Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 . __ . . ____/ \_ . . -*- N A M V E T -*- ( * \ . . \ Quang Tri . . G. Joseph Peck \_/\ \_ Hue . . Managing Editor \_Ashau Phu Bai . . \_* \_ . . Jerry Hindle \ * ) . . Distribution Manager / Da Nang . . ( \_ . . Section Editors \_ ------- \__ . . --------------- \_ I Corps \ . . PTSD: Kathleen Kelly, Ph.D. \ ------- ! . . AGENT ORANGE: Martin J. Kroll, Sr. /\_____ ! . . MIA-POW: Glenn Toothman / ! \ . . HOMELESSNESS: Lefty Frizzell ! !___ \ . . FEDERAL BENEFITS: Jim Hildwine ! \/\____! . . INCARCERATED VETS: Todd C. Looney ! ! . . Joyce Flory / Dak To ! . . MEMORIALS: Aaron Schmiedel / * / . . MEMORIES: G. Joseph Peck ! \_ . . CHAPLAIN: Rev. Ed Brant ! Phu Cat\ . . \ * * ) . . -**- N A M V E T -**- \ Pleiku ) . . \ \ . . / / . . "In the jungles of 'Nam, some of us ( -------- ! . . were scared and wary, but we pulled _\ II Corps ! . . one another along and were able / -------- \ . . to depend on each other. That has \ \ . . never changed. Today, free of the ! * / . . criticisms and misunderstandings _/ Nha Trang / . . many veterans have endured, _/ / . . NAM VET is a shining beacon, __/ ! . . a ray of hope, and a _ __/ \ ! . . reminder that the _____( )/ ! Cam Ranh Bay . . lessons learned / !__ ! . . at such a high / \ / . . price shall not \ Bien Hoa \ / . . be forgotten - ! Chu Chi * \ __/ . . nor the errors \_ * --------- \ ___/ . . repeated!!!" ____ \ III Corps \ _/ . . / \_____) )_(_ --------- !__/ Duplication in . . ! ( ___/ any form permitted . . _____! \__ * ___/ for NONCOMMERCIAL . . ! Saigon/ purposes ONLY! . . \___ -------- / \/ . . \ IV Corps / For other use, contact: . . ) -------- / G. Joseph Peck, Managing Editor . . / ! P O Box 2056 Pittsfield, MA 01202 . . / ____/ (413) 442-1660 . . / Mekong/ . . ! Delta/ This newsletter is comprised of articles . . ! ____/ and items from individuals and other . . ! / sources. We are not responsible for the . . ! / content of this information nor are any of . . ! __/ NAM VETs contributors or Section Editors. . . \_/ gjp . . . NAM VET Newsletter Page i Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 ================================================================= T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S 1. EDITORIALS Trail Through The Boonies ............................... 1 Fraud alert! ............................................ 4 AL Candidate Turner goes to Central America ............. 5 Why Go to Central America in the First Place? .......... 6 2. Brother-to-Brother One man's healing... .................................... 8 The war comes home - AGAIN! ............................. 15 3. Veteran Benefits & Info Back Pay For Veterans ................................... 16 Montgomery: "The Vet's Friend?" ......................... 17 VA Announces Scholarships! .............................. 24 President Bush proposes down payments for VA loans! ..... 25 VA Medical Recruiting Campaign .......................... 26 Who NOT to count on if you've been injured... ........... 27 VA Programs for Homeless Veterans ....................... 29 Military Service - A Step Up? ........................... 32 4. Missing!!! Is the government STILL... .............................. 34 MIA/POW List N through Z ................................ 38 The Blackbird Syndrome? ................................. 47 Bo Gritz and the POW issue .............................. 51 They haven't forgutten US!!! ............................ 53 5. Our Nam Vets around the world! NY Vet helps in Nicaragua Election Process .............. 54 Nam in '90 .............................................. 57 Nicaraguan voters wanted end to war ..................... 58 6. Remember Them!!! Pen Pals for Incarcerated Veterans ...................... 60 A visit or note once in awhile? ......................... 61 7. The NamVet Chaplain's Corner A Pastoral Response to troubled Viet Vets ............... 62 The Electronic Chapel ................................... 78 8. IVVEC Alice in Boonieland! "Imposter Vets" exploit our brothers and sisters! ....... 79 Wife find 'hero' husband wasn't ......................... 84 9. Hearts n' Minds A Veteran Speaks Against The War ........................ 86 Vietnam Vets wife shares her pain ....................... 91 10. Concentrated Service Concentrated Service .................................... 92 Letter from The White House ............................. 93 Congressman Responds to Service Request ................. 94 Veteran Service Commissioners/Directors ................. 95 Break out the Clearsil ! ............................ 97 Vietnam Veterans Conference! ............................ 98 11. Marine Corps Reunions! Marine Reunions! ........................................ 99 12. IVVEC & NamVet - WHERE? NamVet Roll Call ........................................ 110 Parameters of IVVEC and NODELIST ........................ 112 Some Gave All... ........................................ 117 NAM VET Newsletter Page ii Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 ================================================================= E D I T O R I A L S ================================================================= Trail Through The Boonies By: G. Joseph Peck NAM VETs Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 Hmmmm... March Forth - 'er 4th. ONLY day of the year that's a command to go forward. I remember the excitement and enthusiasm I felt when I wrote the March 4th editorial last year. It looked like everything good was on the horizon for many of us. My family and I, particularly, were a tad bit hopeful that after receiving my long-delayed bachelor's degree, OUR situation would change too. Our situation DID change - but not too much for the financial- better (although I DID and HAVE learned much about HOW to survive in a civilized world when everythin' seems to be goin' from worse to worse... ). Years-end found us facing the prospect of being homeless as the bank which granted us a home equity loan began foreclosure proceedings against us. Years-beginning found the Vietnam_Veterans EchoConference filled with text-file copies of letters to the DAV and others relating some historical background on the difficulties I've seen concerning a disabled veterans inability to acquire employment other than sweep-the- floor, take-out-the-trash type jobs no matter what his/her education. Our January 1990 issue of NamVet heralded a new focus and concentration on the Veteran Service IVVEC and NamVet have been providing for the past few years: TEXT-FILE, make-it-public, copies of letters written to responsible parties concerning veteran service - or lack thereof. The POSITIVE results obtained from both The White House and my local Congressman are encouraging. The NEGATIVE results (no telephone calls, no letters) from either the State of Massachusetts or Washington DC Disabled American Veterans' Commanders address an area of veteran service that definitely needs some attention. Some lights are beginning to show at the end of this tunnel my family and I have found ourselves in! There is a type of bankruptcy a person can claim and still manage to retain their house/home called a Chapter 13 (Wage-Earner's) Bankruptcy. Chapter 13, as I understand it, presents a plan to the court whereby the debtor (me, in this instance) is allowed to enter into a payment agreement with the court and weekly makes payments to either an attorney or the court (I'm not sure which at this point) and that entity then redistributes the amount submitted amongst the various creditors. If the plan is acceptable to the court, our house and home will be saved. (There's a lot more about this, but this month's NamVet is already big! ) On the employment front: "If ya can't find a job - make one." I know a little bit about computers and a lot about human service. NAM VET Newsletter Page 1 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Employers that I've found seem not to want to hire me for fear my disabilities (or age) may become their liabilities. So... I've opened my own computer consulting business. Heck, I've got plenty of time to learn software applications; a good background in electronics (a Master Technician here in MA); a good sense of public relations; and a deep commitment to honest public service. Ain't no better place to start than right where I'm at... Small advertisements in the local throwaway (PennySaver, Shoppers Guide, etc); business cards printed and handed out; lots of effort and planning. I have two clients already! And its only been two weeks! But the Bankruptcy judge ain't gonna allow a person to go bankrupt so's they can start their own business! So... I'm still lookin' for somethin' that will provide the "secure" income they'll need in order to say "Yes" to the wage-earners plan that I'll be askin' permission to enter into (I've managed to acquire the services of a local attorney > THE HOMELESS CHRONICALLY MENTALLY ILL (HCMI) PROGRAM << The HCMI Program targets homeless veterans with psychiatric difficulties and operates from 43 VA medical facilities located in 26 states and the District of Columbia. Although programs may vary from site to site, there are six basic components: First, outreach is conducted in the community to locate and offer services to homeless chronically mentally ill veterans. An assessment is undertaken to determine problems. and any immediate health needs. Psychiatric and medical evaluations are conducted, and treatment is initiated. When indicated, care and rehabilitation are provided in community-based residential treatment facilities. Currently, the 43 programs are maintaining contracts with 184 community based facilities. Since the program began, 4,433 veterans have be provided with residential treatment. >> THE DOMICILIARY CARE FOR HOMELESS VETERANS (DCHV) PROGRAM << The DCHV Program, operating at 20 medical centers, is designed to provide homeless veterans with medical care and rehabilitation in a residential setting. The program consists of 5 phases: community outreach and NAM VET Newsletter Page 29 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 referral; admission screening and assessment; medical and psychiatric evaluation; treatment, vocational counseling and rehabilitation; and post-discharge community support. Rehabilitation service have been provided to more than 7,600 veterans. > GENERAL VA BENEFITS AND SERVICE THAT ASSIST HOMELESS VETERANS < VA administers several categories of compensation and pension programs: disability compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, death compensation, death pension, and disability pension. Home retention services provide assistance to veterans who are in danger of losing their homes because of financial difficulties that are no fault of their own. Outreach is conducted by the Veterans Assistance Service for special veteran populations such as homeless veterans, to insure that they are aware of benefits and service. In the fiduciary of Guardianship Program, the benefits of veterans determined to be incapable of managing their funds are managed by a fiduciary. GENERAL MEDICAL SERVICE AND PROGRAMS THAT ASSIST HOMELESS VETERANS 32 VA domiciliaries provide treatment to eligible ambulatory veterans disabled by medical or psychiatric disorders, injury or age who do not need hospitalization or nursing home care Inpatient psychiatric services are provided in 22,000 psychiatric beds. Outpatient services are offered in mental health clinics, day-treatment center, day hospital programs, as well as alcohol- dependence and drug-dependence treatment programs. VA supports contract care in community-based facilities for veterans with substance-abuse disorders. Community Residential Care in private homes is provided to eligible veterans unable to live independently. Readjustment Counseling Service operates a network of 196 Vietnam Veteran Outreach Centers (Vet Centers) where veterans receive counseling for a variety of problems. Each Vet Centers has a homeless veterans coordinator who works with VA regional offices and medical centers, and private and public sector homeless groups, as well as conducts outreach in shelters and in the streets. Veterans also receive social work services for discharge planning from inpatient care and are assisted with health maintenance planning. Each medical centers has a staff member who coordinates activities for homeless and works with community groups that assist the homeless. > SPECIAL VA REGIONAL OFFICE EFFORTS TO ASSIST HOMELESS VETERANS < Each VA regional office has a designated staff member serving as coordinator and point of contact for homeless veterans, these individuals visit shelters and work with community homeless groups. Homeless Eligibility Clarifications Act enables eligible veterans without a fixed address to receive benefits' checks. Shelter for homeless Veterans through Acquired Property Sales enables VA to sell acquired properties at discounted prices to state and local agencies, as well as nonprofit organizations, to provide shelter to the homeless.... Federal Benefits??? Ask me!!! - Jim - NAM VET Newsletter Page 30 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 NAM VET Newsletter Page 31 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Study: Military hitch fails disadvantaged In The Berkshire Eagle - 3/1/90 Input by: G. Joseph Peck NAM VETs Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Vietnam-era program intended to give low- aptitude and disadvantaged youth a "leg up" on life by lowering standards for entry into the military was a failure, a study concludes. Allowing those people to enter military service did not improve their lot later in civilian life, said the private study conducted for the Defense Department. "In fact, in terms of employment status, educational achievement and income, those who never served were better off than those who had been in the military," said the study. "These data provide no evidence to support the hypothesis that military service offers a 'leg up' to low-aptitude and disadvantaged youth as they seek to overcome their cognitive and skill deficits and compete successfully in the civilian world," it said. 'PROJECT 100,000' "Project 100,000's social promises were not kept," social scientist Janice H. Laurence said in testimony yesterday before the House Veterans' Affairs subcommittee on oversights and investigations. Project 100,000 was the name given by Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara to the social engineering effort under which the military was viewed as a steppingstone for a social advancement. The study raised questions about current proposals to encourage use of the military to help youth overcome their social and educational disadvantages. It also questioned whether large numbers of veterans are entitled to remedial help. Rep. Lane Evans, D-Ill., the committee chairman, said the hearing was needed to determine whether Project 100,000 was a legitimate "Great Society" social program. CYNICAL MEANS? "Or was Project 100,000 a calculated, even cynical, means to satisfy the manpower needs of the armed forces and at the same time lessen domestic opposition to the war in Vietnam?" he asked. Laurence is a senior scientist with Human Resources Research Organization, the Alexandria, Va-based group that conducted the study for the Defense Department. The study raised the ethical question of whether lower-aptitude people should be excluded from the military except in times of national peril. NAM VET Newsletter Page 32 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Under the program, so-called "low-aptitude recruits" -- those scoring below a normal cutoff on the Armed Forces Qualification Test -- entered the service with promises of traditional and remedial skill training. About 300,000 entered the service under that program from 1966 to 1971, with nearly two-thirds entering the Army. Fifty-four percent were volunteers and 46 percent were draftees. Half of the group came from the South. More than 40 percent were minorities, and the average reading ability was at the 6th- grade level. MOST IN COMBAT Most went to combat or to "soft skill" military jobs such as food service, supply, wire communications, motor transport and automotive repair. Flaws in the enlistment test allowed another group of about 300,000 people -- also lacking the traditional qualifications -- to enter the military from 1976 to 1980. According to the study, the Project 100,000 veterans wound up earning $5,000 to $7,000 less per year than their non-veteran counterparts. Veterans were more likely to be unemployed, were less likely to be married and were more likely to have been divorced. The low-aptitude veterans who served from 1976-80 were not found to be better off economically, educationally or socially than their non-veteran counterparts. NAM VET Newsletter Page 33 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 ================================================================= M i s s i n g ! ! ! ================================================================= Interview reveals MIAs alive near Hue Input by: Rick Stolz Okauchee, Wisconsin at: VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 The following article needs to be a part of everyone's POW package. The credentials of Stan Cottrell are impeccable. Al Ziegler, of Homecoming II asked Colonel Dixon about Stan Cottrell's story during VVA's National convention this summer. The official response from Dixon was that he understood Stan Cottrell to have recanted his story. Ziegler countered by saying that he had talked to Cottrell that month and Cottrell still stood by his story. Colonel Dixon had no reply. Later, During the American Legion National Convention in Baltimore in September, Colonel Schlatter was asked about the Cottrell story. Schlatter's official response was that the government was wanting to subpoena Cottrell but that Cottrell was unwilling to testify. Schlatter then said that he had contacted Mike Blair and Mike was "shaky" as to the truth of Cottrell's story. That night Al Ziegler contacted Mike Blair. According to Blair, Colonel Schlatter had never contacted him, and he still believed Cottrell to be telling the truth. The only part of the story that could not be confirmed by Cottrell was whether the men he saw were Americans, as he was not allowed to speak to them. The Vietnamese Minister of Justice, however, confirmed that they were, in fact, American prisoners. Stan Cottrell had told the same story to Mary Corrall of the National League of Families in a conference call with Mike Blair. Press your congressman on the Stan Cottrell story. Many of our elected officials have stated that they would move on the issue if there was evidence that Americans were still in Southeast Asia. Our government officials have told lies about speaking to Cottrell and Blair. The Truth Bill now in Congress would help us get to the bottom of this issue. ================================================================== AMERICAN VISITING VIETNAM SAW U.S. POWs ALIVE LAST YEAR WITNESS SAYS HE'S "POSITIVE" An American long-distance runner has told The SPOTLIGHT that he witnessed a group of American prisoners of war in communist captivity while he was on a goodwill run in Vietnam in 1988. Stan Cottrell, a 46-year-old Georgian, friend of evangelist Billy Graham and a Jaycees "Outstanding Young Man of America" (1979), told The SPOTLIGHT in an exclusive interview that he personally saw "at least 20" American POWs being held in a heavily camouflaged tunnel complex north of the city of Hue, in what was formerly the Republic of South Vietnam, in February, 1988. NAM VET Newsletter Page 34 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Cottrell was in Vietnam from late January through mid-March of 1988 at the invitation of the communist government in Hanoi. Cottrell had completed a major documentary motion picture about a 2,125-mile-long run across Red China-from Peking to Canton-in 1984, called "the great friendship run." The movie, "China Run", apparently caught the eye of Vietnamese Red leaders, and he was invited to do a similar run, from Hanoi in north Vietnam to Danang in south Vietnam, and to make a motion picture about it. Cottrell and his motion picture associates are currently in the process of editing raw footage from the 486-mile Vietnam run and are producing the motion picture. Cottrell's credibility and credentials are impeccable. HONORED BY BUSH In 1985, after completion of the run across Red China, Cottrell and several Red Chinese runners made a 3,600-mile "friendship run" across the United States, from San Francisco to Washington. In Washington, he was greeted and honored by then-Vice President George Bush, as well as Sen. Wendell H. Ford (D-Ky.) and then-Sen. Mack Mattingly (R-Ga.). "Ruth Graham [Mrs. Billy Graham] has spoken to me of you on several occasions." Bush told Cottrell and the Chinese runners, "It is a good thing all of you have done for international understanding and fitness." Mrs. Graham called Cottrell "a pretty amazing person. . . You like Stan as soon as you meet him, and it's great that America has such a terrific public relations man." Both the Senate and House of Representative passed resolutions honoring Cottrell. Upon completion of the movie about his Vietnam run, Cottrell plans a friendship run from Helsinki, Finland to Moscow. The following is a portion of Cottrell's interview by this writer. Certain sensitive areas, which could be damaging to the overall POW-MIA issue, have been removed. [Blair's questions are in boldface, Cottrell's answers, in light type.