Friends,
I was quite surprised that the author mentioned Pvt. Eddie Slovik. For
those who are unfamiliar with the name, check out William Bradford Huie’s 1954
book THE EXECUTION OF PRIVATE SLOVIK, which was made into a television movie on
March 13, 1974. It stars Martin Sheen, as Pvt. Slovik, and Ned Beatty
plays the chaplain who counsels Eddie before his encounter with a firing squad.
When I showed the film at the American Friends Service Committee, there was
total silence in the room at the conclusion of the film.
Despite massive numbers of soldiers court-martialed for desertion, Slovik was
the only one executed. He wrote to Eisenhower to request clemency, but
Ike rejected his plea. I do not have a lot of respect for Eisenhower, and I
never use his quote about the “military-industrial-complex.”
Kagiso, Max
Published
on Portside (https://portside.org/)
To Thank Me For My Service, Work for Peace
Rosemarie
Jackowski
May
21, 2020
Veterans
for Peace
"Thank
you for your service"... on second thought -
It
is Memorial Day again. Some will celebrate. Some will drink too much. Some will
march in parades. Some will rally around the flag. Some will go shopping. Some
will mourn. I am among the mourners.
I
mourn mostly for those we have killed — and I mourn for those we haven't killed
yet, but will in the days ahead. I mourn for all of the mothers and fathers who
put their children to bed at night and wonder if this will be the night that
they are killed by a drone attack.
I
mourn for the 500,000 Iraqi children - dead because of U.S. foreign policy. The
official policy as described by Madeleine Albright on 60 Minutes was 'that we
think the price was worth it.' Worth it to whom? Not to the mothers and
fathers, sisters and brothers, grandmothers and grandfathers of those children.
I
mourn the execution of Pvt. Eddie Slovik — the gentle soldier who was too moral
to kill. He refused to fight. On Jan. 31, 1945, the U.S. executed him before a
firing squad. He is the only U.S. soldier, that we know about, who was executed
during World War II. In recent years has friendly fire been used against some
who refuse to kill?
I
mourn for all the unarmed civilians slaughtered by U.S. troops in Korea. The massacre
at No Gun Ri is one of many war crimes.
I
mourn for those still being held in Guantanamo. Either put them on Trial, or
release them and pay them compensation for the time they were illegally
imprisoned.
The
results of recent elections show that more than ninety percent of United States
voters support the foreign policy of the Democratic/Republican Party. That
includes support for war, torture and imprisonment without due process. More
than ninety percent of the people, as evidenced by their votes, are not peace
makers. Supporting crimes against humanity is not an option for people of
conscience. Any vote for any Democrat or Republican candidate is a vote for
war. Those voters are complicit in war crimes because they enable crimes
against peace. Electing peace makers to the Congress would save lives and
money.
As
a nation, none can compare with the United States when it comes to the ability
to slaughter innocent civilians. Remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The United
States is the only nation to have used nuclear bombs to kill.
Now
we can kill from the comfort of our own neighborhoods ... at no risk to our own
safety. Some believe that the use of drones is a cowardly approach to warfare.
Some argue that the use of drones is a war crime. No matter how one feels about
drones, it is certain that drone warfare has raised the killing of civilians to
a new level. The slaughter of little girls walking to school is a crime against
humanity.
Do
the drone operators who sit at a computer thousands of miles away from any
danger deserve our admiration? Their safety is not at risk. Should they be
"'thanked for their service"? Does wearing a uniform give anyone the
moral or legal right to kill unarmed civilians? Does wearing a uniform make
anyone a hero? Is killing by remote control really an example of heroism?
How
can "heroism" be defined? Heroism is the willingness to stand alone
in opposition to evil and injustice.
We
have many heroes. Julian Assange, Ed Snowden, Chelsea Manning, Jeremy Hammond,
John Kiriakou, Aaron Swartz are just a few of many. There are also local
heroes... the peacemakers.
As
a role model we have Archbishop Oscar Romero who took on the entire power
structure in El Salvador. With grace and dignity he defended the poor and
disenfranchised. He was assassinated while saying Mass.
When
I think about heroes, I always think about my friend, Elliott Adams. During the
'60s, Adams volunteered for the Army. He fought in Vietnam, He was a
paratrooper. He was wounded. After hospitalization, he was redeployed to Korea,
and then Alaska. All of those things might make Adams seem like a hero to most
people, but that is not why I think of him as a hero. Adams is a former
president of Veterans for Peace, but that also is not why he is a hero to me.
More than anyone I have known, Adams has dedicated his life since being
discharged from the military to working for global peace. He has gone to Gaza
with Physicians for Social Responsibility. In solidarity with the prisoners at
Gitmo, Adams went on a hunger strike. Adams has been at the forefront of the
protests against the use of drones at Hancock Air Base near Syracuse, N.Y.
Adams was arrested while participating in peaceful protest.
Below
is Adams' sentencing speech as he delivered it to the court. This is one of the
most articulate anti-war statements I have ever heard.
"I
appreciate the bench's effort to understand the arguments made — arguments
involving local law, international law and, even the principles of civil
disobedience.
"My
experience in war has taught me that in life we periodically get tested to see
if we can stand up to the pressures of 'socially acceptable procedural norms'
which push us to work within the little laws and instead comply with the
requirements of International Humanitarian Law. I cannot condemn others when
they fail that test for I have failed it myself. But those who do fail it are
condemned to live with the horrendous cost society pays for their failure. I
believe this court failed that test. The court may not have felt an unavoidable
compulsion to comply with International Humanitarian Law, but it certainly was
given the justifications it could have used to stand up and comply with
International Humanitarian Law. But being here in DeWitt near an epicenter of
war crimes couched in the humdrum of civilian life, the bench may find it is
tested again ... and again.
"I
believe that my co-defendants and I did what is right morally, but more
relevant to this court, what is required by the law, the big law, that law that
deals with thousands of lives, not the little law that deals with disorderly
conduct. If the court had chosen to decide on the big law it would have found
us innocent. But since the court chooses to rule on the little law, the law
about orderly conduct, then it must not only find me guilty but guilty to the
fullest extent, with no mitigation.
"As
the court stated, there will always be consequences for pursuing justice
through 'changes made by actions outside the socially acceptable procedural
norms.' Among other life experiences I have over 15 years in local elected
public office and it became apparent to me that abiding by the 'socially
acceptable procedural norms' can only lead to more of the same injustice,
indeed those norms are there to prop up those injustices.
"I
am proud to accept the consequences of my acts and any jail time. I do not want
any suspended sentence. If you give me one, also please let me know how I can
violate it before I leave the courtroom. I do not have money to pay a court; I
spend what little money this old man has trying to bring about justice. My
community service has been doing the duty that the courts shrink from — calling
attention to war crimes and trying to stop war crimes. Standing in this court
as community service, it is the little I can do for society."
Rosemarie
Jackowski
Bennington,
VT
Donations can be sent
to Max Obuszewski, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, 431 Notre Dame Lane, Apt. 206,
Baltimore, MD 21212. Ph: 410-323-1607; Email: mobuszewski2001 [at] comcast.net. Go to http://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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