The "Winter Soldier Investigation" was a media event sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) from January 31, 1971, to February 2, 1971.  It was intended to publicize war crimes and atrocities by the United States Armed Forces and their allies in the Vietnam War.  The VVAW challenged the morality and conduct of the war by showing the direct relationship between military policies and war crimes in Vietnam. The three-day gathering of 109 veterans and 16 civilians took place in Detroit, Michigan. Discharged servicemen from each branch of the armed forces, as well as civilian contractors, medical personnel and academics, all gave testimony about war crimes they had committed or witnessed during the years 1963–1970.

With the exception of Pacifica Radio, the event was not covered extensively outside Detroit. However, several journalists and a film crew recorded the event, and a documentary film titled Winter Soldier was released in 1972. A complete transcript was later entered into the Congressional Record by Senator Mark Hatfield, and discussed in the Fulbright Hearings in April and May 1971, convened by Senator J. William Fulbright, chair of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Background

Prompted by numerous investigations into war crimes such as the Russell Tribunal, National Veterans Inquiry and Citizens Commission of Inquiry (CCI), the Vietnam Veterans Against the War wanted to have a large scale public hearing. With the courts martial for the My Lai Massacre making front page news, and the recent disclosure by members of the Central Intelligence Agency's Phoenix Program of its record of human rights violations in Vietnam, the VVAW was determined to expose a broad pattern of war crimes in Vietnam. The Winter Soldier Investigation (WSI) was intended to prove that massacres like the My Lai were not isolated and rare occurrences, but were instead the frequent and predictable result of official American war policy.

Organizers

The groundwork for what would become the Winter Soldier Investigation was laid by Jeremy Rifkin, Tod Ensign, Michael Uhl and Bob Johnson of CCI. In search of first-hand information on war crimes, they contacted the Vietnam Veterans Against the War and gained the support of VVAW co-founder Jan Crumb. During the summer of 1970, the CCI were approached by Al Hubbard who had become a full-time organizer with VVAW. Hubbard suggested that CCI combine their efforts with Jane Fonda, Rev. Dick Fernandez of Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam (CALCAV), Mark Lane, and Donald Duncan (who had previously testified at the Russell Tribunal in Denmark). An initial steering committee was formed, consisting of Duncan, Ensign, Fonda, Lane, Hubbard, Rifkin and Fernandez, and continued to organize the WSI through September, 1970.

Among the growing collective of organizers, differences of opinion and direction arose concerning the planned public event. VVAW leaders felt it should be an all-veteran event, to maintain its credibility. Less than three months into planning for the Winter Soldier Investigation, most of the Vietnam veteran organizers and Jeremy Rifkin had become adamant that WSI disassociate itself from Mark Lane. CCI staffers criticized Lane as being arrogant and sensationalistic, and said the book he was writing had "shoddy reporting in it."  The CCI leaders refused to work with Lane further and gave the VVAW leaders a "Lane or us" ultimatum. VVAW did not want to lose the monetary support of Lane and Fonda, so the CCI split from the project. The following month, after caustic reviews of Lane's book by authors and a Vietnam expert, VVAW would also distance itself from Lane just one month before the event. Lane had recently published a book, Conversations with Americans, in which Lane relied on unverified interviews with thirty three servicemen, four of whom were later exposed as unreliable by Neil Sheehan in a New York Times book review. Leaders of VVAW feared involvement with Lane would tarnish the credibility of the WSI.  A new steering committee was created without Lane, but he was allowed to continue with fundraising events and was available for legal counsel. The new six-member steering committee for WSI was composed of three national office leaders (Al Hubbard, Craig Scott Moore and Mike Oliver) and three members of the growing list of chapters (Art Flesch, Tim Butz, and William F. Crandell). Organizers hoped Lane would keep a low profile during the event, and he did, as he spent his time flying around the country defending his book.  Ultimately, the WSI was an event produced by veterans only, without the need of "so-called experts" such as Lane and Fonda.

After the organizers of the national hearings separated into two groups, they each developed their own events. The CCI advanced its plans for a December event in Washington, D.C., while the WSI's new organizers continued with the original plan to hold its hearings in Detroit. The Washington, DC, event would be called the National Veterans Inquiry. The Detroit event would be called the Winter Soldier Investigation. Seven of the 142 total participants would provide testimony at both events.

The support of antiwar celebrities was considered crucial to generate both money and publicity. A series of benefit productions, Acting in Concert for Peace, were created and featured performances by Jane Fonda, Dick Gregory, Donald Sutherland and Barbara Dane. Two concerts by Crosby and Nash, as well as folk singer Phil Ochs, also raised funds.

The WSI also relied on considerable support from the Detroit community. Dean Robb and Ernie Goodman solicited donations from their fellow local attorneys and several clergymen arranged housing for the witnesses. In the words of the Director of Missions for the Detroit Metropolitan Council of Churches, Dr. John B Forsyth, "It is important that the public realize that American atrocities in Vietnam are an  occurrence." The Secretary-Treasurer for the United Auto Workers, Emil Mazey and Michigan Secretary of State Richard Austin also helped raise funds for the event.

Purpose

The purpose of the Winter Soldier Investigation was to show that American policies in Vietnam had led to war crimes. In the words of one participant veteran, Donald Dzagulones,
"We gathered not to sensationalize our service but to decry the travesty that was Lt. William Calley's trial for the My Lai Massacre. The U.S. had established the principle of culpability with the Nuremberg trials of the Nazis. Following those principles, we held that if Calley were responsible, so were his superiors up the chain of command – even to the president. The causes of My Lai and the brutality of the Vietnam War were rooted in the policies of our government as executed by our military commanders."

The name "Winter Soldier Investigation" was proposed by Mark Lane, and was derived as a contrast to what Thomas Paine described as a "summer soldier" in his first American Crisis paper, written in December 1776. When future Senator and Secretary of State John Kerry, then a decorated Lieutenant in the Naval Reserve (Inactive), later spoke before a Senate Committee, he explained,

"We who have come here to Washington have come here because we feel we have to be winter soldiers now. We could come back to this country; we could be quiet; we could hold our silence; we could not tell what went on in Vietnam, but we feel because of what threatens this country, the fact that the crimes threaten it, not reds, and not redcoats but the crimes which we are committing that threaten it, that we have to speak out."

Planning
The collecting of testimony from veterans had begun under the auspice of the CCI the previous year, and it took almost two months of on-site planning in Detroit to organize the conference. Detroit was proposed by Fonda because of its central location in the American heartland, and the "blue-collar" social status of most of the residents. The steering committee set up a collective in a house on the industrial east side of Detroit with the help of Catholic antiwar activists; and five clergymen of different denominations, including the director of missions for the Detroit Metropolitan Council of Churches, offered housing for the witnesses.

The program consisted primarily of testimony, with 109 Vietnam veterans to appear on panels arranged by unit so they could corroborate each other's reports. Grouping these veterans by unit would also help to establish that events and practices to which they testified were unit-wide policy, and not just random and rare occurrences. Several civilian experts who had been to Vietnam were also to speak during this event. Arrangements had been made to include the testimony of several expatriated Vietnamese students residing in Canada, but they were denied visas to the United States by the Canadian government.

Organizers also investigated the legal implications of veterans publicly admitting to criminal acts which they had witnessed or participated in. With legal advice from the Center for Constitutional Rights, the organizers were assured that the armed forces could not charge or try veterans for crimes committed while they were on active duty. The veterans giving testimony were also instructed not to reveal the specific names of others involved in war crimes. The goal of these hearings was not to indict individual soldiers, but instead to expose the frequency of criminal behavior and its relationship to U.S. war policy.

Credibility of the veterans and their testimony

Critics have claimed that participants were frauds; that they were told to not cooperate with later investigators; that their testimonies were inaccurate or completely fabricated.

Verifying the participants
The organizers of the Winter Soldier Investigation took several steps to ensure the validity of the participants.  Each veteran's authenticity was checked before the hearings by the investigation event organizers, and subsequently by reporters and United States Department of Defense (DoD) officials. In addition, they also gave specific details about their units and the locations where the events had occurred.  Those who wanted to testify were carefully screened by the officers of VVAW, and care was taken to verify the service records and testimony of the veterans. After the severe criticism of the accuracy of Mark Lane's book about atrocities a month before the event, the organizers of the Winter Soldier Investigation made the credibility of the participants a top priority. As noted by one VVAW leader, "The lesson is that we'd better do our work right. We'd better talk to these vets and weed out the bullshitters so that we can't get set up, because we're going to come under attack.  We're going to do this right." All veterans participating in Winter Soldier were required to bring their discharge papers (DD-214s) and IDs.

The identifying military affiliation of each veteran testifying, including in almost all cases, the dates of service, appears on the roster for each panel that was included with the testimony in the Congressional Record.

A later search of the service records of at least 2 of the participants found that they could not have been in the claimed location on the relevant date.

Verifying the testimony
The organizers had two primary concerns when considering the testimony they would use. They wanted testimony that would not allow the scapegoating of individuals when they were attempting to show what was being done in Vietnam was due to policy, not decisions by individual GIs. They also wanted the testimony to be accurate, and double and sometimes triple confirmed by others in the same units. Specific sets of questions were drafted by experienced combat vets to help verify that participants were not fabricating their stories or faking their knowledge, and that only the strongest testimony was used.

According to Army reports compiled by the Criminal Investigation Command (CID) and later reported by the Village Voice following declassification, the Army found the allegations made by 46 veterans at the hearings to merit further inquiry. As of March 1972, the CID reported successfully locating 36 of the people who had testified, 31 of whom submitted to interviews.

One WSI participant, Jamie Henry, had reported the massacre he described at the hearings to the Army, which investigated and subsequently confirmed his story. However, the details of the investigation were not made public until 2006, when the Los Angeles Times published the declassified information.

