Winter Soldier Article Analysis

The following is a reprinting of the 2010 TIME MAGAZINE article by Pulitzer Prize and Chancellor Award winning journalist CHRISTINE EVERHART, documenting her one-on-one conversation with Rebecca Barnes Proctor, as the jury in the controversial “Winter Soldier” trial begins deliberation on Friday at the International Court in the Netherlands.

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I click record on the digital recorder.

“I’m the last Barnes left, you know. The very last one.”

Rebecca Barnes Proctor is the kind of woman that you can easily imagine was beautiful once. She has a narrow nose and high cheekbones and eyes that still shine clearly despite the fact that she is nearing her mid-eighties. Her hair, a gorgeous silver with a natural curl, is carefully piled at the top of her head in an elaborate updo. In spite of the late August heat and the lack of

He was mugged walking home from the second shift by some men looking for drug money.” She tucked her middle finger into her palm. “It was the first funeral my children ever went to. My youngest was five. He didn’t understand why Uncle Pete couldn’t get up. I don’t think I’ve ever cried harder in my entire life. I sobbed until I had no more tears left to cry. I could handle loss. I could keep handling losses, one right after the other. Like I said, us women, we can endure a lot. But that’s not the kind of life I wanted for my children."

She sighs softly and bites her lip.
“My other brother, Andrew, died in ‘98 of cancer. He was a lifelong smoker and a dedicated Buddhist, something he picked up during his tour in the Pacific. Said it made a lot of sense to him, helped him understand why bad things happened and what he should do about them.”

It’s the first time I see her smile. Rebecca Barnes has a stately smile, the kind that a senator or teacher would give. One that attracted you in and told you everything was going to be okay. She tucked her ring finger into her