Kevin Benderman served his country honorably, both in the United States and Iraq, service for which he was commended. But appalled by what he saw in Iraq, he decided he could not return for a second tour. For that, he was court-martialed and sent to prison.

He would do the same thing again.

“I have prepared this statement to address the injustice I have been dealt by the U.S. Army after I made the decision to apply for conscientious objector status. I made this decision after my return from Iraq, where I witnessed and experienced for myself the insanity of war. Wha t I learned from my experience is that war is a waste of humanity. We kill many people in the name of keeping the peace—an oxymoron if there ever was one. After many months of contemplation, I reached the conclusion that I no longer wanted to contribute to the ultimate violence toward other human beings that war is.”

—from a statement by Kevin Benderman to the U.S. House of Representatives