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Speaking Truth to Power
| RUSS SCHEIDLER BIO |
It was a bone-chilling fifteen degrees below zero as I drove in to work this
morning. It’s enough to make one rethink global warming. Next weekend,
March 14-16, military veterans of the current war (without end, Amen!) in
Iraq and Afghanistan will gather in Washington, DC to hold their own Winter
Soldier Investigation. The veterans of this war will make their own reports
or testimonies of what they saw and what they did in the war.
Most of these veterans are pretty upset at what they’ve seen and did and
especially about how our own Veterans Administration and government has
treated them upon their return. They got involved in another war that was
started by some rich guys telling lies. Now, it doesn’t matter which side you’
re talking about. It’s always some rich person who is going to make a
bundle of money out of the war that talks the new generation of soldiers
into fighting it by telling lies. This has been the pattern since human wars
began and it doesn’t appear to have changed. Lesson Number One –
Learn from the past before you repeat it!
morning. It’s enough to make one rethink global warming. Next weekend,
March 14-16, military veterans of the current war (without end, Amen!) in
Iraq and Afghanistan will gather in Washington, DC to hold their own Winter
Soldier Investigation. The veterans of this war will make their own reports
or testimonies of what they saw and what they did in the war.
Most of these veterans are pretty upset at what they’ve seen and did and
especially about how our own Veterans Administration and government has
treated them upon their return. They got involved in another war that was
started by some rich guys telling lies. Now, it doesn’t matter which side you’
re talking about. It’s always some rich person who is going to make a
bundle of money out of the war that talks the new generation of soldiers
into fighting it by telling lies. This has been the pattern since human wars
began and it doesn’t appear to have changed. Lesson Number One –
Learn from the past before you repeat it!
| BABY, IT'S COLD OUTSIDE |
| WINTER SOLDIER Copyright 1974 by Russ Scheidler |
1. North wind blows around a Winter Soldier
Snow goes drifting on a winter’s day
You won’t see the sunshine patriot around
You won’t hear the summer soldier make a sound
Winter Soldier pound the ground
2. Lead ball flying through the Winter Soldier
Winter Soldier bleeding on the ground
You won’t see the home folks out without a glove
You won’t see the bad ones out without a shove
Winter Soldier live your love
C. If the Winter Soldiers fail at their goal
Then we all must pay the loss
3. In the springtime there will be a battle
Everyone will run outside to see
The crashing of the guns and peoples misery
Hungry people who will fight until the freeze
Winter Soldier off your knees
C. If the Winter Soldiers fail at their goal
Then we all must pay the loss
Verse:
D - D9 C9 – G D - D9 C9 - G
D - D9 C9 – G A A
G A D Bm
G A D C
G A D – C D
Chorus:
C D C D
F C D – C D
Snow goes drifting on a winter’s day
You won’t see the sunshine patriot around
You won’t hear the summer soldier make a sound
Winter Soldier pound the ground
2. Lead ball flying through the Winter Soldier
Winter Soldier bleeding on the ground
You won’t see the home folks out without a glove
You won’t see the bad ones out without a shove
Winter Soldier live your love
C. If the Winter Soldiers fail at their goal
Then we all must pay the loss
3. In the springtime there will be a battle
Everyone will run outside to see
The crashing of the guns and peoples misery
Hungry people who will fight until the freeze
Winter Soldier off your knees
C. If the Winter Soldiers fail at their goal
Then we all must pay the loss
Verse:
D - D9 C9 – G D - D9 C9 - G
D - D9 C9 – G A A
G A D Bm
G A D C
G A D – C D
Chorus:
C D C D
F C D – C D
Some of the Iraq and Afghan vets saw a DVD report
of the Winter Soldier Investigation that Vietnam vets
conducted in 1971, or was it 1972? It was a while
ago, but I remember it. As a Marine Corps veteran of
1969-72, I was impressed and it motivated me to join
Vietnam Veterans Against the War when I got
discharged.
We all should have a great deal of respect for these
new veterans. They appear to be some of the best
our country has ever produced. They are intelligent
and highly trained. They have done an excellent job
on a lousy mission and I am honored that some of the
actions taken by my generation have inspired them to
take a courageous public stand in opposition to the
current war (without end, Amen!).
I will be going to Washington, DC as a volunteer to
assist in any way these veterans ask. This is their
show and they will decide how it is to be run. I will do
any grunt work, sweep any floor, and perform any
task they ask of me in support of them.
Most people enlist in the military for all the right
reasons. They do not do it for hate. People who
hate are at least partially insane. Most people join up
for love. Love of your family, love of your community
and love of your country. Some veterans of my
generation forgot this for a while and found ourselves
doing and saying some hateful things. Now that our
hair has turned gray, most have remembered that we
joined up for the right reasons and we love our
country as much or more than we ever did. Lesson
Number Two – Try to learn from other people’s
mistakes. It’s easier that way.
The world did not change immediately after the first
Winter Soldier Investigation. Most of the positive
things that came out of it happened in the months
and years following Winter Soldier One. Many
people in this country did not even know the Winter
Soldier Investigation happened until a year or two
after the fact. But, those changes were phenomenal
once they rippled through the society. America was
forced to take a good long look at itself when
veterans of an active war that we were fighting and
paying for stood up and said, “Enough! We’re not
going to be silent any more about the horrors and
lies of war”. Lesson Number Three – Have patience.
What you are about to do is like dropping a pebble in
a pond. The act will not be complete until the last
ripple from the splash reaches the farthest shore.
Lesson Number Four comes from the late US Senator
from the State of Minnesota, Paul Wellstone – We all
do better when we all do better and never, ever give
up!
I apologize for preaching. It must be the gray hair
and arthritis talking. But, I must live with the mistakes
I know I have made in my life. I have lived with them
for a full generation already. I have the utmost
respect for these veterans about to conduct their own
Winter Soldier Investigation. They are not yet old
dogs and I trust that they can learn from the mistakes
of my generation. They will adapt their own actions
to their own generation. The Iraq and Afghan vets
about to testify next weekend are my heroes of today.
When I return home to Minnesota after next weekend,
there will still be snow and ice on the ground here.
However, it will not be so terribly cold. I expect it to
warm up above zero degrees. I know my heart and
my hope will be warmer.
Semper Fi,
"Uncle Russ" Scheidler
of the Winter Soldier Investigation that Vietnam vets
conducted in 1971, or was it 1972? It was a while
ago, but I remember it. As a Marine Corps veteran of
1969-72, I was impressed and it motivated me to join
Vietnam Veterans Against the War when I got
discharged.
We all should have a great deal of respect for these
new veterans. They appear to be some of the best
our country has ever produced. They are intelligent
and highly trained. They have done an excellent job
on a lousy mission and I am honored that some of the
actions taken by my generation have inspired them to
take a courageous public stand in opposition to the
current war (without end, Amen!).
I will be going to Washington, DC as a volunteer to
assist in any way these veterans ask. This is their
show and they will decide how it is to be run. I will do
any grunt work, sweep any floor, and perform any
task they ask of me in support of them.
Most people enlist in the military for all the right
reasons. They do not do it for hate. People who
hate are at least partially insane. Most people join up
for love. Love of your family, love of your community
and love of your country. Some veterans of my
generation forgot this for a while and found ourselves
doing and saying some hateful things. Now that our
hair has turned gray, most have remembered that we
joined up for the right reasons and we love our
country as much or more than we ever did. Lesson
Number Two – Try to learn from other people’s
mistakes. It’s easier that way.
The world did not change immediately after the first
Winter Soldier Investigation. Most of the positive
things that came out of it happened in the months
and years following Winter Soldier One. Many
people in this country did not even know the Winter
Soldier Investigation happened until a year or two
after the fact. But, those changes were phenomenal
once they rippled through the society. America was
forced to take a good long look at itself when
veterans of an active war that we were fighting and
paying for stood up and said, “Enough! We’re not
going to be silent any more about the horrors and
lies of war”. Lesson Number Three – Have patience.
What you are about to do is like dropping a pebble in
a pond. The act will not be complete until the last
ripple from the splash reaches the farthest shore.
Lesson Number Four comes from the late US Senator
from the State of Minnesota, Paul Wellstone – We all
do better when we all do better and never, ever give
up!
I apologize for preaching. It must be the gray hair
and arthritis talking. But, I must live with the mistakes
I know I have made in my life. I have lived with them
for a full generation already. I have the utmost
respect for these veterans about to conduct their own
Winter Soldier Investigation. They are not yet old
dogs and I trust that they can learn from the mistakes
of my generation. They will adapt their own actions
to their own generation. The Iraq and Afghan vets
about to testify next weekend are my heroes of today.
When I return home to Minnesota after next weekend,
there will still be snow and ice on the ground here.
However, it will not be so terribly cold. I expect it to
warm up above zero degrees. I know my heart and
my hope will be warmer.
Semper Fi,
"Uncle Russ" Scheidler
by RUSS SCHEIDLER
Served in the U.S. Marine Corps,
1969-1972. Russ was one of four
brothers serving simultaneously
in the Marine Corps. His older
brother, Ed Worthley, died as a
result of two tours in Vietnam,
which prohibited Russ from
serving there. Instead, Russ was
ordered to Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba. After discharge from the
Marines, he was a member of
VVAW.
russ.scheidler@vetspeak.org
1969-1972. Russ was one of four
brothers serving simultaneously
in the Marine Corps. His older
brother, Ed Worthley, died as a
result of two tours in Vietnam,
which prohibited Russ from
serving there. Instead, Russ was
ordered to Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba. After discharge from the
Marines, he was a member of
VVAW.
russ.scheidler@vetspeak.org
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