Efforts to discredit the WSI

Months before the WSI event, the organizers anticipated heavy scrutiny and attacks on their credibility, and they prepared for it. Although military documentation was provided, some media organizations such as the Detroit News tried to discredit the hearings on the very first day of testimony by questioning the authenticity of the 109 testifying veterans. Discharge papers were examined; military records were checked against DoD records; after all their digging, it was claimed that not one fraudulent veteran was found. The Detroit Free Press reported daily of participants who had been confirmed by the DoD as veterans.

As noted in VVAW records, each veteran's authenticity and testimony were also checked shortly after the hearings by Nixon's "plumbers." Charles Colson was assigned the task. In a confidential "Plan to Counteract Viet Nam Veterans Against the War," Colson wrote, "The men that participated in the pseudo-atrocity hearings in Detroit will be checked to ascertain if they are genuine combat veterans." At one point, the Nixon team suggested in a memo about VVAW, "Several of their regional coordinators are former Kennedy supporters." VVAW was also targeted by the FBI for observation as a possible dissident organization.

The Nixon administration also attempted to rally pro-war veterans to counter VVAW.  "What happened to the president's request that we take steps to mobilize veterans?" demanded White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman to Colson just a few weeks after the WSI. "The President should know that we are continuing the effort to discredit VVAW," Colson assured Haldeman. Nixon aides formed the Vietnam Veterans for a Just Peace, according to Colson, as a "counterfoil" to Kerry and the VVAW, and they did everything they could to boost the group. John O'Neill, representing this group, made public appearances denouncing the antiwar veterans and promoting Nixon's Vietnamization policy. According to White House memos, Colson worked behind the scenes to get a Kerry-O'Neill debate on nationwide television. "Let's destroy this young demagogue before he becomes another Ralph Nader," he wrote, referring to Kerry.

Seven years after the hearings, writer Guenter Lewy claimed in his book, America in Vietnam, that allegations against Marines were investigated by the Naval Investigative Service. Lewy wrote that the report stated that some veterans contacted by the NIS said they did not attend the WSI hearing in Detroit or had never been to Detroit, and many refused to be interviewed. However, government officials have no record of the report and no other historian has seen it. Lewy later said that he could not recall if he had actually seen the alleged report or simply been told of its contents.  An excerpt from Guenter Lewy's book, America in Vietnam, is in Wikiquote.

More than 30 years after the Winter Soldier Investigation, during the 2004 presidential campaign in which former VVAW spokesman and Navy veteran John Kerry was a candidate, the WSI was again in the news. Steve Pitkin, who participated at the investigation in 1971, now claimed just weeks before the presidential election at an anti-Kerry political rally that he was not originally planning to testify at the WSI, but was pressured by Kerry and others into testifying about rape, brutality, atrocities and racism. Pitkin also signed a 2004 affidavit making similar claims about Kerry, but after being challenged by other participants, admitted that his recollections were flawed. On 1971 archival film footage of the WSI panel, Pitkin criticized the press for its coverage of the war, and detailed what he considered poor training for combat in Vietnam, and low morale he claimed to have witnessed while there. Although he introduced himself by saying, "I'll testify about the beating of civilians and enemy personnel, destruction of villages, indiscriminate use of artillery, the general racism and the attitude of the American GI toward the Vietnamese," his actual testimony contained no such statements.

Upon hearing of these claims by Pitkin, another WSI participant named Scott Camil filed his own affidavit refuting Pitkin's statements. Pitkin has subsequently admitted his recollections were flawed, and has re-issued a second affidavit now reflecting a different date of discharge from the Army, different people traveling with him to the Winter Soldier event, and different circumstances under which he joined the VVAW.

Fritz Efaw, a Chapter Representative of VVAW, stated: "The claims that the WSI hearings contained falsified testimony from men who were not veterans is an old one, and it's definitely false. The testimony was startling even at the time it took place: startling to the general public, startling to the military and the Nixon administration and startling to those who participated because each of them knew a piece of the story, but the hearings brought a great many of them together for the first time and provided a venue in which they could be heard for the first time. It's hardly surprising that those on the other side would set out almost immediately to discredit them."

The U.S. participation in the Vietnam War was the source of much deeply divided sentiment among Americans. The Winter Soldier Investigation produced a conglomerate of testimony resulting in the implication and indictment of American leadership in criminal conduct, and thereby further drove a wedge between proponents and opponents of the war.

Winter Soldier panels
See Opening statement excerpt in Wikiquote

The three days of testimony was presented by unit:
Sunday, January 31, there were speakers from the 1st Marine Division, 3rd Marine Division and 1st Cavalry Division
Monday, February 1, from the 101st Airborne Division and 5th Special Forces
Tuesday, February 2, from the 25th Infantry Division, 1st Infantry Division, 4th Infantry Division, 9th Infantry Division and Lieutenant Calley's 23rd Infantry (Americal) Division

Other veterans testified to the treatment they received when held captive as POWs by the Vietcong (VC). In contrast to accounts of mistreatment described by prisoners of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the north, the former prisoners speaking at the WSI said they were never physically abused, except for some rough handling during their capture. The VC provided enough food and medical attention to sustain them, and in the particular case of Sgt. George E. Smith, he claims "I usually had more food than I could eat," although he would often grow ill from intolerance. Smith admitted fearing for his life when he heard Hanoi Radio broadcasts saying VC soldiers were being executed in Saigon and the VC was promising to execute Americans in retaliation. Shortly afterward, two American prisoners held in the same camp with Smith are believed to have been executed in reprisal. At a press conference when Smith was released after two years as a POW, he made statements in support of the VC and against US involvement in Vietnam, and immediately faced court-martial charges for violation of Article 104 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (aiding the enemy). The charges were dropped due to insufficient evidence, and five years later at the WSI, Smith said that he stood by his statements.

In addition to the testimony panels, the veterans also held open discussions on related subjects such as "What We Are Doing to Vietnam", "What We Are Doing to Ourselves", violations of international law, Prisoners of War, racism in the military, and also press censorship. Dr. Bert Pfeiffer of the University of Montana presented the first public testimony about the potential toxicity and health effects of the chemical Agent Orange. A special panel of psychiatrists was convened, many of whom had served in Vietnam, to discuss the impact of the war on American society. Midway through the hearings, the organizers insisted that no one make statements on behalf of the Vietnam veterans except for vets. It was presumed by reporters that this was to separate the participation of veterans from that of people like Mark Lane.

Testimony from veterans
Testimony given during the three-day event covered both broad policy concerns, such as the use of chemical agents, indiscriminate bombing and free-fire zones as well as more specific and unusual war crime incidents, including rape, torture and desecration of the dead. The testifying veterans were usually grouped by branch of military service and geographic location of service. Before launching into their detailed testimony, each gave a brief statement of personal information including rank, division, unit, length of service and a summary of what their testimony would cover. While only 109 veterans gave testimony, over 700 veterans attended the hearing. Excerpts from the testimony transcripts:

Stephen Craig: "...My testimony covers the maltreatment of prisoners, the suspects actually, and a convoy running down an old woman with no reason at all..."
Rusty Sachs: "...my testimony concerns the leveling of villages for no valid reason, throwing Viet Cong suspects from the aircraft after binding them and gagging them with copper wire..."
Scott Camil: "...My testimony involves burning of villages with civilians in them, the cutting off of ears, cutting off of heads, torturing of prisoners, calling in of artillery on villages for games, corpsmen killing wounded prisoners..."
Kenneth Campbell: "...My testimony will consist of eyewitnessing and participating in the calling in of artillery on undefended villages, mutilation of bodies, killing of civilians, mistreatment of civilians..."
Fred Nienke: "...My testimony includes killing of non-combatants, destruction of Vietnamese property and livestock, use of chemical agents and the use of torture in interpreting prisoners..."

After giving their brief initial statements, a moderator had each of them elaborate upon their testimony, and then the press and observers were given time to ask questions of the veterans.

What are we doing to ourselves? Panel
During the "What are we doing to ourselves?" panel, Dr. Robert J. Lifton spoke of the psychological impact the events in Vietnam had on returning soldiers. He pointed out how rampant disapproval was for the war and highlighted how that affected returning veteran:

Racism and Third World Panels
Two of the discussion panels conducted with veterans during the Winter Soldier Investigations centered on racism in the American military. These panels addressed one source of resentment towards the Vietnam War by black soldiers, as "African Americans and Latinos paid a higher human price for the war". Studies have shown that black soldiers suffered disproportionately more casualties than white soldiers at the beginning of the war. Black veterans testifying at the WSI intended to show that racism by the U.S. military toward the Vietnamese, as well as toward non-whites within the military, were both extensions of the racism present in American society. Many veterans testified that black soldiers were demeaned by platoon leaders and refusal to comply to orders often led to beatings and starvation, and black soldiers were intentionally endangered by being placed as "point, rearguards, and side-guards". As a result of the attention brought to the significant disparity between white and black soldiers assigned to, and dying in, combat units, Pentagon officials implemented cutbacks in the number of blacks in combat positions. The fact that this racial inequality was taking place during the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States was of great significance.

African Americans were not the only ones subject to discrimination during the war. The American military portrayed Asians as "sub-human" as a means of providing justification for killing children and civilians. This notion was also projected into medical treatment of soldiers and POWs. Non-white patients were reported to have been operated on without anesthetic on several occasions. There is a specific case where the driver for a Medical Battalion describes incidents where Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) soldiers were treated without anesthetic. He recalls filling a syringe with anesthetic and setting it beside the doctor, only to later find out that it was never used when hearing the patient screaming.

The testimony given by the soldiers during the racism panel of the WSI was presented as evidence that the veterans were justified in their disapproval of the war, on the grounds that basic principles such as civil rights were not being upheld during the war. African Americans and Latinos expressed increasingly greater disapproval of the war than whites during its later stages.

