Marine Corps reservist Stephen Funk, second from left, with his mother, Gloria Pacis, left, turns himself in at his reserve unit in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday April 1, 2003. The 20-year-old Marine reservist who got called to active duty refuses to serve in the Iraqi conflict, claiming conscientous objector status.(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
A 20-year-old Marine reservist showed up at the gates of his San Jose base Tuesday -- conscientious objector papers in hand -- ready for punishment for not joining his unit's deployment to Iraq. Marine Lance Cpl. Stephen Funk said he had had a lapse in judgment when he signed up as a 19-year-old, swayed by his recruiter's pitch of new skills, camaraderie and a naive belief that it would be "like the Boy Scouts."
At the San Jose base, Marine Capt. Patrick O'Rourke said Funk must report for duty at 7:30 each morning while his application is reviewed. "The Marine Corps understands there are service members opposed to the war, " O'Rourke said. "He'll be treated fairly." Funk is one of several service members in today's volunteer military who are seeking conscientious objector status. The recruits say their idealistic expectations of military service -- travel, tuition and adventure -- jarred against the harsh realities of killing another human and ran afoul of deeply held religious, ethical or moral views. "They don't really advertise that they kill people," Funk said. "I didn't really realize the full implications of what I was doing and what it really meant to be in the service as a reservist."
In San Diego, Marine Staff Sgt. Nick McLaren said the new recruits are clearly told about combat and involuntary recall to active duty in the case of a national emergency. Recruits also must declare whether they have conscientious objector reservations stemming from firm or fixed beliefs. Funk said his moral quandary had begun at boot camp, where he was trained to shout "kill, kill" as he slashed with his weapon. He said he felt like a "hypocrite." He shared his qualms with military chaplains.
When his unit was deployed Feb. 9 for active duty, Funk failed to show up. He has prepared a statement on his pacifist beliefs and will be interviewed by a military chaplain, psychiatrist and investigative officer before his fate is clear. "There are so many evil things about war," said Funk, who is originally from Seattle. "There is no way to justify war because you're paying with human lives."
His mother, Gloria Pacis, 49, said she prayed daily for her son. "I'm proud of the fact that he owned up to his reservations and was not a hypocrite," she said. The military acknowledges that recruits may change their views during training and allows service members an exit if they prove a religious, ethical or moral objection to war. Conscientious objector applications can take up to one year for review. The outcomes range from a noncombat job, still in the military service, in the United States to, in the worst case, a court martial and possible prison terms. Funk's attorney, Stephen Collier -- a member of the National Lawyer's Guild Military Law Task Force in San Francisco -- said he would seek a general discharge for his client.
Anti-war groups report that their hot lines have been flooded by calls from service members. The "GI Rights Hotline" that counsels service members logged about 3,500 calls in January and 3,100 in February -- double the monthly average in 2002. Teresa Panepinto of the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors in Oakland, which runs the hot line, says in today's mostly volunteer military there is "economic conscription" as young people join the forces for job skills or tuition -- not to fight wars. "The ads for the military are sold as a scholarship tool. There is no footage of combat," she said. "It is a real bait-and-switch that is costing young people their lives."
Critics of conscientious objectors, however, say it is disingenuous to volunteer during peace time and then seek an escape hatch when war breaks out. Jason Crawford, 23, who founded the Internet site Patriots for the Defense of America, said: "I think it is a grave dishonor to back out when your country needs you. There aren't any proper objections to this war. It is a just war."
Funk is being helped in his bid for a discharge by 1991 Gulf War conscientious objectors: Army reservist Aimee Allison, 33, of Oakland who ultimately took her fight with the military to federal court and was given a discharge, and Marine Corps reservist Erik Larsen, 35, of Milpitas who spent five months in the brig and was granted a dishonorable discharge after his case was handled by Amnesty International. "There is nothing un-American or unpatriotic about saying killing is wrong, and I won't kill," Allison said.
According to the Center on Conscience and War in Washington, D.C., there had been an estimated 3,500 conscientious objectors in World War I; 37,000 in World War II; 4,300 in the Korean War; more than 200,000 during the Vietnam War; and 111 during the 1991 Gulf War. George Houser, 86, who once lived in Berkeley and now lives near New York City, said he and seven others had spent a year in federal prison in Danbury, Conn., for defying conscription. "For me, that year in prison was an important slice of my life," he said. "It led to other things, one step at a time."
Chronicle staff writer Maria Alicia Gaura contributed to this report.
Conscientious Objector Marine Stephen Funk Transferred to Camp Lejune, NC to serve 6-month Sentence for Unauthorized Absence During Iraq War
On Thursday, September 10 the Marine Corps flew Stephen under guard to Camp Lejune Marine Corps Base in North Carolina where he will serve his sentence in the military prison for unauthorized absence during the Iraq War. The military prison in North Carolina is the same brig where dozens of Marine Conscientious Objectors were detained and harassed during the first Persian Gulf War in 1991.
On September 6th, a military jury acquitted Stephen Funk of desertion and found him guilty of Unauthorized Absence for not reporting for duty at his San Jose, CA unit. The military sentenced Funk to six months in military prison, a bad conduct discharge, a reduction of rank and forfeiture of two-thirds pay. “This was a partial victory. The jury recognized the fact that because Stephen filed for a discharge as a conscientious objector, he was not a military deserter”, says Aimee Allison Gulf War Conscientious Objector and supporter.
The Stephen Funk Legal Defense committee and other supporters are shifting focus to concern about Funk’s welfare in the brig as he serves his sentence. As a public conscientious objector to war and an openly gay man, Funk is at particular risk.
Based on past experience of Conscientious Objectors who served prison time in Camp Lejune brig, prisoners undergo indoctrination training that mirrors boot camp. The intent of the training is to force prisoners to comply with prison rules. During the 1991 Gulf War, Conscientious Objectors were subject to numerous instances of harassment and hazing. They were forced to participate in war training chants such as “Blood Makes the Grass Grow, Marines make the Blood Flow” according to Gulf War conscientious objector Erik Larsen. Eric Larsen was also sentenced to a six months sentence for unauthorized absence and served time in the Camp Lejune brig in 1991.
“I hope that the Marine Corps authorities will treat Stephen fairly. Any harassment or hazing is not acceptable. Stephen should not have to stand at attention to hours at a time, be shackled in irons by hand or foot, or be subject to derogatory or racist speech”, says Erik Larsen.
In 1991, Marine objector Jeff Patterson spent pre-trial confinement in a brig in Pearl Harbor, “The only reason why I wasn’t harassed in the brig was because my supporters were vocal on my behalf.”
Stephen Funk’s attorney Stephen Collier has communicated with the commander of the Camp Lejune brig, Chief Warrant Officer Laird. “I have requested that Stephen be placed in the safest environment. Stephen’s case has received a lot of media attention and there may be guards and fellow prisoners that may be hostile to him.” Laird has assured Collier that no harassment will be tolerated. Supporters in the Camp Lejune and Fayetteville, NC area are encouraged to visit Funk during his sentence. In addition, Stephen Funk would appreciate letters from supporters at the following address:
Stephen Funk
Building 1041
PSC 20140
Camp Lejune, NC 28542
Funk’s supporters have established a scholarship fund to support his college education after his release and will be planning a homecoming celebration in the San Francisco Bay Area upon his return.
Stephen Funk’s supporters are not only asking for Funk’s speedy return to friends and family, they are asking for all the troops to be returned home.