A YOUNG US soldier who declared his atheism while on active duty in Iraq last year – and, as a result, was harassed and reviled – has filed a law suit alleging that his constitutional rights had been violated. The suit names Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
Since bringing the suit, Specialist Jeremy Hall has been called “immoral”, a “devil worshipper” and “gay” – none of which, he says, is true.
Hall said the pressure to believe in God was so strong that he “was ashamed to say that I was an atheist”.
The quietly-spoken soldier, dubbed “The Atheist Guy” eventually “came out” in Iraq in 2007, after he was involved in a firefight.
Hall was a gunner on a Humvee. Its protective screen deflected a hail of bullets. Afterward, his commander asked whether Hall if he believed in God.
I said ‘No, but I believe in Plexiglas’. I never believed I was going to a happy place. You get one life. When I die, I’m worm food.
The issue came to a head when, according to Hall, a superior officer, Major Freddy J Welborn, threatened to bring charges against him for trying to hold a meeting of atheists in Iraq. Welborn has denied Hall’s allegations.
Welborn is a fundamentalist Christian of the barking mad variety who has an exceedingly cheesy profile on MySpace. Abandon hope all ye that enter here.
Hall then turned to Mikey Weinstein and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and the law suit was filed. When fellow soldiers learned of the case, harassment of Hall began, and no-one did anything to stop it.
According to a CNN report, The Army told him it couldn’t protect him and sent him back to the US. Hall believes that his promotion to sergeant had been blocked because of his lawsuit.
See earlier Freethinker report here.
6 Comments
That’s ridiculous!
Specialist Jeremy Hall is a patriot. Anyone who claims otherwise, especially because of his beliefs, is not. It’s a shame that we are fighting an enemy of religious radicals with religious radicals. Imo, Americans are Americans, especially on the battlefield.
An elderly atheist I know had a similar problem in World War Two which he told me about recently when we discussed the inappropriate religious nature of Rembrance Sunday.
As a junior officer he once had to arrange night-time burials during a particularly vicious battle, and disturbed some chaplains who were at dinner in the officers mess.
As each tried to avoid being called out, they asked him what denomination the dead were, to which he replied ‘They’re dead, so I couldn’t ask them’.
He was then hauled up on some sort of obscure blasphemy charge and as a result, despite an otherwise excellent war record, had the phrase ‘dishonourably discharged’ stamped on his demob papers.
This “wonderful” military officer should be asked…..
“So, if you think you will try to barr re-enlistment for these atheists..then can you explain to me how you received a DUI IN A MILITARY VEHICLE in Topeka, Kansas, while being assigned to Troop Command in the Kansas Army National Guard while a lieutenant?” There are some that think you should have been barred from re-enlistment then !! You are a hypocrite.
Freddy’s web page:
http://www.myspace.com/freddywelborn
Scary stuff — I fear Freddy thinks the “Rapture” is an exit strategy!
RETIRED MILITARY…
I need to speak to you. I am the Senior Research Director for the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. Please email me at research@militaryreligiousfreedom.org
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