Laos operation revealed
The previously secret two-week U.S. penetration into Laos in February 1969, which was part of Operation Dewey Canyon (primarily taking place in South Vietnam at the time), became a controversial subject at this event since the Pentagon had only days before denied that any American troops had crossed the Laotian border and carried out military operations. Five veterans from the 3rd Marine Regiment who had returned from the war were present at the WSI and refuted the claims of the Pentagon. They described their secret operations in Laos and also revealed that they were given meticulous orders to hide the fact that they were American including, but not limited to, the removal of identification from uniforms and switching to Russian arms that were typically used by the PAVN. They were also ordered to deny all knowledge of involvement of American troops in Laos. A Marine Corps spokesman persisted in issuing a statement at the WSI saying, "no platoons or any large number of Marines ever crossed the border." This quickly prompted investigations by American media such as the Detroit Free Press, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Boston Globe, which were successful in turning up testimonies from other veterans that they had crossed into Laos throughout a 16-month period extending through all of 1971, well past the enactment of the Cooper–Church Amendment forbidding such actions and which had come into effect in January 1971.  On March 27, 1974, Senator Harold Hughes informed the Senate that several witnesses had testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee about U.S. combat forces entering Laos and Cambodia after they were forbidden to do so.  Department of Defense white papers revealed thirteen platoon-sized operations in Laos between January 1971 and April 1972.

Winter Soldier results
Immediately following the WSI, Senator George McGovern and Representative John Conyers announced that they were calling for congressional investigations based on the testimony.  This announcement was received with skepticism by the veterans, but VVAW representatives agreed to meet with McGovern and Conyers.

Senator Hatfield's address to Congress

On Monday, April 5, 1971, Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon addressed the WSI allegation made in Detroit that war crimes were the result of military policy and racism was widespread in the armed forces.  Hatfield noted that some of these allegations, specifically of war crimes, would place the United States in violation of the Geneva Convention and international laws of war.

Senator Hatfield made several recommendations. He asked that a transcript of the Winter Soldier Investigation be read into the Congressional record and made available to the public. Hatfield also asked congress to hold hearings discussing the use of military force in Vietnam and their relation to international agreements ratified by the United States legislature. He sent the testimony to the Department of Defense, the Department of State asked Marine Commandant, Leonard F. Chapman, Jr., to investigate the allegations. He recommended consideration be given to forming a special commission that would look into these issues and provide a forum to determine the moral consequences of American involvement in Vietnam.

On April 22, 1971, John Kerry testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during their hearings on the Vietnam war, and made reference to evidence brought forth by veterans at the WSI. He covered some of the actions of Americans in Vietnam, saying "We rationalized destroying villages in order to save them…We learned the meaning of free fire zones, shooting anything that moves, and we watched while America placed a cheapness on the lives of Orientals. We watched the U.S. falsification of body counts, in fact the glorification of body counts…We fought using weapons against those people which I do not believe this country would dream of using were we fighting in the European theater or let us say a non-third-world people theater, and so we watched while men charged up hills because a general said that hill has to be taken, and after losing one platoon or two platoons they marched away to leave the high for the reoccupation by the North Vietnamese because we watched pride allow the most unimportant of battles to be blown into extravaganzas, because we couldn't lose, and we couldn't retreat, and because it didn't matter how many American bodies were lost to prove that point."

Media coverage

Mainstream media all but ignored the Winter Soldier Investigation. The East Coast papers refused to cover the hearings, other than a New York Times story a week later. The local field reporter for the Times, Jerry M. Flint, commented with uninterest, "this stuff happens in all wars." In a February 7, 1971 article he wrote that "much of what they said had been reported or televised before, even from Vietnam.  What was different here was the number of veterans present."  Several of the VVAW representatives speculated that there was an "official censorship blackout," and they would express this theory later in their newsletter.

A few articles that were sympathetic to the veterans appeared in lesser-known publications, and Pacifica Radio, known for its left-wing perspective, gave the event considerable coverage. The CBS television crew that showed up were impressed, but only three minutes made it to the nightly news on the first night—three minutes that were "mostly irrelevant to the subject", according to VVAW.

The Detroit Free Press printed several stories about the event, including comments from the military. This included confirmation by the Pentagon that WSI participants investigated by reporters were indeed Vietnam veterans. The Pentagon's denials of large scale U.S. activity in Laos was reported as well, until reporters learned from several marines not involved with WSI that operations in Laos had been conducted.

The words of the participants have been permanently recorded in the Congressional Record. Portions of the testimony, as well as some photos of the event, appear in a book produced by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War and John Kerry entitled The New Soldier.

In addition, film footage of the event, as well as some pre-event and post-event footage, and commentary can be found in Winter Soldier: A film / Winterfilm Collective in association with Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Winterfilm, Inc., 1972.
 Film version: 1972, B&W, 16 mm, 93 min.
 Videotape: 1992, B&W with some color, 110 or 130 minutes
 The Winterfilm Collective consisted of: Fred Aranow, Nancy Baker, Joe Bangert, Rhetta Barron, Robert Fiore, David Gillis, David Grubin, Jeff Holstein, Barbara Jarvis, Al Kaupas, Barbara Kopple, Mark Lenix, Michael Lesser, Nancy Miller, Lee Osborne, Lucy Massie Phenix, Roger Phenix, Benay Rubenstein, Michael Weil.

A documentary film of the event, titled Winter Soldier, was first released in February 1972 at the Cinema 2 theater in the Whitney Museum in Manhattan, New York.  In May 1972 it was reviewed at the Berlin and Cannes Film Festivals. Due to the disturbing nature of the subject matter about an ongoing war, it got little distribution and support at that time and had been archived by its creators, collectively called the Winterfilm Collective. In September 2005, it was re-released across the U.S. in small art house theatres. Most of the media reviews have regarded the film positively, with some calling it a "powerful" and "emotional" record of the era.

Despite significant fund raising efforts by supporters of the VVAW, the cost of the Winter Soldier Investigation event financially bankrupted the organization. Organizers of the event hoped to recoup some of their expenditures through the above-mentioned book, film and recording deals. Orders were taken at the event for copies of the film footage, which was to be made available for $300.

In 2005, a website wintersoldierfilm.com was established to spread information about this documentary and to spread information about further showings of the film (in the United States).

Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan

Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan was an event organized in March 2008 by Iraq Veterans Against the War, inspired by the Vietnam-era Winter Soldier Investigation, at which U.S. veterans provided accounts of their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan.

See also

 Rape during the Vietnam War
 Going Upriver – Documentary recounting John Kerry's participation in the Vietnam war and subsequent antiwar movement.
 GI Coffeehouses
 GI Underground Press
 Soldiers in Revolt: GI Resistance During the Vietnam War, book about soldier & sailor resistance during the Vietnam War
 Vietnam War Crimes Working Group – Documentary evidence compiled by a Pentagon task force detailing war crimes committed by US troops.
 Detroit Committee to End the War in Vietnam
 Vietnam Veterans Against the War

References

Further reading
 Kerry, John and Vietnam Veterans Against the War (1971). The New Soldier. CA: Simon & Schuster.
 Nicosia, Gerald (2002). Home to War: A History of the Vietnam Veterans' Movement. CA: Three Rivers Press.
 Lewy, Guenter (1978). America in Vietnam. New York: Oxford University Press. .  pbk.
 Hunt, Andrew E. The Turning: A History of Vietnam Veterans Against the War. New York: New York University Press, 1999.

External links

Winter Soldier Investigation Testimony Full Congressional Record of Testimony online
VVAW Archives Winter Soldier Viewpoints
Baltimore Sun Article "Vietnam Vets Stand by Kerry Today"
Wintersoldierfilm.com Re-released documentary of the event
Pitkin's two affidavits Affidavits by Steve Pitkin

1971 in Michigan
1971 in military history
1971 protests
January 1971 events in the United States
February 1971 events in the United States
Vietnam War
Vietnam War crimes
Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War
Anti-war protests
Torture in Vietnam
1971 in Detroit
Resistance Inside the Army

Winter Soldier Investigation


Barney and the Backyard Gang (also known as Barney) is an American live action animated television series that aired from August 29, 1988 to August 1, 1991. It started as a series of home videos and then in 1991, Barney and Friends began production. The home videos were filmed in Allen, Texas in the 80s to Dallas, Texas. In 1991, Barney and The Backyard Gang performed at The Majestic Theater Dallas. The Backyard Gang kids are Michael, Amy, Lucy, Tina, Jason, (replaced by Derek) and Adam (replaced by Jeffrey in one (episode).

The show aired on Disney Channel for it's Lunch Box Program in 1990. Three of the videotapes were also broadcasted on Nickelodeon.

Episodes
The Backyard Show
Since it is Michael and Amy's father's birthday, they try to put on a show for their Dad and Barney guides them along the way.
Three Wishes
The Backyard Gang are bored and have nothing to do, so Barney takes them to a playground and Jason is unhappy. So at the end they go to a farm and meet lots of animals.
A Day at the Beach
Depressed that they are not going to the beach, Barney helps the Backyard Gang with an imagination adventure to the beach.
Waiting for Santa
A new member of the Backyard Gang is sad, because he thinks Santa doesn't know his new address, so Barney and the Backyard Gang try to prove that he is known by Santa.
Campfire Sing Along
Barney takes the Backyard Gang camping in the forest.
Barney Goes to School
Tina shows Barney and the Backyard Gang her impressive school and they go to have fun there.
Barney in Concert Barney and the Backyard Gang come to perform at the Majestic Theater in Dallas, Texas with Baby Bop and sing some pretty impressive songs.
Rock with Barney
Barney and the Backyard Gang explore a movie studio. In 1989, Barney came to visit Dallas hospitals and Fort Worth hospitals.

