Court Martial Lawyer – Film tells tale of ex-Marine peace activist
By Jake Palmateer
An Oneonta filmmaker will screen his documentary Friday depicting a former Marine-turned peace activist who co-founded the group Iraq Veterans Against the War.
Joseph C. Stillman, founder of La Paloma Films, produced and directed “From Mills River to Babylon and Back … the Jimmy Massey Story” during a four-year span ending earlier this year.
Massey, 38, will be flying today from his home in Waynesville, N.C., to Albany, where he and Stillman will embark on a tour to speak about the film and show it to audiences in 11 upstate New York communities.
The tour will arrive Friday in Oneonta, where the film will be shown at 7:30 p.m. at the Foothills Performing Arts Center.
Massey, a former Marine staff sergeant, drill instructor and recruiter, spoke at Hartwick College four years ago, and it was this appearance that Stillman said spurred his interest in a documentary.
“This film is not a film that takes to task the Bush Administration,” Stillman said. “This film is about a man who stood up to tell the truth. He was one of the first veterans to speak out against the war.”
Massey was honorably discharged after a court martial regarding his refusal to serve any longer in Iraq after an incident in which civilians were killed, Stillman said.
After Massey became well-known in the anti-war movement, he drew fire from right-wing commentators such as Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin and Bill O’Reilly.
“Now I think there is a lot of vindication for what he was saying,” Stillman said.
Much of the 67-minute documentary includes footage of Massey speaking in public against the war. It also includes interviews of Massey conducted by Stillman over the four-year period.
The film features commentary from former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, actor Martin Sheen, peace activist Cindy Sheehan, former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, and others.
It also explores post-traumatic stress disorder, military recruitment tactics and the use of depleted uranium, among other issues.
Massey said Tuesday from his home that he was pleased with how the film turned out and was looking forward to returning to upstate New York to speak about his experiences.
“There were times that I had called the project off,” Massey said. “Thankfully, I had always been a film buff and that kept my interest.
“It was a struggle, but when he sent me the final disk, I could not have been more proud.”
Stillman said Massey gave him two conditions: The first was to tell the truth, and the second was to not portray Massey as a hero.
“This is a call to action,” Stillman said.
The screening tour is also stopping in Syracuse, Ithaca, Vestal, Saugerties, Corning, Hudson, Andes, Cortland, Binghamton and Troy.
The Oneonta screening at Foothills is $10 for adults and $8 for students and includes a complimentary beverage.
Michael Waddington is a court martial lawyer – court martial attorney that defends military personnel worldwide as well as deployed civilian contractors subject to the UCMJ. He defends Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, Coast Guard, and civilian contractor court martial cases. He has successfully defended military personnel as a court martial lawyer Army Navy Marine & Air Force court martials in Germany, England, San Diego, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fort Bragg, Fort Jackson, Fort Stewart, Fort Gordon, Italy, Iraq, Kuwait, Korea, Okinawa, Japan, Yokota, and throughout the United States. military-defense-lawyer-recentcases.htm.
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