-Ed.] [Q] Are you absolutely positive that there are some people [POWs] alive over there [in Vietnam]? [A] Yes, sir. [Q] You are positive? [A] Yes, sir. [Q] Did you see some people? NAM VET Newsletter Page 35 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 [A] Yes, sir. We came upon an area. . . and there were tunnels, but they were so camouflaged it was incredible. . . and they literally took me back into the mountains [to visit a "re- education camp" for former officials and military officers of the South Vietnamese government]. They wanted me to see this. Now, there is nothing unusual [about seeing the camp]. I mean the made it [the re-education camp] available for the press. I was there the day they released the 200 former generals and colonels of the South Vietnamese army. [Q] What makes you think now there were Americans there being held? [A] They grabbed me and took me off the road real quick, threw me into a van and got me out of there as quick as they could. [Q] Who are "they"? [A] The people that were with me, plus the guards. [Q] They took you in there, and they took you right out again? [A] Yes, sir. [Q] Because you saw too much? [A] Yes, sir. [Q] What did you see? [A] I saw people. [Q] Americans? [A] Yes, sir. [Q] How many are we talking about? [A] Obviously, I couldn't stand there and count, but. . . I would say. . . what I saw was a group of at least 20 people. [Q] And this was February [1988]? [A] Yes, sir. [Q] And this was north of Hue? [A] Yes, sir. [Q] You saw the people inside the tunnels? [A] Going in. [Q] What kind of shape were they in? [A] Very thin. . . They weren't just hobbling around or anything like that or being badly treated. They had guards. NAM VET Newsletter Page 36 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 [Q] How were they dressed? [A] Just the fatigue-type clothes, that. . . like their soldiers were wearing. . . just the green [colored clothing]. [Q] Are you of the belief that this was all there was, or do you think that there were others? [A] They play games, obviously, with you. To find out where you were. They saw after quite a few days that I was not asking any questions, and one night. . . one particular official got too drunk. You know how they'll have those banquets every night. And this fellow had something like 20 [drinks]. . . I just stood there and saw him drink this, and he just got carried away. Then he looked at me and he said, "I know you want to know about the MIAs, don't you?" I said: "No, sir. That's not the purpose of my run. I'm here to promote friendship." He said: "No, I know you want to know about the MIAs. There are numbers here, but we can't tell you where." So that was a direct quote from one official. [Q] Getting back to your actual sighting of Americans, did they try to say anything to you? [A] I saw this. It was like I was right on it. I saw it, and they grabbed me immediately, threw me into the truck, and there wasn't any chance of even saying anything. It caught them off guard as much as I was stunned. [Q] Somebody goofed up. Did you try to take any photos? [A] I couldn't. [Q] You feel in your own mind that there are more than 20 there, don't you? [A] Yes, sir, I do. NAM VET Newsletter Page 37 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Listing of MIA's - Last Names ending in N through Z Input by: Charles Harper Classic City Node-2 - Athens, GA (404) 548-0726 "I got the file off of PC-EXEC in Milwaukee but since then I have seen a few messages in reference to POW BBS on a few boards." - Charles Harper - (Note from Joe: The list is BIG! and includes info on Biographies on the individual MIA's. This is part three of three parts. For previous listings, please see Jan and Feb issues of our NamVet) From: *** The POW Network *** 319-386-7697 List of Available Bios December 8, 1989 Bio# Lastname First Mid. Br/Rank Incident Country ==== ======== ========== ======== ======== ======= N040 NAGAHIRO JAMES Y USAF O5 21-Dec-72 NVN N350 NAHAN JOHN B. III USMC E3 03-Aug-67 SVN N351 NASH JOHN M. ARMY O3 15-Mar-66 LAOS N027 NEAL DENNIS P. ARMY O3 31-Jul-69 LAOS N001 NELLANS WILLIAM L. USAF O3 17-Sep-67 NVN N353 NELSON DAVID L. ARMY O3 05-Mar-71 LAOS N029 NELSON JAMES R. ARMY E5 11-Jun-67 SVN/OW N004 NETHERLAND ROGER M. USN O5 10-May-67 NVN N026 NEWELL STANLEY A. ARMY E4 12-Jul-67 SVN N600 NEWINGHAM JAMES A. CIV 08-Feb-69 SVN N046 NEWMAN JAMES C. JR. USN E6 06-Feb-68 SVN/OW N039 NEWMAN LARRY J. USAF E5 18-Jun-72 SVN N030 NEWTON CHARLES V. ARMY E6 17-Apr-69 SVN N362 NICKOL ROBERT A. ARMY E5 26-Oct-71 SVN/OW N012 NIDDS DANIEL R. ARMY E3 21-Apr-67 SVN N365 NIGHTENGALE RANDALL J. USN E5 17-Mar-68 NVN/OW N034 NOLAN JOSEPH P. JR. ARMY O2 16-May-71 SVN N015 NOPP ROBERT ARMY O3 14-Jul-66 LAOS N016 NORDAHL LEE E. USN O2 20-Dec-65 NVN N367 NORRIS CALVIN A. ARMY E5 03-Nov-70 SVN N007 NORTON MICHAEL R. ARMY E2 03-Nov-69 SVN N038 NYHOF RICHARD E. USAF E5 18-Jun-72 SVN N018 NYSTROM BRUCE A. USN O5 02-Dec-66 NVN O016 O'BRIEN KEVIN USAF O2 09-Jan-69 NVN O021 O'DONNELL MICHAEL D. ARMY O3 24-Mar-70 CAMB O030 O'DONNELL SAMUEL JR. USAF O3 12-Jul-72 NVN O002 O'GRADY JOHN F. USAF O4 10-Apr-67 NVN O003 O'HARA ROBERT CHARLESARMY E5 06-Feb-69 SVN O029 O'NEIL DOUGLAS L. ARMY W2 03-Apr-72 SVN O024 OKERLUND THOMAS R. ARMY W1 03-Jan-71 SVN O355 OLDHAM JOHN S. USMC O4 11-Jun-67 SVN O004 OLDS ERNEST A. USAF O4 11-Mar-68 NVN O022 OLMSTEAD STANLEY E. USN O4 17-Oct-65 NVN O005 OLSEN FLOYD W. ARMY O3 21-Apr-68 SVN O600 OLSON BETTY ANN CIV 01-Feb-68 SVN O356 OLSON DELBERT A. USN O5 11-Jan-68 LAOS O023 OMELIA DENNIS W. ARMY W1 03-Jan-71 SVN NAM VET Newsletter Page 38 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 O010 ORELL QUINLEN R. USN O5 13-Oct-68 NVN/OW O009 ORR WARREN R. JR. ARMY O4 12-May-68 SVN O026 ORTIZ-RIVERA LUIS A. ARMY E3 27-Dec-66 SVN O011 OSBORNE EDWIN N. JR. USAF O3 29-Dec-67 NVN O359 OSBORNE RODNEY D. ARMY E5 04-Mar-71 NVN O028 OSTERMEYER WILLIAM H. USAF O2 12-May-72 LAOS O020 OTT WILLIAM A. USAF O3 08-Oct-70 LAOS O012 OVERLOCK JOHN F. USAF O4 16-Aug-68 NVN O013 OWEN ROBERT D. ARMY E6 23-May-68 LAOS O362 OWENS FRED M. ARMY E7 10-Jun-65 SVN O015 OWENS JOY L. USAF O4 07-Jun-67 NVN P001 PABST EUGENE M. USAF O2 07-Oct-66 NVN P003 PADGETT DAVID E. ARMY O2 06-Feb-69 SVN P005 PAGE GORDON L. USAF O4 07-Mar-66 NVN P352 PAINTER JOHN R. JR. USN O3 18-Jun-71 NVN/OW P099 PALEN CARL A. ARMY E5 03-Jan-71 SVN P007 PALMER GILBERT S. USAF O4 27-Feb-68 LAOS P008 PALMGREN EDWIN D. USAF O5 22-Apr-68 NVN P089 PANEK ROBERT J. SR. USAF O3 28-Jan-70 NVN P354 PANTALL JAMES R. ARMY E3 03-Nov-70 SVN P356 PARKER CHARLES L JR USN O4 21-Jan-73 NVN/OW P357 PARKER DAVID W. ARMY E4 06-Feb-69 SVN/OW P010 PARKER FRANK C. III USAF O3 29-Dec-67 NVN P011 PARKER WOODROW W. USAF O2 24-Apr-68 NVN P131 PARKS RAYMOND F. ARMY E6 14-Jul-62 LAOS P091 PARSELS JOHN W. ARMY O3 05-Feb-70 SVN P014 PARSLEY EDWARD M. USAF E4 03-Feb-66 SVN P016 PARSONS DONALD E. ARMY O5 06-Feb-69 SVN P102 PARSONS MICHAEL D. ARMY O2 03-Jan-71 SVN P362 PARTINGTON ROGER D. USMC O3 01-Nov-69 SVN/OW P118 PASCHALL RONALD P. ARMY E5 02-Apr-72 SVN P018 PATE GARY USAF E4 22-May-68 LAOS P057 PATTERSON JAMES K. USN O3 19-May-67 NVN P098 PATTILLO RALPH N. USAF O4 16-Feb-71 LAOS P019 PATTON KENNETH J. ARMY E5 02-Feb-68 SVN P368 PAUL JAMES L. ARMY W1 05-Feb-71 SVN P114 PAULSON MERLYN L. USAF E5 29-Mar-72 LAOS P021 PAWLISH GEORGE F. USN O2 08-Mar-67 NVN/OW P022 PAXTON DONALD E. USAF O5 22-Feb-69 LAOS P124 PEACOCK JOHN R. II USMC O3 12-Oct-72 NVN P371 PEARCE DALE A. ARMY W1 17-May-71 SVN P115 PEARCE EDWIN J. USAF E5 29-Mar-72 LAOS P374 PEARSON WILLIAM R. USAF E4 06-Apr-72 SVN P096 PEDERSON JOE P. ARMY E7 23-Jun-70 SVN P376 PERKINS CECIL C. ARMY O3 14-Dec-71 SVN/OW P074 PERRICONE RICHARD R. ARMY E4 12-Jul-67 SVN P029 PERRINE ELTON L. USAF O3 22-May-67 NVN P377 PERRY OTHA L. ARMY W2 14-Dec-71 SVN/OW P126 PERRY RANDOLPH A JR USAF O4 20-Dec-72 NVN P127 PERRY RONALD D. USAF O3 21-Dec-72 NVN P077 PERRY THOMAS H. ARMY E4 10-May-68 SVN P129 PETERSON MARK A. USAF O2 27-Jan-73 SVN P061 PFISTER JAMES F. JR. ARMY E3 05-Jan-68 SVN P384 PHELPS JESSE D. ARMY W2 28-Dec-65 SVN P033 PHILLIPS DANIEL R. ARMY E5 07-Feb-68 SVN P095 PHILLIPS ROBERT P. ARMY E2 23-Jun-70 SVN P389 PIERCE WALTER M. ARMY E3 10-Jun-70 CAMB P079 PIERSON WILLIAM C. ARMY W2 13-Apr-69 SVN P390 PIETRZAK JOSEPH R. ARMY E5 10-Feb-71 SVN NAM VET Newsletter Page 39 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 P035 PIETSCH ROBERT E. USAF O3 30-Apr-68 LAOS P113 PIKE DENNIS S. USN O3 23-Mar-72 LAOS P080 PIKE PETER X. USAF O2 12-Jul-69 LAOS P037 PIRKER VICTOR J. USMC E4 22-Nov-65 SVN P039 PITMAN PETER P. USAF O3 12-May-67 NVN P040 PITT ALBERT USMC O3 24-Jan-66 SVN P394 PITTMAN ROBERT E. ARMY E4 28-Sep-66 NVN/OW P109 PITZER DANIEL L. ARMY E8 29-Oct-63 SVN P395 PLANTS THOMAS L. USN E5 02-Jun-65 NVN P097 PLASSMEYER BERNARD H. USMC O2 11-Sep-70 SVN P396 PLEIMAN JAMES E. USAF E4 14-Mar-66 NVN P043 PLOWMAN JAMES E. USN O2 24-Mar-67 NVN P044 POLLIN GEORGE J. USAF O2 29-Apr-67 NVN P092 POOL JERRY L. ARMY O2 24-Mar-70 CAMB P128 POOLE CHARLIE S. USAF E6 19-Dec-72 NVN P047 POTTER WILLIAM J JR USAF O3 29-Dec-67 LAOS P119 POTTS LARRY F. USMC O2 07-Apr-72 SVN P401 POWERS JOHN L. ARMY E4 15-Feb-71 LAOS P085 POWERS LOWELL S. ARMY W1 02-Apr-69 SVN P066 POWERS TRENT R. USN O4 31-Oct-65 NVN P405 PRATER ROY DEWITT USAF E6 06-Apr-72 SVN P407 PREISS ROBERT F JR ARMY E6 12-May-70 LAOS P139 PRENTICE KENNETH M. USN E5 02-Oct-69 NVN/OW P051 PRESTON JAMES A. USAF E5 15-May-66 LAOS P087 PREVEDEL CHARLES F. ARMY E5 17-Apr-69 SVN P136 PREVOST ALBERT M. USMC O2 01-Feb-66 NVN P094 PRICE BUNYAN D JR ARMY E4 02-May-70 CAMB PLS01 PRICE DAVID STANLEY USAF E6 03-Mar-68 LAOS P123 PRICE WILLIAM M. USMC O2 12-Oct-72 NVN P130 PRIMM SERVERO J III USAF O1 05-Feb-73 LAOS P052 PRINGLE JOE H. ARMY E7 02-Feb-68 SVN P410 PRUDHOMME JOHN D. USN O3 22-Dec-65 NVN P411 PRUETT WILLIAM D. USAF E8 28-Jan-70 NVN P105 PUENTES MANUEL R. ARMY E3 25-Mar-71 SVN P053 PUGGI JOSEPH D. ARMY E5 02-Feb-68 SVN P081 PUGH DENNIS G. USAF O2 19-Mar-70 LAOS P054 PUGH KENNETH W. USN E2 12-Apr-66 CHINA Q002 QUINN MICHAEL E. USN O3 22-Nov-69 LAOS R001 RACKLEY INZAR M. USAF O4 18-Oct-66 NVN/OW R002 RAGLAND DAYTON W. USAF O5 31-May-66 NVN R003 RALSTON FRANK D. III USAF O3 14-May-66 NVN R350 RAMIREZ ARMANDO ARMY E5 23-May-69 CAMB R055 RAMSAY CHARLES J. USMC O3 21-Jan-68 NVN R083 RAMSOWER IRVING B. II USAF O4 29-Mar-72 LAOS R005 RANSBOTTOM FREDERICK J. ARMY O1 12-May-68 SVN R006 RASH MELVIN D. USAF E3 22-May-68 LAOS R062 RATTIN DENNIS M. ARMY E4 16-Oct-69 LAOS R086 RATZEL WESLEY D. USAF O2 18-May-72 NVN R008 RAVENNA HARRY M. III ARMY O3 15-Nov-66 SVN R048 RAY JAMES M. ARMY E3 18-Mar-68 SVN R063 RAY RONALD E. ARMY E6 13-Nov-69 LAOS R071 REED JAMES W. USAF O3 24-Jul-70 LAOS R010 REHE RICHARD R. ARMY E3 09-Jan-68 SVN R074 REID JOHN E. ARMY W1 20-Feb-71 LAOS R050 REILLY EDWARD D. ARMY E4 26-Apr-66 SVN R011 REILLY LAVERN G. USAF O4 15-May-66 LAOS R111 REITER DEAN W. USMC O2 25-Sep-66 SVN R363 REX ROBERT F. USAF O3 09-Mar-69 LAOS R364 REYNOLDS DAVID R. ARMY E3 21-Nov-67 SVN NAM VET Newsletter Page 40 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 R605 REYNOLDS TERRY L. CIV 26-Apr-72 CAMB R073 RHODES FERRIS A JR. ARMY O3 03-Jan-71 SVN R365 RICE THOMAS JR. ARMY E4 28-Dec-65 SVN R070 RICHARDSON DALE W. ARMY O3 02-May-70 CAMB R368 RIGGINS ROBERT P. USAF O4 22-Apr-68 SVN R059 RIGGS THOMAS F. ARMY W2 11-Jun-67 SVN/OW R039 RISNER ROBINSON USAF O5 16-Sep-65 NVN R372 RITCHEY LUTHER E. JR. USMC E3 08-Oct-63 SVN R603 RITTER GEORGE L. CIV 27-Dec-71 LAOS R104 RIVENBURGH RICHARD W. USMC E2 15-May-75 CAMB R376 ROBERSON JOHN W. ARMY E3 22-Jun-69 SVN R378 ROBERTS MICHAEL L. USN E5 11-Jan-68 LAOS R060 ROBERTS RICHARD D. ARMY E3 25-Mar-69 SVN R020 ROBERTSON JOHN L. USAF O4 16-Sep-66 NVN R379 ROBERTSON MARK J. ARMY W1 10-Feb-71 SVN R380 ROBINSON EDWARD ARMY E6 09-Mar-70 SVN R061 ROBINSON FLOYD H. ARMY E5 12-Mar-69 SVN R021 ROBINSON KENNETH D. USAF O3 30-Aug-66 NVN R041 ROBINSON WILLIAM A. USAF E5 20-Sep-65 NVN R024 RODRIGUEZ ALBERT E. USAF O2 11-Mar-68 NVN R025 ROE JERRY L. ARMY O2 12-Feb-68 SVN R384 ROEHRICH RONALD L. USN O2 18-Jan-68 NVN/OW R389 ROMANO GERALD M. USN O2 02-Jun-65 NVN R110 ROMIG EDWARD L. USN O2 17-Jun-66 SVN/OW R080 RORABACK KENNETH M. ARMY E8 24-Nov-63 SVN R392 ROSS DOUGLAS A. ARMY E5 22-Jan-69 SVN R028 ROSS JLYNN JR. ARMY E3 17-Mar-68 SVN R029 ROSS JOESPH S. USAF O2 01-Aug-68 NVN R393 ROSSANO RICHARD J. ARMY E3 25-Mar-71 SVN R394 ROTH BILLIE L. USAF E5 27-Jun-65 SVN R077 ROWE JAMES N. ARMY O2 29-Oct-63 SVN R068 ROWLEY CHARLES S. USAF O5 22-Apr-70 LAOS R072 ROZO JAMES M. ARMY E4 23-Jun-70 SVN R053 RUHLING MARK J. USAF O3 23-Nov-68 NVN R105 RUMBAUGH ELWOOD E. USAF E5 15-May-75 CAMB R397 RUNNELS GLYN L. JR. USMC E4 30-Jun-67 SVN R032 RUSSELL PETER J. ARMY O2 01-Aug-68 SVN R400 RUSSELL RICHARD L. USAF O2 26-Apr-72 SVN R069 RYDER JOHN L. USAF O2 09-Jun-70 SVN R401 RYKOSKEY EDWARD J. USMC E3 18-Aug-66 SVN S001 SAAVERDA ROBERT USN O4 28-Apr-68 NVN SX02 SABOG MATEO ARMY E8 25-Feb-70 SVN S350 SAEGAERT DONALD R. ARMY W1 10-Jun-65 SVN SX01 SAKAI KOJIRO CIV 31-MAY-70 CAMB S234 SALAZAR FIDEL G. USN E5 02-Oct-69 NVN/OW S002 SALE HAROLD R. USAF O2 07-Jun-67 NVN S166 SALLEY JAMES JR. ARMY E7 31-Mar-71 SVN S354 SAMPSON LESLIE V. USAF E5 23-Mar-61 LAOS S151 SANDERLIN WILLIAM D. ARMY E5 02-Dec-69 SVN S355 SANDERS WILLIAM S. USAF O3 30-Jun-70 LAOS S224 SANDOVAL ANTONIO R. USMC E3 15-May-75 CAMB S357 SANDS RICHARD E. ARMY E3 12-May-68 SVN S228 SARGENT JAMES R. USMC E3 10-May-68 SVN S236 SAVOY M.J. USN E2 17-Jun-66 SVN/OW S004 SCHARF CHARLES J. USAF O3 01-Oct-65 NVN S137 SCHELL RICHARD J. ARMY 03 24-Aug-67 SVN S006 SCHEURICH THOMAS E. USN O4 01-Mar-68 NVN/OW S007 SCHIELE JAMES F. ARMY E4 12-Jul-67 SVN S363 SCHIMBERG JAMES P. ARMY E4 09-Jan-66 SVN NAM VET Newsletter Page 41 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 S364 SCHIMMELS EDDIE R. USN E6 18-Feb-69 NVN/OW S365 SCHMIDT PETER A. ARMY E4 15-Aug-70 LAOS S008 SCHOLZ KALUS D. ARMY E6 30-Nov-68 LAOS S370 SCHOONOVER CHARLES D. USN O4 16-Jan-66 SVN/OW S198 SCHOTT RICHARD S. ARMY O5 07-Apr-72 SVN S009 SCHRECKENGOST FRED T. USMC E2 07-Jun-64 SVN S010 SCHULER ROBERT H. JR. USAF O3 15-Oct-65 NVN S161 SCHULTZ RONALD J. ARMY E3 21-Jul-70 SVN S011 SCHULTZ SHELDON D. ARMY W1 05-Jan-68 LAOS S375 SCOTT DAVID L. ARMY E4 25-Apr-68 SVN S013 SCOTT MARTIN R. USAF O3 15-Mar-66 NVN S138 SCOTT MIKE J. ARMY E7 13-May-69 LAOS S220 SCUITIER JAMES J. ARMY E3 28-Feb-68 SVN S156 SCULL GARY B. ARMY O1 12-Mar-70 SVN S014 SCUNGIO VINCENT A. USAF O3 04-Nov-66 NVN S614 SEIDL ROBERT CIV 12-Mar-75 SVN S017 SENNETT ROBERT R. USN E2 22-Jan-66 NVN/OW S188 SEREX HENRY M. USAF O4 02-Apr-72 SVN S018 SETTERQUIST FRANCIS L. USAF O2 23-Aug-68 NVN S181 SEUELL JOHN W. USAF O3 06-Jun-72 NVN S381 SEWARD WILLIAM H. USMC O4 06-Mar-68 SVN S226 SEXTON DAVID M. ARMY E5 15-Mar-71 SVN S020 SHAFER PHILIP R. ARMY E4 19-Apr-68 SVN S152 SHANLEY MICHAEL H JR ARMY E5 02-Dec-69 SVN SLS01 SHANNON PATRICK LEE USAF E6 03-Mar-68 LAOS S383 SHARP SAMUEL A JR USMC E3 10-May-67 SVN S385 SHAW GARY F. ARMY E3 11-Nov-67 SVN S144 SHAY DONALD E. JR. USAF O3 08-Oct-70 LAOS S134 SHELTON CHARLES E. USAF O3 29-Apr-65 LAOS S184 SHERMAN ROBERT C USMC E4 24-Jun-67 SVN S388 SHEWMAKE JOHN D. SR. ARMY E6 03-Nov-70 SVN S210 SHINE ANTHONY C. USAF O3 02-Dec-72 NVN S025 SHINGLEDECKER ARRON D. USAF O2 31-May-66 NVN S390 SHINN WILLIAM C. USAF E5 28-Jan-70 NVN S026 SHONECK JOHN R. USAF E5 18-Oct-66 NVN/OW S139 SHRIVER JERRY M. ARMY E7 24-Apr-69 LAOS S147 SHUE DONALD M. ARMY E4 03-Nov-69 LAOS S239 SIEGWARTH DONALD E. USN O2 17-Jun-66 SVN/OW S165 SIGAFOOS WALTER H. III USAF O2 25-Apr-71 LAOS S185 SIMMONS ROBERT E. USAF E3 29-Mar-72 LAOS S030 SIMPSON JOSEPH L. ARMY E5 12-May-68 SVN S396 SIOW GALE R. USN E4 11-Jan-68 LAOS S153 SKARMAN ORVAL H. USMC E5 15-Jan-68 SVN S401 SKILES THOMAS W. ARMY W1 19-Dec-71 CAMB S146 SKINNER OWEN G. USAF O4 12-Dec-70 LAOS S035 SKIVINGTON WILLIAM E JR ARMY E3 12-May-68 SVN S130 SMALL BURT C. ARMY E4 06-Mar-67 SVN S222 SMALLWOOD JOHN J. USAF O3 16-Jun-73 CAMB S140 SMITH DAVID R. ARMY O3 16-Mar-69 SVN S186 SMITH EDWARD D JR USAF E5 29-Mar-72 LAOS S037 SMITH GENE A. USN O4 27-Jun-66 NVN S038 SMITH GEORGE C. USAF O4 03-Apr-65 NVN S169 SMITH GEORGE E(SMITTY) ARMY E6 24-Nov-63 SVN S039 SMITH HALLIE W. USAF O3 08-Jan-68 SVN S042 SMITH HERBERT E. USAF E6 29-Jul-66 NVN S043 SMITH HOWARD H. USAF O4 30-Sep-68 NVN S141 SMITH LEWIS P. II USAF O2 30-May-68 LAOS S189 SMITH MARK A. ARMY O3 07-Apr-72 SVN S407 SMITH ROGER L. ARMY E4 03-Oct-68 SVN NAM VET Newsletter Page 42 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 S408 SMITH RONALD E. ARMY E7 28-Nov-70 CAMB S049 SMITH WILLIAM M. ARMY E3 03-Mar-69 SVN S168 SMOOT CURTIS R. ARMY E5 10-Mar-71 CAMB S412 SNIDER HUGHIE F. ARMY E4 28-Apr-70 SVN S131 SOOTER DAVID W. ARMY W1 17-Feb-67 NVN S172 SOYLAND DAVID P. ARMY W1 17-May-71 SVN S143 SPARKS DONALD L. ARMY E3 17-Jun-69 SVN S167 SPARKS JON M. ARMY W1 19-Mar-71 LAOS S415 SPENGLER HENRY M. II ARMY O3 05-Apr-72 SVN S053 SPINELLI DOMENICK A. USN O3 30-Sep-68 NVN S221 SPITZ GEORGE R. USAF O3 05-Feb-73 LAOS S214 SPONEYBARGER ROBERT C. USAF O3 22-Dec-72 NVN SLS02 SPRINGSTEADAH DONALD K. USAF E5 03-Mar-68 LAOS S058 STACKS RAYMOND C. ARMY O2 30-Nov-68 LAOS S059 STAEHLI BRUCE W. USMC E3 30-Apr-68 SVN S421 STAFFORD RONALD D. USAF O3 21-Nov-72 SVN/OW S422 STANCIL KENNETH L. ARMY W3 28-Dec-65 SVN S164 STANDERWICK ROBERT L. SR. USAF O5 03-Feb-71 LAOS S060 STANLEY CHARLES I. ARMY W1 06-Feb-69 SVN S062 STANTON RONALD V. ARMY E4 20-Oct-68 SVN S063 STARK WILLIE E. ARMY E7 02-Dec-66 LAOS S424 STATON ROBERT M. JR. ARMY E4 11-Nov-67 SVN S178 STEADMAN JAMES E. USAF O3 26-Nov-71 LAOS S065 STEEN MARTIN W. USAF O3 31-May-66 NVN S067 STEPHENSEN MARK L. USAF O4 29-Apr-67 NVN S187 STEPHENSON HOWARD D. USAF O4 29-Mar-72 LAOS S145 STEVENS LARRY J. USN O2 14-Feb-69 LAOS S429 STEVENS PHILLIP P. USN O2 11-Jan-68 LAOS S068 STEWART JACK T. ARMY O3 24-Mar-67 SVN S431 STEWART PAUL C. ARMY W2 08-Feb-71 LAOS S069 STEWART PETER J. USAF O5 15-Mar-66 NVN S070 STEWART ROBERT A. USAF O4 12-May-67 NVN S071 STICKNEY PHILLIP J. USAF E3 31-May-66 NVN S217 STINSON WILLIAM S. ARMY E5 08-Jan-73 SVN S179 STOLZ LAWRENCE G. USAF O3 26-Dec-71 NVN S602 STONE DANA CIV 06-Apr-70 CAMB S074 STONEBRAKER KENNETH A. USAF O3 28-Oct-68 NVN S435 STORY JAMES C. ARMY E2 13-Jun-69 SVN S075 STOWERS AUBREY E. JR. USAF O2 21-Mar-68 LAOS S159 STRAIT DOUGLAS F. ARMY E4 18-Oct-70 SVN S438 STRALEY JOHN L. ARMY E3 18-Jan-64 SVN S077 STRANGE FLOYD W. ARMY W1 02-Dec-67 SVN S122 STRATTON RICHARD A (DICK) USN O4 05-Jan-67 NVN S439 STRAWN JOHN T. ARMY E6 04-Mar-71 NVN S132 STRICKLAND JAMES H. ARMY E3 08-Jan-68 SVN S162 STRINGER JOHN C. II ARMY O2 30-Nov-70 SVN S197 STROBRIDGE RODNEY L. ARMY O3 11-May-72 SVN S176 STROHLEIN MADISON A. ARMY E5 22-Jun-71 SVN S078 STROVEN WILLIAM H. USAF O3 28-Oct-68 NVN S215 STUART JOHN F. USAF O4 20-Dec-72 NVN S080 STUBBERFIELD ROBERT A. USAF O3 06-May-65 NVN S154 STUBBS WILLIAM W. ARMY E5 20-Oct-69 LAOS S442 STUCKEY JOHN S. JR. ARMY E2 11-Nov-67 SVN S444 STULLER JOHN C. ARMY E6 12-May-68 SVN S123 STUTZ LEROY W. USAF O2 02-Dec-66 NVN S148 SUBER RANDOLPH B. ARMY E5 15-Nov-69 LAOS S445 SULANDER DANIEL A. ARMY W1 02-Dec-66 LAOS S447 SULLIVAN MARTIN J. USN O4 12-Feb-67 SVN/OW S448 SULLIVAN ROBERT J. ARMY E7 12-Jul-67 LAOS NAM VET Newsletter Page 43 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 S180 SUTTER FREDERICK J. USAF O3 31-Dec-71 LAOS S449 SUTTON WILLIAM C. USAF E7 28-Jan-70 NVN S450 SUYDAM JAMES L. ARMY E5 09-Oct-69 SVN S451 SWANSON JON E. ARMY O3 26-Feb-71 CAMB S233 SWITZER JERROLD A. USMC E2 18-Mar-68 SVN S086 SYKES DERRI ARMY E3 09-Jan-68 SVN TX02 TAKAGI YUJIRO CIV 06-APR-70 CAMB T351 TALLEY JAMES L. ARMY E4 19-Jun-64 SVN T002 TAPP MARSHALL L. USAF O3 15-May-66 LAOS T355 TAYLOR EDMUND B. JR. USN O6 08-May-72 NVN/OW T356 TAYLOR FRED ARMY E7 13-Jul-65 SVN T357 TAYLOR JAMES H. ARMY O1 15-Feb-71 LAOS T358 TAYLOR JAMES L. ARMY E5 10-Mar-66 SVN T361 TAYLOR PHILLIP C. ARMY E5 27-May-71 CAMB T362 TAYLOR TED J. ARMY O3 15-Jul-71 SVN T363 TAYLOR WALTER J JR ARMY E3 06-Dec-70 SVN/OW T004 TEMPLIN ERWIN B. JR. USN O2 22-Jan-66 NVN/OW T051 TERAN REFIGIO T. ARMY E4 06-May-70 SVN T074 TERRELL KEAVIN L. USN E4 02-Oct-69 NVN/OW T052 TERRILL PHILIP B. ARMY E4 31-Mar-71 SVN T365 TERRY RONALD T. ARMY E4 29-Jan-66 SVN T053 THOMAS DANIEL W. USAF O2 06-Jul-71 LAOS T006 THOMAS JAMES C. USMC E3 03-Apr-68 SVN T057 THOMAS JAMES R. USAF E6 25-Nov-71 SVN T007 THOMPSON DENNIS L. ARMY E9 07-Feb-68 SVN T008 THOMPSON DONALD E. USN O3 04-Feb-67 NVN T009 THOMPSON GEORGE W. USAF O2 15-May-66 LAOS T075 THOMPSON MELVIN C. USN E6 06-Feb-68 SVN/OW T010 THOMPSON WILLIAM J. USAF O4 01-Aug-68 NVN T374 THORESEN DONALD N. USN E5 11-Jan-68 LAOS T375 THORNE LARRY A. ARMY O3 18-Oct-65 SVN T011 THORNTON LARRY C USAF E7 24-Dec-65 LAOS T379 THURMAN CURTIS F. USN O3 17-Feb-68 LAOS T380 TIDERMAN JOHN M. USN O4 21-Mar-66 NVN/OW TX01 TIK CHUI TO CIV 05-SEP-63 LAOS T061 TODD WILLIAM A. USAF E3 29-Mar-72 LAOS T066 TOLBERT CLARENCE O. USN O6 06-Nov-72 NVN T014 TOOMEY SAMUEL K. III ARMY O4 30-Nov-68 LAOS T033 TORKELSON LOREN H. USAF O2 29-Apr-67 NVN T048 TOWLE JOHN C. USAF O2 22-Apr-70 LAOS T601 TOWNLEY ROY F. CIV 27-Dec-71 LAOS T043 TRAMPSKI DONALD J. ARMY E2 16-Sep-69 SVN T386 TRAVER JOHN G. III ARMY W1 22-Mar-71 LAOS T077 TRAVIS LYNN M. USN O2 06-Feb-68 SVN/OW T049 TRENT ALAN R. USAF O4 13-May-70 CAMB T035 TROMP WILLIAM L. USN O2 17-Apr-66 NVN T394 TRUDEAU ALBERT R. ARMY W1 26-Oct-71 SVN/OW T046 TUBBS GLENN E. ARMY E5 15-Jan-70 SVN T044 TUCCI ROBERT L. USAF O3 12-Nov-69 LAOS T037 TUCKER EDWIN B. USN O4 24-Apr-67 NVN T020 TUCKER JAMES H. USAF O2 26-Apr-66 NVN T396 TURNER JAMES H. ARMY E4 09-Oct-69 SVN T070 TURNER KELTON R. USMC E2 15-May-75 CAMB T398 TYCZ JAMES N. USMC E5 10-May-67 SVN T078 TYE MICHAEL J. USN E4 02-Oct-69 NVN/OW U001 UHLMANSIEK RALPH E. ARMY E4 11-Jun-67 SVN/OW U352 UPNER EDWARD C. ARMY E6 05-Dec-65 SVN U353 URQUHART PAUL D. ARMY O3 28-May-71 SVN V012 VAN BENDEGOM JAMES L. ARMY E4 12-Jul-67 SVN NAM VET Newsletter Page 44 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 V001 VAN BUREN GERALD G. USAF O3 29-Dec-67 NVN V019 VAN DE GEER RICHARD USAF O1 15-May-75 CAMB V003 VAN RENSELAAR LARRY J. USN O2 30-Sep-68 NVN V013 VANDEN EYKEL MARTIN D. II ARMY W2 02-Dec-69 SVN V014 VARNADO MICHAEL B. ARMY W1 02-May-70 CAMB V355 VENNIK ROBERT N. ARMY E6 26-Aug-71 SVN V017 VERSACE HUMBERTO R. ARMY O3 29-Oct-63 SVN V021 VIADO REYNALDO R. USN E3 02-Oct-69 NVN/OW V600 VIETTI ELANOR A. CIV 30-May-62 SVN V004 VINSON BOBBY G. USAF O5 24-Apr-68 NVN V005 VISCONTI FRANCIS E. USMC O3 22-Nov-65 SVN V020 VLAHAKOS PETER G. USMC E6 01-Feb-66 NVN V011 VOHDEN RAYMOND A. USN O4 03-Apr-65 NVN WX01 WAKU YOSHIHIKO CIV 31-MAY-70 CAMB W087 WALD GUNTHER H. ARMY E5 03-Nov-69 LAOS W104 WALKER BRUCE C. USAF O2 07-Apr-72 SVN W001 WALKER SAMUEL F. USAF E3 13-Dec-68 LAOS W003 WALLACE MICHAEL J. ARMY E5 19-Apr-68 SVN W359 WALLACE MICHAEL W. USN O4 28-Mar-68 LAOS W004 WALLER THERMAN M. USAF E4 03-Feb-66 SVN W005 WALLING CHARLES M USAF O3 08-Aug-66 SVN W105 WALLINGFORD KENNETH ARMY E8 07-Apr-72 SVN W806 WALSH RICHARD A. USAF O5 15-Feb-69 LAOS W125 WALTERS DONOVAN K. USAF O3 21-Dec-72 NVN W360 WALTERS TIM L. ARMY E6 09-Mar-69 LAOS W361 WALTERS WILLIAM ARMY E3 10-May-69 SVN W095 WALTON LEWIS C. ARMY E6 10-May-71 SVN W362 WANN DONALD L. ARMY W2 01-Jun-71 SVN W103 WANZEL CHARLES J III USAF O2 29-Mar-72 LAOS W127 WARD RONALD J. USAF O5 18-Dec-72 NVN/OW W086 WARE JOHN A. ARMY E4 04-Nov-69 SVN W081 WARREN GARY D. USAF O3 26-Oct-69 LAOS W364 WASHBURN LARRY E. USAF E3 17-Jun-66 SVN/OW W366 WATKINS ROBERT J JR ARMY W2 08-Oct-69 SVN W076 WATKINS WILLIE A. ARMY E4 09-Jan-68 SVN W010 WATSON JIMMY L. ARMY W2 13-Mar-68 SVN W367 WATSON RONALD L. ARMY O3 18-Feb-71 LAOS W369 WEAKS MELVIN L. ARMY E3 18-Aug-71 SVN W094 WEATHERMAN EARL C. USMC E2 08-Nov-67 SVN W600 WEAVER EUGENE A. CIV 01-Feb-68 SVN W374 WEISMAN KURT F. USAF O3 26-Apr-72 SVN W084 WEISNER FRANKLIN L. ARMY O2 10-Oct-69 SVN W603 WEISSENBACK EDWARD J. CIV 27-Dec-71 LAOS W375 WEITKAMP EDGAR WILKEN ARMY W1 23-Mar-61 LAOS W012 WELCH ROBERT J. USAF O3 16-Jan-67 NVN W013 WELSH LARRY D. ARMY E5 07-Jan-69 SVN W015 WENAAS GORDON J. USAF O3 29-Dec-67 NVN W016 WERDEHOFF MICHAEL M. ARMY E6 19-Apr-68 SVN W018 WESTBROOK DONALD E. USAF O4 13-Mar-68 LAOS W378 WESTCOTT GARY P. ARMY E5 30-Mar-72 SVN W380 WESTON OSCAR B. JR. USAF O2 23-Mar-61 LAOS W089 WHITE ROBERT T. ARMY O3 15-Nov-69 SVN W384 WHITED JAMES L. ARMY O4 19-Nov-66 LAOS W083 WHITFORD LAWRENCE W JR USAF O5 02-Nov-69 LAOS W020 WHITMIRE WARREN T. JR. ARMY W1 01-May-68 SVN W391 WIDDISON IMLAY S. ARMY E4 12-May-68 SVN W392 WIDENER JAMES E. USMC E2 11-Jun-67 SVN W022 WIDNER DANNY L. ARMY E3 12-May-68 SVN W393 WIDON KENNETH H. USN E5 11-Jan-68 LAOS NAM VET Newsletter Page 45 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 W395 WIEHR RICHARD D. USN E5 21-Jan-73 NVN/OW W398 WILEY RICHARD D. ARMY E4 12-Jun-72 SVN W400 WILKINSON CLYDE D. ARMY O3 12-Feb-71 SVN W027 WILLETT ROBERT V. JR. USAF O2 17-Apr-69 LAOS W122 WILLIAMS BILLIE J. USAF O4 09-Dec-72 NVN W116 WILLIAMS DAVID B. USMC O3 03-May-72 NVN W028 WILLIAMS DAVID R. USAF O4 01-Apr-67 LAOS W029 WILLIAMS EDDIE L. ARMY E7 03-Oct-66 LAOS W113 WILLIAMS EDWARD W. ARMY W1 03-Apr-72 SVN W030 WILLIAMS JAMES E. USAF E4 15-May-66 LAOS W032 WILLIAMS JAMES R. USAF E4 29-Dec-67 NVN W101 WILLIAMS RICHARD L (TOP) ARMY E8 08-Jan-68 SVN W114 WILLIAMS ROBERT J. ARMY O3 11-May-72 SVN W033 WILLIAMS ROY C. ARMY E3 12-May-68 SVN W404 WILLIAMS THADDEUS E. ARMY O2 09-Jan-66 SVN W034 WILLIAMSON DON I. USAF O3 07-Jul-65 NVN W035 WILLIAMSON JAMES D. ARMY E4 05-Jan-68 LAOS W406 WILSON CLAUDE D. JR. USN O3 14-Dec-66 NVN W409 WILSON MARION E. ARMY E3 03-Feb-68 SVN W133 WILSON MICKEY A. ARMY W1 08-Jan-73 SVN W093 WILSON PETER J. ARMY E9 19-Oct-70 LAOS W410 WILSON RICHARD JR. ARMY E3 14-Jun-71 SVN W115 WILSON ROBERT A. USAF O3 18-Jun-72 SVN W117 WILSON ROGER E. USMC O3 11-Jun-72 NVN W130 WILSON WILLIAM W. USAF O2 22-Dec-72 NVN W412 WINDELER CHARLES C JR ARMY W2 05-Apr-72 SVN W039 WINTERS DAVID M. ARMY E3 21-Apr-67 SVN W414 WISEMAN BAIN W. JR. ARMY W1 23-Dec-70 SVN/OW W041 WOGAN WILLIAM M. ARMY E4 16-Feb-69 SVN W042 WOLFKEIL WAYNE B. USAF O4 09-Aug-68 