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My View on Winter Soldier: Prior to the Event

By John Zutz

John Zutz at Winter Soldier

I was still in the Army in early 1971. I had survived Vietnam and returned to the world on Veterans Day '70, and after 30 days leave was stationed in California. No early out – I still had more than 6 months to serve. I had entered the Army fairly neutral. I knew there were people against the war, and I understood that my country required my service.

The news about My Lai broke while I was on leave on my way to Vietnam. Those photos and stories got me questioning what we were doing there. Then I saw the waste and stupidity first hand. The Generals could tell everyone that we were winning that war, but the privates surely understood the truth. Each one counted the days (and sometimes the hours and minutes) until he was sent home.

I had watched my buddies invade Cambodia while guys wearing the same uniform were murdering students protesting that invasion at Kent State. I had been helpless in Vietnam while my mother was cleaning up glass from Madison's Sterling Hall bombing.

I didn't know which direction I was headed but I was firmly against the war in Vietnam.

In California I kept a copy of VVAW's Playboy ad hanging in my locker, much to the first shirt's chagrin. But fuck it, what could he do? Send me to Vietnam?

There were a number of troops, fresh out of basic or returned from Germany, who were tempted, by the boredom or the spit-shine mentality, to volunteer for Vietnam, and of course they asked me, and others who had returned, what it was like. We told them the truth. I'm not sure they believed us. We could have been spoofing them, and they were conditioned to believe the Generals.

They believed us when the Winter Soldier story came through. Veterans were talking about what they saw and what they did. It was a risk to stand up and tell the world you covered up a rape, or you counted prisoners at the end of a chopper ride in case one was "missing" on arrival.

Media coverage of the testimony was sporadic, but even though we were in the field we got enough to know what was happening. The Neanderthals in the company were beating on their chests to show how tough they were. At the same time a number of my buddies mentioned that they were ashamed to be a member of the military. I believe they had good reason to feel that way.

They were familiar with military indoctrination. They knew the things being testified about were not sporadic incidents by a few bad apples. They stopped talking about volunteering for Vietnam.

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan could have the same effect. It could cause the troops to think again about their duty. We all know the Generals lie. It's the privates and the corporals who actually fight the fights who tell the truth.