Poster design by Christopher KirkThe West Hartford Citizens for Peace and Justice will hold a screening of the David Zeiger film “Sir! No Sir!” Tuesday, Dec. 5 at Saint James Church in West Hartford. For those unfamiliar with the movie it’s a documentary about the GI anti-war movement during the Vietnam War. It was released to a small group of theaters this summer, but has become popular with local peace groups concerned with the current war in Iraq.
The film documents an internal movement within the military against the war. For more information check out the film’s web site http://www.sirnosir.com.But the Dec. 5 event is about more than the film. The screening will be accompanied by discussions facilitated by two Vietnam veterans who returned to civilian life and became active members of Veterans for Peace. Fred Louis and David Ionno will talk about their stories and feelings from Vietnam and share their thoughts on the current conflict in Iraq. Louis was conscripted into the U.S. army in July of 1967. He served as a infantryman in Vietnam from Feb.1968 to Feb.1969, rising to the rank of sergeant. Upon his return to the U.S. he felt that there was no longer any place to call “home”. During the build-up to Desert Storm, in early 1991, Louis felt he could not stay silent about the realities of war and helped form a chapter of Veterans for Peace in upstate New York, according to the press release. Ionno is the first born son of a retired United States Army Colonel. He spent 16 years in the Green Machine, and 13 years as a military dependent living in Okinawa, Japan, Taiwan and the lower 48 states. Ionno enlisted out of high school in 1969 in the US Army and volunteered to go to Vietnam in 1970-71 as a combat medic with the 23rd Infantry division.The screening and discussion will begin at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 5, at 7:00 at St. James’s Church, 1018 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford. The screening is free and open to the public, however donations will be accepted and light refreshments, will be provided.
