John Burns, veteran, U.S. Army

I do the We Are Not Your Soldiers visits because I feel it’s important for students and young adults to have information to make well-informed decisions.  The fact that these kids are usually exposed to only one side of the story with countless movies and media glorifying war in general is an extreme disservice to the people of the United States. Given that I use these speaking tours as my own therapy should say a lot about how much the military affects you. I want to say on record that I do not hate our military. I hate what our military is being used for. I love my country and that’s coming from a Haudenosaunee Native American whose own ancestors were slaughtered by the very institution I enlisted in.

Lyle Rubin, veteran, U.S. Marines

I do the We Are Not Your Soldiers school visits because I believe I am obligated to do something like this as someone who took part in wars that I now believe are unjust. I really do believe that the kinds of classes or sessions that I am involved with in these schools makes an impact on these students. It might not convince them immediately to agree with me on everything I am saying but I really do believe I am planting a seed of doubt in most of their minds. What we need now in our society, more than anything else, is for the people in the United States, particularly our young people, to start seriously questioning the politics and policies of our government as well as all powerful corporate institutions.

Miles Megaciph, veteran, U.S. Marines

I am a performing artist who uses hip-hop as a vehicle to affect positive change in our world. My last name is Mental Energies Gather And Circulate In Positive Harmony or Megaciph for short; this is more than simply a moniker, it embodies my approach to life. After my tour of duty in the U.S. Marine Corps I used writing as a healing technique. Telling my stories of trauma through music has helped me and allowed me to connect with youths who may be thinking of taking a similar path to my own. I not only speak to the students of my experiences in the U.S. Marines but, as a spoken word artist, rap about it in via hiphop.

Joe Urgo, veteran, U.S. Air Force

Joe Urgo, a veteran who was in the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam, speaks to classes that are studying the US war on Vietnam or doing a comparative study of current US wars with past wars in Southeast Asia.  He wrote this article on the 50th anniversary of Tet during the historic year of 1968 and the Winter Soldier Investigation, which he helped organize. The Winter Soldier Investigation made known to the people of the United States, through the heartfelt testimonies of the veterans themselves, the criminality of the actions of the US military in Vietnam.