1988 American television series debuts
1991 television series endings

Barney and the Backyard Gang


Szilvia Ruff (born 19 February 1976) is a Hungarian former football striker. She played for László Korház SC, Renova FC and 1.FC Femina in the Hungarian Championship. She was the championship's top scorer in 1996 and 1998 with 27 and 30 goals respectively.

She was a member of the Hungarian national team for twelve years.

References

1976 births
Living people
Women's association football forwards
Hungarian women's footballers
Hungary women's international footballers
László Kórház SC players
Renova players
1. FC Femina players

Szilvia Ruff


Nuclear binding energy is the energy needed to break an atomic nucleus into protons and neutrons. Atoms with higher binding energy are more stable, because you would have to add more energy to break them.

Protons and neutrons are attracted to each other by the nuclear force. This is a form of the strong interaction that acts over a longer distance than usual. Together, protons and neutrons are called nucleons.

The binding energy per nucleon is the binding energy of an atom, divided by its number of protons and neutrons. Iron-56 has the highest binding energy per nucleon. This makes it the most stable isotope of any element. Both smaller and larger atoms may eventually move towards Iron-56 by gaining or losing nucleons.

The term nuclear binding energy can be confusing. An atom with a higher nuclear binding energy does not have more energy stored in its nucleus. Actually, atoms with more binding energy have less energy stored inside.

Energy from atoms can be released by nuclear fission or nuclear fusion. It can be used in nuclear power or nuclear weapons.

Nuclear physics
Nuclear energy

Nuclear binding energy


The Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) is a Japanese government-affiliated general incorporated foundation established in 1988 to support the international activities of local governments to strengthen international collaboration, particularly around regional development and revitalisation.  Its headquarters are in Tokyo and there are domestic branch offices in each prefecture in Japan, as well as a network of overseas offices in major cities around the world.

The JET Programme
In cooperation with local authorities, the Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications (MIC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), CLAIR manages the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme. JET Programme participants are assigned to be Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs), who provide language instruction at elementary, junior and senior high schools; Coordinators for International Relations (CIRs), who engage in local international exchange activities; or Sports Exchange Advisors (SEAs), promoting international exchange through sport. The JET Programme is one of the largest international exchange programmes in the world, acknowledged as an embodiment of public diplomacy, with more than 65,000 participants since it began in 1987. CLAIR is one of the main sponsors of the JET Alumni Association in its respective territories.

International CLAIR Offices
CLAIR's international offices, located in New York, London, Paris, Singapore, Seoul, Sydney, and Beijing, investigate the latest trends in local development and revitalisation policies, on behalf of Japanese ministries and local authorities, promote the JET Programme and a number of other international exchange programmes, and organise Japan-related seminars and sister city relations.

CLAIR participates in such bodies as United Cities and Local Governments and the Council of Europe Intercultural Cities programme.  It was also associated with the Asian Network of Major Cities 21.

CLAIR offices in New York, London and Sydney are known locally as the Japan Local Government Centre.

External links
 CLAIR Homepage
 Japan Local Government Center New York
 Japan Local Government Centre London
 Japan Local Government Centre Sydney

1988 establishments in Japan
Organizations established in 1988
Economic development organizations
Foreign relations of Japan
Government of Japan
Local government in Japan
Municipal international relations


The 1969 Maryland gubernatorial special election was not a direct election, but a vote in the Maryland General Assembly to determine who would assume the governorship of Maryland after Spiro Agnew's resignation, following his election to the U.S. vice presidency.

At this time Maryland didn't have a position of lieutenant governor, and state law did not designate a person who would assume the office of governor in case of vacancy (unlike most states, when there is always a designated person such as lieutenant governor, Senate President or Secretary of State).

In case of vacancy, the General Assembly would choose a governor.

In 1969 the Assembly had a Democratic majority, so it was clear that Republican Agnew's successor would be a Democrat.

The election was held on January 7, 1969. State representative Marvin Mandel was elected governor. He took office that same day, upon Agnew's resignation.

Candidates
 State Senator William S. James (D)
 State Representative Francis X. Gallagher (D)
 State Representative Marvin Mandel (D)
 U.S. Representative Rogers Morton (R)

Vote
 Mandel (D) – 126 (70.00%):
 Morton (R) – 26 (14.44%)
 Gallagher (D) – 15 (8.33%)
 James (D) – 13 (7.22%)

Although there were three Democrats and only one Republican on the ballot, Mandel was elected easily. He was elected in regular direct election in 1970 and re-elected in 1974.

References

1969
Maryland
Gubernatorial
Maryland special gubernatorial election
Maryland 1969


Deadeye Dick is a novel by Kurt Vonnegut originally published in 1982.

Plot summary
The novel's main character, Rudy Waltz, or "Deadeye Dick", commits accidental manslaughter as a child when he shoots a gun out of a window and fatally strikes a pregnant woman. Rudy was so traumatized and guilt-ridden by the incident that he lives life as an asexual "neuter," neither homosexual nor heterosexual. He tells the story of his life as a middle-aged expatriate hotel manager in Haiti, which symbolizes New York City, until the end, when the stream of time of the story catches up with him. At this point, he confronts an event that has been suggested and referred to throughout the novel. The generic Midwestern town of Midland City, Ohio, in which Rudy was raised, is virtually destroyed by a neutron bomb, all the people in the town dying. At the ending of the book, it appears that Rudy, while he may not have fully come to terms with his actions, has at least come to live with them.

Another key theme throughout the book is the relationship between Waltz and his parents and brother, Felix. His father, as a young man, lived in Austria and was one of the few people who was actually friends with Adolf Hitler before his rise to power. His father is also a failed artist, who does his best to protect Rudy, to the point when he insists on going to jail just to effectively make a point. Rudy's brother was the president of NBC, who is fired after his fourth marriage breaks up.

Place in the Vonnegut universe
Deadeye Dick is set mostly within fictional Midland City, Ohio, which is also the setting for one of Vonnegut's other seminal works, Breakfast of Champions. Several characters, locations, or concepts from that novel are mentioned in passing or have an active role in the story (e.g. Rabo Karabekian, Dwayne and Celia Hoover, the Mildred Barry Memorial Center for the Arts, and Barrytron Ltd., amongst others).

Reception
Dave Langford reviewed Deadeye Dick for White Dwarf #56, and stated that "The Vonnegut idiom of brief, flip, casual paragraphs lets him sneak through some shrewd blows under the lighthearted camouflage, but though often moving the technique sometimes rings hollow [...] Read the book, but warily."

Reviews
Review by Loree Rackstraw (1990) in Critical Essays on Kurt Vonnegut

References

External links
Vonnegut discusses Deadeye Dick with Martin Amis - a British Library sound recording

1982 American novels
English-language novels
Novels by Kurt Vonnegut
Novels set in Haiti
Novels set in Ohio
Postmodern novels

Deadeye Dick


Before The Backstreet Boys 1989–1993 is the unofficial, independently released demo album released by Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter. The songs were recorded by Nick from 1989 to 1993. The song "Hard to Get" was written by Mark J. Dye for Carter and his former singer partner, Malia Tuaileva. Tuaileva appears in a duet on the album and singing solo on the album with the track, "Mansion In Malibu".

Track listing
"Summer!" 3:33
"Love Is a Wonderful Thing"
"More Today Than Yesterday"
"Hard to Get" (duet with Malia Tuaileva)
"Rhythm of My Heart" 3:16
"Runaround Sue"
"Lights"
"Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"
"Just a Gigolo" / "I Ain't Got Nobody" 4:30
"Jailhouse Rock"
"God Bless the U.S.A." 3:12
"Uptown Girl"
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"
"Mansion in Malibu" (Malia solo)
"The Star-Spangled Banner"
"Hard to Get" (Nick solo version)
"Sunday Morning Bells" 2:45

External links
Album page on CD Baby

Nick Carter (musician) albums
2002 compilation albums

Before the Backstreet Boys 1989–1993


The Saddlehorn Utility Area Historic District in Colorado National Monument comprises a complex of park service buildings, designed by the National Park Service Branch of Plans and Designs in the National Park Service Rustic style. The primary designer was National Park Service architect Kenneth M. Saunders, who employed the local red sandstone in the buildings, which included shops, fuel shed, repair and storage buildings.  The buildings were constructed in 1941 by Public Works Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps labor.

The utility area is located at the intersection of Rim Rock Drive and the Saddle horn Loop, named after a distinctive nearby rock formation. It is separated from the caretaker's house by a low hill. Construction was carried out by craftsmen, known as LEM's (Local Experienced Men), with suitable skills, reputedly stonemasons of Italian descent. Much of the material came from Rim Rock Drive construction.

The three Saddlehorn National Register properties were nominated to the National Register of Historic Places as a multiple property submission on the basis of their related design and history. The utility area was built by CCC camp NM-2-C.

See also
Saddlehorn Comfort Station

References

External links

Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado
Government buildings completed in 1941
National Park Service rustic in Colorado
National Register of Historic Places in Colorado National Monument
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado
Civilian Conservation Corps in Colorado
Historic American Buildings Survey in Colorado


Ron Estay (born December 22, 1948) is a former defensive lineman for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Career

After graduating from Louisiana State University (LSU) in 1972, he was selected by the Denver Broncos in the 8th round of the 1972 NFL Draft. He moved to Canada and played for the British Columbia Lions in 1972 and Edmonton from 1973 to 1982, and helped lead the team to five straight Grey Cup championships from 1978 to 1982 as a key member of the "Alberta Crude" defense. He played in 1983 and 1984 for the Washington Federals of the United States Football League (USFL).

Estay was a two time CFL All-Star in 1977 and 1980 and Western All-Star four times in 1973, 1977, 1978 and 1980. He played in nine Grey Cup championships, winning six times. One of Estay's biggest games was the 1977 Grey Cup also known as the 'Staples Game'. In that game, Estay recalls how, due to the nature of the game he 'tried every pair of shoes that we had' (in order to good footing due to the field conditions).

Estay is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, and the Eskimos Hall of Fame.

