“I didn’t think America had any business in…”: George RR Martin Would’ve Fought in WW2 But Firmly Objected USA’s Involvement in Another Conflict

To say that George RR Martin’s works are violent would be a grave understatement. But despite the grotesque nature of the books, which don’t shy away from showcasing the horrors of war and its impact on common people, at the core, it reflect the writer’s hatred for wars.

But while the novelist is not completely against war, he did stress that most wars throughout history were not worth fighting, including the Vietnam War. As a result, instead of being drafted into the war, the author chose to object USA’s involvement in the conflict.

George RR Martin Was Against the USA’s Involvement in the Vietnam War

During the Vietnam War, George RR Martin was of the right age to be drafted. However, being a skeptic, the author chose to be a conscientious objector to the war.

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While he believes the war against Nazi Germany was essential and stressed he’d fought in WW2, Martin expressed that the Vietcongs weren’t Nazis, claiming the USA had no business being in Vietnam.

He said:

“The big question they would always ask you was ‘Would you would have fought in World War 2 against the Nazis?’ Yes, I would have fought in WW2 against the Nazis… but the Vietcong were not the Nazis and I didn’t think America had any business in Vietnam”

In another interview, Martin expanded on his stance on being an objector to the Vietnam War, explaining how WWII changed the perception of war for Western civilization.

WWII Was the Closest to a War Depicted in Fantasy per George RR Martin

George RR Martin stressed that throughout history, WWII has been the closest to a fantasy war, as there was an actual “dark lord, whose guys are actually evil”.

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As a result, he explained that it changed the Western civilization’s perception of wars.

He told The Guardian:

“I sometimes think the second world war has changed our entire western civilisation’s view of war, because, of all the wars in history, the second world war is closest to fantasy war, in which there is a dark lord, whose guys are actually evil and dress in black and wear skulls on their uniforms. The first world war was a much more typical war: what were all those people really fighting for?”

Speaking of his decision to be a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, the author revealed that to earn the status, one had to be on religious grounds or a total pacifist. But despite being neither, the novelist was still granted the status.