Lieutenant Ehren Watada
Previously Aired On: January 23, 2007 - Listen to this Show!
Ehren Watada (born 1978) is a First Lieutenant in the United States Army, a member of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Stryker Brigade Combat Team, who in June 2006 publicly refused to deploy to Iraq for the Iraq War, saying that he believed the war to be illegal and that it would make him party to war crimes. The first commissioned officer in the U.S. armed forces to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq, Watada will face a court-martial set to begin February 5, 2007.
Ehren K. Watada was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and his parents are Carolyn Ho, and father, Robert Watada. His father Robert who himself refused to serve in the Vietnam war, says, “We taught Ehren that he has to care for other human beings, other people on this planet, regardless of where they are. We didn’t teach him to go kill children, kill women in Iraq. he’s chosen the hard course, but it’s the right course and we’re very proud of him.” His mother Carolyn is anti-Iraq War activist, and has worked along with Cindy Sheehan.
Both of Ehren’s parents have given media interviews as well as his step mother, Rosa Sakanishi. Carol recently went to Washington, DC to speak on behalf of her son and Robert has just finished a nationwide tour raising funds and awareness on his son’s behalf.
Visit the Thank you Lt. Ehren Watada website!