Coaching

From 2001 to 2008, Estay was the defensive line coach for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.  He was a coach on the 2007 Grey Cup championship team.

Personal

In 2008, Estay was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which went into remission after 3 months of chemotherapy.

References

1948 births
Living people
American players of Canadian football
BC Lions players
Canadian football defensive linemen
Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees
Edmonton Elks players
LSU Tigers football players
People from Raceland, Louisiana
Players of American football from Louisiana
Washington Federals/Orlando Renegades players

Ron Estay


City Island, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, is an island in the Halifax River (a section of the Intracoastal Waterway) between mainland Florida and the barrier islands/outer banks. Buildings on the island include the Daytona Tortugas' Jackie Robinson Ballpark, the city's courthouse, and the main branch of the Volusia County Library.

Geology

The bedrock of City Island is part of the Anastasia Formation of interbedded sands and coquinoid limestones (known as Coquina), created during the late Pleistocene Epoch. On top of the bedrock are layers of river sediments, built up and deposited by the Halifax River. Channel dredgings in the last 100 years were also deposited on City Island.

Indigenous wildlife
City Island is an urbanized area, resembling any small Florida city. The animal life on the island are typical of such an environment: squirrels, rabbits, abundant Green and Brown Anole lizards, occasional raccoons and skunk, as well as a large population of doves and pigeons.

The real diversity of wildlife on and around City Island are birds, especially aquatic species.  There are many varieties of duck; mallards, clue-winged teal, and cormorants.  American white ibis are common, as are brown pelicans, snowy egrets, great blue herons, great white egrets, and several types of gull. An occasional bald eagle or red-shouldered hawk can be seen overhead.

Wildlife gallery

See also
Halifax River
Daytona Beach

References

External links
City Island Farmers Market

River islands of Florida
Islands of Volusia County, Florida
National Register of Historic Places in Volusia County, Florida
Daytona Beach, Florida
Islands of Florida

City Island (Daytona Beach)


Dan Kelly (1 June 1861 – 28 June 1880) was an Australian bushranger and outlaw. The son of an Irish convict, he was the youngest brother of bushranger Ned Kelly. Dan and his brother killed three policemen. With two friends, they formed the Kelly Gang. Dan Kelly died during the famous siege of Glenrowan.

More books have been written about the Kelly Gang than any other subject in Australian history. The Kelly Gang were the subject of the world's first full-length feature movie, The Story of the Kelly Gang, made in 1906. They robbed banks, took over whole towns, and kept the people in Victoria and New South Wales frightened. For two years the Victorian police searched for them and locked up their friends and families, but could not find them.

Early life

Dan Kelly's father, John "Red" Kelly, was an Irishman, a convict who had been sent to Van Diemen's Land in 1842. He would have been kept in the convict gaol at Port Arthur.

In 1848, after his time in gaol, Red Kelly moved to Victoria, and began working as a farmer around Beveridge. There he built a simple wooden house. The house in Kelly Street is still standing. The original three rooms have been added to over the years, and the house now has 11 rooms.

Red married an Irish girl, Ellen Quinn, in Melbourne in 1850. They had seven children: Annie (1853), Edward "Ned" (1854), Maggie (1856), Jim (1859), Dan (1861), Kate (1862) and Grace (1863).

Greta
In 1864, Dan Kelly's family moved north to a farm at Avenel. Red Kelly stole a calf and was sent to gaol for six months. Dan was in trouble with the police when he was five years old because they believed he had stolen a horse. Dan's father died in 1866, and in 1867, his mother, Ellen Kelly, moved the family to a small farm near Greta in north east Victoria. Ellen Kelly's two sisters, Catherine and Jane Lloyd, were living at Greta, and her two brothers, John and James Quinn, had moved to the area in 1864. The Quinn family were well known to the police. Dan Kelly was again in trouble with the law when he was only 10 years old. He and his brother Jim, aged 12, were arrested by Constable Flood for riding a horse that did not belong to them. Jim was working for a local farmer and had taken the horse to ride home on. Flood did not believe them, and the boys were forced to spend two nights in a prison cell.
In 1875, like many other young men in north east Victoria, Dan Kelly and his cousins, the Lloyds, went to New South Wales to look for seasonal farm work in the Riverina area and on the Monaro High Plains. His group of friends were known as "the Greta mob". They went out together to hotels, dances and horse races. By 1876, they were well known for their visits to nearby towns such as Wangaratta, Beechworth and Benalla.

On one visit to Benalla in 1876, Dan was arrested for stealing a saddle. The police let him go when they could not get enough evidence. Dan and his cousins got into trouble with the police in October 1877. They had gone to a shop to pick up food and other supplies, but the shop was shut. When the owner refused to open the shop, Dan Kelly broke down the door. They were charged with violent assault, damage to property (the door), breaking into houses and stealing things worth £113. The boys went into hiding, and the police spent three weeks looking for them. Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick told Ned Kelly to get them to give themselves up. In court, the police were not able to prove most of the charges, but Dan went to prison for one month for damaging property worth £10.

On 15 April 1878, Constable Fitzpatrick, went to the Kelly's house to arrest Dan Kelly for stealing horses. Dan had been seen in Chiltern riding a stolen horse. What happened at the house is now called the "Fitzpatrick incident". There was a fight with Fitzpatrick, and he said the Kelly family had tried to kill him. Dan and Ned went into the bush to hide. Ellen Kelly was sent to gaol for three years for attempted murder. Maggie's husband, William Skillion, and a neighbour, William Williamson, were sent to gaol for six years.

The Kelly Gang
Ned and Dan Kelly went into the bush to a place in the Wombat Ranges. Dan Kelly had built a small hut some time earlier on Bullock Creek, where he had cleared an area of about  to keep horses. He had also built a small still for making alcohol. The brothers spent their time searching for gold in the creek.

During the months they were hiding at Bullock Creek, they were often visited by their friends including Steve Hart, Joe Byrne, Aaron Sherritt and the Lloyds. The police took the charge of attempted murder very seriously. A reward of £100 was offered for the capture of the two Kelly boys. The police thought the brothers were hiding in the Wombat Ranges. In October 1878, they sent two search groups out to find them. One group travelled south from Greta, and the other started from Mansfield and travelled north.

Stringybark Creek

The Mansfield group was led by Sergeant Michael Kennedy, with three policemen; Constables Thomas McIntyre, Thomas Lonigan, and Michael Scanlon. They set up a camp at Stringybark Creek in a thick forest area. Kennedy and Scanlon went searching for the Kellys, while Lonigan and McIntyre remained at the camp. The Kellys were living in a hut close by at Bullock Creek. They heard noises and discovered the police camp. They decided to capture the policemen and take their guns and horses. Ned and Dan, and friends Joe Byrne and Steve Hart, went to the police camp and told them to surrender.

Constable McIntyre put his arms up, but Lonigan got out his gun. Ned Kelly shot him dead. When the other two police came back to camp, McIntyre told them to surrender. Scanlon went for his gun but Ned shot him dead. Kennedy ran shooting from tree to tree with Ned chasing him. During the shooting, Kennedy was shot and was badly wounded. Ned shot him in the chest to end his suffering. McIntyre was able to escape during the confusion. It was later reported in the newspapers that it was Dan who had shot Kennedy. Dan was wounded during the shooting.

Outlaws
The Victorian government passed a law on 30 October 1878, making the Kelly Gang outlaws; they no longer had any legal rights. They could be shot by anyone, at any time, without warning. Anyone who could capture one of the Gang, alive or dead, would be paid a reward of £500, or £2,000 for the four men. The bushrangers were seen at several places around north east Victoria. They had tried to cross the Murray River into New South Wales, but the water was too deep. The police had several large groups hunting for them. On 10 December, the Kelly Gang robbed the bank at Euroa. In February 1879, they went to Jerilderie, New South Wales. They locked the town's policemen in the police station cells, and kept many people prisoner in the Royal Mail Hotel for three days. Dan Kelly and Steve Hart kept the people in the hotel, while Ned Kelly and Joe Byrne robbed the bank. After the bank robberies, the reward was increased to £2,000 for each man, or the larger amount of £8,000 for the Gang.

Over the next 18 months many policemen were sent to north-east Victoria to search for the Kelly Gang. The police could not find the bushrangers because they were badly led and they did not know how to live in the bush.  However the Kellys were experts in living in the bush and they had the support of the local people.

Murder
In June 1880, the Kelly Gang came out of hiding. They knew that Joe Byrne's friend, Aaron Sherritt, had been giving information to the police. Four policemen were living at Sherritt's house, near Beechworth, to protect him. Dan Kelly and Byrne went to Sherritt's house late at night and knocked on the door. When Sherritt opened the door, Byrne shot him dead. The policemen were hiding under the bed. Kelly and Byrne rode quickly back to Glenrowan where Ned Kelly and Hart had forced many of the town people into a hotel, the Glenrowan Inn. They also had forced railway workers to pull up the train tracks. They knew that more police would be sent by train to Beechworth to find them. They wanted the train to crash when it reached the place where tracks had been removed near Glenrowan. The bushrangers, wearing homemade armour, would then capture any of the policemen that were alive after the crash. With the police out of the way, the Kelly Gang would then go into Benalla and rob the bank. The captured police would be released when Ellen Kelly, William Williamson, and William Skillion, were let out of gaol.

The plan did not work because the four policemen did not come out of Sherritt's house until the next morning. This meant that the news of the murder did not reach Melbourne as quickly as the Kelly Gang had hoped. The people held prisoner in the hotel became restless. Ned organised music and Dan joined in dancing to keep the people in the hotel entertained. Dan also organised some sporting games including long jump and hop, step and jump. Dan wanted to leave Glenrowan when they knew the plan was not going to work because the train was late. Ned Kelly let Thomas Curnow, the school teacher, go home to his wife. Dan told his brother not to trust Curnow, and to keep him at the hotel. Instead of going home, Curnow went to the railway and about 3.00am he was able to stop the train before it reached the broken rails. The police quickly left the train and placed themselves around the hotel so that the Kelly Gang was trapped inside.