LAOS W043 WOLOSZYK DONALD J. USN O2 01-Mar-66 NVN W417 WOLPE JACK USMC E4 03-Aug-67 SVN W110 WONG EDWARD PUCK KOW ARMY E4 27-Mar-72 SVN W418 WONN JAMES C. USN O1 17-Feb-68 LAOS W044 WOOD DON C. USAF O3 16-Jan-66 LAOS W118 WOOD WILLIAM C. JR.USAF O3 02-Sep-72 LAOS W421 WOODS DAVID W. ARMY E4 03-Nov-70 SVN W422 WOODS GERALD E. ARMY W1 18-Feb-71 LAOS W046 WORCHESTER JOHN B. USN O2 19-Oct-65 NVN WLS01 WORLEY DON F. USAF E6 11-Mar-68 LAOS W427 WORTHINGTON RICHARD C. ARMY W2 06-May-70 SVN W049 WOZNIAK FREDERICK J. USAF O2 17-Jan-67 NVN W050 WRIGHT ARTHUR ARMY E4 21-Feb-67 SVN W428 WRIGHT DAVID I. USAF O1 13-Nov-70 NVN W085 WRIGHT DONALD L. USAF O5 24-Nov-69 LAOS W051 WRIGHT GARY G. USAF O4 17-Jan-67 NVN W053 WRIGHT JERDY A. JR. USAF O4 07-Mar-66 NVN W054 WRIGHT THOMAS T. USAF O3 27-Feb-68 LAOS Y350 YEAKLEY ROBIN R. ARMY E4 11-Jun-72 SVN Y007 YONAN KENNETH J. ARMY O3 24-Apr-72 SVN Y006 YOUNG BARCLAY B. USAF O3 29-Mar-72 LAOS Y352 YOUNG JEFFREY J. ARMY E3 04-Apr-70 SVN Y005 YOUNG ROBERT M. ARMY O3 02-May-70 CAMB Z004 ZAWTOCKI JOSEPH S. JR. USMC E5 08-Feb-68 SVN Z008 ZICH LARRY A. ARMY W2 03-Apr-72 SVN Z354 ZOLLICOFFER FRANKLIN ARMY E4 24-Apr-72 SVN Z002 ZOOK HAROLD J. USAF O2 31-May-66 NVN Z007 ZUBKE DELAND D. ARMY E5 01-Mar-71 SVN NAM VET Newsletter Page 46 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 The Blackbird Syndrome? The media and the POW/MIA issue: the blackbird syndrome The issue of American prisoners of war and missing in action since the end of World War II has never been a pressing national concern. Is it because The Washington Post and The New York Times have never done a comprehensive news report on the issue? For U.S. Veteran News and Report By Paul Warren Input by: Rick Stolz Okauchee, Wisconsin at: VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 George McGovern, the self-professed peace candidate for President in 1972 and grandfatherly former U.S. senator from South Dakota, once likened the media and its coverage of events to blackbirds sitting on a telephone wire. When one flies off, McGovern said, they all fly off. When one comes back, they all come back. This "Blackbird Syndrome," according to McGovern, dictates what reaches the American public as news and what spin the major media outlets put on their definition of news. In the United States, the two lead blackbirds are The New York Times and The Washington Post. They decide the print and television media agenda for the rest of the country. If they do not fly off the line in pursuit of a story, neither do the other blackbirds. A classic case of this "Blackbird Syndrome" occurred in recent months and involved the highly sensitive issue of American prisoners of war from World War II, Korea and Vietnam, many of whom were held in Soviet gulags. The story is one that threatens to upset Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost and is such an emotionally charged issue that it could rewrite history and smash whatever credibility the U.S. State Department still has in the world. Yet it is an issue that has gone unreported because the lead blackbirds, The New York Times and The Washington Post, failed to fly off the line in pursuit of it. James Sanders spent years researching this dark secret, searching through musty files in the National Archives, the Defense Department and the State Department. Vietnam veterans John M.G. Brown and Thomas V. Ashworth contributed to the research and broke the story in the May 29, 1989, issue of U.S. Veteran News and Report in a special edition entitled "A Chain of Prisoners: From Yalta to Vietnam." The story detailed how tens of thousands of American prisoners of war in World War II and Korea were abandoned by the U.S. government. According to documents uncovered by Brown, Ashworth and Sanders, more than 20,000 American and other 30,000 Allied NAM VET Newsletter Page 47 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 prisoners were "liberated" by the Soviets and then kidnapped for use in forced-labor camps. The U.S. did not press for return of these men, said Brown and Ashworth, because Presidents Roosevelt and Truman feared the losses that might be incurred in an all-out war with the Soviet Union. To prevent additional embarrassment, the governments of the U.S. and the Soviet Union decided to cover up the these POWS. That coverup, according to Brown and Ashworth, continued through Korea, when more American prisoners were abandoned, this time to the North Koreans and Chinese. The Vietnam War followed a similar scenario. When the war ended, American POWs were left behind in Vietnam and the U.S. government knew but refused to admit it. Despite substantial documentation of these events by Brown, Ashworth and Sanders, almost all major media outlets in North America have failed to pick up the story or to put their own researchers onto it. The Toronto Sun, The Washington Times, and the Wall Street Journal, have been the few media blackbirds to ignore the others and print the story. When contacted about possibly using the story, the national editor for one of the nation's largest newspapers bluntly asked if The New York Times or The Washington Post had used it. When informed that neither had, the national editor said he would consider using it when either of those two printed it. Refusal by the Times and the Post to do any stories of substance regarding POWs and MIAs is the norm. Neither has ever done a comprehensive piece on the issue. Neither has ever followed up on the courageous POW/MIA reporting done by the Wall Street Journal. Although both the Times and the Post have run POW/MIA stories in the past, they have been largely "fill-in-the-blanks" journalism. On these stories a reporter is given a story idea by an editor and the reporter then goes to one or two sources who will agree with that editor's view of the story, or sources who are the most convenient (in this case the government and the National League of families), without ever delving deeply into the issue. The majority of these story ideas are generated in meetings of editors, most of whom are white-collar, upper-middle-class, college-educated men who never served in the military. At The Times and the Post, a premium is placed on journalism educations obtained from such bastions of liberalism as Columbia University, Stanford University and the University of Missouri. The editors' views of the Vietnam War, and the issues peripheral to it, are shaped primarily by left-of-center intellectuals who have little regard for the American fighting man. Their journalistic philosophy of Vietnam and the military has also been shaped by those reporters who covered the war. The American media's view of Vietnam, and, to some extent, the American public's view of Vietnam, was shaped largely by two men, Neil Sheehan and David Halberstam. Both worked for the New York Times and both were among the earliest American reporters in Vietnam, although Sheehan was working for United Press International in the early years of the war. Halberstam and Sheehan were much like Siamese twins in those early days of the war. They shared ideas, sources and, more important a NAM VET Newsletter Page 48 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 liberal philosophy that did not permit them to see anything good or noble about the American military. Their views on the war were adopted by virtually every other correspondent who followed them. In his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "A Bright Shining Lie," Sheehan goes into great detail about how he and Halberstam became disillusioned with American involvement in Vietnam and how other reporters came to share that disillusionment. Sheehan writes in his book that "The claim that young reporters on the scene were inventing bad news had become more ludicrous than ever by the late summer of 1963, because by now the majority of the established correspondents in Asia who regularly visited Vietnam saw the war in essentially the same terms that we did." The anti-war and anti-military stories by New York Times reporters from Vietnam influenced not only other reporters, but television correspondents, since all the major networks have their headquarters in New York City. Thus, it was not surprising when in 1975 television and print reporters, indoctrinated for years by New York Times and Washington Post liberalism regarding Vietnam, treated the fall of Saigon as nothing but a total victory for Hanoi and nothing but a total defeat for the U.S. The ideological lines remained the same 14 years later, when the Soviet Union pulled out of Afghanistan. The Soviet retreat was portrayed by the major American media, taking their cues from the Washington Post and the New York Times, as a glorious celebration, if not outright victory, rather than the humiliating defeat it had been. Soviet soldiers were portrayed by the American media as victims of the war, rather than the perpetrators of it. The treatment accorded the Soviet soldiers by the American media was a far cry from what American soldiers received when they came home from Vietnam. Once again, the influence of one of the two leading blackbirds was evident in Afghanistan. This time it was The Washington Post. Within 10 days of the announcement in April 1988 that Soviet troops would be pulling out of Afghanistan, three American reporters got into the country, the only three western reporters in Kabul at the time. One was an ABC-TV correspondent from Moscow. One was a reporter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The other was with the Washington Post. While the ABC crew had problems with its feeds out of Afghanistan and getting air time in the U.S. for its stories, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter was consistently a day ahead of The Washington Post on the diplomatic initiatives that were taking place in Kabul. Yet, when the international media was permitted into the country en masse about five days later, they invariably turned to the Washington Post reporter to catch up on what was going on. They interviewed the Washington Post reporter and from his responses to their questions they based their questions and their views on the situation in Afghanistan. Among the new arrivals was a New York Times reporter who fed voraciously off the notebooks of his Washington Post comrade. Not only was American media coverage of Afghanistan in those few days after the announcement of the Soviet NAM VET Newsletter Page 49 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 withdrawal influenced by Washington Post standards and philosophy, so was the rest of the world's coverage. Thus, the Soviets became the victims, their humiliating retreat a victory, while the mujahedeen rebels were bloodthirsty puppets of the American government and the CIA. It is any wonder then why American POWs from three wars have been ignored by this country's blackbird-life media? Such a story fits neither their liberal agenda nor their views of the American military. Until the one of the two leading media blackbirds decides the POW/MIA issue is a humanitarian, political and diplomatic issue worth pursuing and flies off in pursuit of it, the rest of the blackbirds will remain firmly planted on the telephone line. Paul Warren is a 20-year veteran of the newspaper business who has reported extensively from Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. NAM VET Newsletter Page 50 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Bo Gritz and MIA/POWs Input by: Rick Stolz Okauchee, Wisconsin at: VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 The following information is provided to the POW NETWORK courtesy of THE CENTER FOR ACTION and Bo Gritz: In February of 1987, Prime Minister Kaysone of Laos was excited about trading Americans in return for money for himself. He asked his nephew, Prae Le, to represent his interest in the deal, and an amount of US$1.12 million was to be paid for four American POWs. Particulars regarding identification were communicated back to Washington through COL Paul Mather, then OIC of the JCR Committee and a DIA agent. Cables were received from our Washington contacts that the money would soon be in place. Assets were positioned, and we waited for the funds to arrive. They never did, and we feel that it was most likely due to interference from then Assistant Secretary of Defense, Richard Armitage. Our first trip into the Golden Triangle (12/86) to meet with General Khun Sa was prompted by an NSC request to investigate reports that he was holding US POWs. He wasn't, and stated that he had heard nothing of Americans being held anywhere in Southeast Asia. However, if we were convinced that they were being held, then he would send his agents out to "scour the countryside for captive Americans." During a meeting with Khun Sa in April of 1987, he reported that he had dispatched five "categories of agents" to check on American servicemen being held captive in Laos. None had been found in an area delineated from Vientiane, north to the China border, and west to the Shan/Burmese borders. Khun Sa admitted that he didn't know about eastern Laos. In May-June of 1989, we were back in the Golden Triangle to discuss the opium eradication program with General Khun Sa. During a side conversation, we told him about the aborted Kaysone attempt. He listened with interest, then said that he knew Prime Minister Kaysone personally - he had loaned him money so that he could travel to Russia for studies. Did we want another overture to be made to him regarding a buyout of American POWs? We jumped at the offer. This week, we received a letter from Khun Sa. The following is a direct quote: Mont Tai Army Base, Shanland. February 5, 1990. ..."Concerning the POWs in Indochina, we made a direct approach to Prime Minister Kaysone who assured us that there were no American MIAs in Laos. Despite his reply, my search is still going on through my agents. Let us hope we hear some encouraging reports on them this year." NAM VET Newsletter Page 51 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 We interpret Kaysone's statement as that of a man who is now under too great a scrutiny to deal as before. Khun Sa's intention to continue his search is encouraging - maybe he doesn't believe him, either. "Let us hope...", indeed. NAM VET Newsletter Page 52 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 W W M M W W M M M M W W \ / M M M M OOOO W W W --*-- M M M IIII O O W W W W / \ M M II O O W W W W M M II O O W W M M II O O II PPPPPP O O ..... II AA PP PP OOOO . '' '' .. IIII A A PP PP ..' '.. A A PPPPPPP ..' ''. A A PP ..' '. AAAAAA PP .' ''. A A PP .' '. A A .' .:::::.. '. .' .::::::::::. ' .' .::::::::::::::. '. .' __ .::::::::::::::::;:... '. .' _- -_ .:::::::::::::::::::::::. '. .' _-_ _ _ -_ ::::::::::::::::::::::::' '. .. _- -!!___!!!-_:::::::::::::::::::::::. .. .' ==_ _- _= .:::::::::::::::::::::::: ', . =-_= _= = :::::::::::::::::::::::: . .' =-_ =_- = ::::::::::::::::::::::: '. .' = - -_ =_:::::::::::::::::::::. '. .' -_ -_- .:::::::::::::::::::;;;. '. .' _-_ ..::::::::::::::::::::::::; '. . _ _ .:;:::::::::::::::::::::;, . ' _ .:::::::::::::::::::::::::. '. Y .'.....::::::::::::::::::::::::::;' '. N ::::::::::::::::::::::::' `''' ': O `::::::::::::::::::::::: \v/ \ / :'E `:::::::::::::::::::::: =========================== :' U `:::::::::::::::::::::. /^\ \ :'T `:::::::::::::::::::: .: A `:::::::::::::::::: .:'T `::::::::::::::::::. .;' R `:::::::::::::::::. .;' T `::::::::::::::::. .;' E `:::::::::gjp::: .:' O `:::::::::::::...........'' G N O T F O R " Bring them home --- NOW !!! " NAM VET Newsletter Page 53 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 ================================================================= O u r N a m V e t s a r o u n d t h e w o r l d ! ================================================================= Helping in the Nicaraguan Election Process By: Bob Richards The New York Transfer - Staten Island, NY (718) 448-2358 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - January 31, 1990 AN URGENT APPEAL FOR FUNDS from Bob Richards Support a UN-OAS Election Observer in Nicaragua Help Buy Antibiotics for Nicaragua ! On February 25th, Nicaragua will hold its national election. As part of an international effort to ensure that this election is free and fair, and to protect Nicaragua from American attempts to discredit the process, thousands of internationalists will be working in Nicaragua during the election campaign and voting period. I will be traveling to Nicaragua in mid-February as part of an election-observer group sponsored by Casa Nicaragua. It is hoped that our presence, as UN-OAS Election observers serving throughout Nicaragua, will make it very difficult for the election to be subverted. Preparations for this trip have been hectic and quite costly. I have managed to save enough Yankee dollars for the trip, and for a possible one-week extended stay. This expense -- together with the need for even more bucks to get me through job hunting upon my return (I will most likely lose my job as a result) -- has left me short in several areas. I need 35mm film (Fujichrome 100 to be specific) -- about 20 rolls of 36 exposures would do the trick. The film will cost me about $150 more than I have. Now, why should anyone donate film? Well, when the slides are edited, I will pick the 20 or so best and most informative pictures and make them available at cost to those who donated the film. Those who are interested may get a first-hand glimpse of Nicaragua, and at history in the making. In addition, these slides and the notes I take will help me to document the election procedures I observe, which we are asked to do by the group sponsoring our trip. I will also be bringing some sorely needed items with me for the Nicaraguan people, namely antibiotics. I have already received some donations for the antibiotics, but not nearly enough to fill the 70-odd pounds of baggage which I have allocated for humanitarian aid. For $2500 I can fill all my excess baggage allowance with 70,000 doses of desperately needed basic antibiotics that are now unavailable in Nicaragua. If you want to donate toward the cost of medication, please send a check indicating it is to be allocated for medical aid. I will take as much medication as I have money to buy. NAM VET Newsletter Page 54 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Here are some of the medications that Nicaragua has requested: Levothyroid: 100 tablets cost......................... 16.20 Gentamicin ophthalmic solution: 1 dozen vials ..... 35.30 Pilocarpine ophthalmic solution: 1 dozen vials ....... 45.50 Proparacaine HCl ophthalmic solution: 1 doz vials..... 39.70 Finally, the personal financial drain of this trip has been serious, and any help would be well received and appreciated. If anyone wishes to help contribute toward my costs, please mark your contribution "Election Observer." We can't all go to Nicaragua, but we can all do what we can to insure that the election on February 25th is a fair one, without violence, well-witnessed, and free from invasion. Your assistance in this endeavor can help us ensure democracy and freedom for the Nicaraguan people. All donations should be received by February 13th, as I will be leaving on the 16th. I will be returning sometime between Feb. 27th and March 3rd. I hope to offer some assistance to the Nicaraguan people, and to learn a lot from them. I will share my experiences with you when I get back. Bob Richards Sysop, The NY Transfer BBS Many thanks in advance for any help you can offer -- it is needed! Please send all contributions to: Bob Richards 34 Cornell Avenue Staten Island, NY 10310 Let Nicaragua Live! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---NY Transfer News--- February 9, 1990 PLEASE DONATE $ FOR MEDICINES GOING TO NICARAGUA! As of today, we have received pledges totalling $400 toward our modest goal of $800 worth of medications for Nicaragua. Please read on, and GIVE WHAT YOU CAN toward this humanitarian effort. We REALLY have room to take more medications, if we have enough cash to buy them. We have received a donation to cover the cost of film. --- Sysops - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---NY Transfer News--- February 17, 1990 MANY THANKS From NICARAGUA! Bob Richards arrived in Nicaragua on Friday, Feb 16th, and safely delivered a carton of medications requested by the Managua Hospital. Thanks to all of you who contributed, we were able to NAM VET Newsletter Page 55 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 put together a $500 package of ophthalmic antibiotics and thyroid tablets. This humanitarian gift to the Nicaraguan people will help in a small way to offset some of the suffering caused by US government policies. We also received a donation for print and slide film to document this historic moment in Nicaragua's political life. Bob will be taking notes, and when he returns, you can read about his experiences here on the NY Transfer. Our profound thanks to the following people for their generous (and politically correct!) donations of cash and services: Shelly Belzer Phyllis Monahan Viola W. Bernard, M.D. Brenda Parnes Linda DelBalso The People's Life Fund Kathleen L. Kelly Sandra Pineda-Miller Barbara Krasnoff Mickey Zacuto Let Nicaragua Live! NAM VET Newsletter Page 56 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 NAM in '90 By: Mike Harris + T.M.E. + ... Coos Bay, OREGON (503) 269-1935 Hello All I have finally returned as promised from a 10 week trip to the Orient. It is nice to be back and to read all of what you have to say on the net again. I have lots to share but running out of time today so will be brief. If anyone has any questions I will be glad to try to answer them. I went over as International Operations Officer with Point Man Ministries. I went to Bangkok, Udon Ratchathani, Nakhon Phanom, and Korat Thailand. Vientiane, Savannakhet, and Pak Xe Laos. Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Danang, Hue, and Hanoi Vietnam. Not to mention many smaller towns, villages, etc. I worked with a couple of former SF's in Thailand doing missionary work. It is interesting. They are fighting a different battle this time. It involves training a lowland cadre to go to the highlands to teach the 'Yards on how to fight the enemy (Satan) and win this one. I witnessed our Heavenly C.O. (Supreme Six) win victory after victory!! It was Glorious! Our Point Man team arrived on 2-2-90. We went up to the Northeast of Thailand to do some remodeling and ministering and it was a success. Then four of us took 7 day trip into Vietnam. Very interesting to say the least. All of us are Vietnam Veterans. Our mission was to take bibles in to the underground church there. Through much prayer and warfare we accomplished the task. It really felt good to go in under their noses and be victorious!! We were on alert step by step. As I heard someone say, "It was nice to go back with John 3:16 instead of an M16 I looked for old "Hardware" but didn't see a whole lot. Much was hidden behind military bases. Saw many of our old trucks, buses, and jeeps still running the roads though. Many have been customized into some strange looking contraptions however. Saw quite a few MIG's sitting at Tan Son Nhut, Danang, and Hanoi. Looked for my old riverboats but didn't see any with my own eyeballs. A couple of our guys did when they went thru Bien Hoa on the way to the tunnels of Cu Chi. The war museum in Saigon was as tasteless as would be expected. But the one in Hanoi was actually pretty balanced. They even had a cross standing there with pictures of our POW's pasted on it. I'm sure a tribute to their "Faith". Saw the Hilton. Took some pictures. All in all it was a real experience. The walls of the Citidel in Hue are still unrepaired. Many bullet holes still visible. Lots of memories but the rush was somewhat abated by the mission at hand. Vietnam seems to be like a plant that was never watered for years. The buildings have not received a fresh coat of paint since we left. But there is a glimmer of hope! They are desparate and have loosened the noose around their peoples necks a little. Water is being poured slowly upon the withered plant and it is beginning to grow and turn green again. There is hope where I was not before. NAM VET Newsletter Page 57 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Nicaraguan voters wanted end to war, observer says By: Linda Burchard In the 3/1/90 Berkshire Eagle Pittsfield, MA Input by: G. Joseph Peck NAM VETs Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 PITTSFIELD (MA) -- A Stockbridge resident who was among election observers in Nicaragua this week attributed the election of opposition candidate Violeta Barrios de Chamorro to the voters' wish for an end to war and economic privation. Nicholas Peck (no relation to NAM VETs Editor) of Stockbridge also praised the Sandinista government's running of that national election. Peck was part of a delegation of Berkshire County and Columbia County, N.Y., residents who observed the election in Malpaisillo, the sister city of Berkshire Amistad that is about two hours north of the capital of Managua. "We were impressed," said Peck. "The government of Nicaragua deserves a lot of credit for devising such a wisely organized election system. "They created a special independent authority, called the Supreme Electoral Council, made up of people from the different parties, which ran the election." He termed the election procedures elaborate, including the placing of a black strip along the back of the white ballot, so that holding the ballot up to the light would not disclose the mark made by a voter. Also, polling places were near one another, so no one would have to walk more than five miles to vote. Peck attributed the election of Chamorro as president to the Nicaraguan people's war-weariness and wish for improved economic conditions, rather than to dissatisfaction with the Sandinista government. "A lot of people said, 'We're really not opposed to the government. We just want peace,'" he said. "I think they figured it was a way to finally get the U.S. off their backs. "Don't forget the Sandinista government has been running the country under an embargo from the United States and with terrible pressures. They were being denied loans from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank because of U.S. opposition." "Even though people have been suffering in the war (between the government and the U.S.-supported contra rebels) and also economically, the Sandinista party still got more than 40 percent of the vote," Peck added. The area group went with a dual purpose: to serve as observers and to take medical supplies and material to a health clinic in NAM VET Newsletter Page 58 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Malpaisillo. Peck also took to children in Nicaragua paintings done by children in the Sunday schools of the First Baptist Church in Pittsfield and St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Stockbridge and at Village School in West Stockbridge. He brought back paintings by Nicaraguan children to their U.S. counterparts. The observers flew to Managua on Feb. 17 and returned late Tuesday night. The big question, Peck said, is what will become of Chamorro's coalition as it tries to put together a government. Her United National Opposition alliance is not really a party but a coalition that includes the Communist Party, while the Sandinista representatives have the largest share of any single party in the National Assembly. "The Sandinistas didn't lose total control of the country," he said. "They have the largest, strongest, most cohesive bloc of representatives in the National Assembly." Voters in Malpaisillo were strongly for the Sandinistas, about 63 percent voting to re-elect President Daniel Ortega, said Peck. His group met with 22 women whose sons had been killed in the war. "They told us, 'Remember this government earned our trust, so we're going to vote for the Sandinistas,'" he said. About 85 percent of Nicaraguan registered voters actually voted, compared to the usual turnout of only about half of U.S. registered voters, he said. "The only intimidation I saw was from the United States, which threatened them with more suffering, and that influenced their votes," he said. "The strange irony to me was that the people went to the polls and were able to cast utterly secret ballots. Each person was registered to vote and knew the election was held fairly. There were not any illegal votes cast. Yet the United States, by its actions, was right there in the voting booth, because of the war and the economic strangulation." NAM VET Newsletter Page 59 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 ================================================================= R e m e m b e r T h e m ! ! ! ================================================================= Pen Pals for Incarcerated Veterans By: Joyce Flory NAM VETs Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM (505) 523-2811 As promised last month, here's an update on what has or has not been happening in my quest to get a list of incarcerated vets. I have heard from USS Liberty and they have one man that they sent my letter on to. Combat Arms told me they have no list, therefore can't help. In Albany, NY I've been shuffled around from Deputy Dir. for program development to Div of Criminal Justice to Dept of Correctional Service by form letters and nothing further. I have since added to my correspondence list - John Opager (more a bit later) of Ill., Pam Peterson of Ill., Dave Fleming of Iowa, Jack Rutledge - Correctional Institute of Ga., Ed Howdershelt of Fla., James Nannemann of Iowa, VHCMA in Texas, Vietnam Helicopter Assoc., ... called 1-800-4A-Match, and have a young lady, Jennifer Switzer, at NASW looking around to help. John Opager added to my list of incarcerated vets by giving me the following: Hugh L. Erwin #86926 Nottoway Correctional Center PO Box 488 (0-128) Burkeville, Va. 23922 Thomas J. Adams EG 172282 RCI Columbus, Ga. 31907. He also has promised to send me a list of the incarcerated vets chapters country-wide and put me in touch with Pam Peterson, who sent me the address of the Incarcerated Vets network. I've not heard anything yet, but they were only contacted a short while ago. I have written all 3 of the incarcerated that I have addresses for, hoping to get their help in finding others in their prisons that may wish to add to our list. Again, too soon to hope for responses from them. As usual, if there are any other addresses that I haven't written to that you may think will help, please leave them in the Namvet Echo, send to 301/105 or send them to me at: 1825 Evelyn - Las Cruces, NM 88001. NAM VET Newsletter Page 60 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX \ \ \ \ \XXXX XXXXX XXXXX.::::::::::::::.XXXXX INCARCERATED XXXX XXXXX XXXXX --------- XXXXX \ \ \ \ \ \ \XXXX XXXXX .XXXXX W W I I XXXXX. VETERANS \ \XXXX XXXXX ::XXXXX --------- XXXXX::. \ \ \ \ XXXX XXXXX :::XXXXX ------------- XXXXX:::. 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XXXX XXXXX.::' :: XXXXX: PREPARED TO XXXXX .'' ''.. XXXX XXXXX::' :: XXXXX`: FIGHT XXXXX.' '.XXXX XXXXX' :: XXXXX ``. XXXXX XXXX XXXXX '' XXXXX PREPARED TO XXXXX XXXX XXXXX :: XXXXX DIE ...'XXXXX XXXX XXXXX :: XXXXX `...' XXXXX XXXX XXXXX `..' XXXXX .' XXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX /\ .' .' XXXX XXXXX /\ \ . . XXXX XXXXX / \ \...' `. .' XXXX XXXXX / NOT PREPARED TO BE DESERTED XXXX XXXXX / .'.' . .`.' XXXX XXXXX / ~ | : : : . XXXX XXXXX / |`. : : . .__________ XXXX XXXXX / ~ ~ ||.` ` : || \ / XXXX XXXXX / WRITE OR VISIT AN INCARCERATED VETERAN SOON ! XXXX XXXXX / ~ || . .'. / / XXXX XXXXX/ ~ ~ ~|| ||/ / XXXX XXXXX ~ ~ ~ || || / XXXX XXXXX || || / XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX \_________XXXXX________|| XgjpX XXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXX NAM VET Newsletter Page 61 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 ================================================================= T h e N a m V e t C h a p l a i n ' s C o r n e r ================================================================= A PASTORAL RESPONSE TO THE TROUBLED VIETNAM VETERAN By: Melvin R. Jacob In: POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDERS: a handbook for clinicians (c) 1987 DAV National Headquarters Input by: G. Joseph Peck NAM VETs Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 PTSD OF THE VIETNAM VETERAN was first published by the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) in 1980 (Williams, 1980). This book gave affirmation to Vietnam veterans, especially the ones experiencing adjustment problems. It gave insight and help for the health care provider working with the troubled Vietnam veteran. I benefited from this book, and was especially pleased to learn that the DAV was planning a sequel and was broadening its observations and recommendations for treatment of the veteran and his or her family. Jim Goodwin, in his chapter on the etiology of combat-related PTSD, wrote of the life-sucking symptoms of this disorder: Many veterans find it extremely uncomfortable to feel love and compassion for others. To do this, they would have to thaw their numb reactions to the death and horror that surrounded them in Vietnam...., many of these veterans go through life with an impaired capacity to love and care for others. They have no feeling of direction or purpose in life. They are not sure why they even exist. (Goodwin, in Williams, 1980, p.14) Goodwin identified in this dilemma a symptom that psychological treatment alone has not addressed. Laufer (1985) described this issue quite clearly: "The problem can be seen as the difficulty in answering the question, 'Who am I?' after learning more than one wants about the question, 'What am I capable of?'" (p.51) The existential dilemma challenges their reason and purpose for human existence. I assert it also points to the Vietnam veteran's need for spiritual, pastoral care, a need that has largely been avoided in the literature on the treatment of PTSD. This article is an attempt to respond to this need. My purposes are fivefold: (1) to present pastoral problems with Vietnam veterans; (2) to reframe PTSD symptoms from a pastoral perspective; (3) to examine pastoral goals within the reality of PTSD symptoms; (4) to offer pastoral interventions for these goals; and (5) to theologically describe forms of positive change. My response to the pastoral care needs of the Vietnam veteran has developed within my ministry over the past six years. During this period, I have worked extensively with veterans (on both an in- and outpatient basis) who have sought treatment at the Augusta, Georgia, VA Medical Center. They have taught me much. My response to them has been formulated from a Judeo-Christian philosophy that presupposes that life, as a creation of God, has NAM VET Newsletter Page 62 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 direction and purpose and that recognizes a redemptive hope within human brokenness and pain. My response acknowledges renewal in the human spirit above and beyond human ability to effect change. PASTORAL PROBLEMS The reality of Vietnam ate away at the spirit of many of its soldiers. The constant inconsistencies and incongruities, the gut-wretching absurdities, and the endless emptiness left their indelible marks on the hearts of American warriors. A 35-year-old veteran, diagnosed with PTSD, recently allowed me into the horror and fear inside him. He recalled a night his company was overrun by the Viet Cong. Graphically and painfully, he described the vigilance he maintained while picking up the pieces of a buddy "held together at his middle by a thin stretch of skin." This vigilance replaced grief, and fear was his constant companion. He walked in the valley of the shadow of death, but, unlike the psalmist, he concluded that, "God was not there on that hill." A religious or spiritual vacuum was created by the Vietnam war. Many soldiers sought to theologize their experiences (that is, bring spiritual significance to them), but found it futile; emptiness engulfed their attempts for theological meaning, which, itself, was challenged with demonic interpretations. Many looked to the chaplain for meaning and strength. (Some veterans readily affirm the importance of the chaplain and the relationship he gave; meaning and strength were caringly incarnated in his presence.) Others recall negative memories of the chaplain. Lifton (1978) described an "ironic rage" directed at both chaplains and psychiatrists ("shrinks") by Vietnam veterans. This rage flowed from the soldiers' perceptions that the chaplains' battlefield work was incongruent. Lifton elaborates these incongruities: (1) the chaplains blessed the troops, mission, guns, and killing; (2) they endorsed "phoniness" in advocating confession of meaningless transgressions - for example, use of drugs - while holding back accountability to the ultimate transgression: killing; (3) they promoted "false witness" by not acknowledging loss (in the intrinsic and extrinsic experience of war), but affirming and legitimizing the death and destruction; and (4) they sanctioned an "unholy alliance" between themselves and the military in perpetuating the ironies and incongruities of Vietnam. Lifton concluded: "It was one thing to be ordered by command into a situation they came to perceive as both absurd and evil, but it was quite another to have that process rationalized and justified by ultimate authorities of the spirit and mind - that is, by chaplains and psychiatrists." (p. 220) Other pastoral problems are present in the interventions with veterans diagnosed as having PTSD. These problems are summarized in the negative transference that accrued to the chaplain. The chaplain is often seen as God's representative. If God was viewed as not present in Vietnam, then the chaplain's legitimacy, his reason for existence, was in question. The chaplain is seen as the embodiment of what was felt as God's betrayal, and his post- war interventions may receive the brunt of the rage felt toward his role in Vietnam. The veteran is often unable to distinguish between the chaplain who was perceived as sanctioning the incongruities of Vietnam and the one who now offers purpose, hope, and renewal in the brokenness and pain of PTSD symptomatology. NAM VET Newsletter Page 63 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Arnold (1985) presents basic principles in the treatment of Vietnam veterans with PTSD, and lists an assortment of therapy interventions. He identifies "religious counseling" as one intervention, thus giving some legitimacy to the clergy's role in treatment (although he does not define what is meant by religious counseling). He warns against certain theological emphases and highlights possibilities with others: Religious or spiritual counseling has been very helpful to some veterans, but great sensitivity is required to arrange it. The clergy have an acknowledged legitimacy in the area of morality, but if the tenets of faith of a particular clergyman stress sin and punishment or portray expected human nature as being incredibly pure, veterans having serious problems with self-acceptance may reject the counseling which is offered. On the other hand, nonjudgemental guidance in dealing with combat experiences in moral terms may lead to the formulation of a new personal moral position which enhances productive living.(p. 253) The possibilities for ameliorative pastoral work with troubled Vietnam veterans necessitate a look at how this intervention takes place. I believe the first step in this process is to consider the troubled veteran from a pastoral perspective. PASTORAL PERSPECTIVE Much has been written on the veteran and PTSD. The American Psychiatric Association's (APA) DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL III (APA, 1980) provided the psychiatric diagnostic criteria. It describes the symptoms of this disorder as developing after a psychologically traumatic event that is outside the range of usual human experience. I seek to examine the behaviors and feelings from which this psychiatric diagnosis is derived. But, instead of using a psychological perspective, I will use a pastoral one that involves analyzing events, behaviors, and emotions from a theological or spiritual point of view and that embraces a holistic view of the person. The pastoral perspective recognizes the complexity and interrelationships existing among the components of the whole person - the emotional, social, mental, physical, and spiritual aspects of the person. The spiritual component provides a unique perspective from which to examine events, behavior, and emotions. Like the psychological perspective, the pastoral view has its own terminology to explain the observations. I use some of this terminology, rooted in Judeo-Christian thought, to describe the adjustment difficulties and internal struggles of the troubled Vietnam veteran. A veteran in his late thirties requested some private time with me. He had been hospitalized for two or three months, and I knew him very well, but his initiative for an appointment surprised me. In our meeting, he described that on a recent trip home he found something he thought he had lost. Pulling a bent and worn Bible from his pocket, he said, "Chaplain, this Bible was with me all the time I was in Vietnam... I survived and it was in my pocket." He described his attachment to it, although he never spoke of actually opening or reading from it. He continued, "I am struggling now... this Bible helped me before. I would like you to bless it the way it was blessed in Vietnam so it can help me NAM VET Newsletter Page 64 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 now." I observed his fear; there was uncertainty in his eyes and hesitancy in his voice. His request seemed to involve more than "getting all the help you can get" - it appeared consistent with the teaching of his faith tradition about the Bible. He shared doubt and vulnerability. I listened to him and recalled how Thomas, in the New Testament, following the awesome mystery of Jesus' resurrection, was filled with fear and doubt. Thomas, like this veteran, asked for visible reassurance. He wanted to feel something tangible in his uncertainty. Jesus' response to Thomas spoke to his deepest fear and doubt. This illustration exemplifies the use of a pastoral perspective. In my work with Vietnam veterans, I have discovered seven categories that illustrate PTSD symptoms from a pastoral perspective. These are (1) distrust and fear, (2) rejection and betrayal, (3) futility, (4) alienation and estrangement, (5) loss and grief, (6) guilt and shame, and (7) isolation and withdrawal. After discussing the use of Biblical analogies, an important part of pastoral work, I will explore each of these categories in detail. BIBLICAL ANALOGIES Biblical analogies provide an historical perspective to PTSD symptomatology. I have found them useful as didactic presentations on PTSD and religious faith. Like the illustration of Thomas associated with the discussion of distrust and fear (below), Biblical analogies are applicable to the remaining six categories of PTSD symptoms. The Biblical character Joseph illustrates the experience of rejection and betrayal. His brothers, selling him into slavery, rejected him; Pharaoh's wife, lying about him, unjustly caused his imprisonment. THe Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes describes the emotions of futility, darkly depicted in the injustices and frustrations of many Vietnam veterans. Reflecting on the contradictions of life, with its injustices and frustrations, the writer concludes, "All is vanity." Alienation and estrangement are seen in the person of Moses. Born a Hebrew, but raised an Egyptian, he struggled to find moorings, his real self. Loss and grief are clearly evident in the Biblical character of Job, who lost all his children and property and was afflicted with a repulsive disease. The Biblical analogy of the disciple Peter, who went out and wept bitterly after his denial of Jesus, gives us an example of guilt and shame. The experiences of isolation and withdrawal are vividly portrayed in Adam and Eve, who sought to hide after their transgression against God. DISTRUST AND FEAR The association of distrust and fear links the consequences of failed trust with the fear of death and annihilation. Fear, cultured in a petri dish of broken trust and confidence, breeds greater distrust that deepens the fear. The cycle feeds on itself, creating larger distances between oneself and a world perceived as cold, callous, and uncaring. Vietnam is a saga of broken trust and confidence. Friend and foe looked much alike. Friendly villagers by day were Viet Cong sympathizers by night. A child's innocent smile made one cautious to the danger of the hidden explosive charge she carried. The children and elderly who responded warmly to the GIs likely were NAM VET Newsletter Page 65 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 the offspring and parents of the enemy lurking nearby. Healthy distrust was learned, and fear was a bosom companion. The soldiers distrusted the governments for whom they were fighting. The government of South Vietnam had a legacy of instability and fraud; the black market flourished; vice was as abundant as a natural resource. The environment of the Vietnam war was different and foreign to the values and standards most young soldiers had been taught, and this difference fostered distrust and made an easy target for personal fears. The government that sent them to fight in such an environment over 6000 miles from home was also viewed with distrust and fear. The statements of U.S. political leaders simply did not mesh with the war's reality. Enemy body counts were valued over ground taken. Military tactics were compromised for political expediency. The soldier was caught in the middle, and catch-22 was the order of the day. Hearts could not absorb what eyes saw. War protests at home seemed to make no sense to the soldier in the field. Patriotism waned, and distrust gradually deepened. One veteran said to me: "If you can't trust your own government, who can you trust?" Possibly the most frightening source of distrust and fear was inside each soldier himself. Many experienced their own potential for violence - for the first time. The real fight for survival unleashed emotions and actions that remain horrifying to recall. Many want to hide their destructive past, but find it flares up under the stresses of daily living: an inconsiderate motorists fails to use his turn signal; a child slams the back door; a boss vents anxiety. Such stresses may precipitate violent, destructive outbursts. Tremendous amounts of emotional energy are spent to control the urge to destroy again. In one of my groups, a veteran yelled at me, "You don't know how close I came to knocking your head off!" I was surprised and threatened. He later was able to share his distrust of a particular facial expression that reminded him of someone he felt was untrustworthy. I sense a constant readiness or state of alertness in many veterans - their necks and shoulders are tense, their movements are sudden and jerky, their eyes dart about warily. Some keep their bodies in a defensive posture, constantly sitting with their backs to the wall (see Williams on "Peacetime Combat," this volume); it often seems to me that time bombs are ticking away inside these veterans. Some refuse to handle guns lest