From Vietnam Veterans Against the War, http://www.vvaw.org/1971_50years/wsi.php

Winter Soldier Investigation

Winter Soldier Investigation
January 31-February 2, 1971
Detroit, Michigan

The Winter Soldier Investigation: An Inquiry into American War Crimes

The Winter Soldier Investigation was convened in Detroit, Michigan, on January 31 and February 1 & 2, 1971, because veterans of the Indochina war knew that the occurence at My Lai was not an isolated incident, and many felt they could not allow the people of this country to be deceived by such statements as "They must have gone berserk" and "My Lai was clearly an aberration on the part of a junior office and the small group of men he commanded."

During the three days of hearing more than one hundred veterans and sixteen civilians gave firsthand testimony to war crimes which they either committed or witnessed. They testified in panels arranged by combat units and, when possible, in chronological order from the time of the first acknowledged US troops in Vietnam to clearly show the consistency in the development and implementation of the criminal policy through the succession of administrations and top military commanders. Besides the combat units, there were panels on weaponry, medical care, prisoners of war, racism, the devastation of Vietnam, and the psychological effects of the war on the American soldiers.

During the three days of hearings no phony indictment were handed down, no verdict reached, and no attempt made to create an illusion of judiciary proceedings. The purpose of the hearings was not to punish but to preclude the continuance of man's inhumanity to his fellow man.

- excerpts from the preface to the abridged testimony written by Al Hubbard, Executive Secretary of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, September 15, 1971.

On this page are links to articles about The Winter Soldier Investigation published in VVAW's newspapers over the years, videos of the event, and some photos of the event.

We encourage all of you were there, or affected by the testimony, to leave your memories in the guest book. Some of these will be published in a future issue of The Veteran. To submit longer memories and/or photos, email vvaw@vvaw.org.

Videos of The Winter Soldier Investigation