Winter Soldier

Winter Soldier was the name of the Winter Soldier Investigation held by Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) in February, 1971, where more than 125 veterans spoke of atrocities they had witnessed or committed in the US war in Vietnam.

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan is a project of the Iraq Veterans Against the War, named after the 1971 VVAW investigation, which will "reveal the reality of the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan."

"Winter Soldier" is a phrase apparently inspired by and playing off of American revolutionary patriot and propagandist Thomas Paine's writing in his first "Crisis" pamphlet written in 1776 to inspire American colonists in their break from Britain. Paine wrote: "These are the times that try men's souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." {emphasis added}

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * John Kerry's 1971 Senate Testimony
 * Iraq Veterans Against the War
 * Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan