Topia.net: Kevin Benderman Defense Committee

Letters of Support

Kevin and Monica Benderman have received more than 12,000 emails and letters of support from all around the world. Some of these letters include poems, essays, and messages that people have sent to politicians. We are here including some excerpts from those letters, with the permission of their authors, with more to come as permissions arrive.

Yellow Ribbons

by Joanne L. Storlie
Marshall, WI

August 5, 2005

We meant well when we bought vinyl yellow ribbons and red/white/blue ones to put on our cars. We did so in support of our troops and to show our patriotism – our love for our country and all she stands for. Unfortunately the display of those same ribbons has taken on a sinister, unmeant, meaning— a CALLOUS DISREGARD for the troops. It is seen as a declaration that we SUPPORT THE WARS in Afghanistan and Iraq where we are mired in continuous partisan attacks that are daily maiming and killing our fine, dedicated young men and women.

I am writing to ask if you will do what I believe millions of patriots all across our beloved nation are doing: REMOVING THOSE RIBBONS or TURNING THEM UPSIDE DOWN as an indication that they do NOT support war, only the soldiers fighting them. Join me. Join them!

Monica Benderman, wife of Sgt. Kevin Benderman, heads up an effort to bring the American people to their senses. Sgt. Benderman has served on combat tour in Iraq and after seeing war firsthand he made the decision to file for Conscientious Objector status in December 2004. His command refused the request and filed charges of Missing Movement and Desertion against him. Sgt. Benderman faced a second attempt at Courts Martial for charges on July 28 at St. Steward, Georgia. He was acquitted of Desertion, found guilty of Missing Deployment to Iraq, and sentenced to fifteen months in prison. Monica, through letters to newspapers and elected officials and through public appearances and her web site, has brought Sgt. Benderman’s plight into public view. The group that formed around her to help in Kevin’s defense and tell his story has adopted the slogan, PRO-SOLDIER/ANTI-WAR.

If you believe that this motto more accurately reflects your opinion today, please do as I am convinced millions of conscientious countrymen and women across America are doing – remove your ribbons, or turn them upside down. But don’t stop there. Engage in some activity that will help bring our service personnel home. Donate monies to organizations such as MoveOn.org, True Majority, and Veterans for Peace. Become involved with party politics, donating time and money to elect people who represent YOUR interests and express your abhorrence for a White House that believes that the practice of perpetual, pre-emptive war is their God-given right.

Your prayers for an end to war are needed, but just as needed is your involvement in supporting causes and political candidates who REFLECT YOUR EVOLVED FEELINGS – humane and dedicated individuals who care about 1,800 dead Americans; who care about 120,000 dead Iraqis and Afghanis; who care about the tens of thousands of seriously wounded on both sides; who care about the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan who will bear deformed children and develop disfiguring and deadly cancers and whose descendants will live in contaminated surroundings forever because we turned our heads as this administration deliberately, indiscriminately, and criminally polluted their lands and their bodies with tons of depleted uranium weaponry.

"There are Men Too Gentle to Live Among Wolves"
by Kevin's Brother

May 12, 2005

There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who prey upon them with IBM eyes
And sell their hearts and guts for martinis at noon.
There are men to gentle for a savage world
Who dream instead of snow and children and Halloween
And wonder if the leaves will change their color soon.

There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who anoint them for burial with greedy claws
And murder them for a merchant's profit and gain.
There are men too gentle for a corporate world
Who dream instead of candied apples and ferris wheels
And pause to hear the distant whistle of a train.

There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who devour them with eager appetite and search
For other men to prey upon and suck their childhood dry.
There are men to gentle for an accountant's world
Who dream instead of Easter eggs and fragrant grass
And search for beauty in the mystery of the sky.
There are men too gentle to live among wolves
Who toss them like a lost and wounded dove.
Such gentle men are lonely in merchant's world,
Unless they have a gentle one to love.

Letter of Solidarity from Vermont Military Families Speak Out

May 5, 2005

As members of the Vermont chapter of Military Families Speak Out we stand in solidarity with Pablo Paredes and Kevin Benderman. Each man will stand trial on May 11th for refusing deployment to Iraq to fight the unjustified war that tears that country apart today. Their applications for conscientious objector status have not been accepted.

Petty Officer Third Class Pablo Paredes refused deployment on December 6, 2004. He stated at the time, “I don't want to be a part of a ship that's taking 3,000 Marines over there, knowing a hundred or more of them won't come back. I can't sleep at night knowing that's what I do for a living." Since then he has actively opposed the war appearing at many rallies.

