Wednesday, September 5, 2012

In Memory of Joshua Casteel: Conscientious Objector to the Iraq War


Joshua Casteel died from cancer that he believed was due to exposure to toxic fumes during his service in Iraq. 




Some of you may know his story.  From the Pax Christi website:
he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves at age 17 and received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point at 18; after training as an interrogator and studying Arabic, he served at the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center at Abu Ghraib, Iraq, from June 2004 to January 2005, as a member of the interrogation units sent to overhaul the prison after the prisoner abuse scandal; during his time at Abu Ghraib, hecame to realize he was a conscientious objector and was honorably discharged from Active Duty as a conscientious objector. Josh wrote and spoke on his experiences during war, served on the board of Iraq Veterans Against the War, and published Letters From Abu Ghraib in 2008.




1 comment:

susan said...

So sorry to hear this. I taught his book a few years back. Thank you for the notice, Phil.