Pablo Paredes was a Petty Officer Third Class and weapons-control technician in the United States Navy who refused to board the USS Bonhomme Richard as it deployed to the Persian Gulf, December 6, 2004 as part of the Operation Iraqi Freedom.

During his 2002 tour in Japan, Paredes met several people who were highly critical of the US military interventions. After his return to the United States in 2004, Paredes tried unsuccessfully to switch to the military police in order to avoid involvement in the war. Paredes then applied for discharge as a conscientious objector on January 4, 2005 but was denied by the Navy in July of that year.

After an unauthorized absence, he returned to the Navy on December 18, 2004 The same day he made a statement to local press saying that he was fully aware of the possible repercussions of his decision.

As his court martial took place, around 50 supporters performed a play "Put the War on Trial", which Pablo wrote. He received unexpectedly lenient treatment at his court-martial sentencing May 12: a three-month sentence at hard labor (which really means menial duties on base). Observers attributed this to a sympathetic judge and the powerful testimony of local law professor Marjorie Cohn, who made a convincing case that the U.S. wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yugoslavia violated international law and U.S. treaty commitments and therefore a servicemember who refused duty there could fall under the Nuremberg principle which allows — indeed, requires — a soldier to refuse an order that could make him or her complicit in war crimes.

He is now working at counter-recruitment and with the G.I. Hotline.

Camilo Mejia, member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, author of Road From Ar Ramadi. Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejía became the new face of the antiwar movement in early 2004 when he applied for a discharge from the Army as a conscientious objector. After serving in the Army for nearly nine years, he was the first known Iraq veteran to refuse to fight, citing moral concerns about the war and occupation. His principled stand helped to rally the growing opposition and embolden his fellow soldiers.

Despite widespread public support and an all-star legal team, Mejía was eventually convicted of desertion by a military court and sentenced to a year in prison, prompting Amnesty International to declare him a prisoner of conscience.

Now released after serving almost nine months, the celebrated soldier-turned-pacifist has written his story, from his upbringing in Central America and his experience as a working-class immigrant in the United States to his service in Iraq—where he witnessed prisoner abuse and was deployed in the Sunni triangle—and time in prison. Far from being an accidental activist, Mejía was raised by prominent Sandinista revolutionaries and draws inspiration from Jesuit teachings. In this stirring book, he argues passionately for human rights and the end to an unjust war.

Michael Wong, member of Veterans for Peace. He also contributed to the book- Veterans of War- Veterans of Peace and is featured in the film Sir, No Sir. He was a first lieutenant in high school Army ROTC who believed fervently in the Army and our government leaders. Then came the real Army. His story in Veterans of War- Veterans for Peace: “Honor’s Death,” tells of his Army experience and why he turned against the Viet Nam war and deserted to Canada; “To Take a Street,” tells of one small protest. He was a member of a hippie counterculture community known as Rochdale College.