Sgt. Kevin Benderman refused redeployment after having served a year in Iraq. After seeing first hand the carnage that the war wrought on the Iraqi people he stated, “I was there for six months and I did not see the first weapon of mass destruction. I did receive orders from the company commander to shoot children if they threw small rocks at us and that was when I figured out that the entire thing was way over the line.”

These two men have become powerful voices in the opposition to the illegal and immoral war in Iraq. Their refusal to take part in the war machine has given credence to the demand for immediate withdrawal of our troops from Iraq. Because of this the military is trying to make an example of these men by imprisoning them. We believe that the war itself should be put on trial not the soldiers who refuse to fight it. Join us in demanding the freedom of Pablo Paredes and Kevin Benderman.

American Gothic, Updated
by Horace Coleman

March 6, 2005

They’re indoors, sitting on the sofa
of a neat and comfortable room
(with no pitchfork in sight).
Still, you wonder:
Did the photographer have Grant Wood’s couple in mind?
These folk are as trim but not so prim.

Fingers rope them together as their hands clasp.
Sergeant Kevin, a robust man with eagle eyes,
is determined to live his convictions.

Wife Monica’s soft focused eyes have a trace of sadness—
and just as much determination.
He’s more than a sergeant;
she’s more than a wife.
They’re the kind of friends you’d want.
The neighbors you’d enjoy most.
The people who get things done
(without patting themselves on the back).

They were, and are, good troops but
won’t go through unnecessary hoops. And,
they earned their stripes in stateside life.
As well as on battlefields that yield
a crop they refuse to harvest.

Neither old nor young,
they may not prevail
but they will survive—
and again thrive.

Kansas City Star - Letters to the Editor

February 27, 2005

I hear about all kinds of "heroes" these days, but I was truly encouraged by the story of Sgt. Kevin Benderman in "Marching to his own conscience" (2/20, FYI).

Standing up for what he believes takes great courage, and that makes him a hero in my eyes. As Albert Einstein said, "The pioneers of a warless world are the young men and women who refuse military service." By speaking out about his experiences and holding firm to his convictions, he will make the way for others to act for peace, as he has.

He has seen the atrocities and destruction of war and refuses to take part in it. He has taken criticism from people in the military. The worst to me was from his chaplain who told him he should be ashamed of himself. (Did this guy not read that passage, "Thou shalt not kill"? or does that only apply to civilians?)

It saddens me that there are people who believe that not wanting to kill/hurt/maim others and destroy lives makes Sgt. Benderman some kind of criminal. The criminals are those who do.

He is the type of hero I want my children and grandchildren to emulate.

Mary Saucier

Letter from David Shippee (Veterans for Peace)

February 25, 2005

Col. John Kidd
Ft. Stewart Garrison Commander
42 Wayne Place
Ste. 204
Ft. Stewart, GA 31314

Dear Col. Kidd:

My purpose in writing is to take strong exception to the Court-Martial proceedings, currently being pursued against Sgt. Benderman.

The facts of the case are well known to you. No need to rehash that part.

As an American citizen, as a former Army veteran, and as a member of Veterans For Peace National, I am disgusted by the Army's handling of Benderman's application for CO status. Turning a man's act of conscience into the basis for a General Courts Martial would seem to be ill advised at best, and hopefully legally untenable.

I urge you, and the United States Army, to honor Sgt. Benderman's ten years of exceptional service, including an earlier deployment to Iraq, and simply issue the discharge he has requested, on the grounds he has stated. To do anything else reflects poorly on the Service's regard for the good faith service Sgt. Benderman has already rendered.

The fact that Sgt. Benderman respected the Army's standards, and procedures, by applying for Conscientious Objector Status, as is his right, is more to his credit than the Army's reaction of a charge of DESERTION. Kevin Benderman did not DESERT. He carried the gun once, and cannot, in conscience, do it again.......So let him go, in a way that honors his prior deployment, and ten years of service.....

David Shippee

From Kansas

February 23, 2005

Dear Mr and Mrs Benderman,

Thank you for renewing my hope in humans. I read the article about you in the KC star and it inspired me. I had a wonderful talk with my 14 yr old daughter who became very interested and "fired up" over your story. I told her I had written a letter to the editor in regard to your story and she said she wanted to do the same....rare for my kid!!!!!!!

I want to personally thank you for giving my kids a real "hero" to look up to.....a person with the strength to stand firm in his beliefs...a true worker for peace. It gives me renewed hope, it gives me more to work for.

Thank you so much for being so brave.

