Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Un vero soldato

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/09/ap_vetmedals_070925/
Iraq vet plans to return his medals in protest
By Ryan J. Foley - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Sep 26, 2007 5:32:34 EDT
MADISON, Wis. - An Iraq war veteran said Tuesday he is returning his
military medals in what anti-war groups are calling a rare and powerful
protest.
Josh Gaines, 27, plans to mail the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary
Medal and National Defense Service Medal to former Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld. He said he will do so during a protest scheduled for Wednesday in
Madison.
"I'm going to give those back because I truly feel that I did not defend my
nation and I did not help with the Global War on Terrorism," said Gaines,
who lives in Madison. "If anything, this conflict has bred more terrorism in
the Middle East."
Gaines served a yearlong tour in Iraq between 2004 and 2005 with the U.S.
Army Reserve. He spent his time guarding two military bases and issuing
ammunition to soldiers but never fired a weapon, he said.
The experience convinced him the war was a mistake and that a steady
withdrawal of troops was the right course of action, Gaines said.
"To be quite honest, I felt like we wasted taxpayers' money," he said. "The
mission just didn't seem correct and right for that time."
Jonathan Dedering, a Students for a Democratic Society activist who is
helping organize Wednesday's protest, said it's extremely rare for Iraq
veterans to return their medals. The tactic was a more common form of
protest among Vietnam veterans.
"To many Americans this will be a very big deal," Dedering said in an e-mail
message.
A member of Iraq Veterans Against the War agreed.
"I don't know any soldiers who have served in Iraq and have returned their
medals," said Sholom Keller, who served in the U.S. Army in Iraq and has
decided to hang on to his medals. "I personally am not into theatrical
displays, but I would say that this individual's actions are commendable."
President Bush created the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal in
2003 to honor those who served after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The Department of Defense reauthorized the National Defense Service Medal
for the same purpose in 2002.
Keller said most veterans of Iraq have earned at least one of those medals.
Gaines said he is returning the medals awarded when he left active duty in
2005 to Rumsfeld because he is "the man responsible for my tour." He said he
would likely send them to the Hoover Institution at Stanford University,
where Rumsfeld was recently hired to be a visiting fellow.
Rumsfeld resigned from the Defense Department last year, and many people
have blamed him for mismanaging the war. The Pentagon referred a request for
comment to the Army public affairs office, which did not immediately return
a phone message.
Keith O'Donnell, a spokesman for the Army's Human Resources Command in St.
Louis, confirmed Gaines' service in Iraq and said he was discharged last
year.
Gaines said he was given an "other than honorable" discharge after failing a
drug test. He said he started smoking marijuana after he returned from Iraq
to help him eat and sleep after he had trouble doing either for months.
O'Donnell said he could not comment on the reason for Gaines' discharge.
Ryan Hill, 29, who served with Gaines in Iraq, said Gaines was always
challenging Army superiors and "he kept us cracking up."
"He did his job and did his best and was a team player and all that but 
that's
the thing that makes him stand out," he said.
As for Gaines' decision to return his medals, Hill said: "I'm proud of him
for doing that. I feel the same way about my medals."

ammunition to soldiers but never fired a weapon, he said.
Infatti ha ricevuto delle semplici medaglie "di partecipazione" :)
-Stefano

 nation and I did not help with the Global War on Terrorism,"
#_Fantastico gesto!
Merita la piu`ampia ammirazione.
Giano