University of Florida Hosts Winter Soldier, Iraq Veterans Against the War
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1 year ago
Clifton Hicks enlisted in the military when he was 17 to fight in Iraq. He wanted to serve.
But after experiencing the war, Hicks changed his mind.
He is not the only soldier to ever change his or her mind after spending time in Iraq.
As more than 200 people spilled into the aisles of the Presbyterian Disciples of Christ Student Center Tuesday night, six Iraq war veterans spoke at the University of Florida about their experiences in the Mideast.
It was a local representation of "Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan," a group of Iraq veterans who spoke in Washington, D.C., in March.
The purpose on Tuesday's "Winter Soldier" gathering was to allow Gainesville to be confronted with the reality of the lives of the soldiers who live every day with their decisions, and to provide an outlet for the veterans to voice their opinions, said Delaney Rohan, a political science senior and member of the Progressive Caucus.
Hicks says soldiers would shoot blindly into a civilian-populated area. “We sprayed a lot of bullets inside (of a house),” he said.
When the shooting ended, the soldiers went inside the house where the original gunshots were heard.
The gunshots had not been enemy fire, Hicks says. They were celebratory shots from an Iraqi wedding, and U.S. soldiers had shot three of the members of the wedding party. One died, a 6-year-old girl.
Palms up, face down in her bright, flower-print dress was the last image of her that Hicks took away with him, he said.
“It's a genocide,” he said.
The Iraqis are dehumanized by the military, so the soldiers don't think about the morality of their actions, Hicks said.
Every U.S. citizen is responsible for what happens in Iraq, said Zollie Goodman, another Iraq veteran. Yet Americans live in a selfish society and “stick our heads in sand,” he said.Clifton Hicks enlisted in the military when he was 17 to fight in Iraq. He wanted to serve.
But after experiencing the war, Hicks changed...all »Clifton Hicks enlisted in the military when he was 17 to fight in Iraq. He wanted to serve.
But after experiencing the war, Hicks changed his mind.
He is not the only soldier to ever change his or her mind after spending time in Iraq.
As more than 200 people spilled into the aisles of the Presbyterian Disciples of Christ Student Center Tuesday night, six Iraq war veterans spoke at the University of Florida about their experiences in the Mideast.
It was a local representation of "Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan," a group of Iraq veterans who spoke in Washington, D.C., in March.
The purpose on Tuesday's "Winter Soldier" gathering was to allow Gainesville to be confronted with the reality of the lives of the soldiers who live every day with their decisions, and to provide an outlet for the veterans to voice their opinions, said Delaney Rohan, a political science senior and member of the Progressive Caucus.
Hicks says soldiers would shoot blindly into a civilian-populated area. “We sprayed a lot of bullets inside (of a house),” he said.
When the shooting ended, the soldiers went inside the house where the original gunshots were heard.
The gunshots had not been enemy fire, Hicks says. They were celebratory shots from an Iraqi wedding, and U.S. soldiers had shot three of the members of the wedding party. One died, a 6-year-old girl.
Palms up, face down in her bright, flower-print dress was the last image of her that Hicks took away with him, he said.
“It's a genocide,” he said.
The Iraqis are dehumanized by the military, so the soldiers don't think about the morality of their actions, Hicks said.
Every U.S. citizen is responsible for what happens in Iraq, said Zollie Goodman, another Iraq veteran. Yet Americans live in a selfish society and “stick our heads in sand,” he said.«
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