they lose their ability to control their violent impulses. The veterans frequently talk of the dehumanizing process in becoming a combat soldier. Basic training reinforces defensive action and erodes trust of caring emotions. A bright, articulate college graduate described this process to me. "They take who you are, or who you think you are. They knock you down and take you apart. Then they put you back together piece by piece... the way they want you to be. You are taught not to think but to react." Another veteran echoed these feelings. "You are taught to be an animal. Then you're expected suddenly to forget you're trained to function as an animal." A third veteran tearfully amplified this NAM VET Newsletter Page 66 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 thought: "I know how to act like an animal. I don't know how to be human." Many veterans distrust their capacity to enter into significant relationships without eventually finding themselves exploding violently. On the battlefield, this distrust was exacerbated. Relationships with buddies who offered understanding and affirmation were shortlived. Each soldier had his own DEROS (date of expected return from overseas); ESPIRIT DE CORPS waned (see Goodwin, this volume). Combat took its toll with the wounded and killed. New faces too easily filled the gaps left by old, familiar ones and, because combat soldiers distrust anyone whose actions affect their own life or well-being, establishing relationships was even more difficult - and these were tested literally by fire - gunfire. A mortar crew member told me that he once lay awake all night because there was a new man on the crew: "I was nearly killed once by a new crew member who didn't know what to do." Only when the fear of death and survival are shared can real significance be given to a peer relationship. Until this mutual struggle for survival was shared, there could be little or no understanding, much less affirmation, given and received. Unit cohesiveness suffered; the structure of survival in Vietnam inhibited such understanding and affirmation. Trust diminished. With the endless leavings and arrivals, impermanence was inherent in every fighting unit. This distrust and the accompanying fear still spill out to institutions and their representatives who seek to help the troubled Vietnam veteran. Leventman (1978) gave the following description: "Bureaucratic formalism and inefficiency, inept and ill-informed policy-making, political and military gamesmanship, all capped by revelations of high-level executive misconduct, produced an unprecedented crisis of faith and confidence in American institutions." (p. 293) The Veterans Administration (VA) is often not distinguished from the government that sent men and women to war but failed to support them, so the VA as an institution is distrusted, too. Its employees are often not distinguished from the institution, and so they, too, are not trusted by the people they want to serve. Once veteran said: "The VA is like Vietnam. It's a survival trip. I have to fight and struggle every step of the way." Some veterans even suspect secret alliances between the care givers in the VA and the government that fostered their troubles. The institutionalized church has also been unfavorably regarded by veterans. Many accuse the church of hypocrisy; they believe the church has been phony and that it has no comprehension of the harsh realities they learned in war. And, as with the VA, these feelings have been transferred to individuals who represent the institution - ministers and chaplains. One veteran lashed out at me: "You are just a hypocrite... any chaplain is a hypocrite. You profess to be something you can't be." Such feelings present both an obstacle and a challenge to those who seek to alleviate this distrust and fear. NAM VET Newsletter Page 67 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Finally, distrust and fear are associated with God. One veteran angrily demanded: "Where was God when I need Him (in Vietnam)? Now that I don't need Him, why should I trust that He is here?" The presence of God and the conviction of faith are often viewed in direct relationship. As faith waxes and wanes, so does God's reality and the clarity that comes for questions of life. Ambiguity clouds God's presence and suffocates the conviction of faith; Vietnam was filled with ambiguity. Battlefield pleas to God became confused with distrust of sacred institutions (government and church) and the contorted maladies of the war. The symbols of faith - like the corner church - have done little to alleviate the distrust. Many veterans put God and faith on hold until a happy marriage between the war's reality and the message of the church could be realized. Many refused or feared the process of integrating Vietnam's reality into renewed faith. If old understandings of God failed them in Vietnam, then "...to hell with Him; I know how to survive by myself." I have heard this phrase often. Distrust and fear come in waves that burden a pastoral relationship. The negative transference creates an undertow that takes pastoral intervention out to sea; it eventually increases distrust and fear - and we see again the vicious cycle. To resist the undertow threatens conflict; to give in to9 it exacerbates the symptom. A veteran told me poignantly that if he did not distrust people he would have to trust them. "I'm just not ready to trust others." The next symptoms in the pastoral perspective - fears of rejection and betrayal - are discussed now, as they follow from the more general fear and distrust. REJECTION AND BETRAYAL The experiences of rejection and betrayal are closely linked. Rejection means not being accepted, in spite of efforts by significant individuals or a significant group. Betrayal expresses a more deeply felt experience of injustice. Rightness has been bypassed and ignored. Often, reactions to such injustices funnel into strong negative responses, spilling out into rage toward the perceived perpetrators or turning inward toward depression. Many Vietnam combat veterans have a litany of rejection experiences. This rejection arose on the battlefield when they were not allowed to advance against the enemy; they felt hands were tied by political powers who squelched their mission. They experienced rejection from the authority that sent them on a mission of war. Other veterans contort in rage when they call reports in ARMY TIMES about well-known public figures back home questioning their sacrifices or about blood drives for the enemy. They felt their sacrifices and deeds in a foreign country had been rejected. This thought was expressed by a veteran who said, "I didn't ask to go there. I was sent there! They (the American public) don't understand." Many feel their legitimacy and integrity have been disavowed. NAM VET Newsletter Page 68 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 The welcome home was experienced as rejection. Many veterans recall vividly a cold reception, highlighted with an attitude of "we need to hurry and forget Vietnam." The nation's collective difficulty with the war and its ambiguous termination were frequently internalized as an invalidation of their struggle. "We did our job and we did it well, but, nobody accepted it (us)," is an often-heard statement. A sequel to the initial "welcome home" was the lingering adjustments to society again. Goodwin (1980) describes how the Vietnam experience differed from previous wars and subsequently predisposed the combatants to PTSD. These maladjustments to society raised the question of acceptability of the Vietnam veteran. "If so many of us are having problems with society either something is wrong with society or something is wrong with us," a veteran said to an adjustment group. A sense of rejection seemed to be the catalyst for his comment. Rejections deepens into a sense of betrayal. Conventional notions of good soldiering in Vietnam were sacrificed to political expediency; soldiers felt betrayed even by battlefield tactics. A block of land might be secured, but the unit would withdraw and engage in other nearby conflicts, only to be ordered to return to the initial block of land and retake it, often with the only results being maimed and crippled bodies and corpses. A clear sense of mission was clouded by battlefield realities. In addition, enemy tactics of booby trapping the villages and villagers and the surprise ambushes with quick retreats created an elusive foe. Guerilla warfare conflicted with Western mindset, which raised questions about the validity of the war. The Vietnam veteran searches for purpose with cries of betrayal and injustice. "Our country sent us to war, but would not support us," a veteran concluded. Rejection and betrayal accumulated and grew into a rage that many veterans still struggle to quell. Often closest family and friends are the recipients of this rage as the veteran breaks inanimate objects, puts his fists through walls, or even physically abuses another person. This rage breeds a new cycle of rejection and betrayal. Employers do not understand, are threatened, and unable to tolerate it, especially as it is frequently directed toward authority figures. Health caregivers are frightened by its lethal potential. All too often, the veteran is himself afraid and rejects others, lest they reject him first. This rage is exacerbated by other emotional experiences of the war, one of which was the seeming futility of the fighting. This sense of futility is now discussed. FUTILITY The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes describes the emotions of many Vietnam veterans: life is filled with weariness; absurdity overcomes congruency. The wisdom (of the) writer of this book reflects deeply on how short and contradictory life is, with its seemingly endless injustices and frustrations. He concludes, "All is vanity. Life is useless." He could not understand the ways of God among life's contradictions and ambiguities. NAM VET Newsletter Page 69 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 The soldier in Vietnam encountered continuous contradictions and ambiguities. Wilson (1977) identified eight existentially absurd situations in Vietnam that conflicted with the role for which the soldier was trained. These were: > The limited military operation > The lack of positive commitment from the South Vietnamese > The intricacies of guerrilla warfare > The black market operations > The limited tour of duty in a depersonalized war > Difficulty and helplessness in distinguishing the enemy > The seemingly meaningless death of friends > Faulty reentry from the war. Laufer (1985) advanced a conceptual approach to this war trauma, focusing on the disruptive formative experiences inflicted on the soldier: The young soldier, prior to his entry into the war, can be described as a cauldron of emotions, ideas, and themes waiting to be forged. War is a force which turns the emotional and moral world young men grow up in on its head. For example, the archetypical foundation of civil society, the injunction "Thou shall not kill," is waived in war. (p.46) Death, destruction, and survival were ironically intimate. Laufer (1985) called this "a premature encounter with mortality." With the failure to integrate the stress of war, many Vietnam veterans experienced a profound shattering of basic concepts of humanity. The endless supply of emptiness led them to conclude with the Biblical writer that "everything leads to weariness - a weariness too great for words." Marching along with futility, the soldier experienced separation and detachment from life's meaning. As one confided in me, "It's like walking in a bad dream that you can't wake up from..." This sense of alienation and estrangement from self and others is the next symptom we will consider. ALIENATION AND ESTRANGEMENT The sources of identity were confused for the young Vietnam combatant, whose average age was 19.5 years. He was easily separated from a sense of self by the threatening, violent waves of war. According to Erikson (1963), the average age of the American soldier in Vietnam corresponded to a crucial state in psychological maturity, Erikson's fifth stage of personality development, identity versus role confusion. In this age period, a person requires a basic sense of harmony, and congruency for healthy psychological maturity to occur. But Vietnam offered discord and incongruity, inhibiting ego synthesis, and fostering negative identity and role confusion. It was easy to cope with the absurdities by becoming numb to their emotional impact and warped in integrating them to one's own time, space, and person. The eyes and ears had seen and heard too much; the heart became separated from feeling. Erikson's conceptualization of personality development informs a pastoral understanding of alienation and estrangement. Alienation NAM VET Newsletter Page 70 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 is a separation from groundedness, the loss of a sense of purpose. This separation fosters detachment from previous identity and community, and the person shifts from place to place and person to person, seemingly disintegrated and impermanent. "I feel so freakish," a veteran said to explain his peripatetic lifestyle. A gulf of estrangement lies between the individual and his sense of meaning and purpose - estrangement and alienation from self, others, and God. There is a strangeness that pervades interpersonal and intrapersonal activity, and no firm attachments to meaning to one course of action over another. The alienation and estrangement toward others are often fed by the veteran's fear of closeness. Wartime experiences of closeness - and loss - are painfully remembered. Personal confusion and unsure identity leave him cautious lest more hurt and pain be encountered. This estrangement fuels a suspicious attitude, which is often felt by others who steer clear, exacerbating the veteran's freakish, unnatural feeling, and intensifying his separateness. The veteran settles for less and for dullness. There is a tendency for continual lateral or backward movement - from job to job, school to school, drifting without progress toward goals or achieving significant closeness. A magic "cure," meaning removal of all symptoms, is sought to deal with interpersonal and intrapersonal problems. A "born-to-lose" attitude develops. The wives of many veterans complain of their cold (see Williams, "Women Partners," this volume), emotionally detached husbands, who seem unable to experience the joys of life, although some create transient joy through alcohol and a wide variety of street drugs (see Jelinek and Williams, this volume). Estrangement builds. Alienation and estrangement are exhibited in separation from God. A massive cavern of religious incongruity exists in the minds of many Vietnam veterans because the creations of God encountered in Vietnam so starkly contrasted with the presentation of God in churches and synagogues at home. Rites and rituals learned as a child appeared removed from the death, destruction, and survival in Vietnam. Limited and unstructured patterns of devotion and spiritual development have left the veteran open to the vicissitudes of thought and feeling remaining from the evils of war. The veteran tends to invent his own gods to fill his gaps of religious meaning. The personal creations of God have a blend of fundamental theology, cultural practices, and interpersonal and intrapersonal needs. They tend not to stand the test of time. These self-made creations are replaced as new insights, cultural change, altered and personal dynamics are presented. The unredemptive, ever- changing results of the personal creations lead to increased alienation from God. With a face filled with rage, a veteran cried out to me, "Chaplain, I went to Vietnam expecting some grace, but I found only more hell! Tell me what I should think of God? I dare you to tell me!" Out of a pastoral perspective, the chaplain observes alienation and estrangement as symptomatic of the troubled Vietnam veteran. Alienation and estrangement are often aligned with another symptom NAM VET Newsletter Page 71 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 that is the focus of the next section - the reaction to loss and the consequent grief. LOSS AND GRIEF Loss occurs before grief. Loss is the behavioral or existential experience in which someone or something significant is taken away. Grief is the emotional response to the loss. The process of grief is the healing of the emotional hurt and pain that result with the loss. If the healing act is significantly hindered or blocked, the reaction to the loss may impair the life functioning of the person in grief. Losses come constantly with war. The Vietnam war was no exception. Human relationships in Vietnam were lost in several ways: (1) a tour of duty ended, (2) a change of orders meant a change of location and often of friends,(3) a wounded friend left for extended treatment, and (4) death brought finality to many. With flat affect, a veteran detailed the horrible ambush that wiped out all but a few of his company. He survived in the river by breathing through a water reed. Another veteran stoically shared a traumatic loss. His arms tensed and eyes winced as he pictured picking up the pieces of a dead friend. It is not uncommon for me to hear veterans say, "I've never been able to cry," and reveal that the healing process of grief has never begun. Other losses occurred in the Vietnam experience. The innocence lost will never be regained or even relived at a slower, more easily accepted pace. As one veteran powerfully put it: "I grew old too fast and too soon... Once you've killed, your life is forever changed." Constant fear and weariness were strange motivations to deadly, atrocious acts. No one can describe it all. The discovery of youth was lost in the horror of repeated deaths and the constant struggle for survival. The loss of faith and ideals accompanied the loss of innocence. The valor, the wounds, and the deaths appeared meaningless in the struggle of conflicting forces, most of which were not on the battlefield. Confidence in government declined in direct relationship to unproductive, repetitious policy. The sense of duty, honor, and prestige were lost in the cyclical patterns of deadly action. These losses inflicted pain and sorrow that could not be forgotten by many upon return home. Because crying on the battlefield had been an extreme liability and threat to survival, many never grieved. And, because survival instincts are so intense, some could not grieve at home. Feelings of loss are not alleviated just because one wants them to go away. As the losses increased, so did the need to grieve. But grieving was impossible in battle, so the reactions to losses became bottled up, impacted. With some, the grief is enormous: "I am afraid that if I start (to grieve) I don't think I can quit.... I will lose control and it (survival) will be all over." The fear of loss of control is associated with how grief was frequently handled on the battlefield - namely, through violent, deadly acts that created destruction. Such behavior, which helped NAM VET Newsletter Page 72 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 release bottled emotions on the battlefield, was completely unacceptable at home, and the veteran feared others' reactions to his real grief. On the one hand, people might be "grossed out" by the blood and destruction of more war stories; on the other hand, they might see expressions of grief as weakness or unbecoming of a good soldier. These fears were provoked by a population that wanted to forget the unpopular war. The cliche "time heals all wounds" was wrongly thought to apply to the grief from Vietnam; veterans expended more and more energy to keep it inside. Alcohol and illegal drugs often became easy buffers for the pain. Escapes into the woods or away from responsibility did not leave the hurt behind, and created new, self-inflicted losses that increased the need for healthy grief. Impacted grief may often be confused with another symptom of the troubled Vietnam veteran: guilt and shame. GUILT AND SHAME Guilt describes the emotional pain that results from behavior that is judged to be wrong. This judgement is internalized and is often supported by external forces. Breaking a commandment may not create guilt, even though the external commandment is broken. Guilt begins when the person realizes his wrong, feels accused, and seeks relief from the emotional discomfort. Guilt, when left unattended, leads to lethargy and decreased responsiveness to the spirit in life. Shame takes the experience of guilt into a deeper level of emotional pain. Wrong behavior is exposed. A person feels as if fingers are accusingly and laughingly pointed at him. Shame takes guilt out into the open and, thus, increases its pain. The Vietnam veteran describes guilt and shame. His pain arises from passive and active behaviors, covert and overt transgressions. Like a heavy yoke carried on his shoulders, guilt burdens the veteran and diminishes creative energy and vitality. A veteran in his mid-30s described a life-altering event that had occurred 15 years earlier. He was driving in a truck convoy in Vietnam. His sergeant ordered him to change positions with the driver behind him. Within minutes after the exchange, his original truck was hit by a mortar and the driver immediately killed. "I've asked myself a thousand times, why wasn't that me?... I can't seem to get it out of my mind." Another veteran told me, "What I did in Vietnam went against everything I had been taught. I've been told by well-meaning types that war is different and I should feel different about it... The bottom line is I killed and I got to where I enjoyed it... I don't like that about me." The guilt arose from his actual behavior and how he reacted to it. He is perplexed that he could become such a person. Vietnam veterans describe different sources of their guilt. They note how they inflicted pain, suffering, and death not only to the enemy, but on those who were only thought to be the enemy, and this uncertainty brought on clear emotional pain and multiplied their guilt. A forward observer related to me the day he did his job perfectly and called for artillery on an enemy company. His NAM VET Newsletter Page 73 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 successful operation destroyed the entire VC company and saved his own. "I know, chaplain, it makes no sense, but I feel guilty as hell. I know my action saved countless lives in my company. I know that I was following orders. But, something inside me tells me I did an abhorrent act." He later shared how he now has found community with a group that seeks to protect the dignity of all forms of life; but, "I still feel guilty," he concluded. The guilt that springs from overt behavior is also associated with inhumane, animalistic acts outside the line of fire. Some describe horrible escapes into drugs and alcohol. Some describe the misery of selfishness where you religiously apply the "first- take-care-of-yourself" attitude. The inevitable result was that self-indulgence did not satisfy, but it did produce twinges of guilt or a desire to increase the indulgence to avoid honesty with oneself. Guilt arose from other aspects of the Vietnam experience. When some die and others do not, the survivors often ask, "Why not me?" (see T. Williams, this volume). This painful emotion is called survivor guilt. Goodwin (1980) wrote: "It (survivor guilt) is not based on anything hypothetical. Rather, it is based on the harshest of realities, the actual death of comrades, and the struggle of the survivor to live. Often the survivor has had to compromise himself or the life