Mary S. and family
Lenexa, Kansas

From Tokyo, Japan

My husband and I would like you to know how happy it made
us, to know that you have chosen to no longer participate
in wars. (that you felt love for others with whom you are
not acquainted) .

We are not religious, but we have always been working to
help children and elderly people who are suffering from
war or poverty.

We read about you, in Japan. We hope that you will be
strong, even if heartless people say that you are a
coward...because you are a hero and not a coward.
In a world with so much violence, and such a lack of love,
not many people are strong or brave enough to make the
choice that you made...and we want you to know how much we
respect you.

My husband and I would like to offer you our love and
ears...We will always be here to speak to, (please e-mail
us) if you one day feel completely overwhelmed.

Sincerely,
Naoko and Nori S.

From USA

February 22, 2005

A friend of mine sent me a copy of an email letter you sent out describing the process you went through as you realized you could not longer kill for your country. This was an amazing epiphany that you shared with so many. Thank you.

I am honored and humbled, and inspired to continue to grow into being "all I can be", and not through the military, either. For so long us "peace-mongers" have been called weak, pollyanna,uninformed, out of touch with reality, and so forth. It takes enormous courage and strength to hold up under that, a different kind of line of fire, and to try to go to the roots of the issues facing all of humanity.

These would be things you point out in your writing: if all of us added more kindness into the world, more interest in each others' diversity, etc, how much hardness of heart would melt? How many secret hiding places of fear would be disbanded and replaced with love? If every one of us helped the homeless person out some, or an orphan, or a kid without enough supervision, or several of these according to our resources, how much more ability to be functional would exist? How much more creativity and capacity to solve problems together would arise? If every one of us Americans in the middle income brackets and up gave away a pair or two of new shoes, new outfits, etc to clothe and feed those with less, and we shared our books, TVs, toys, appliances, extra cars and phones and so on, not even realizing how much we have, we might feel deprived for a short time, we might have to adjust a little, but we'd soon discover there is no deficit or deprivation, only spreading the wealth and soon everyone would consider themselves wealthy.

If we said "tell me about your customs so we can feel like neighbors and maybe we'll enrich each other", instead of arguing, fearing and ultimately killing because we perceive life so differently, there might be fewerdead, less grief, and more of our earth available for joy-filled, life-giving activities rather than serving as graveyards, minefields and neutral zones that are not neutral.

You speak to all of this in your words in the letter circulated on email. These are the actions that are grass roots, that encourage co-creative solutions, and foster a world that works for everyone. These kinds of actions take huge courage, strength and discipline and many, many, many small steps adding up to larger leaps. I have often jokingly said their need to be boot camps for peace, military and non-military, as it seems to me that the process of learning a life of love requires as much discipline, building of character, instilling of honor, ability for delayed gratification, and certainly requires being as physically fit or more so to truly sustain a world of peace as it does to be a military person in war. What it takes to learn to think well, to develop spiritually, to truly create with one another and cooperate with one another to solve the world's issues is staggering, and not for the faint of heart.

None of what I said above decreases my gratefulness to you and many who came before you and I whose lives bought us the freedom we now enjoy. I have never been one to attack the veterans and current people serving in the military, nor do I permit those conversations around me. All of you all have followed orders, led by a system of thinking that made sense in its own context to accomplish the same goals my fellow peacemongers and I are after. I do indeed have some concern that the system that gives soldiers their orders and takes us to war in order to accomplish peace may be also motivated by profit not peace. Especially in this Bush administration where so many things, beginning with the sloppy checking for nuclear weapons in Iraq several years ago, point to shady dealings not true desires for peace on earth.

But the biggest percentage of the machinery is indeed motivated by the same goals for peace and prosperity as I am. In my view, while many may call you bad things and you are facing prison, you took a huge leap towards bringing us together. Remember, Ghandi spent years in prison. Nelson Mandela spent years in prison. Many, many others who stand for and actively seek peace and quantum leaps in the human condition have had to suffer persecution for some reason. Why is the idea of actual, true peace so threatening? What kept the British from realizing that if they had cooperated with Ghandi in the beginning, their financial investment in India would have been preserved if not enhanced? Why was it really so threatening for blacks in America to actually be allowed to practice the equal rights supposedly granted them at the end of the civil war, yet it took another 100 years and much more bloodshed to allow a huge percentage of the American population to begin to have, in practical reality, equal rights. And so on. So thank you for your courage, for sharing your deeply personal epiphany. I look forward to the day of cross culturing military with "peacemongers", and I really think it would be of value to have boot camps for peace. But be that as it may, I send many blessings to you and your family as you continue on this journey. I thank you for the contribution to humanity you are.

