Michael Uhl (born 1944) is a

Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is an individual who performed active Army, ground, Navy, naval, or Air force, air service in the South Vietnam, Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed fo ...

, antiwar activist, critic and academic.

Early life and education

Uhl was born in 1944 and grew up in

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He graduated with a BS in

Theoretical linguistics Theoretical linguistics is a term in linguistics that, like the related term general linguistics, can be understood in different ways. Both can be taken as a reference to the theory of language, or the branch of linguistics that inquires into the ...

from the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics,

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. He holds an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in American Studies and Writing (Creative Non-fiction) from the

Union Institute and University Union Institute & University (UI&U) was a private online university that was headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It also operated satellite campuses in Florida and California. In early 2023, it began to experience severe financial challenges. ...

Career

In the Army, Uhl served in Vietnam during 1968-69 as a first lieutenant, where he led a combat intelligence team with the 11th Infantry Brigade. After Vietnam, Uhl entered a doctoral program in linguistics at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, and became immediately involved in the antiwar movement, joining the New York City based

Citizens Commission of Inquiry The National Committee for a Citizens Commission of Inquiry on U.S. war crimes in Vietnam (CCI) was founded in New York in November 1969 by Ralph Schoenman. The purpose was to document American wartime atrocities throughout Indochina. The foundin ...

on U.S. War Crimes in Vietnam (CCI) as a full-time organizer. He helped organize the National Veterans Inquiry and the

Winter Soldier Investigation 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 ...

. In 1970, Uhl joined Ed Murphy in exposing the

Phoenix Program The Phoenix Program () was designed and initially coordinated by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the Vietnam War, involving the American, South Vietnamese militaries, and a small amount of special forces operatives ...

, testified at the International Enquiry on US War Crimes in Stockholm, Sweden, and in 1971, he was called to testify before a US Congressional subcommittee investigating the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

's Phoenix Program in Vietnam. He co-authored the first book-length treatment on the health effects of chemical herbicides (

Agent Orange Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the tactical uses of Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1962 to 1971. T ...

) on U.S. veterans of the Vietnam War.

Publications

He has authored or edited numerous works within the Antiwar movement, including: * * * * Uhl also authored multiple travel guides, including four for ''Frommer's Guides''.

Film

With Richard Schmiechen, Uhl wrote and co-produced the short documentary film, ''Nick Mazucco: Biography of an Atomic Vet'', on a grant from the Public Broadcasting Corporation.

Notes

References

Sources

* The work of the Safe Return Amnesty Committee, co-founded by Michael Uhl, is the subject of ''The Amnesty of John David Herndon'', by James Reston Jr. * Sworn Congressional testimony by Michael Uhl on the U.S Assistance Program in Vietnam (Phoenix Program).

Citations

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uhl, Michael 1944 births Living people United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War American anti–Vietnam War activists Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences alumni Independent scholars Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro alumni United States Army officers