Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia became the new face of the antiwar movement when he applied for discharge from the army as a conscientious objector.

After serving in the army for nearly nine years, he was the first known Iraq veteran to refuse to fight, citing moral concerns about the war and the US occupation. His principled stand helped rally the growing opposition and embolden other soldiers.

Mejia was eventually convicted of desertion by a military court and sentenced to a year in prison, prompting Amnesty International to declare him a prisoner of conscience. Here Mejia tells...