Auburn man’s anti-military statements draw reaction
Associated Press
This undated photo provided by the Chiroux family shows Matthis Chiroux, an Army sergeant from Alabama, right, and his father Robert Chiroux. Chiroux refused to deploy to Iraq.
Staff Writer
Published: July 8, 2009
Emotions are running high after Auburn native and antiwar activist Matthis Chiroux likened the U.S. Army to the Fourth Reich and accused it of encouraging fear, racism and sexism.
“When you hear somebody compare our military to the Fourth Reich, you kind of realize that this guy isn’t really worth listening to,” said Janine Babbitt, whose husband Maj. Erich Babbitt, an active duty Army National Guard member, has been deployed in Afghanistan for about a week.
Chiroux, who made headlines a year ago when he refused a deployment to Iraq, made his most recent comments during a service at the Auburn Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Sunday.
An Opelika-Auburn News story about the event published Monday has attracted nearly 60 comments as of Wednesday night from people on both sides of the issue.
“It made me feel embarrassed and sad, not only that he’s a representative of Auburn, but that he’s serving with the military and he would have this stand with our military and country,” Babbitt said.
Her husband has been part of the military for the past 15 years, she said.
“This is our first deployment and we have nothing but great things to say about the Army,” she said. “You’re hoping that you are striving for a greater good and a greater cause and to have peace. He (Erich) volunteered because he felt like it was his turn to serve his country.”
Janine points out that America has a volunteer Army, and that it was Matthis Chiroux’s choice to join.
“We’re not drafted in this military, we volunteer to join it,” she said. “This gentleman, Matthis Chiroux, he obviously has the right to say what he wants to say because we live in a free county … We live in a free county because of the men and women who have fought to make it a free country.”
U.S. Army Capt. David Van Horn, an Alabama National Reservist and full time AGR soldier who returned from Iraq last year, and Robert Chiroux, Matthis’ father, are among those who took exception to Chiroux’s statements.
Van Horn said Matthis Chiroux is entitled to say what he wants, that it is a free country, but that being deployed in combat in Iraq is different from deployment as an Army journalist.
Van Horn said his men saw action about every other day in Iraq, and they were going “over the wire” almost every day while deployed.
“What this guy is pitching is the ugly American,” Van Horn said. “He would be pitching this if there was a cold war or a hot war. I would warn strongly against people buying into anything that hasn’t been seen first hand. Until you’ve been there, you’re not going to know.”
Sunday, Matthis said he was taught how to kill by the Army.
Van Horn said every soldier goes through basic training, whether he’s going to be in combat or not.
“Everybody has to have the basic skills to be a rifleman in a pinch,” he said. “He got the standard training everyone gets. If he got overrun he’d know how to shoot a rifle.”
While in Iraq, Van Horn said he and his men did not take part in intimidation tactics with locals. He said they tried to do right by them, including providing Iraqis with medical support, shoes and supplies.
He said having good relationships with Iraqis made his men safer.
“The army is not trying to make criminals out of people. It falls on deaf ears for someone like me who’s been out there and run the road and seen it. American soldiers aren’t built to be terroristic… It’s not who we are as people. My guys are too damn good,” Van Horn said.
Van Horn said what Matthis Chiroux said is “between him and his God and his honor.”
Matthis’ father, Robert Chiroux, Ph.D, is also speaking out. In his talk Sunday, Matthis accused his father of physical and emotional abuse. Robert denies the allegations.
“I will remain silent no longer. I respect free speech and the right to peaceably protest, but I seriously doubt my son’s convictions to the anti-war movement or any other cause except where he can profit from it. I am disappointed with my son and the effect this has had on our family…Our family does not condone Matthis’ rhetoric and would caution anyone who might consider providing him financial assistance,” his father said in a statement provided to the Opelika-Auburn News.
Sunday, Matthis admitted that tangles with law enforcement as a juvenile landed him in jail and subsequently in the Army. Matthis contends he did not a have choice in the matter, but his father said otherwise.
In his statement, Robert Chiroux said, “My days as his custodial parent ended when after yet another infraction Matthis and I met with his probation officer and an army recruiter whom I had invited.
Matthis choices were laid out for him and he did not hesitate in his choice to join the army. He was, in fact, quite glib.”
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Reader Reactions
This guy is a disgrace to the this country. According to military law his actions are punishable by death. Someone needs to take action!
The O-A News is aiding and abetting this common criminal in his efforts to garner support for his actions.
It is curious that Matthis’ own father has to make his statements in the comments section of the online version of this newspaper.
Why in the world is he not given equal time on the front page to refute his son’s arguments? Is it because this newspaper has gone the way of so many other news organizations & only prints one side of the story so as to influence peoples’ opinions to match the current liberal slant that all media has taken in attacking what is good about America?
I know for fact that this newspaper has chosen to quiet any discussion on its editorial page of the legitimate questions regarding the constitutional eligibility of the Marxist in chief, so it is not surprising that they would hail Matthis as some kind of hero for making this stand.