Glenrowan

When the bushrangers heard the train pull into the station, they knew their plan to destroy the train had failed. They put on their suits of armour and went on to the verandah of the hotel to wait for the police. In the first few shots, police Superintendent Hare, Ned Kelly and Joe Byrne were wounded, and Jack Jones, son of the hotel owner was killed. Ned Kelly, who was dressed in his armour, was able to leave the hotel and kept shooting at the police. The police fired their guns into the hotel building for seven hours. It is estimated that 15,000 bullets were fired during the shooting. Byrne died after being shot in the groin. Ned Kelly went back to the hotel but could not find Dan or Steve Hart who were hiding in a back room. He again left and tried to find his horse. Ned Kelly was shot in the legs as he searched outside for his brother. The police were then easily able to capture him.

At 10.00am there was a large crowd of people watching the action. Police Inspector Sadleir was forced to stop the shooting to allow many of the hostages to escape. He would not let Dan's sister Maggie, or a Catholic priest Father Gibney, go into the hotel to tell the men to give themselves up. Instead, he ordered that a cannon be sent from Melbourne so that they could destroy the hotel.

At 2.30pm, the police set fire to the building to try and make the rest of the Kelly Gang leave the building. Father Gibney ignored the police and went into the burning building. He found Dan Kelly and Steve Hart dead in a back room of the hotel. He said their bodies were lying side by side, their heads resting on blankets. Byrne's body was dragged out of the hotel, but the bodies of Hart and Kelly were badly burned during the fire. People who saw the burned and blackened bodies were unable to tell which was Dan Kelly and which was Steve Hart. They were placed on sheets of bark from a tree and photographed. Three Glenrowan people held prisoner inside the hotel died during the siege.

Family members, including his sisters, Kate and Maggie, and friends took the bodies back to Greta. The police tried to get the bodies back, and sent a group of 16 policemen to Greta, but they became worried that this would start another fight and they went back to Benalla. Dan Kelly and Steve Hart were buried in unmarked graves at Greta, on 30 June 1880. About 100 people were at the funeral, with Dan's cousin, Tom Lloyd, as the undertaker, and a Greta farmer, Daniel O'Keefe, acting as a preacher. After the graves were filled in, the whole area was ploughed over to keep the site of the graves hidden. The family was worried that the police would still try to get the bodies.

After Glenrowan, Dan Kelly and Steve Hart's armour was taken by the police and kept at Benalla. Ned Kelly's armour was sent to Melbourne to be used at his trial. Joe Byrne's armour was sent to the police depot in Richmond. At the end of 1880, all the pieces were in Melbourne. One set of armour was given to Sir William Clarke. Over the years the pieces became mixed up. In 2002, the State Library of Victoria and the police exchanged some pieces to try and get the sets complete. The State Library has Ned's armour, Joe's is still owned by the Clarke family, and the police have Dan and Steve's armour which can be seen at the Victoria Police Museum in Melbourne Australia.

Dan Kelly after Glenrowan

Because it was not possible to prove how they died, or that the bodies were really Dan and Steve, there have been many stories about what might have happened. It is possible they may have killed themselves. This was the story that was used in the first Kelly movie, The Story of the Kelly Gang in 1906, and in the 2003 Ned Kelly movie. There have also been stories that both survived the fire. There is little evidence to support these claims. One man, James Ryan, said he was Dan Kelly. In 1934 he went on stage at the Brisbane Exhibition and told stories about the Kelly Gang. He died on 29 July 1948, after being struck by a train. The Ipswich City Council have put a memorial on his grave. In 2001, scientists took a small piece of bone from the grave of Charles Devine Tindall at Toowoomba, Queensland, to see if they could find DNA to prove he was Dan Kelly. Devine, who had burn scars on his body, told his family he was really Dan. He said he had hidden under the floor of the Glenrowan hotel and escaped after the fire. In October 1902, a Melbourne newspaper printed a story that Dan Kelly and Steve Hart were living in South Africa. The men had fought in the Second Boer War. Another man, Jim Davis from Darra (a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland), said in 1938 that he was Dan Kelly. He claimed that he, Steve Hart and Joe Byrne had escaped from the hotel. He also said he was born at the Eureka Stockade in 1854, which makes him too old to have really been Dan.

The story of Dan and Ned Kelly has been told many times. There have been more books written about the Kelly Gang than any other event in Australian history. The very first full-length movie in the world, made in 1906, was The Story of the Kelly Gang. In the 2003 Ned Kelly movie starring Heath Ledger as Ned Kelly, the part of Dan Kelly was played by Laurence Kinlan. Orlando Bloom played the part of Joe Byrne.

In 2012 a pistol was put up for sale which had "1876 DAN KELLY" carved into it. A pistol was known to have been found at Glenrowan after the siege but it is now lost. The pistol being sold was found on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River in 1900. It is a muzzle load single shot pistol made for the East India Company Cavalry.

References

Other websites
The Ned Kelly Trail  - has many photographs of Ned Kelly linked places and items.
Photograph of Dan Kelly at the State Library of Victoria
Bill Denheld's website on Stringybark Creek, with maps and photos
Photograph of the Glenrowan Inn
Photograph of Dan Kelly and Steve Hart's armour
Photograph of Dan Kelly's body after the fire
Photos of the archaeological dig at Glenrowan in 2008

1861 births
1880 deaths
Australian murderers
Bushrangers
Ned Kelly
People from Victoria (Australia)

Dan Kelly


Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants.  Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidity and do not rot easily. Chemically, lignins are polymers made by cross-linking phenolic precursors.

History
Lignin was first mentioned in 1813 by the Swiss botanist A. P. de Candolle, who described it as a fibrous, tasteless material, insoluble in water and alcohol but soluble in weak alkaline solutions, and which can be precipitated from solution using acid. He named the substance "lignine", which is derived from the Latin word lignum, meaning wood. It is one of the most abundant organic polymers on Earth, exceeded only by cellulose and chitin. Lignin constitutes 30% of terrestrial non-fossil organic carbon on Earth, and 20 to 35% of the dry mass of wood.

Lignin is present in red algae, which suggest that the common ancestor of plants and red algae also synthesised lignin. This finding also suggests that the original function of lignin was structural as it plays this role in the red alga Calliarthron, where it supports joints between calcified segments.

Structure
Lignin is a collection of highly heterogeneous polymers derived from a handful of precursor lignols.  Heterogeneity arises from the diversity and degree of crosslinking between these lignols. The lignols that crosslink are of three main types, all derived from phenylpropane: coniferyl alcohol (4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylpropane; its radical, G, is sometimes called guaiacyl), sinapyl alcohol (3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxyphenylpropane; its radical, S, is sometimes called syringyl), and paracoumaryl alcohol (4-hydroxyphenylpropane; its radical, H, is sometimes called 4-hydroxyphenyl).

The relative amounts of the precursor "monomers" (lignols or monolignols) vary according to the plant source. Lignins are typically classified according to their syringyl/guaiacyl (S/G) ratio. Lignin from gymnosperms (softwoods, grasses) is derived from the coniferyl alcohol, which gives rise to G upon pyrolysis. In angiosperms (hardwoods) some of the coniferyl alcohol is converted to S.  Thus, lignin in angiosperms has both G and S components.

Lignin's molecular masses exceed 10,000 u. It is hydrophobic as it is rich in aromatic subunits. The degree of polymerisation is difficult to measure, since the material is heterogeneous. Different types of lignin have been described depending on the means of isolation.

Many grasses have mostly G, while some palms have mainly S. All lignins contain small amounts of incomplete or modified monolignols, and other monomers are prominent in non-woody plants.

Biological function
Lignin fills the spaces in the cell wall between cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin components, especially in vascular and support tissues: xylem tracheids, vessel elements and sclereid cells.

Lignin plays a crucial part in conducting water and aqueous nutrients in plant stems. The polysaccharide components of plant cell walls are highly hydrophilic and thus permeable to water, whereas lignin is more hydrophobic. The crosslinking of polysaccharides by lignin is an obstacle for water absorption to the cell wall. Thus, lignin makes it possible for the plant's vascular tissue to conduct water efficiently. Lignin is present in all vascular plants, but not in bryophytes, supporting the idea that the original function of lignin was restricted to water transport.

It is covalently linked to hemicellulose and therefore cross-links different plant polysaccharides, conferring mechanical strength to the cell wall and by extension the plant as a whole. Its most commonly noted function is the support through strengthening of wood (mainly composed of xylem cells and lignified sclerenchyma fibres) in vascular plants.

Finally, lignin also confers disease resistance by accumulating at the site of pathogen infiltration, making the plant cell less accessible to cell wall degradation.

Economic significance

Global commercial production of lignin is a consequence of papermaking.  In 1988, more than 220 million tons of paper were produced worldwide.  Much of this paper was delignified; lignin comprises about 1/3 of the mass of lignocellulose, the precursor to paper.  Lignin is an impediment to papermaking as it is colored, it yellows in air, and its presence weakens the paper. Once separated from the cellulose, it is  burned as fuel.  Only a fraction is used in a wide range of low volume applications where the form but not the quality is important.

Mechanical, or high-yield pulp, which is used to make newsprint, still contains most of the lignin originally present in the wood. This lignin is responsible for newsprint's yellowing with age. High quality paper requires the removal of lignin from the pulp.  These delignification processes are core technologies of the papermaking industry as well as the source of significant environmental concerns.

