Voting for War

The moment came at a funeral for a soldier. Republican Congressman Walter Jones (North Carolina, 3rd District) had voted to go to war in Iraq but had begun to question that decision, and the dubious claims by the Bush administration that Saddam Hussein harbored weapons of mass destruction. At the service for U.S. Marine Michael Bitz—killed three days into the war—Jones saw Bitz’s two-year-old son, Joshua, and was overcome with grief. Jones, whose district is home to Camp Lejeune and two Marine Corps air stations, set out to learn the truth—and was compelled to publicly acknowledge he had made “a grievous mistake.” “We were lied to about the justifications for going to war in Iraq,” he writes. “I was lied to; the nation was lied to.” In these pages, with insights from family, colleagues and former members of the military, Jones recounts his journey to becoming a more independent thinker, a renegade within his party and a more faithful public servant.

Walter B. Jones, Jr., served North Carolina’s 3rd congressional district from 1995 until his death in 2019. He was a lifelong resident of Farmville, North Carolina.

Taylor Sisk is a Nashville-based journalist.

Walter B. Jones, Jr. with Taylor Sisk
Foreword by Rufus L. Edmisten
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 168
Bibliographic Info: 23 photos, appendices, index
Copyright Date: 2021
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8606-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4477-6
Imprint: McFarland

Foreword by Rufus L. Edmisten 1
Prologue 5
Where I Come From 9
On the Hill and in My District 25
September 11 30
Building a Case for War 39
My Mounting Skepticism 52
Michael Bitz 60
Awakening 67
Letter Writing 84
Action Today, Change for Tomorrow 96
Moving Ahead 104
Epilogue by Taylor Sisk 115
Appendix 125
Letter of Condolence 125  •  Analysis of Joint Resolution on Iraq by Dennis J. Kucinich, October 2, 2002 126  •  Statement on H.R. 6662: The Fallen Hero Commemoration Act by Congressman Walter B. Jones 134  •  Statement on Hallway Policy and Public Support for Faces of the Fallen Memorial by Rep. Walter B. Jones 135  •  Senate Democratic Policy Committee, “An Oversight Hearing on ­Pre-War Intelligence Relating to Iraq,” 192 Dirksen Senate Office Building Monday, June 26, 2006, 1:30 p.m. 137  •  Statement of Walter B. Jones (­NC-3), Hearing on H.R. 743, the Executive Accountability Act, House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, July 27, 2009 140  •  Statement on H.R. 6662: The Fallen Hero Commemoration Act by Congressman Walter B. Jones 143  •  H.R. 1701: PTSD/TBI Guaranteed Review for Heroes Act by Rep. Walter B. Jones 144  •  Afghanistan/Iraq War by Rep. Walter B. Jones, June 4, 2013 146  •  Iraq War by Rep. Walter B. Jones, July 16, 2014 147  •  H. Con. Res. 105 by Rep. Walter B. Jones, July 25, 2014 148  •  December 3, 2014, Floor Speech by Rep. Walter B. Jones 149  •  March 17, 2015, Floor Speech by Rep. Walter B. Jones 150  •  October 6, 2015, Floor Speech by Rep. Walter B. Jones 150  •  February 23, 2016, Floor Speech by Rep. Walter B. Jones 151  •  May 24, 2016, Floor Speech by Rep. Walter B. Jones 152  •  June 22, 2016, Floor Speech by Rep. Walter B. Jones 152  •  Hallway Policy and Public Support for Faces of the Fallen Memorial by Rep. Walter B. Jones 153  •  September 26, 2017, Veteran Suicide Prevention Awareness Special Order by Rep. Walter B. Jones 154  •  April 20, 2018, Floor Speech in Memory of R. Lee Ermey by Rep. Walter B. Jones 155
Index 157

“The book does an excellent job of exposing the lies that got us into Iraq.”—The Veteran