Since 1986, Willson has studied on-site policies in a number of countries, among them Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Cuba, Haiti, Iraq, Israel (and Palestinian territories), Japan, and Korea, both North and South.
Constitutional and international laws prohibiting aggression and war crimes," Willson has been an educator and activist, teaching about the dangers of these policies.
Willson was hit, ultimately losing both legs below the knee while suffering a severe skull fracture with loss of his right frontal lobe.
The train crew filed a lawsuit against Willson, requesting punitive damages for the "humiliation, mental anguish, and physical stress" they suffered as a result of the incident, which was dismissed.
Minneapolis folk-punk group Boiled in Lead dedicated their version of the traditional Irish antiwar ballad "My Son John," from their 1989 album From the Ladle to the Grave, to Willson.
[7] While working for Massachusetts Senator Jack Backman, he investigated brutality at Walpole State Prison for more than a year, concluding in an official report called "An Exercise In Torture."
In 2016, a documentary, Paying the Price For Peace: The Story of S. Brian Willson (and other activists) was produced and directed by filmmaker Bo Boudart.