Two Veterans Awarded Wisconsin Peacemakers of the Year

Two Wisconsin veterans will be among those awarded "for their lifetimes of activism on Oct. 3 by the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice (WNPJ), a statewide network of 170 organizations working for social change."

Vietnam War veteran Will Williams of DeForest, Wisconsin (at right) and Iraq War veteran Jason Moon of Milwaukee are well-known in the peace and justice community for their tireless efforts in support of peace.

Jason Moon, 35, is a leader in Milwaukee’s chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), Veterans for Peace (VFP) and the board of VFP’s Homeless Veterans Initiative to find and assist homeless veterans in the Milwaukee area. He testified at the national Winter Soldier hearings in 2008, at which Iraq and Afghanistan veterans told of their experiences.

Will Williams, 65, a member of Madison’s Veterans for Peace chapter, uses his own experience in Vietnam to speak and counsel young people about the realities of military service and challenge promises of recruiters. He has spoken across the state, linking peace, prison reform, and immigrant rights.

Iraq Invasion veteran Jason Moon of Milwaukee said his service in Iraq from July 2003until Aug. 2004 left him bitterly opposed to the Iraq war that most Americans regard as a lie sold to the American people.

From the Fond du lac Reporter:

Moon said the soldiers deployed in the summer of 2003 were ordered to run over children if they ran into the road, take the lives of civilians in terms he disagreed with and were ordered to not give food or water to civilians along the roadside.

'I told my superiors I wouldn't kill anyone,' Moon said. 'I entertained the troops with singing and playing my guitar. I taught Korean soldiers English and did whatever I could to remain useful on base. They understood I wasn't going to shoot anyone, so they gave me jobs. I tried to become a conscientious objector while I was over there, but they told me if I did that I would still be in Iraq after my unit came home.'

For more information, see Peacemakers honored for lifetimes of work.