In sulfite pulping, lignin is removed from wood pulp as lignosulfonates, for which many applications have been proposed.  They are used as dispersants, humectants, emulsion stabilizers, and sequestrants (water treatment). Lignosulfonate was also the first family of water reducers or superplasticizers to be added in the 1930s as admixture to fresh concrete in order to decrease the water-to-cement (w/c) ratio, the main parameter controlling the concrete porosity, and thus its mechanical strength, its diffusivity and its hydraulic conductivity, all parameters essential for its durability. It has application in environmentally sustainable dust suppression agent for roads. Also, lignin can be used in making biodegradable plastic along with cellulose as an alternative to hydrocarbon-made plastics if lignin extraction is achieved through a more environmentally viable process than generic plastic manufacturing.

Lignin removed by the kraft process is usually burned for its fuel value, providing energy to power the paper mill. Two commercial processes exist to remove lignin from black liquor for higher value uses: LignoBoost (Sweden) and LignoForce (Canada). Higher quality lignin presents the potential to become a renewable source of aromatic compounds for the chemical industry, with an addressable market  of more than $130bn.

Given that it is the most prevalent biopolymer after cellulose, lignin has been investigated as a feedstock for biofuel production and can become a crucial plant extract in the development of a new class of biofuels.

Biosynthesis
Lignin biosynthesis begins in the cytosol with the synthesis of glycosylated monolignols from the amino acid phenylalanine. These first reactions are shared with the phenylpropanoid pathway. The attached glucose renders them water-soluble and less toxic. Once transported through the cell membrane to the apoplast, the glucose is removed, and the polymerisation commences. Much about its anabolism is not understood even after more than a century of study.

The polymerisation step, that is a radical-radical coupling, is catalysed by oxidative enzymes. Both peroxidase and laccase enzymes are present in the plant cell walls, and it is not known whether one or both of these groups participates in the polymerisation. Low molecular weight oxidants might also be involved. The oxidative enzyme catalyses the formation of monolignol radicals. These radicals are often said to undergo uncatalyzed coupling to form the lignin polymer. An alternative theory invokes an unspecified biological control.

Biodegradation
In contrast to other bio-polymers (e.g. proteins, DNA, and even cellulose), lignin resists degradation.  It is immune to both acid- and base-catalyzed hydrolysis.  The degradability varies with species and plant tissue type. For example, syringyl (S) lignin is more susceptible to degradation by fungal decay as it has fewer aryl-aryl bonds and a lower redox potential than guaiacyl units. Because it is cross-linked with the other cell wall components, lignin minimizes the accessibility of cellulose and hemicellulose to microbial enzymes, leading to a reduced digestibility of biomass.

Some ligninolytic enzymes include heme peroxidases such as lignin peroxidases, manganese peroxidases, versatile peroxidases, and dye-decolourizing peroxidases as well as copper-based laccases. Lignin peroxidases oxidize non-phenolic lignin, whereas manganese peroxidases only oxidize the phenolic structures. Dye-decolorizing peroxidases, or DyPs, exhibit catalytic activity on a wide range of lignin model compounds, but their in vivo substrate is unknown. In general, laccases oxidize phenolic substrates but some fungal laccases have been shown to oxidize non-phenolic substrates in the presence of synthetic redox mediators.

Lignin degradation by fungi
Well-studied ligninolytic enzymes are found in Phanerochaete chrysosporium and other white rot fungi. Some white rot fungi, such as Ceriporiopsis subvermispora, can degrade the lignin in lignocellulose, but others lack this ability.  Most fungal lignin degradation involves secreted peroxidases. Many fungal laccases are also secreted, which facilitate degradation of phenolic lignin-derived compounds, although several intracellular fungal laccases have also been described. An important aspect of fungal lignin degradation is the activity of accessory enzymes to produce the H2O2 required for the function of lignin peroxidase and other heme peroxidases.

Lignin degradation by bacteria
Bacteria lack most of the enzymes employed by fungi to degrade lignin, and lignin derivatives (aliphatic acids, furans, and solubilized phenolics) inhibit the growth of bacteria. Yet, bacterial degradation can be quite extensive, especially in aquatic systems such as lakes, rivers, and streams, where inputs of terrestrial material (e.g. leaf litter) can enter waterways.  The ligninolytic activity of bacteria has not been studied extensively even though it was first described in 1930. Many bacterial DyPs have been characterized. Bacteria do not express any of the plant-type peroxidases (lignin peroxidase, Mn peroxidase, or versatile peroxidases), but three of the four classes of DyP are only found in bacteria. In contrast to fungi, most bacterial enzymes involved in lignin degradation are intracellular, including two classes of DyP and most bacterial laccases.

In the environment, lignin can be degraded either biotically via bacteria or abiotically via photochemical alteration, and oftentimes the latter assists in the former.  In addition to the presence or absence of light, several of environmental factors affect the biodegradability of lignin, including bacterial community composition, mineral associations, and redox state.

Pyrolysis
Pyrolysis of lignin during the combustion of wood or charcoal production yields a range of products, of which the most characteristic ones are methoxy-substituted phenols. Of those, the most important are guaiacol and syringol and their derivatives.  Their presence can be used to trace a smoke source to a wood fire. In cooking, lignin in the form of hardwood is an important source of these two compounds, which impart the characteristic aroma and taste to smoked foods such as barbecue. The main flavor compounds of smoked ham are guaiacol, and its 4-, 5-, and 6-methyl derivatives as well as 2,6-dimethylphenol. These compounds are produced by thermal breakdown of lignin in the  wood used in the smokehouse.

Chemical analysis

The conventional method for lignin quantitation in the pulp industry is the Klason lignin and acid-soluble lignin test, which is standardized procedures. The cellulose is digested thermally in the presence of acid. The residue is termed Klason lignin. Acid-soluble lignin (ASL) is quantified by the intensity of its Ultraviolet spectroscopy. The carbohydrate composition may be also analyzed from the Klason liquors, although there may be sugar breakdown products (furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural).

A solution of hydrochloric acid and phloroglucinol is used for the detection of lignin (Wiesner test). A brilliant red color develops, owing to the presence of coniferaldehyde groups in the lignin.

Thioglycolysis is an analytical technique for lignin quantitation. Lignin structure can also be studied by computational simulation.

Thermochemolysis (chemical break down of a substance under vacuum and at high temperature) with tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) or cupric oxide has also been used to characterize lignins.  The ratio of syringyl lignol (S) to vanillyl lignol (V) and cinnamyl lignol (C) to vanillyl lignol (V) is variable based on plant type and can therefore be used to trace plant sources in aquatic systems (woody vs. non-woody and angiosperm vs. gymnosperm). Ratios of carboxylic acid (Ad) to aldehyde (Al) forms of the lignols (Ad/Al) reveal diagenetic information, with higher ratios indicating a more highly degraded material. Increases in the (Ad/Al) value indicate an oxidative cleavage reaction has occurred on the alkyl lignin side chain which has been shown to be a step in the decay of wood by many white-rot and some  soft rot fungi.

Lignin and its models have been well examined by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy.  Owing to the structural complexity of lignins, the spectra are poorly resolved and quantitation is challenging.

References

Further reading

External links
 Tecnaro website

Phenylpropanoids
Papermaking
Plants
Polymers

Lignin


Charles Gilbert King (November 10, 1930 – July 9, 2012) was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the Detroit Tigers (1954–1956), Chicago Cubs (1958–1959), and St. Louis Cardinals (1959).

Biography
Born in Paris, Tennessee, King was the youngest of seven sons. He played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track at Grove High School.  He obtained the nickname "Chick" as a boy.  Years later, he told a reporter, "I don't know how I got it, but I was young. And it has been with me ever since."  As a senior, he was named to the All-American high school football team.  In August 1950, King appeared in the All-American high school football game and ran 91 yards for a touchdown on the opening play of the second half.  He initially signed to attend the University of Georgia, but he was ruled ineligible by the Southeastern Conference after an investigation of "scholarship inducements."  He opted instead to attend Memphis State College where he was a star football player in 1950.  He also competed in basketball, baseball and track at Memphis State.

In April 1951, he signed with the Detroit Tigers to play professional baseball.  Memphis State football coach Ralph Hately complained at the time, "It's a terrible condition when guys can come on your campus and lure your athletes away from their college educations.  It isn't fair for major league clubs to pull a stunt like this."

King played in Detroit's farm system from 1951 to 1954.  In late August 1954, he was playing for the Buffalo Bisons, the International League team affiliated with the Detroit Tigers when two Detroit outfielders, Bill Tuttle and Al Kaline were injured.  King was called up to the Tigers and made his Major League Baseball debut on August 27, 1954.  Following his debut against the New York Yankees, The Sporting News called King "a towering 190-pounder" and a "swift outfielder" who had stolen 31 bases for Buffalo.  He appeared in 25 games for the Tigers between 1954 and 1956.

In February 1957, the Tigers traded King and an unnamed player to be named later to the Milwaukee Braves in exchange for Jack Dittmer.  King was immediately assigned to the Braves' American Association farm club in Wichita, Kansas.  He remained in the minor leagues for the 1957 season and was sent from Wichita to the Cubs' farm club in Fort Worth, Texas in December 1957.

King briefly returned to the majors, appearing in eight games for the Chicago Cubs in 1958. He spent most of the 1958 season with the minor league team in Fort Worth, Texas.  In May 1959, he was traded by the Cubs to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for Irv Noren.  He played in only five games for the Cardinals, appearing in his last major league game on May 30, 1959.

Over his five seasons in Major League Baseball, King played in 45 games, 29 as an outfielder and the rest as a pinch hitter. He had a career batting average of .237 and an on-base percentage of .306.

King continued to play minor league baseball until 1961.

