Soldiers in Revolt: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War

Soldiers in Revolt documents one of the least known and most important aspects of the Vietnam War: the rebellion among U.S. soldiers opposed to the war. From the front lines to stateside military bases, the U.S. armed forces were wracked by widespread resistance, including combat refusals and mutinies. GIs produced more than 250 antiwar committees and underground newspapers to voice their discontent. A new chapter looks at the enduring imprint of this period on the U.S. military and the lessons that this era holds for the U.S. occupation of Iraq. [Publisher’s description.]

“This fine study, combining scrupulous scholarship with the sharp insights of a highly informed participant-observer, was the first to explore in depth the processes of disaffection, organized opposition, and resistance that undermined U.S. military forces attacking Indochina, and their far-reaching consequences. It remains today the most penetrating and revealing investigation and analysis of these remarkable developments, with current implications that are all too evident.” —Noam Chomsky

“An invaluable account of a uniquely American movement that helped to bring the Vietnam War to an end. This book restores an important chapter to our living history.” —Tod Ensign, director of Citizen Soldier and author of America’s Military Today

“[A]n exhaustive account of rebellion in all the armed forces, not only in Vietnam but throughout the world. . . . Perhaps Cortright’s most important conclusion is that most of the GI resistance came not from draftees but from volunteers from working class backgrounds.” —New York Review of Books

ISBN: 9781931859271 | Haymarket Books