This newspaper has taken it upon itself to quash letters to the editor which are the opinion of the writers by stating that one’s opinion is “not factually correct.“ This writer does not believe that opinion is subject to the same scrutiny as legitimate news stories since opinion is an individual’s expression of their understanding of the information that is available on whatever issue is being discussed. This newspaper, however, has decided that if one’s opinion runs counter to what Robbie Gibbs & the illegal administration states as fact then it shall not be published.
I expect that we will continue to see only what this newspaper wants us to see in print as with almost all of the present news organizations.
My advice to anyone is to not take what this or any other newspaper prints as fact without first investigating all angles at other sources.
Matthis is evidently very good at lying & distorting facts to suit his own agenda as evidenced by the fact that he is still allowed to receive GI benefits after refusing to honor his commitment to the United States Army. Honor is as foreign to people like Matthis as this so-called president is by birth, but you won’t be hearing anymore of that in this newspaper.
I still urge everyone to contact their alleged representatives in DC about this issue. Demand that this young man be denied the benefits that so many have to fight for when they return from actual battle.
My prayers are with the Chiroux family during this difficult time.
God bless America!
Regina S. Battle, Waverly, Alabama, USA
With absolutely no disrespect to the OANews below is the statement they received from me in its entirety.
Roughly two years ago my son was Honorably discharged from the US ARMY after five years as an army journalist. Matthis spent his entire enlistment in Tokyo and Heidelberg except for a week to Afghanistan, Palawan and other brief forays as a journalist. To my knowledge he was at risk for no more than a week or two. A few months after his Honorable Discharge he was recalled to active service for assignment to Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was understandably aggravated and depressed as I am sure most veterans would be who have moved on and started their post service lives. Matthis chose to resist the recall and joined the anti-war movement. As his father I chose to be quietly patient and supportive. I did not agree with his choice but I have never faced service under fire. I gave my son the benefit of the doubt.
My quiet became strained during the weekend of Father’s day, 2008 when I travelled to Washington D.C. to visit my son, at his request, before he made his public statement indicating his intention to “fail to report”. I had asked my son not to put me in front of cameras or reporters but with the crowd assembled he called out to me to stand with him as he prepared to speak. I felt manipulated and not for the first time. It was during this visit that I met Kristopher Goldsmith, a genuine Iraq veteran who had become friends with my son.
After his announcement Matthis became increasingly hostile in his rhetoric and more extreme in his message. The anti-war website and his own website began requesting donations for Matthis’ legal defense. Being prior military I know Matthis needed no funds for his legal defense. He was a civilian, failure to report from IRR (Inactive Ready Reserve: it has a new name now) does not downgrade your previous discharge from active duty. I began hearing rumors that Matthis was using these funds for partying and a rather expensive Brooklyn apartment. These rumors were strengthened when his close friend Kristopher Goldsmith broke with Matthis and declared these rumors to be fact. I began to openly question my son’s actions and was met with immediate hostility. Matthis lashed out after his IRR hearing on April 23 by maliciously and publically accusing me of physical and emotional abuse. With my attorney’s consent my son was sent a formal warning of legal action if he persisted.
Matthis has stated publically that his infractions as a juvenile were no more than “…The possession of one eighth of a GRAM of marijuana and a pipe in the middle of the woods…” Matthis’ juvenile file is much bigger with multiple instances of theft, drug abuse and other issues. One such issue was the discovery that he had stolen his 95 year old Great Grandmother’s pain medication. My son was clever, manipulative and could adjust his personality like a chameleon. Catching his lies required careful attention to detail. My days as his custodial parent ended when after yet another infraction Matthis & I met with his probation officer and an army recruiter whom I had invited. Matthis choices were laid out for him and he did not hesitate in his choice to join the army. He was, in fact, quite glib.
Seeing that my son is now speaking out in churches, and possibly receiving financial support from a new source, I will remain silent no longer. I respect free speech and the right to peaceably protest but I seriously doubt my son’s convictions to the anti-war movement or any other cause except where he can profit from it. I am disappointed with my son and the effect this has had on our family. Every generation of the “Chiroux” family has served our nation Honorably. For my sake our family has remained silent and endured listening to our name dragged through the mud. No more. Our family does not condone Matthis’ rhetoric and would caution anyone who might consider providing him financial assistance.
Robert C. Chiroux, Ph.D. Auburn University 2001.
If you don’t discount what he says based on his Fourth Reich comment, surely you can discount what he says because he’s a criminal. Only criminals have a probation officer.
He met with his probation officer and an army recruiter? Jeez. Do we really want a criminal being given a weapon by our Army? We’re lucky this nut job didn’t kill one of his fellow soldiers.
Boot him out of the Army and bid him a fond farewell. This is not someone we need to supply with a weapon. Let him buy one illegally off the street like every other crook.
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