“Thank you both so much for spending the day with us today! Our students really need to hear what John has to say more than ever in this tumultuous climate and your work truly does make a difference — you are saving lives in all sorts of different ways!!” – received from a NYC high school teacher on May 28

Please consider supporting We Are Not Your Soldiers. We have made many school visits during this Covid year despite all the difficulties educators and students have been facing – and still have more to go. And, next year, when schools are “back to normal” we plan to greatly expand our outreach. Your help is very needed to make that possible.

In the month of May, We Are Not Your Soldiers spoke remotely to students in 14 middle and high school classes in NYC and two of our presenters were interviewed on a Memorial Day radio broadcast in the Catskills (you can listen here).

Early in the month, Will Griffin presented to five high school classes, sharing his own experiences and a slide show he has developed.

Students sent thank yous and wrote about the visit in their journals, such as this excerpt by a sophomore:

“Leaving the meeting I, of course, became even more educated on the subject but I was also shocked by what I learned. I absolutely did not know that the United States dropped that many bombs and not just in one country but seven?! I really do think that students should be educated on this and on how our country is killing so many people with these bombs. After the meeting, I was still a bit taken aback from the number of bombings and I wanted to know more so I clicked on the We Are Not Your Soldiers link and watched another presentation by Will. When I found out that the U.S was dropping a bomb every twelve minutes somewhere I was absolutely disgusted. To add to that I also had no clue that the U.S has been at war for over ninety percent of its lifetime. Is there really nothing better to do? Like, there are people who cannot afford health care, women who get paid less just because they’re women, and our education system is wack (no offense to my teachers, you guys aren’t wack, you guys are great, it’s the system that’s wack)! … Are there courses in schools that focus on the truth of the military? If there aren’t, there should be. Students, especially those who are looking into joining the military, should first be educated on these matters before joining… “

The following week, with Joy Damiani, we did something unusual for us. We visited a middle school. These students had been well-prepared as they were finishing up a unit on U.S. foreign policy and history where they delved into such issues as Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism. The depth of these students’ understanding is extremely impressive and says a lot about their four wonderful teachers.  

Here are excerpts from two of the thank yous sent to Joy:

“…I was impressed by what you had to say. I’ve never really interacted with veterans, especially ones who share the same views on the military as you. It was very eye-opening. Before you came, I knew kind of surface level things about the military, like how it’s glorified in the media and has an enormous budget… It amazed me to learn about how the military can just lie to you and keep people deployed longer than what their contract states, that’s pretty messed. I didn’t know that recruiters can just gloss over the truth to convince people to enlist, they should tell people what they’re signing up for. I also never really thought about why we have such a large military or why we spend so much. It never occurred to me that it was excessive… I’m sorry I’m kind of repeating myself, it’s just that there’s so much to think about and I’m kind of stunned even though I know I shouldn’t be. I’m not surprised about how much the government lies to us because I already knew that, but at the same time I am surprised about how much information the U.S. government hides from its citizens. It’s crazy and I want to thank you for the work you’re doing. I think it’s important for people to know about this, especially when it’s coming from someone who was on the inside. Maybe one day more people will start to see how much the military is lying to us and how we can make positive change…”

“…Some things that stood outto me were how the U.S. government owned you and could call you back even after the time you had signed up for was finished and how horrible the conditions were for you, other people fighting in the war, and the people who lived in Iraq and were getting bombed….”

At the very end of the month, we returned to the high school where Will had presented, this time with John Burns as noted in the initial comment at the top from the teacher who invited us.

See excerpts from student papers and journals as well as the moving thank yous we continue to receive.