path wound from Canada to Sweden and back again; Michael Sutherland (formerly Lindner) and Steve Kinnaman, two men granted asylum in Sweden and who never returned to their homeland. We'll also explore the secret routes to freedom—the 'underground railroad' to Canada, guided by historian John Boyko, and the resilient deserter community in Sweden, as shared by its unofficial historian, Jim Walch, a conscientious objector who made Sweden his permanent home.
For show notes, photos, and more, visit our website.