of someone else in order to live." (p. 14) Associated with survivor guilt is its cold, cruel companion - namely, helplessness. A sense of powerlessness is remembered as one recalls his inability to change a bad situation. Powerless and impotent to alter past events, the veteran may turn his guilt inward into self-destructive behavior. Suicide has taken its toll. Many veterans vow never to be caught where they do not have a weapon with them. This emotion is carried by some into provoking antagonism from others and possibly losing their life to take their place beside fallen comrades. In contrast, other veterans react differently with survivor guilt: they remove all weapons from their homes. One recently told me, "I vowed never to hurt anybody again. I've done enough of that.... there's no way you'll find a weapon around me!" This contrast was sharply noted when another man described the difference between him and his brother, both combat veterans. "My brother has weapons inside his house and in his truck." He continued, "He loves guns. He talks about guns and studies about them. Me, I don't want to have anything to do with them. If I never see another one, that would be okay." A final sense of guilt from Vietnam is the feeling of not having done enough. This guilt may have diffuse origins. It may arise from a generalized self-blame for the lost war. It may arise from unrealistic beliefs of what one should have done when a friend was killed. It may arise from a clear failure to perform as trained in a traumatic fire-fight. A tormented, tensed veteran shared the horror of being overrun on a never-to-be-forgotten night. He told how a friend chose to go up a hill while he stayed below. His friend died. He said, "I should have made him stay with me." The burden of guilt weighs heavily, and is intensified for NAM VET Newsletter Page 74 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 veterans who have had the appropriateness of their guilty feeling verified by others. The label "baby killers" has evoked especially bitter reactions. A veteran who killed a child to protect his squad from the child's hidden explosives expressed his vulnerability to this label. "I have to live with the knowledge of what I did. To be reminded of it does not help me either." He then defended himself as a caring person caught between two evils. The undeclared nature of the war and the low public support tended to increase the shame experienced by many of the Vietnam veterans. They sought validation of the pain, but experienced coldness, misunderstanding and accusation. For some, this shame became confused with anger at a society that would send them to war but not support them. These feelings of guilt and shame were often ignored. A good soldier supposedly does not look back. They sought to avoid their real selves. What sadly occurred was that many made this venture of escape a life-style. They found that they maintained control of themselves, including their guilt and shame, by isolating themselves from others. They withdrew to paradoxically maintain contact with themselves and others. The subject of isolation and withdrawal is now discussed from a pastoral perspective. ISOLATION AND WITHDRAWAL Isolation and withdrawal are often concomitant behaviors to the emotions of guilt and shame, and are frequent companions of the Vietnam veteran with PTSD. A struggling veteran paradoxically said, "Loneliness is my true companion." A common litany within my outpatient group is, "Society does not understand me... so I isolate myself." This statement is often followed by: "This group of fellow Vietnam veterans are the only people I feel comfortable around." The wounds of war escape the description of words. Some veterans feel that words cheapen the experience of combat and disgrace the sacrifices of battle. Only fellow combat veterans understand. There is a fraternity with closed initiation rites. The ritual of the fraternity includes the unspoken message, "You don't need to say a word. I understand." What often grows from this ritual is an increase in loneliness and isolation (see Hickman, this volume). The fraternal ritual is esteemed and remains sacred. When someone begins to break out of the patterns of withdrawal, suspicion is often cast on him, or a subdued questioning begins about the authenticity of his combat experiences. The scars of traumatic experiences in combat run deep, often leaving rough calluses that are insensitive to individual desires to escape the rituals of isolating behavior. The terms of isolation and withdrawal are viewed hear as uncreative behaviors. They are seen as means of avoidance and escape, rather than creative behaviors of joining and aligning. Isolation is living with the self to avoid contact with others. Withdrawal is the action of fleeing contact with others. The experience of combat redefined closeness for many veterans. Closeness that is based on intimacy and that embraces NAM VET Newsletter Page 75 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 vulnerabilities is often feared. To share oneself is perceived as sharing the wounds of war that are, themselves, too frightening and painful for the veteran himself. Some veterans say that their attempts to share vulnerabilities from the war were met with abuse and mocking laughter. With such receptions, some veterans develop defenses patterned after combat training; they know how to survive alone: create a safe place and do not expose yourself. Many veterans spoke succinctly of the benefits of his isolation: "No one bugs me. I'm doing what I do well - surviving alone." Agoraphobic behavior and the fear of intimacy remove veterans from others, yet many cite discomfort with their lonely lifestyles. They want ot change, but are afraid. Some truly see themselves as strangers in their native land. They search for a home, a place that offers embrace. Countless veterans describe innumerable moves, validating their inability to find this place. "The woods" become a symbol of this nomadic, lonely life style. Isolation and withdrawal are more than just physical behaviors. They are also manifestations of emotional detachment. Intimacy, although desired, is seldom described. The mask of symptoms covers a real person, capable of giving and responding creatively to closeness and caring. Inevitably the mask (the symptoms) has become so much a part of the person that the veteran stays behind it. Intimacy is yearned for and avoided. Wives report detachment. Flashbacks, violent outbursts, and avoidant behavior create great stress on the marriage relationship. Families adjust by avoiding the father who is withdrawn and unpredictable. Wives feel bound to a person in a struggle they cannot fully comprehend. Children experience anger toward and resentment of a daddy they cannot talk to. Triangulation occurs with the family unit (see Williams, "Women Partners," this volume). There is the husband (father) behind the mask, and there is the husband (father) with PTSD symptoms. There is often the husband relating to veterans or the VA. There is the husband's (father's) allegiance to fellow veterans and ties to the VA. Many family members separate from the veteran who is permanently alienated from the person and his mask of symptoms. Other family members struggle with the burden of continued attachment; some are able to protect themselves and detach the symptoms from the person. A pastoral perspective looks for the person behind the symptoms. A pastoral perspective seeks to distinguish the "sins" from the "sinner." The symptoms are often interrelated and enmeshed in the life style and relationships of the veteran. These symptoms tend to wax and wane in intensity. Some may be more burdened with loss and grief, for instance, and less burdened with alienation and estrangement. The intensity and frequency of each symptom combine to define the set of symptoms (mask) that is unique to each veteran. A pastoral perspective seeks to gain entrance behind the mask of symptoms and offer healing and wholeness to the person. The next section describes the veteran's need for healing and wholeness from a pastoral perspective. PASTORAL POSSIBILITIES These seven distinct symptoms describe maladies of the human NAM VET Newsletter Page 76 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 spirit. The chaplain offers good news - the pastoral possibilities for increased healing and wholeness, beginning with a deep understanding of the troubles and a commitment to care. (The term "pastoral possibilities" describes the goals of the chaplain's caring.) 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II I "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" Matthew 28:20 NAM VET Newsletter Page 78 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 ================================================================= I V V E C A l i c e i n B o o n i e l a n d ! ================================================================= Imposter Vets are exploiting our brother and sister veterans! Input by: Rick Stolz Okauchee, Wisconsin at: VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 Imposter vets are more than just a nuisance Con artist faking it as vets try to cash in on the public's interest and concern for the American war veteran. For U.S. Veteran News and Report By F.A. Wright When John Maughn showed up at the Veterans Counseling Center in Atlanta on a sultry August afternoon in 1983, he had a POW license plate on the front bumper of his battered station wagon and his wife and children and all their belongings stuffed inside. Maughn told counselors at the center of 5-1/2 years of brutal captivity he had endured in a prisoner of war camp in North Vietnam and displayed his DD-214 as proof. He also related a heart-rending tale of joblessness and homelessness that left Maughn and the counselors in tears. Within days the vet center helped Maughn and his wife find work, located an affordable apartment for them and greased the skids so Maughn could obtain a $10,000 loan from the Veterans Administration. "He was so convincing because you didn't see a song-and-dance act," said Tony Hamilton, employment director at the vet center. "He didn't ask for anything in the beginning. He just told a story and let us suggest what we could do for him. We were not suspecting anything because when a guy says he's a former POW, your heart goes out to him." Over the next four years, Maughn ran up debts in the Atlanta area of more $30,000, often using his POW story to obtain loans and housing. He skipped from job to job, never lasting more than eight months at any one. Finally, in 1987, Maughn and his family hurriedly moved out of a $120,000 home they had been renting in suburban Atlanta and went to Florida, just ahead of investigations by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and a local reporter who had been contacted by vet groups suspicious of Maughn. What these two investigations eventually revealed were that not only was Maughn not a former POW, he was not a Vietnam veteran. During 3-1/2 of the 5-1/2 years Maughn claimed to be a POW in Vietnam, he was actually serving time in the Atlanta federal penitentiary for car theft. Although he had been in the Air Force in the early 1950s, Maughn had an arrest record dating to 1957, including time in two federal prisons. "He's a con artist and he's good at it. He's a real manipulator," NAM VET Newsletter Page 79 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 said GBI investigator Dave Bartlett, who eventually arrested Maughn when he returned to Atlanta. Maughn is now serving time in a Georgia prison for illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Maughn is just one of a growing number of fraudulent Vietnam veterans who have preyed on the conscience of the American public. Over the past five years, according to experts, the number of fake vets has increased as the public has come to view Vietnam veterans and their emotional and physical problems more sympathetically. "For years, Vietnam veterans were portrayed as crazes. Now, they are being seen as heroes," said Dr. Betsy Tolstedt of the Veterans Administration's outreach clinic in Chicago. "Some claim to be vets just out of a need to be macho." Others, according to experts, are motivated by a sense of guilt because they hid in college or Canada while others fought. Still other impostors, like Maughn, try to cash in on the public's acceptance of Vietnam vets. Whatever their motives, the numbers of fake vets seems to be increasing. Among the cases of recently exposed fraudulent are these: In San Antonio, Texas, two men who claimed to be Vietnam veterans resigned as directors of a Vietnam War museum after it was disclosed that neither had served in Vietnam. In Salt Lake City, Utah, Robert Fife for years had convinced his wife and friends that his emotional problems stemmed from service as a jet pilot in Vietnam his captivity as a prisoner of war. When Fife killed himself, it was discovered that he had never been to Vietnam and was using the war as an excuse for his own failures. "I feel like I've been raped," said Fife's wife, Nancy. In Kansas City, a 35-year-old water purification unit salesman named Robert Lyons pleaded guilty in federal court to falsely impersonating a federal officer when it was discovered that his claims of being a four-star general, Vietnam War hero and CIA agent were little more than ruses to bilk gullible women out of money. In Phoenix, Darrow "Duke" Tully resigned as publisher of the Arizona Republic and Phoenix Gazette newspapers when his claims of being a combat pilot in Vietnam and Korea were exposed as fraudulent. In Massachusetts, state representative Royall Switzler abandoned his gubernatorial campaign when he admitted that his claims to having served as a member of the Special Forces in Vietnam were false. In Connecticut, state representative Robert Sorensen was forced to give up his reelection campaign when it was learned that he had lied during a debate in the state legislature by saying he was a Vietnam vet. In 1983, one of the leading spokesmen for Vietnam Veterans of America was forced to resign when it was disclosed that he had never served in Vietnam. NAM VET Newsletter Page 80 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 In Hawaii, Leslie A. Tatay of St. Cloud, Florida, crawled bare- chested and barefooted from the Pacific ocean onto the island of Maui and into the midst of a church beach party telling the shocked church members that he was an escaped prisoner of war from Vietnam. The local press in Hawaii picked up on Tatay's claim and printed it before he was discovered to be a fake. In Illinois, Rick Beale, who won the confidence of vet groups by falsely claiming to be a returned prisoner of war, is wanted by the State of Illinois for felony theft resulting from misappropriating funds from Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 299, and the Disabled American Veterans of Rock Island. Beale, according to Chuck Schantag of the Vietnam Veteran Locator Service, "is not a veteran of any war." Perhaps the most notorious case of someone cashing in on the blood and suffering of veterans was that of Joe McCarthy, the former flag-waving, commie-busting senator from Wisconsin who terrorized the country in the 1950s. McCarthy for years had claimed he had been a combat tail-gunner during World War II. According to David M. Oshinsky, author of "A Conspiracy So Immense," McCarthy who served three years in the Pacific as an intelligence officer debriefing combat pilots who returned from bombing runs over Japanese-held islands, knew that those who came home with military honors would be rewarded at the ballot box. "Apparently Joe wanted to break the record for the most ammo used in a single mission. So, he was strapped into a tail- gunner's seat, sent aloft, and allowed to blast away at the coconut trees. As a matter of routine, the public relations officer gave him the record and wrote up a press release for Wisconsin papers. A few weeks later, McCarthy came into the fellow's hut waving a stack of clippings. 'This is worth 50,000 votes to me,' he said with a smile. The two men then had a drink to celebrate the creation of 'Tail Gunner Joe.'" When it was discovered that McCarthy's tail-gunner exploits extended no further than 12 joy ride missions and that his much publicized war-wound was the result of falling down a stairwell while aboard the seaplane tender Chandeleur, his credibility took an immediate dive. Some experts now call this rash of fraudulent vets the "Tail-Gunner Joe Syndrome." Fake vets generally can be divided into two categories, according to Dr. Greg Andersen, assistant director of the VA hospital in Menlo Park, Calif.: "Those who want to enhance the image of themselves and those trying to prey off the public." The two fake vets in San Antonio who opened a Vietnam War museum may have had different motives. Gaylord O. Stevens and Kenneth M. Bonner, director and assistant director of the Vietnam War Museum in San Antonio, resigned in October when a Dallas newspaper confronted them with information that disputed their contentions that they had served in elite military units in Vietnam. Both had apparently doctored their discharge papers. NAM VET Newsletter Page 81 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Stevens claimed he was a Navy SEAL team member in Vietnam in 1968- 69 when in fact he served in the Coast Guard from 1969-72 and never left the states. Bonner claimed he served in the Special Forces in Vietnam but his actual military records show he didn't join the Army until 1978. When confronted with the evidence, both admitted they lied. "No matter what you say about us, we did something that no one else has done and no one had the guts to attempt," Bonner said. Said Stevens: "I knew the museum had to be built. I still believe the only way it could have been built was the way it was built. I assumed a role and I assumed I could take it off just as easily." Robert Fife's motives for falsely claiming Vietnam service appear to have been part of an effort to delude himself and others that he was not a failure. But Fife was a lifetime loser. He had failed at business when he gambled away $172,000 of a partner's money. He was a part-time truck driver who dreamed of being a writer. He was also, according to his wife, a pornography addict, spending hours alone with his large cache of erotic material. Fife blamed all his problems on Vietnam. Although he had served briefly in the Navy, receiving a medical discharge after only eight months, Fife concocted an elaborate story of military service that included being stationed on an aircraft carrier off the coast of Vietnam, flying combat missions over North Vietnam and spending 15 days as a prisoner of war before killing a guard and escaping. Fife's wife never questioned his story through 23 years of marriage. Nor did Fife's therapist, who wrote that he was "very much a casualty of the Vietnam War." According to Fife's thoroughly duped therapist, "He was clearly depressed, guilt- ridden, angry, alienated from people and viewed the world in a very negative manner as a result of his military service experiences, particularly as a prisoner of war." Fife died last summer of self-inflicted carbon monoxide poisoning. Tatay claims he was promised $760,000 to travel to Maui and fake the part of an escaped POW. He has refused to identify the person who offered the money, although he did say that he was told the U.S. Government offered "grant money" for escaped American POW's. Tatay's case is still under investigation. Maughn's motives for falsely claiming to be a Vietnam vet and former POW appear to have been purely mercenary. In addition to the $10,000 loan from the VA, Maughn obtained money from Atlanta-area veterans groups, ostensibly to help pay his rent and buy groceries for his family. According to former coworkers, he also frequently borrowed small amounts of money from them and never paid it back. When he finally left town, he owned more than $8,000 back rent, according to court documents. Maughn's resumes include degrees from UCLA and the University of New Mexico, but both schools say Maughn was never enrolled. Maughn had at least five different jobs in engineering while he lived in Atlanta, none lasting more than eight months. He apparently knew just enough technical skills to be able to get a job, but he could never adequately perform the jobs once hired. NAM VET Newsletter Page 82 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Maughn's POW story varied from person-to-person and group-to- group. He contacted one former POW in Atlanta who was still on active duty and told him how his F-105 jet had been shot down over North Vietnam in 1967 and how he had been held in a tiger cage before being released in Hong Kong in 1973 and then taken to Hawaii. "I was already skeptical of his story and when we got to Hong Kong and Hawaii and the release in June 1973, I knew if this wasn't a ringer, then something fishy was going on," said the former POW, who asked that his name not be used. Another version of Maughn's POW story had him flying F-4 jets, being shot down in North Vietnam, escaping from his prison camp after 5-1/2 years and traveling on foot across China to make his escape. For that, he told people, he was being considered for the Medal of Honor. Maughn also claimed at times to be working for the CIA in Central America and Africa and of living in Thailand for three years, where he became an expert in martial arts. Maughn was so brazen that in 1983, shortly after his arrival in Atlanta, he volunteered to be a marshal in the city's annual Veterans Day parade. Near the end of the parade, Maughn jumped onto a float carrying several disabled veterans of the Vietnam War. "Nobody objected to it at the time," said Hamilton, "because he had on his VFW hat and was just another veteran." In 1984 Maughn played Santa Claus at an Atlanta-area mall and gave an interview to a suburban newspaper in which he said he was taking time off from his job to play Santa Claus because he never knew when it was Christmas during his time as a POW. "You know Christmas is there sometime," the paper quoted Maughn as saying, "but there's nothing you can do about it." Maughn's stories invariably fell apart when he ran into veterans who had served in Southeast Asia. But for every John Maughn who is discovered, experts believe there are many more fake vets whose lies about their service to their country go unchallenged. "What these people are doing," said one veteran, " is an insult to veterans and the uniform." >> F. A. Wright is a former Marine and freelance journalist. << NAM VET Newsletter Page 83 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 WIFE FINDS 'HERE' HUSBAND WAS PHONY Springfield, MA Union-News Tuesday, October 10, 1989 Input by: G. Joseph Peck NAM VETs Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 Image hid lifetime of failure from wife A WIFE DECEIVED - Nancy Fife of Salt Lake City, Utah, believed that her late husband was a Vietnam War hero. His headstone, supplied by the Navy, refers to his service in Vietnam, but he never went there. SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Nancy Fife never doubted that her husband had been scarred in mind and body by his Viet Cong captors, and that he was a tarnished and troubled war hero. The night almost 20 years ago, when her sneakers seemed to drive Robert Fife berserk, was all the proof she needed. He told her later that his captors used to wear sneakers then they came to his bamboo cage to beat him and urinate on him, and that the enemy soldier he strangled when he escaped was wearing canvas shoes. Then there was the manuscript her husband left when he died last summer at the age of 46 of