Press Release - Bob Watada speaking in Atlanta

ATLANTA - The father of the first Army officer to refuse deployment to Iraq will speak out on behalf of his son Friday, November 17 in Atlanta. Bob Watada, father of First Lt. Ehren Watada, will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. at the King Center reflecting pool, 450 Auburn Avenue. Later he will speak at a public program beginning at 7 p.m. at First Iconium Baptist Church, 542 Moreland Avenue SE.

“My son Ehren joined the Army to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” said Bob Watada, a former election commissioner and retired public servant in Hawaii. “Today the greatest threat to the Constitution is domestic.” In his own youth, the elder Watada objected to the Vietnam War and served instead in the Peace Corps in Peru. (For advance interviews with Bob Watada, contact his tour coordinator Doug Zachary, 512-791-9824.)

Joining Watada at both events will be Dave Cline, national president of Veterans for Peace; and Rev. Timothy McDonald, pastor of First Iconium. “Lt. Watada shows the courage of a real warrior by refusing to fight an illegal, unjust war,” said Cline, who received three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam. “He reaffirms my belief that moral and ethical convictions remain strong among today’s soldiers.”

Although other military personnel have refused to serve in Iraq, Lt. Watada on June 22 became the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment. “I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression,” he stated at the time. “My moral and legal obligation is to the Constitution and not to those who would issue illegal orders.” He faces up to 6 years in prison for missing movement and conduct unbecoming an officer. For more information see www.thankyoult.org.

Bob Watada’s appearance in Atlanta is sponsored by Veterans for Peace, Greater Atlanta chapter 125; Iraq Veterans Against the War; Atlanta WAND; and GPJC/Atlanta.
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