If there is anything I am able to contribute, please let me know.

Sincerely,
Deborah Merchant

Another Friend

I know it is easy for me to say ,If I could take some of the time you may be facing I would gladly do so. Kevin you are doing the right thing don't you ever doubt it. I am moved to tears by your conviction and I know it is a very difficult thing you have done . You restore my faith in humanity. You will remain in my thoughts thru out your ordeal and thank you.

Regards ,Dennis Compton

From Iraq

Hi,

This email is probably one of the few emails you will receive from Iraqi people.

I have read an article about your brave dicision of refusing to re-deploy back in Iraq.

I am an Iraqi individual, and I have visited the States last summer, and talking to the people there, i realised not everyone shares the destructive views the current American Administration has.

We truely beleive that the American Administration went to Iraq for the sole reason of taking control of our country's oil and resources. The amount of suffering and agony caused to the people of Iraq because of the invasion and the war are very comparable to those which the people suffered from Saddam's gang.

Our greatest gratitude goes to brave soldiers like you who are revealing to the americans the true face of war.

We do not expect CNN and FOXNEWS to give a fair view of the war to the american people, but we do expect that from people like yourself who not only have great values, but also have the courage to stick to those dvalues no matter what the consequences are.

God Bless You.
An Iraqi who lost many relatives in Iraq... after the invasion.

Letter from Maxine Gentle to Tony Blair
Sister of a Black Watch (UK) soldier killed in Iraq

By Maxine Gentle | 19.08.04

To Prime Minister Tony Blair,

My name is Maxine Gentle and I am 14 years old. I am the sister of Fusilier Gordon Gentle who died in the war in Iraq on the 28th June 2004.

I want my thoughts and feelings to be heard and known. My feelings are that I think you are rubbish at your job. You don't care about the British public, armed forces or anyone in fact.

My big brother died at the age of 19, and what for? A war over oil and money, that's what I think the war is all about. There was no such thing as weapons of "mass destruction", if there were Saddam Hussein would have used them at the start of the war.

I think that you should withdraw all of our soldiers from Iraq. After all, it is not our war, it's America's. So why did we, the British, have to get involved? I think that you just don't want to get on the wrong side of George Bush.

My big brother meant the world to me. I looked up to him with pride because he made something of himself.

He was well known, just like you, but everyone liked and loved him, not like you, because I have no respect for you, and nor do a lot of other people I know.

Gordon had only passed out in April, and yet by May YOU sent him and many others to a war zone. What I find strange is that in order to be a qualified plumber or electrician you need to train for 3 or 4 years, but to be a qualified soldier, and learn to KILL someone, you only need to train for SIX MONTHS! The people that you have sent out there are still young; they have the rest of their lives to live, just like Gordon did.

My family is still hurting badly and so am I. To you he was just another number clown.

From the minute that we found out Gordon was going over there we were all worried about him, right up until the minute we found out it was Gordon that was killed by the Iraqis.

We are all hurting badly, but I don't just blame Gordon's death on the Iraqis that made the roadside bomb, I blame YOU as well because it is your fault that our soldiers are over there in the first place, by agreeing with George Bush that we HAD to go to war, when we didn't!

As I said everyone is hurting badly right now, but you would not know that because your sons are all tucked up nicely in bed at night, at the same time as there are mums and dads who still have sons over there, who can't sleep at night, wondering if their loved ones are coming home or are they going to be the next ones to be killed.

You would not know how we all feel, because you're at home at night with your wife and son watching them growing up, but we will never know what Gordon would have been like in years to come.

It is okay for you sitting there with all your money and power, ruining people's lives by the decisions YOU make.

I don't care who knows how I feel about you. All you care about is things that benefit you. All you and your new "best Friend" George Bush care about
is Iraq's oil.

My big brother died in the early hours of the morning, and yet, when you and George Bush went on live TV in the afternoon to hand the country back over, you both stood there that afternoon smiling and acting like one big happy family when you both knew well that a British soldier had died that morning. Nothing you can do or say will change my mind, or the fact that I am hurting badly inside.

I cry myself to sleep most of the time because Gordon has gone and is never coming back.

Quite frankly I would have loved to meet you myself and tell you all this personally. But if I met you I would not shake your hand.

This is my personal feelings towards you and George Bush, but I have less respect for you than him because YOU are the British Prime Minister, well supposed to be, and I am British, although sometimes I am ashamed to admit to being British when I have got such a bad prime minister as you.

I hope you have pleasure reading this as I have had pleasure writing it.

Yours Sincerely,
Maxine Gentle