Thomas Decatur "Tod" Ensign (1941– May 2014) was an American veterans' rights lawyer, writer, and director of Citizen Soldier, a non-profit GI and veterans' rights

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

based in New York City.

Early life and education

Ensign was born in Michigan, the second child of Winfield Scott Ensign and Gretchen McKinstry Ensign. He graduated from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

in 1963 with a BA in Social Science. Ensign held two law degrees, a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

(LLM) from

NYU New York University (NYU) is a 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 non-denominational all-male institutio ...

and

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

(J.D.) from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

Veterans' rights activism

Ensign co-founded Citizen Soldier in 1969 to advocate on behalf of GIs and

veterans A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

who work to oppose command-tolerated

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

and

militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

. In 1985, the group represented 8,000 veterans nationwide. (After Ensign's death, the Citizen Soldier website went dormant.) He was also intimately involved with the

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 ...

, also formed in 1969, which was founded to document American atrocities throughout Indochina. As an attorney, Ensign participated in a broad range of legal cases involving GIs and veterans. Two notable cases are the

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 ...

class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...

, which attempted to hold chemical manufacturers liable for the injuries their

herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weed killers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page f ...

caused

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 ...

s and their offspring, and the Vietnam-era

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 ...

and National Veterans Inquiry. Following the

invasion of Iraq An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...

in 2003, Citizen Soldier attorneys, including Ensign, counseled hundreds of GIs and

reservists A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person ca ...

seeking alternatives to serving in what many regard as an illegal war. The most celebrated case was Citizen Soldier's defense of Sgt. Camilo Mejía, the first US combat veteran to refuse further service in Iraq. He based his refusal on his duty, according to

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

, that it is illegal to obey military orders that violate international law. During his five months in Iraq, he claims he witnessed command-sanctioned shooting of civilians, abuse of detainees and other violations. In 2006, Ensign founded the Different Drummer Café near

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River, about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the t ...

, which strove to connect and inform service members. The cafe was located near

Fort Drum Fort Drum is a U.S. Army military reservation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, near the western border of northern New York, United States. The population of the CDP portion of the base was 12,955 at the 2010 census. ...

— thus, its name. Beginning in 2000, Ensign served on the executive board of the National Gulf War Resource Center, a coalition of

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

advocacy groups that advocates for research and health care for veterans from both Gulf wars. (He was the only non-veteran serving on this board).

Publications

Ensign was the author of two books — ''Military Life: The Insider's Guide'' (Prentice Hall, 2000) and ''America's Military Today: The Challenge of Militarism'' (New Press, 2004). He was coauthor (with

Michael Uhl Michael Uhl (born 1944) is a Vietnam veteran, antiwar activist, critic and academic. Early life and education Uhl was born in 1944 and grew up in Babylon, Long Island, New York. He graduated with a BS in Theoretical linguistics from the Faculty o ...

) of ''GI Guinea Pigs'' (Playboy, 1980) the first

exposé Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website * ''Exeposé'', a student-run newspaper of the University of Exeter Film and TV F ...

of how US soldiers were harmed by

nuclear fallout Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the mushroom cloud, radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is ...

during A-bomb tests and the herbicide

that was used during the Vietnam War. He also contributed chapters to four other books — ''Ten Excellent Reasons Not to Join the Military'' (New Press, 2006) ''Against the Vietnam War: Writings by Activists'' (Syracuse U. Press, 1999), ''Metal of Dishonor: Depleted Uranium'' (IAC Press, 1997), and ''Collateral Damage: The New World Order at Home and Abroad'' (South Press, 1992, ). Furthermore, he wrote dozens of articles for ''

The Progressive ''The Progressive'' is a left-leaning American magazine and website covering politics and culture. Founded in 1909 by U.S. senator Robert M. La Follette Sr. and co-edited with his wife Belle Case La Follette, it was originally called ''La Foll ...

'', ''

In These Times In These Times may refer to: *In These Times (magazine), ''In These Times'' (magazine), an American monthly magazine of news and opinion *In These Times (Peter, Paul, and Mary album), ''In These Times'' (Peter, Paul, and Mary album), a 2004 album b ...

'', ''

Radical America ''Radical America'' was a left-wing political magazine in the United States established in 1967. The magazine was founded by Paul Buhle and Mari Jo Buhle, activists in Students for a Democratic Society and served during its first few years of ...

'', ''The American Pathologist'', the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'', ''Toward Freedom'', '' Against the Current'', the ''Weekly Guardian'', the ''Non Violent Resister'', ''

The Indypendent ''The Indypendent'' is a progressive newspaper based in Brooklyn, New York, United States. It is published monthly, distributed worldwide and is available for free throughout New York City and online. It currently prints 30,000 copies per issue, ...

'', and several others.

Personal life

He and his partner Francine Smilen had one daughter, Rachel Ensign.

References

External links