References

External links

1930 births
2012 deaths
Atlanta Crackers players
Baseball players from Tennessee
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Charleston Senators players
Chicago Cubs players
Dallas Rangers players
Detroit Tigers players
Durham Bulls players
Fort Worth Cats players
Jamestown Falcons players
Little Rock Travelers players
Major League Baseball outfielders
Memphis Tigers baseball players
Omaha Cardinals players
People from Paris, Tennessee
St. Louis Cardinals players
Salt Lake City Bees players
Wichita Braves players

Chick King


Chinese is a branch of the Han-Tibetan language family. It has hundreds of local languages, many of which are not mutually understandable. There is more variation in the mountainous southeast. There are main seven groups: Mandarin, Wu, Min, Xiang, Gan, Hakka and Yue. But more research is being done.

Chinese varieties differ most in their phonology (sounds), but have similar vocabulary and syntax (grammar). Southern varieties tend to have fewer initial consonants but more often preserve the Middle Chinese final consonants. All have tones. Northern varieties have fewer tones. Many have tone sandhi (biandao). Zhejiang coast and eastern Guangdong has some of the most complex patterns.

Standard Chinese is based on the Beijing dialect. Its vocabulary is based on Mandarin group and grammar based on literature in the modern written vernacular. It is the official language of China, one of the four official languages of Singapore, and one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

History
In 2nd millennium BC, a form of Chinese was spoken in around the Huanghe. It then expanded east across the North China Plain to Shandong and then south towards the Yangzi river valley. It replaced former languages in the south.

During times of unity, people wanted to use a common standard language to make communication easier between people.

Evidence for dialectal variation is found in texts from the Spring and Autumn period (722–479 BC).  At that time, the Zhou still defined a standard speech.  The Fangyan (1st century CE) studies the differences in vocabulary between regions. Texts from the Eastern Han period also discuss local differences in pronunciation. The Qieyun rhyme book (601) noted wide variation in pronunciation between regions. It wanted to define a standard pronunciation for reading the classics. This standard is called Middle Chinese.

The North China Plain was flat and easy to move around. So people in the north pretty much spoke the same language.

But South China had many mountains and rivers. So it had six major groups of Chinese languages, with great internal diversity, particularly in Fujian.

Modern Standard Chinese
Until the mid-20th century, most Chinese people spoke only their local language. But the Ming and Qing dynasties defined a common language based on Mandarin. It was known as Guānhuà (官話, "speech of officials").  Knowledge of guanhua was essential for a career as a government official.

Until the 20th century, Classical Chinese was the written standard.

The Republic of China replaced as the written standard by written vernacular Chinese, which was based on northern dialects. In the 1930s a standard national language was adopted, with its pronunciation based on the Beijing dialect, but with vocabulary also drawn from other Mandarin varieties.  It is the official spoken language of the People's Republic of China.

Standard Mandarin Chinese now dominates public life. The only other Chinese that may be commonly taught in colleges is Cantonese.

The different Chinese languages

 Mandarin 管
 spoken in northern and southwestern China
 most speakers.
 includes the Beijing dialect, basis for Standard Chinese
 includes the Dungan language of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan (written in Cyrillic script).
 Wu 吴
 spoken in Shanghai, most of Zhejiang and the southern parts of Jiangsu and Anhui.
 hundreds of different spoken forms, many of which are not mutually intelligible.
 use stops, affricates and fricatives.
 Gan 赣
 spoken around Jiangxi.
 closely related to Hakka; used to be "Hakka–Gan dialects".
 Xiang 湘
 spoken in Hunan and southern Hubei.
 some varieties significantly influenced by Southwest Mandarin.
 Min 闽
 Fujian and eastern Guangdong
 older than Middle Chinese.
 most diverse
 Varieties from the coast of Fujian around Xiamen have spread to Southeast Asia (where it is called Hokkien) and Taiwan (where it is called Taiwanese Hokkien).
 also spoken in Hainan, Leizhou Peninsula, and throughout southern China.
 Hakka 客家
 The Hakka ("guest families") live in the hills of Guangdong, Fujian, Taiwan, and many other parts of southern China. They have also moved to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
 words end with -m -n -ŋ and endings -p -t -k.
 Yue
 Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong and Macau
 migrate to Southeast Asia and many other parts of the world.
 The prestige variety and by far most commonly spoken variety is Cantonese, from the city of Guangzhou (historically called "Canton")
 Cantonese is also the native language of the majority in Hong Kong and Macau.
 Use same endings as Hakka ()
 many tones.

Relationships between groups
These are sometimes divided into three groups: Northern (Mandarin), Central (Wu, Gan, and Xiang) and Southern (Hakka, Yue, and Min).

Southern Group may come from the Yangzi river during the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). This is sometimes called the Old Southern Chinese.

The Central group was transitional between the Northern and Southern groups.

Citations

Works cited

Pages with unreviewed translations
Chinese language

Varieties of Chinese


Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi (; born 11 February 1959) is an Iranian university professor and former parliamentarian, who was Iran's minister of health and medical education. She was part of the President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad's inner circle.

Vahid-Dastjerdi was the first female government minister in Iran since the 1979 Revolution. She is the third female government minister in Iranian history, after Farrokhroo Parsa and Mahnaz Afkhami.

Early life and education
Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi was born in Tehran on 11 February 1959. She is the daughter of Seifollah Vahid Dastjerdi, who was head of the Red Crescent Society of Iran.

She entered Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 1976 to study medicine, and qualified in nursing and obstetrics, obtaining a doctoral degree in 1988.

Medical career
Vahid-Dastjerdi was a faculty member at Tehran University for 13 years, and director of the Nursing and Obstetrics Department for six years. She was a founder member of Iran's Specialized Scientific Association of Reproduction and Sterility, and a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (1993–2000). From 2004 to 2009 she headed Arash Hospital.

Vahid-Dastjerdi worked on the organizing committees for prominent conferences on subjects related to medicine. Examples include a Workshop on "Higher Education & Development in Knowledge-Based Society: Towards Enhancing Quality and Relevance in Medical and Professional Education" and the 2nd International Congress of Medical Ethics in Iran which took place in Tehran during April 2008.

She is a member of the editorial board of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences' Journal of Family and Reproductive Health.

Political career
Vahid-Dastjerdi in 1993 jointly founded the Islamic Association of Physicians, a political party. She was elected to the Fourth Majlis (1992–1996) representing Tehran, and re-elected in 1996. She was elected chairwoman of the Majlis Committee on Women, Family and Youth in August 1997.

While in the Majlis, Vahid-Dastjerdi supported legal changes making it harder for women to obtain a divorce, keep custody of their children after divorce, or have an abortion. She is described by one critic as supporting the role of women as "pious mothers devoted to Islam, to their duties to their husbands, and to the Islamic Republic."  She opposed a bill that might have led Iran to join the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

In April 1998, Vahid-Dastjerdi helped draft a proposal for sexual segregation in hospitals and medical institutions to comply with Sharia. This plan envisaged female hospitals for women staffed exclusively by women, on a model sharing some features of London's Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, which led to the founding of the London School of Medicine for Women. The plan was eventually rejected on grounds of cost, after heavy criticism from doctors and health professionals. A similar plan to separate Iranian hospitals by gender, based on Vahid-Dastjerdi's original proposal, was enacted in 2006. The president of the Council of Iranian Medical Specialists described the plan as "not even realistic" because of the "shortage of female specialists in many cities".

In May 1999, she addressed a rally in Tehran to protest the ban on wearing the headscarf in the Turkish parliament. She condemned the ban as an affront to Muslims and a crime against human rights.

On 3 September 2009, the Majlis confirmed Vahid-Dastjerdi as Iran's Minister of Health and Medical Education. She received 175 favoring, 82 opposing, and 29 abstaining votes, and is the first female minister in the history of the Islamic Republican government. On the same day, two other female candidates for ministries (Sousan Keshavarz and Fatemeh Ajorlou) were voted down.

Vahid-Dastjerdi is considered politically conservative, but supports a role for women in society. She told parliamentarians "Women must have a greater role in the country's affairs." After her confirmation, she said "I think today women reached their long-standing dream of having a woman in the cabinet to pursue their demands. This is an important step for women and I hold my head high." On 27 December 2012, she was removed from her position as health minister. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appointed her deputy, Mohammad-Hassan Tarighat Monfared, as caretaker of the ministry until a new minister is approved by the parliament.

Publications
She has written and translated many books in the field of women's health. The following is probably not a complete list.
Jannani S, Vahid-Dastjerdi M. "Relationship of placenta accreta to previous cesarean section". 5th Seminar of Fertility and Infertility, Tehran, February 1991.
Vahid-Dastjerdi M, Moalleman M. Cesarean section indications in Arash hospital, 1994 [PhD thesis]. Tehran, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 1995.
Ramazanali F., Vahid Dastjerdi M., Beigi A., Moini A. "The Relationship Between Maternal HCT Levels, Birth Weight And Risk of Low Birth Weight", Iranian Journal of Pediatrics, Winter 2006; 16(4):447–454.
Vahid Dastjerdi M., Alavi Tabari N., Asgari Z., Beygi A. "The relationship of endometrial thickness detected by transvaginal sonography with the results of endometrial biopsy & hysteroscopic directed biopsy in post menopausal bleeding", Tehran University Medical Journal; Vol. 65, No. 11, Feb 2008
Moeini Ashraf, Shafieizadeh N., Vahid Dastjerdi M., Majidi Sh., Eslami B. "The Effect of Age on Ovarian Reserve Markers in Tehranian Women With Normal Fertility", International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism (IJEM), June 2008; 6(2):114–119.

References

External links

1959 births
Living people
University of Tehran alumni
Academic staff of Tehran University of Medical Sciences
Government ministers of Iran
Iranian obstetricians and gynaecologists
Deputies of Tehran, Rey, Shemiranat and Eslamshahr
Members of the 4th Islamic Consultative Assembly
Members of the 5th Islamic Consultative Assembly
Zeynab Society politicians
Islamic Association of Physicians of Iran politicians
Members of the Women's fraction of Islamic Consultative Assembly
Women government ministers of Iran
Popular Front of Islamic Revolution Forces politicians

Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi