Two Stories of GI Resistance
Ryan Jackson hails from IVAW's Savannah, GA chapter. He joined the U.S. Army and served in South Korea until 2007. After reading the words of visionaries like Dr. Martin Luther King and Gandhi, Ryan decided he could no longer serve in good conscience. He Spent 100 days in a Charleston, SC brig after going AWOL for his beliefs. See Ryan tell his story here:
Ryan Jackson Part 1 Ryan Jackson Part 2
Marc Hall is a father serving on active duty at Ft. Stewart, GA. He's already completed 1 tour of duty in Iraq and is set to deploy again in another week. Marc's military contract ends this February, but he has been Stop-Lossed for his unit's up-coming deployment back to Iraq.
Marc is also a hip-hop artist and recently recorded an angry song entitled "Stop Loss" as an artistic outlet for his frustrations about his situation. He explains on his website, "I am a political artist. I rap about real issues in life in hopes to recover a solution."
You can listen to Marc's song by clicking here. (Be aware that the song contains explicit lyrics.)
News of the song reached Marc's chain of command at Ft. Stewart which claims that the song's lyrics amount to the "communication of a threat."
The Army placed Marc in jail last Friday charging him with an Article 134. We believe that Marc's right to freedom of speech is being violated. IVAW Field Organizer, Jason Hurd, has been in contact with Marc including phone and in-person visits to get more details of his story.
Here's how you can help Marc today:
Call the jail at 912-876-6411 to demand an end to his illegal confinement.
Send letters of protest to: CPT Cross, Commander, B 2-7 INF BN, Fort Stewart, GA 31314.