Liam Madden

Liam Madden is a former United States Marine and a veteran of the Iraq War. Shortly before leaving the military, he founded the Appeal for Redress, an antiwar petition by active-duty U.S. service-members. He is currently a leader of Iraq Veterans Against the War, serving as treasurer of the Boston chapter.

Military service
Madden served in the USMC from January 2003 to January 2007, as a Communications Electronics Specialist. During this time, he deployed to Kuwait, Thailand, Okinawa, Japan, and Korea, and spent seven months in Iraq.

Appeal for Redress
While still in the military, Madden wrote and began circulation of the Appeal for Redress, taking advantage of a legal right for U.S. military personnel to petition their Congressional representatives. The Appeal, which had been signed by over 2000 active-duty military personnel as of January, 2008, states:

"As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq . Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home."

The Appeal attracted media coverage from 60 Minutes, NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Nation, and the Army Times, among others.

Discharge hearing
After the end of his term of service, but while still a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, Madden was investigated by the Marines for his antiwar activities. He was charged with making disloyal statements and with wearing his uniform at a political event, and he was threatened with having his discharge status revised to "Other Than Honorable", which would prevent him from receiving benefits.