self-inflicted carbon monoxide poisoning - 449 pages of vivid Vietnam experiences. But Fife had never been to Vietnam, let alone been a hero. Misled by Fife, his therapist, Dr. Corydon Hammond, had concluded that he suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome and was "very much a casualty of the Vietnam War." A letter Hammond wrote after Fife's death included a general account of what he believed was his patient's Navy war experience - 15 days of torment as a prisoner of war after the USS Ranger-based F-4 fighter on which Fife was navigator was shot down in early 1966. But Fife's heroic identity was adopted to cover a lifetime of failure. His image, maintained through 23 years of marriage, was shattered only when his widow tried to have his name included on the state's Vietnam War memorial, using the letter from Hammond as part of her evidence. The Utah Vietnam Era Veterans memorial Committee decided last month after some debate to place Fife's name on the granite and marble structure, to be dedicated Saturday. His would have been the last of 390 names on the memorial. But while an artisan was preparing to engrave Fife's name, an Associated Press reporter who had searched unsuccessfully for veterans who served with the dead hero told Mrs. Fife that her husband had lied. "I feel like I've been raped," Mrs. Fife said after being told of NAM VET Newsletter Page 84 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 the deception revealed by Navy records. After a great deal of anguish, she decided to tell the truth to her 21-year-old son and her 19-year-old daughter. "Intellectually, I know I have the right to be angry," she said, "but even with all of this I first need to understand it all." Fife did not usually talk much about Vietnam, but his wife had accompanied him to his first session with Hammond in 1986, when he used the old fiction to try to justify his life. Fife had acquired a certificate, purportedly from the USS Ranger Committee, listing the medals he said he had burned at the time to protest the bad treatment of Vietnam veterans. They included the Navy Cross, the service's highest award for valor. At the reporter's request, Jeannie Kirk, head of the Navy's Awards and Special Projects Branch, tracked down Fife's real Navy records. They showed that he enlisted in September 1965 and was discharged eight months later as medically unfit because of bones broken in his right foot during childhood that had not mended properly. Fife wanted to be remembered as the hero in his manuscript, not as a man obsessed by the circumstances of his birth. Fife never knew his father, and blamed his mother for making him "a bastard," said a sister, Lynda Turcsanski. NAM VET Newsletter Page 85 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 ================================================================= H e a r t s n ' M i n d s ================================================================= A VETERAN SPEAKS -- AGAINST THE WAR by Bob Muller, Vietnam Veterans Against the War Presented at a meeting of the Student Assembly of Columbia University Student Assembly, July 23, 1971 Input by: Kathleen Kelly, Ph.D. NAM VETs PTSD Section Editor The New York Transfer - Staten Island, NY (718) 448-2358 Vietnam is something you have to experience firsthand to believe. I know I didn't believe what anybody told me about Vietnam before I went; it was something I had to go through myself. Let me go back and tell you who I am and what I'm about. I'm a retired first lieutenant in the Marines -- retired, because today, when you're separated from service for a disability, you're put on a retired basis; you're not simply discharged as you were in World War II. [Mr. Muller spoke from a wheelchair, the result of a crippling injury sustained in Vietnam.] In 1967, I was in my senior year in college at Hofstra University. And one day that spring, I went into the Student Union Building, and there was a Marine officer standing there. He looked very sharp: he had his dress blues on, and he had the old crimson stripe down the side of his trousers. I said, "That looks good! I'm going to be a marine." Right there, in that sentence, is really the tragedy of my life, as I view it. The tragedy of my life was not being shot in Vietnam; the tragedy in my life is one that has been shared by all too many Americans, and is still being shared today. For me, knowledge of the fact that my government had seen fit to involve us militarily in Vietnam was sufficient for me. I NEVER ASKED THE REASON WHY. I just took it on blind faith that my government knew a hell of a lot more than I ever could, and that they must be right. My opinion has changed since then.... Still the fact is, I went. I went all the way, with no reservation. I said, "If you're going to fight, you might as well go all the way." So I joined the Marines, and then became an officer. I didn't request the infantry, and I didn't request to go to Vietnam; I literally demanded it. I was "the Marine's Marine:" I could run faster, do more push-ups and more pull-ups. I had leadership capability and so on and so forth. I got what I was after. When I was in the Marine Corps, as I said before, I never really asked "WHY are we in Vietnam? What's the history behind our involvement in that country?" I went in -- boom! There's something you have to understand about a system like the military: once you become a part of the machinery, it works on you. By the time it came time for me to go overseas, I was a fanatic; I was the epitome of John Wayne; I wanted but one thing: I wanted to NAM VET Newsletter Page 86 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 kill. You go through this environment of the military, and everything sort of works on itself. Your instructors, the guys you're going through with, your peers, what have you -- all the time it's an indoctrination. "We're out there, and we're fighting the `gooks.'" You get a couple of hundred guys out in the field, and they put the old bayonet on the rifle. "Kill, kill." Who do you kill? "Luke the Gook" and "Link the Chink." You get psyched up on this stuff. I was "Gung-Ho" as they say. And I went to Vietnam with this in mind: here is a country, South Vietnam, that is a freedom-loving people, that want their independence, their right to self- determination, and they are being subjected to a massive Communist invasion from the North. I had some close family friends who were fairly high in the military; they had gone to Vietnam, and their experiences sort of backed up what I was being told: that we were fighting to repel an invasion of these freedom-loving people from the North. I said, "Wow! That don't go! I'm for the liberation of anybody who wants to be free." We get small-arms fire from a village, we get a sniper, and do you know how we return that small-arms fire? We return it with ANYTHING -- and that goes from whatever's organic to the unit you're working with -- your mortars, for example -- to heavy artillery, to gunships to jets, to napalm, to big bombs, even Naval gunfire; we had the battleship New Jersey on station with the sixteen-inch guns. We'd come across villages where we'd take fire, and for the one or two people in there that might be V.C., we'd level that village. Now militarily, that might make sense; but you just stop and think for a minutes what it means when, to get two people, you kill 150. Is My Lai an isolated incident? Hell, no! It may not have happened so often that one platoon commander, in an immediate situation, rounds up people as Calley did, and just summarily executes them. Granted, I had the same experiences Calley had. I had had guys in my platoon that were blown away by kids. We had a company setup outside a village, and during the day, kids came by. And the guys were giving them C-rations and chocolate and they took them into the perimeter. And they were giving them cigarettes, what have you, and being real nice. And the kids were ten years old, eleven years old. They were manning the water- buffalo. I said, "Don't let the kids in the perimeter." That night the company got hit by a VC mortar and rocket squad, and they had our positions mapped out. They knew where the C.P. was, they knew where all our defensive positions were, and how they got the information was from the kids. And yes, you do have, among the kids, among the women, VC sympathizers. That's the majority of what I came into contact with, anyway, in Northern I-Corps. But because you have people who are VC sympathizers mixed in with the population what's the solution? What have we done in Vietnam? Actually follow a policy of genocide? And it is genocide, because of the nature of the war. It's not a conventional war; it's not the same as World War II, it's not the same as Korea. We don't have fronts, we don't acquire land, hold it, and then move on and acquire more land. What we do is, try to win the minds of the people; and since we're doomed to fail, there's only one other answer: liquidate them. And that is what we've done. NAM VET Newsletter Page 87 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 I have a friend who spent four years in Laos. Don't try to tell him what we're doing in Laos is winding down the war; that's hogwash. He can tell you about day after day after day in Laos -- a country that we're not even at war with -- where our guys are going over and not limiting themselves to the Ho Chi Minh trail, but are going throughout the entire region of populated areas, and knocking out the villages. These stories about people living in caves and tunnels; that's no joke; it's reality. It's what's going on. Perhaps you think I'm just a bitter person -- and only because I got hit in Nam. I am bitter. You're damn straight I'm bitter! There is no way I could give you the essence of what I'm talking about. I could sit here all night, and tell you a series of war stories. A lot of them would really make your hair stand on end -- but I'm not going to do that. You had that with the film ("Winter Soldiers"). They say that because we Vietnam veterans are called upon to kill, we're dehumanized, we are callous. I will agree with that statement and disagree with it, too. While I was in Vietnam, and a combatant, I was very callous. One time I had the guy on the right and the guy on the left of me both get hit, and I didn't blink an eye; it wasn't ME; I didn't get hit, they did. They might have been my friends, but it wasn't my ass that got blown away. As I said before, kill another person? You do it. You're in that situation and you're going to kill. But there's something even more to the fanaticism that led me. After I made up my mind that the war was wrong, I still fought. The last day I was in Vietnam, the day I got shot, I knew the war was wrong; but I still went up that hill, assaulting North Vietnamese positions, with only one idea in my head, and that was to kill -- not for any ideological reason, but simply out of hatred. I'd lost friends in Nam, I'd gone through hell for eight months, these guys were the enemy to me, and I went out to kill them. You might say I got caught up in an insanity. It's very simple back here in the States to pass judgment on what goes on in the heads of the guys in Vietnam. It's very easy for somebody to say, "How the hell can these things happen, that the guys are talking about? These guys should all be thrown in jail!" It's very easy to just be here and say, "What a barbaric act!" But that's the kind of war this is. Vietnam is ten thousand miles away to you people. I don't want to sound condescending, but it's a reality! It's going on today! Right now, there are guys out on ambushes, there are guys on "long-range reconnaissance inserts," in Laos, in Cambodia. The killing is going on right now! The psychological pressures that are in these guys' heads is going on right now. Don't let this statistic of "eleven deaths last week" throw you. There is a full-fledged war going on, with all the horrors that go along with it. If you don't physically see the horrors of war, it's easy to forget. It's easy to forget it. Maybe it's something you try to forget. NAM VET Newsletter Page 88 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 But, dammit, I can't. It's with me every day, whether I like it or not, I cannot forget what is going on in Vietnam. Everybody in this country seems to be thinking, "The War's over. They're going to work out some great plan. They're going to have a withdrawal of troops. Fine and dandy!" But that war is still going on. And until it's politically expedient for Nixon to get a withdrawal out of Vietnam, and a negotiated settlement, how many more guys are going to have to die? And again, I'm not only talking about Americans. There are a lot of things about Vietnamization, but the tragedy of it is this: that it continues the war. Now you can sugarcoat the rest of it any way you want to: "We're not doing the fighting anymore. We're only giving them air support." But the fighting continues! And if it's not obvious now -- after how long we've been there, after having over half a million American men totally committed to trying to seek a military victory -- that this war cannot be won militarily, short of the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons -- then I don't know when it will be. But if you consider wiping out North Vietnam a victory, and rubbing out major sections of South Vietnam a victory, then I say, "Well, that's your definition; to me, that's no victory." Vietnam did something to me, it shook me out of the rut in my life. There's this whole thing about the Pentagon Papers and the need to make yourself knowledgeable. This is the essence of what I try and say -- specifically when I talk with high school students. But I don't limit it to that. I was going on with blinders through my whole life. I graduated from college with a very high average. You'd think I was intelligent; I was a dummy. I was all set to go into the Marines, spend three yeas as an officer, get the leadership credentials and all that garbage; come back and go into a major corporation, in its management training program, right up the scale, and so on and so forth. Vietnam pointed something out to me, that I was derelict, I was negligent in my responsibility as a citizen. I don't mean delegating all my responsibilities as a citizen to whoever I voted for, or whoever was my congressman or senator. All right, they're the ones who are making the policy; who am I? I'm Norman Nobody. "Even if I know something, what good is it going to do?" I think it CAN do some good. I say that there is going to be a revolution in this country. And it won't be born out of violence or bloodshed. The revolution I'm talking about may be one reason why you're here tonight: an increased sensitivity on your part, a greater awareness of your function as a human being, and of your responsibility, as a citizen of this country, to be held accountable for, and to try to direct, what the United States of American is doing in your name. THAT'S the revolution I'm talking about -- a social revolution, a change in thinking, one that says, "Throw out `kill ratios' as the logic for continuing the war." Our commanders are happy; they say, "We will continue. We're winning in Vietnam, because we are getting fifteen `gooks' for every American killed." It is THAT that I want to see a total rejection of. I want to see people recognize that a Laotian, a Cambodian, a North Vietnamese, a Viet Cong, has got as much right to live -- and live any way he chooses to -- as any American. The day that NAM VET Newsletter Page 89 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 we really incorporate that into our thinking is the day that we're going to change. You ask me, "What can I do for peace?" I don't know. I've seen a lot of suffering, and I'm aware because I saw it. I hope you can become aware, because then you will take on your responsibility as a citizen to know what we've done in Vietnam, and to broaden our horizons. Look at what's going on in Pakistan, with this Administration still wanting to send military aid to Pakistan, where hundreds of thousands of Bengalis have been slaughtered. This is what I'm talking about, this sensitivity. Look at us supporting a military junta in Greece, in Athens, or having Spiro T. [Agnew, the Vice President under Richard Nixon] going around to all these fascist countries, saying "Right on! Right on!" That's what I oppose. And that's why I say, "Open up your heads and be aware." Be aware of the racist policy that we have followed. I hardly even touched the racist nature of [the war in] Vietnam, but it's there. I can go on and on and on. But the whole thing winds down to this: I've seen a lot of hate in this world; and all I have left -- all I try to keep in my head and convey to others -- is love. And I mean that, because that IS all I've got left. Thank you. ---------- Source: "THE FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT TO KNOW THE TRUTH: A Study of the War in S.E. Asia through the Pentagon Papers and Other Sources" (monograph). New York: The Student Assembly of Columbia University, 1971. NAM VET Newsletter Page 90 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 A Vietnam Veteran's wife shares her pain By: Laura Palmer In the 2/18/90 El Paso Times Input by: Joyce Flory NAM VETs Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM (505) 523-2811 "A Vietnam veteran's wife shares her pain" "Her book traces path of horror to healing" "Patience Mason has written the book she couldn't find in a library or bookstore. "Recovering from the War:A Woman's Guide to Helping Your Vietnam Vet, Your Family and Yourself" is written with the blunt honesty of one who has been there - and back. Mason's husband, Robert, was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. His book about his experiences, "Chickenhawk", became a best seller. But for many of their 23 years of marriage, his wife says, "We were a flamingly dysfunctional family. "For some of those years," Mason writes, "Bob drank a quart of whiskey a day, smoked pot, and took a lot of Valium and he was still wired. "He couldn't sleep, he had nightmares, rages, constant anxiety attacks, intrusive thoughts, deep depressions. Often he was cold and critical. He was unfaithful to me. He left various jobs for both reasonable and unreasonable reasons. "Neither of us knew what was wrong. I screamed and raged and enabled and took care of the family stuff while he suffered." Mason, 46, now knows her husband was suffering from PostTraumatic Stress Disorder. The problem is he came back from the war in 1966 and the disorder did not exist as a diagnosis until 1980. As her husband relied on pills and alcohol to throttle down his pain, Mason became a state-of-the-art co-dependent who assumed that his problems were her fault. "I felt that if only I were better, thinner, more housewifely, neater, kinder, Bob wouldn't be so depressed all the time," she writes. "If I were a perfect wife, he wouldn't have any problems." Ultimately, her book is about healing and hope for people who are willing to look honestly at themselves and then buckle down and do the hard work that is required to change. Mason gave up trying to "fix" Bob and control the world. Change led her to revelation. "I was real surprised to find out I wasn't perfect and didn't know everything," she writes. The fact it has not been easy has made her life hard and this book good. This is a woman with a college degree who cleaned houses so her husband could write and then went on the book tour for him because he was in jail after his only attempt at drug smuggling backfired. "Recovering from the War" is more than just Patience Mason's gritty story. The first one-third of the book could be described as "everything you need to know about the Vietnam War to understand someone who served there." The second section explains what the physical and emotional aftereffects of the war were on the men who fought it, and the third segment explains how to cope. This book is crammed with first-rate advice about the Veterans Administration, the Vet Center Program and veterans groups. NAM VET Newsletter Page 91 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 ================================================================= C o n c e n t r a t e d S e r v i c e ================================================================= NamVet/IVVEC Concentrated Service Report by: G. Joseph Peck NAM VETs Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 To keep you abreast of HOW NamVet/IVVEC Concentrated Service is doing, we'll try to run a report every month of the status of efforts currently underway and, if appropriate, apprise you of positive or negative results. -- Letter dated 1/1/90 to Massachusetts' DAV Commander, with text- file copy in IVVEC: To date: NO response - VERBAL or WRITTEN -- Copy of above letter dated 1/1/90 to DAV National Commander, with text-file copy in IVVEC: To date: NO response - VERBAL or WRITTEN -- Letter dated 1/13/90 to U.S. Congressman Silvio O. Conte, with text-file copy in IVVEC was received and responded to 3/2/90. It is included in this issue of NamVet. (Progress!!!!) -- Letter(s) dated 1/21/90 to Commissioners and Directors of Veterans Affairs in 50 states and 2 Territories, with text- file copy in IVVEC: To date: 24 positive and helpful responses w/literature; 7 letters returned ADDRESSEE NOT HERE UNABLE TO FORWARD -- Letter dated 1/31/90 to U.S. President Bush was received and responded to. It is included in this issue of NamVet. Agent Orange Editor Kroll is to provide the White House with a copy of his letter and a copy of its 1/31/90 response to me. I will keep you posted here and in the VIETNAM_VETS echo as to continuing developments on any of the above issues. Yours, in Service to America ... and my fellow man In kindness, honesty, and good faith G. Joseph Peck Moderator, VIETNAM_VETERANS INTERNATIONAL ECHO Managing Editor, NAMVET SysOp - VETLINK #1 President, BERKSHIRE VETERANS' CENTER, INC. NAM VET Newsletter Page 92 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Letter from The White House by: G. Joseph Peck NAM VETs Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 In last month's NamVet and in IVVEC we published a letter which we wrote to The Honorable U.S. President George Bush concerning the lack of response to Agent Orange Editor Martin Kroll's letter concerning Agent Orange Compensation to the Vietnam Veterans of our nation. On or about 26 February 90, we received the reply noted below. We have since NETMAILed a text-file copy to Martin and, as soon as we can gain access to a working copier, we will copy and mail the White House letter to him also. - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON February 20, 1990 Dear Mr. Peck: Thank you for your most recent message to the White House. I regret that you have not received a response to your original correspondence, but we have no record of it in the file system at the White House. If you would care to write again, we will be certain to see that your message receives the proper attention. I would appreciate it if you could also enclose a copy of this letter as a reminder. With best wishes, Sincerely, /s/ Shirley M. Green Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Messages and Correspondence NAM VET Newsletter Page 93 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Progress!!! - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - SILVIO O. CONTE WASHINGTON ADDRESS First District, Massachusetts 2300 Rayburn Office Building Washington, DC 20515 COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Phone: 202-225-5335 Ranking Republican Member CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON, DC 20515 SUBCOMMITTEES Labor - Health and Human DISTRICT OFFICES Services - Education Federal Building Transportation 78 Center Street Arterial Pittsfield, MA 01201 LEGISLATIVE Phone: 413-442-0946 Ex Officio Member Of All Subcommittees 187 High Street Holyoke, MA 01040 COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS Phone: 413-532-7010 Subcommittee on Procurement, Innovation, and Minority Enterprises Development MIGRATORY BIRD CONSERVATION COMMISSION March 2, 1990 BOARD OF REGENTS SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION Mr. G. Joseph Peck XXX XXXX Street Pittsfield, Massachusetts 01201 Dear Mr. Peck: This is to acknowledge and thank you for your recent telephone call to my Pittsfield Office requesting a personal visit with me. Since I have very recently held Office Hours, and due to the fact that sessions in the United States House of Representatives are in progress, it is impossible to state at this time exactly when my schedule will permit me to meet with constituents there again. I want to assure you, however, that your name is on file for an appointment and when a date has been set, you will be notified by telephone. If there is anything I can do to be of assistance to you in the interim, please do not hesitate to contact me. I understand that you will be forwarding to me a letter addressed to the Postmaster General. As always, Mr. Peck, as soon as I am in receipt of this material, I will not delay in bringing it to the attention of the Postmaster General. With my continued best wishes and warm regards, I am Cordially yours, /s/ Silvio O. Conte Member of Congress SOC:cl NAM VET Newsletter Page 94 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 VETLink #1 and its sponsor, Berkshire Veterans Center, Inc., have been in the process of creating an on-line database/information referral source for our nations veterans and their dependents. We've sent a letter to the Director/Commissioner of all 50 states and a few territories requesting any veteran-related information they'd wish to share. To date, we've received replies from the following states/territories: ALABAMA (Frank D. Wilkes, Director) ALASKA (Charles T. Borg, Director) CALIFORNIA (Jesse G. Ugalde, Director) CONNECTICUT (Joseph C. Barber, Deputy Commissioner) FLORIDA (S. F. Stover, Director) GEORGIA (Pete Wheeler, Commissioner) ILLINOIS (John W. Johnston, Director) INDIANA (S. Jeanne Loveless, Program Coordinator) IOWA (Dale Renaud, Director) LOUISIANA (Printice A. Darnell, Executive Director) MINNESOTA (Terrence A. Logan, Director, Agency Relations) MISSOURI (William V. Haynes, Director) NEW HAMPSHIRE (Conrad V. Moran, Director) NEW YORK (Tom Lewis, Director) NORTH CAROLINA (Charles F. Smith, Assistant Director) OHIO (Col. John P. Seimer , Director of Veteran's Affairs) PENNSYLVANIA (Joseph R. Clelan, Director) RHODE ISLAND (Michael F. Gallagher, Casework Supervisor) SOUTH CAROLINA (Bill J. Sams Director) TEXAS (Texas Veterans' Commission/ Garry Mauro - Land Board) VERMONT (Ms. Lyn Boisjoli, Director - State Veterans Affairs) VIRGIN ISLANDS (Verne I. Richards) WEST VIRGINIA (G. L. Harper, Veterans Affairs Chief) WISCONSIN (John J. Maurer, Secretary of Veterans' Affairs) We presently have on-file (but not on-line) state veteran information from Massachusetts, in addition to copies of Title 38, USC and many veteran organization Service Officer manuals and pamphlets. If you live in any of the states/territories listed below -OR- know the CURRENT Director/Commissioner's Address, PLEASE let us know so that we can get a letter off to 'em and collect the information a veteran may need in the near future: RETURNED - We need CURRENT Names & Addresses for: ARIZONA: Arizona Veterans Service Commission - Last known to be in Phoenix, AZ 85013 NEVADA: Commission for Veterans' Affairs - Last known to be in Reno, NV 89502 NORTH DAKOTA: Department of Veterans' Affairs Last known to be in Fargo, ND 58107 MISSISSIPPI: Veterans' Affairs Commission - Last known to be in Jackson, MS 39205 UTAH: Administrator of Veterans' Affairs Last known to be in Salt Lake City, UT 84115 We are STILL trying to find names and addresses for: PANAMA: No Director/Commissioner address found WYOMING: No Director/Commissioner address found NAM VET Newsletter Page 95 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 NOTE: We ran a similar notice in last month's NamVet and have received absolutely NO replies! WHAT are you folk doing out there? C'mon, now - off yer duff's and get to writin'! If you've got veteran-related information that you feel would be helpful to another veteran if s/he found it on-line, please send it to: G. Joseph Peck, President BERKSHIRE VETERANS' CENTER, INC. Post Office Box 2056 Pittsfield, MA 01202 NAM VET Newsletter Page 96 Volume 4, Number 3 March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xxx _ -. . - .-. - . . . . - XXXXXxxXXXXXXXXXXXx -. - .- . - . . XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-. .--. - .- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -.- - -.- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -. -. -. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx .g -. -. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX .- j. .- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX . p .-. XXXXXXXX ]XXXXXXXXX ]XXXXXXXX .- - -. XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX -.- - -- XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX -- - XXXXXXXXX X'`XXX XXXXXXX Y Y XXXXXXXXX XXXXX XXX XXXXXXX X X XXXXXXXX XXXXXXX XXX XXXXXX XXX XX X XXX XX XX XXXX XX XXX XX XX XX XXXX XXX]XXXXXXXXXXXX XXX[ XX XX XXX XXXXXXXXXX " I t ' s o n l y t e e n a g e a c n e ! " -Robert Nimmo- NAM VET Newsletter Page 97 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 VIET NAM VETERANS CONFERENCE By: Mike Harris + T.M.E. + ... Coos Bay, OREGON (503) 269-1935 Point Man Ministries is sponsoring Firebase Freedom in Seattle, Washington on April 6 & 7, 1990. It is our First Pacific Northwest Viet Nam Veterans' Conference. We have just completed a successful conference in Southern California on January 27-28th. We would like to extend an invitation to all of you to attend our upcoming conference! Our Guest Speakers will be as follows: DAVE ROEVER - Author of "Welcome Home, Davey" Viet Nam Veteran - U.S. Navy Seal Corpsman. ROGER HELLE - Author of "My war beyond Viet Nam" Viet Nam Veteran - Highly Decorated U.S. Marine ROBERT TAYLOR- Guerilla Warfare Specialist Viet Nam Veteran U.S. Army Special Forces. This will be a weekend for new beginnings! Why not come and begin making peace with your past? Modeled after two highly successful CBN conferences in Virginia Beach, this Pacific Northwest Conference promises to add immeasurably to a new legacy for the Viet Nam Veteran. The conference has been structured to meet the needs of both vets and their family members, and will feature both general and split sessions. The conference speakers, predominantly veterans or their family members, will be giving "hands on" help with the issues and answers to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD) When people who shared the Viet Nam Experience open up and talk honestly - face to face - about the things no one could understand... something good happens! The way to healing and a new beginning emerges - healing for the inner wounds.. the pain, the anger, the memories, the forgiveness. Come join in on our workshops centering around: What's the Problem? My life as an Era Vet; Forgiving the Past; Adrenalin; PTSD at home; Gathering the pieces of a war-torn marriage; etc. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: POINT MAN INTERNATIONAL Post Office Box 440 Mountlake Terrace, WA. 98043 (206) 486-5383 (OR) Mike Harris in the Vietnam_Veterans EchoConference Be sure and get your reservations in early. POINT MAN is offering limited special rates on lodging. Set these dates aside on your calendar. Bring your wife and loved ones and "Begin Establishing A Legacy of Healing for the Spiritual Wounds of the Viet Nam Experience." It will be a major turning point in your life and your loved ones!! Write or call us for more information. WE TRULY CARE ABOUT YOU!! MIKE NAM VET Newsletter Page 98 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 ================================================================= M a r i n e C o r p s R e u n i o n s ! ================================================================= US Marine Corps Reunion Notices Input by: Glen Kepler The U. S. Veterans BBS - Robbinsdale, MN (612) 522-2026 (Q-Modem Capture File Edited for NamVet by G. Joseph Peck) 1st BTN., 9th MARINES (VIETNAM), May or June 1990 Rogert Liggon 1152 Kensington Ave Plainfield NJ 07060 INDIA BTRY., 3rd BTN., 12th MARINES (VIETNAM), July 18-22 1990 Michael Madden 1253 Burning Tree Ln, Winter Park FL 32792 1st MARINE AIRCRAFT WING (VIETNAM), May 25-28 Tysons Corner VA Rob Waters, P.O. Box 7240, Freeport NY 11520 1ST MARINE AIR WING (VIETNAM), May 1990, Tysons Corner VA Rob Walters, Box 7240, Freeport NY 11520 IWO JIMA MARINES, Feb 1990, Washington John Daskadllakis 2343 S 9th St, Arlington VA 22204 (201)920-6458 6TH DEF. BTN. ASSN (MIDWAY), Apr 1990, Orlando FL Al Robinson 6618 N 46th Ave, Glendale AZ 85301 (602)931-1214 LIMA ARTY. BTRY., Planning for 1990, Gray Landmark, 205 16th St South, Benson, MN 56215 CAC 3-1 TUY LOAN, Planning for 1990, Jeff Fink, 1510 Dargail Ct., Dellwood, MO 63136 MARINE DET. USS RANKIN (AKA-103), Planning for 1990, Robert Ainslie, 16108 Des Plaines Dr., Libertyville,IL 60048 CO. E, 28TH MARINES (WWII), Feb 22-25 1990, Arlington VA Kenneth R. Duncan, 442 Alien St., Munford, TN 38058 1 CO., 1ST BTN., 9TH MARINES, Apr 12-14 1990, Phoenix AZ Oscar Borboa, 12848 W Orange Dr, Litchfield Park, AZ 85340 SMS-23, MAG-23 (MIDWAY), Planning for 1990, Tom Collins, 3159 S. 37th St., Milwaukee, WI 53215 81MM MORTOR PTLN., 2ND dIV., Planning for 1990, C.E. Strain, 2804 Camellia St., Kinston, NC 28501 3RD, 4TH, 5TH MARINE DIV. (WWII), Feb 17 1990, John Armendariz, 13268 Ankerton St., Whittier, CA 90601 6TH DEF. BTN., MIDWAY ASSN., Apr 24-29 1990, Orlando FL Al Robinson, 6618 North 46th Ave., Glendale, AZ 85301 ALLIGATOR MARINES, Apr 26-29 1990, Wil Ronck, 1213 Elmwood Dr., Richardson, TX 75080 NAM VET Newsletter Page 99 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 5TH MARINE DIV., July 11-15 1990, New Orleans LA Roland Chiasson, P.O. Box 225, Larose, LA 70373 1-3-7, 1ST MARINE DIV., Apr 1990, William Tracy 14353 Courtney Woods Ln Jacksonville FL 32224 (904)223-3456 1ST MARINE AIR WING (VIETNAM), May 1990, Rob Waters, Box 7240, Freeport, NY 11520 (516)223-5293 2nd AMPH. TRACTOR BN. (WWII), Apr 1990, Wil Ronck, 1213 Elmwood Dr., Richardson, TX 75080 (214)231-1944 5TH MARINES, WEAPONS CO., Apr 1990, Clyde Cupp, 6105 Magazine Rd, Knoxville, TN 37920 (615)573-2730 HMM 164 ASSN. (VIETNAM), Apr 1990, Michael Triner, 1658 Fremont St., Santa Clara, CA 95050 7TH DIV. USS NEVADA BB-36, May 1990, Robert Jordan, 3218 Coolidge St., Hollywood, FL 33201 MARINE HELICOPTER CREWS (VIETNAM/KOREA), Aug 1990, Ronald Winter, 72 West St., Hebron, CT 06248 (203)228-4893 NORTH CHINA MARINES (1945-49), Apr 1990, Robert Burns HCR 66, Box 342 10, Yellville AR 72687 (501)449-4701 VMF 422, June 1990, Charlotte NC Ed Walsh, 2691 Nira Ave. E., Meadow, NY 11554 (516)781-3551 USMC DRILL INSTRUCTORS (DI) ASSOCIATION USMC Drill Instructors Association c/o Michael Cline, Bldg 28, MCRD, San Diego, CA 92140. USS GENERAL OMAR BUNDY (AP-152), Planning Reunion William Cooper, P.O. Box 2246, Twin Falls Idaho 83381 36th SPECIAL N.C.B., Planning Reunion Jack Jarvis, 4619 SW 7th Place, Cape Coral FL 33914 C.B.M.U. #563, Planning Reunion R.C. Harell Jr., Rte. 2 Box 240, Mount Olive NC 28365 USS GENERAL SD STURGIS (AP-137), Planning Reunion Henry Jendras, 3509 NE 27th St., Fort Lauderdale FL 33308 HMM-164, VIETNAM, April 27-29 1990 Reston VA Michael Triner, 1658 Fremont Street, Santa Clara CA 95050 B COMPANY 1/3 (VIETNAM), July 1990 Michael Rodriguez, 7800 NE 51st St., Kansas City MO 64119 1ST INFANTRY DIVISION (VIETNAM 1965-1970) October 1990, Las Vegas Charles Caldera, 1224 W. 23rd St., San Bernadino CA 92405 3RD SIGNAL COMPANY (WWII), June 1990, Denver Harry Rosenbaum, 105 North League Rd, Colfax, IA 50054 NAM VET Newsletter Page 100 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 27TH ENGINEERING BATTALION (VIETNAM), July 1990, Fort Cambell KY Harold Woodworth, 405 Massey Lane, Jacksonville, IL 62650 32nd DIVISION 128th INFANTRY HQ CO. October 1990 Edgerton WI Louis Bartz 2860 West Rd 5, Edgerton, WI 53534 38th DIVISION 151st INFANTRY CO. E June 1990 Darlington IN Allan Yount Academy St, Darlington IN 47940 HMM-164 (VIETNAM) Micheal Triner 608 West Belmont #3a, Chicago IL 60657 H TROOP 17th CAV (VIETNAM) - Planning Reunion Larry Baker 536 Burkett St, Benton IL 62821 539th SUPPLY CO. 96TH SUPPLY BATTALION (VIETNAM) Planning Reunion James Green 7106 Sundays Lane, Frederick MD 21701 COMPANY A, 12th ENGINEERING BATTALION, 8TH INFANTRY DIVISION Planning reunion Junior Goolsby, 506 North 18th, Lamesa TX, 79331 COMPANY A 823rd T.D BTN --- Planning reunion J. Roman, 8 Mallory Rd, Spring Valley, N.Y., 10977 COMPANY A 823rd T.D BTN --- Planning reunion J. Roman, 8 Mallory Rd, Spring Valley, N.Y., 10977 124th ORDINANCE CO. 87th ORDINANCE BTN. --- Planning reunion Bill Meyer, P.O. Box 277, Milan Ind, 47031 M CO. 26th INFANTRY, 1st DIVISION February 1-4 1990 Tampa FL Robert Dehaven, 3303 Ashland Drive, Zephyrhills FL 33540 2nd FIELD ARTILLERY OBSN BTN. April 14-15 1990 Sapulpa OK M.I. Williams, P.O. Box 281, Supulpa OK 74069 189th FIELD ARTILLERY April 26-29 Lawton OK Kenneth MacDonald, HC30 Box 1775, Lawton OK 73501-9139 3rd ARMORED DIV. 36th AIR, B CO. May 1990 Jack B. Warden, 806 Salem Lane, Austin TX 78753 121st INFANTRY REGIMENT May 17-19 1990, Macon GA Jim McClendon, 5060 Rine Ridge Drive, Macon GA 31210 121st INFANTRY REGIMENT May 17-19 1990, Macon GA Jim McClendon, 5060 Rine Ridge Drive, Macon GA 31210 8th CAV REGIMENT May 17-19 1990, Helena MT Don M. Caine, P.O. Box 601, Townsend, MT 59644 172nd COMBAT ENGINEER BTN (WWII) May 18-20 1990 Asheville NC Joe Layne, 2119 Reuter Rd, Timonium MD 21093 CO. E 17th INFANTRY DIVISION (WWII) May 21-24 1990, Janesville WI Bob Prueher, 1819 Clover Ln, Janesville WI 53545 NAM VET Newsletter Page 101 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 9th INF. DIV (VIETNAM), February 1990, Richmond VA John Eanes 6246 Neptune Dr Mechanicsville VA 23111 (807)746-5575 16th FIELD HOSPITAL, April 1990, Metrairie LA Harvey Carmouche 936 Hooter Rd Bridge City LA 70094 (504)436-1609 18th AAA Grp., HQ & HQ BTRY. (WWII), April 1990, Opelika AL Rad Dedmon, Box 280, Canutillo TX 79835 (915)877-3142 18th FIELD ARTILLERY, 45TH DIV, April 1990, Lawton OK Ken McConald, HC30, Box 1775, Lawton OK 73501 (405)429-8203 26th INF 1ST DIV M CO., Feb 1990, Tampa FL Bob DeHaven 7143 Ashland Dr, Zephyrhillis, FL 33540 (813)788-5606 73rd ENGINEERS (WWII), April 1990, Phoenix AZ Wayne Long, 10277 N. 32nd Ln, Phoenix AZ 85051 (602)943-8727 86TH CHEM. MORTAR BTN ASSN, March 1990, San Antonio TX LTC John B Deasy 1830 30th Ave San Francisco CA 94122 (415)566-2177 102ND INF. DIV., Feb 1990, Harrisburg PA George Hagerty Jr 8420 Hegerman St Philadelphia PA 19136 (215)333-6112 109TH AAA GROUP HQ BTRY., Feb 1990, Florida William Rumbaugh 744 Portwine CT Englewood FL 34223 (813)474-1075 204TH CA AA HQ BRTY., April 1990, Natchitoches LA Elmer O'Con, Box 142, Natchitoches LA 71457 (318)352-2395 223RD RGT., 40TH DIV., A CO., Feb 1990, Las Vegas NV Marvin Haux, 48 Crow River Rd, Elk River MN 55330 (612)441-6342 303RD INF RGT., 97TH DIV., B CO., May 1990, Saute GA J Sims, Rt 1 Box 1402A Saute GA 30571 (404)878-3849 322ND SIGNAL BTN., B CO., Jan 1990 Wm Hothan 513 Lowell Ave New Hyde Park NY 11040 (516)775-3438 687TH ENGINEERS (WS) CO (1951-58) Jan 1990 Desert Hot Springs FL Jim Craig 9045 Clubhouse Rd Desert Hot Springs FL 92240 (619)329-9045 708TH ORD., 8TH DIV. (WWII), Jan 1990, Kissimmee FL Ed Reynolds 14376 Aqua Vista Rd Jacksonville FL 32224 (904)223-4435 743RD ORD., 43RD DIV. (1950-53), Jan 1990, Orlando FL Michael Soho, 4702 211th, Bayside L.I., NY 11361 759TH MP BTN., May 1990, Richmond VA Robert Smyth, 99 Ocean Ave., Islip NY 11751 (516)277-4505 849TH ORD. DPT. CO. (WWII), Feb 1990, Quartzsite AZ George Lake, 2404 Kona Ln., Ceres CA 95307 (209)537-8298 3816TH QM GAS SUPPLY CO., March 1990, Pharr TX NAM VET Newsletter Page 102 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Wes Cook. 522 S. Huisache, Pharr TX 78577 (512)781-5766 OFFICERS of the 1ST DIV (WWI/WWII/VIETNAM), Apr 1990, Washington Officers of the 1st Div Box 2331 Springfield VA 22152 (703)883-9200 24TH NCB (WWII), Apr 1990, Chattanooga TN Kenneth Welch, Rt 7 Box 392, Fulton NY 13069 (315)598-1910 GRO-PAC 11, Base 3150 (Iwo Jima), Feb 1990, Stuart FL James Carroll 14 Ford Dr So Massapequa NY 11758 (516)795-4074 HATRON 10 (ALL PERIODS), May 1990, Whidbey Isl. WA Harry Rodriquez 44 Julie Dr Hopewell Junction NY 12533 (212)931-1299 2465TH QM TRUCK CO., Apr 1990, Baltimore MD Dave Spencer 2809 Wells Rd Baltimore MD 21219 (301)388-0164 STALAG LUFT I & III POWS, May 1990 Phil Gibbons, 549 N.E. 8th Ave Deerfield Beach FL 33441 (305)427-1023 3RD BTN., 12TH MAR., INDIA BTRY. (VIETNAM) Michael Madden, 1253 Burning Tree Ln. Winter Park FL 32792 (407)0671-5942 7TH COMM. BTN., RADIO PTN. (1966-67), Feb 1990, Davenport IA Dennis Starling, Box 101, Lost Nation IA 52254 (319)678-2572 2ND BTN., 34TH ARMOUR DIV., (VIETNAM), July 1990 Pat Forster 31861 Callie Winona, San Juan Capistrano, CA 31861 (714)493-4080 3RD SIGNAL CO., (WWII), June 1990, Denver CO Harry Rosenbaum 105 N League Rd Colfax IA 50054 (515)674-3732 5TH DIV., SUN COAST GARRISON, Mar 1990, Ocala FL Milton Bartell 1026 Woodside Dr Wildwood FL 34785 (904)748-7669 7TH INF. RGT. ASSN., June 1990, Colorado Springs CO France Cook, 1364 Gilham St., Philadelphia PA 19111 8TH ARMY ENGINEERS & BRIDGE CO., Mar 1990, New Iberia LA Art Wigdahl 110 Belle Place Rd New Iberia LA 70560 (318)364-6638 8TH ARMY HQ & HQ CO. (WWII), Aug 1990, Memphis TN Mitchell Martin 3933 Meramac, St Louis MO 63116 (314)776-1403 8TH DIV. ARTILLERY (1956-59), Oct 1990, Irving TX Ed Pugh 4719 Taft #3 Wichita Falls TX 76308 (817)692-4841 17TH INF. RGT., 7TH DIV., E CO. (WWII), May 1990, Janesville WI Bob Prueher 1819 Clover Ln Janesville WI 53545 (608)754-7902 20TH ARM'D. DIV. TRAINS, Sept 1990, Denver CO John Keefe, 164 Woodgate, Paoli PA 19301 (215)647-1321 24TH INF. RGT. ASSN., July 1990, Columbia SC NAM VET Newsletter Page 103 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Taylor Moore III, 124 W Lakeside Ave Columbia SC 29203 (803)252-6264 27TH ENGINEER BTN. (VIETNAM), July 1990, Fort Campbell FY Harold Woodworth 405 Massey Ln Jacksonville IL 62650 (217)243-3939 29TH DIVISION (FL CHAPTER), Jan 1990, Punta Gorda FL George Smith 2412 Griswold Ct New Port Richey FL 34655 (813)372-8752 31ST INF. RGT. ASSN., June 1990, Lawton OK Oliver Robertson 1621 NW 39th Lawton OK 73505 (405)355-5217 31ST/241ST ENGINEERS BNS. (WWII), July 1990, Little Falls NY Gerald Stone, 507 Lake St., Herkimer NY 13350 (315)866-5447 32ND AAA AW BN., 1 BTRY. (1951-54), Aug 1990, Minneapolis MN Norman Schaible 4500 Cedar Lake Rd Minneapolis MN 55416 (612)881-3610 32ND DIV. RED ARROW CLUB (GREAT WESTERN), May 1990, Reno NV L.E. Abel, Rt. 4, Box 93A #81, Woodland CA 95695 (916)662-9489 36TH EVAC. HOSPITAL, Aug 1990, Portland OR Elvira Pantenburg, 4717 N. Willamette Blvd Portland OR 97203 (503)283-3090 40TH DIV., AVN CO. (1952-54), Summer 1990, Colorado Springs CO Norman Zehr, Box 1410, Golden CO 80402 40TH RECON., 40TH INF. DIV. (KOREA), Sept 1990, Santa Ana CA James Lindsey 1392 Faren Dr Santa Ana CA 92705 (714)731-3602 52ND ARM'D INF. BN., 9TH ARM'D DIV.(WWII), May 1990 Vern Reaugh, Box 3467, Hampton VA 23663 53RD INF. RGT., May 1990, San Diego CA Earl Snowden 3746 Keating St, San Diego CA 92110 (619)295-4948 63RD INF. D CO., June 1990, Canton OH Dean Tope, 319 Park Ave., Carrollton OH 44615 (216)627-2896 73RD ARM'D F.A. BN., 9TH DIV., Sept 1990, Branson MO Rudolph Merick, Dallas Dr Box 204 Rt2 Jeannette PA 15644 (412)527-2773 74TH CA AA RGT., May 1990, Ft. Monroe VA Fred Brooks 2000 Wilhem Ave Baltimore MD 21237 (301)866-4215 78TH AFA BN., 2ND ARM'D DIV., C BTRY., June 1990, Westfield MA Gene Kennedy 5 Kabeyun Rd Converse Pt Marion MA 02738 (508)748-1647 85TH QM DPT. SUPPLY CO (1941-45), Apr 1990, Kokomo IN Thomas Stewart, Box 237, Galveston IN 46932 (219)699-6286 100TH HWY. TRANSPORT SERV., July 1990, Hickory NC Larry Eckard, Rt. 9 Box 50, Hickory NC 28601 (704)256-6274 NAM VET Newsletter Page 104 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 100TH INF. DIV. (FL CHAPTER), May 1990, Deland FL Hugh Creveling, 92 Ventura Dr., Dundedin FL 34698 (813)733-3089 103RD ENGINEERS BN., Apr 1990, San Antonio TX Aurelio Benedetto 14238 Reissen Ln Houston TX 77069 (713)537-2770 104TH QM CO., May 1990, San Antonio TX Leonard Erlichman 1720 W Latham Ln Peoria IL 61614 (309)691-8971 110TH COMBAT ENGINEERS (PACIFIC), June 1990, Omaha NE Warner McHugh 1322 3rd Corso Nebraska City NE 68410 (402)873-6255 114TH INF. RGT. 44TH DIV., June 1990, Harrisburg PA Bob Flinchbaugh 2365 Louchs Rd York PA 17404 (717)764-2454 118TH INF., G CO., Apr 1990, Greenville SC James Hobson 1209 Hobby Ln Anderson SC 29621 (803)244-1764 131ST TRANS TRK. CO. (1950-53), Aug 1990, Huntington PA Robert Appleby 110 Flamingo Dr Mechanicsburg PA 17055 (717)697-2191 141ST ORD. MM CO., July 1990, Buffalo NY John Chadwick 4913 W Genesee St, Canillus NY 13301 (315)487-3643 152ND INF., 38TH DIV., ANTI-TANK CO., June 1990, Portland IN Lloyd McGough, Rt. 1 Box 212A, Largo IN 46941 (219)782-2145 151ST INF. RGT., 38TH DIV., A CO., July 1990, Shelbyville IN Carl Weingarth 820 Elm St, Shelbyville IN 46176 (317)398-7569 151ST INF. RGT., 38TH DIV., A CO., July 1990, Shelbyville IN Carl Weingarth 820 Elm St Shelbyville IN 46176 (317)398-7569 158TH RCT (BUSHMASTERS), June 1990, Madison WI Ardell Nybroten 280 N Bird St Sun Prairie WI 53590 (608)837-7089 162ND SIGNAL PHOTO CO. (WWII), May 1990, Little Rock AR Donald Baum, 1847 10th St., Moline IL 61265 (309)764-4637 164TH ENGINEERS, COMBAT BN., C CO. (WWII), Sept 1990 Ed Thew 941 Grove Park Dr E, Orange Park FL 32073 (904)264-4124 166TH STATION HOSPITAL, May 1990, Cincinnati Horace Zeigler 17603 Hood Rd Livingston LA 70754 (504)698-6496 172ND COMBAT ENGINEERS BN., May 1990, Asheville NC Joseph Layne 2119 Reuter Rd Timonium MD 21093 (301)561-0896 176/228/967TH FA BNS., May 1990, Pittsburgh PA James Stimpson, Hobbs Rd Rt 1, Meadeville PA 16335 (814)724-2270 180TH INF. RGT., 45TH DIV., G CO., May 1990, McAlester OK Raul Trevino 7791 Woodchase Dr #1215 San Antonio TX 78240 (512)681-9134 243RD SIGNAL OPERATIONS CO., Apr 1990, Branson MO Joe Notini, Box 9404, Shreveport LA 71109 (318)631-1315 NAM VET Newsletter Page 105 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 245TH CA AA GUN & MISSILE BNS., Sept 1990, Ft. Hancock NJ James Carroll, 4 Cedar St., Lynbrook NY 11563 (516)887-3938 264TH FIELD ARTILLERY BN. (WWII), June 1990, Florence KY Lawrence Gresham 251 Kenna Dr South Charleston WV 25309 (304)768-2263 294TH JOINT ASSAULT SIGNAL CO., June 1990, Cincinnati OH Hubert Shearin, 5300 Hamilton Ave. #310, Cincinnati OH 45224 (513)542-5437 299TH COMBAT ENGINEERS BN. (WWII), June 1990, Binghamton NY Don Miller 808 Placek Dr, Johnson City NY 13790 (607)797-8826 299TH COMBAT ENGINEERS BN. (WWII), June 1990, Binghamton NY Don Miller 808 Placek Dr., Johnson City NY 13790 (607)797-8826 330TH FIELD ARTILLERY BN., Sept 1990, LaCrosse WI Vernon Molenaar 6215 210th Ave SW Renville MN 56284 (612)978-6771 344TH FIELD ARTILLERY BN. 100TH INF. DIV., May 1990, Deland FL Eli Fishpaw 1104 E University Ave, Deland FL 32724 (904)734-6934 348TH FIELD ARTILLERY BN., 91ST DIV., Apr 1990, Mobile AL Don Lovelady, Box 81, Montevallo AL 35115 (205)665-1225 384TH FIELD ARTILLERY 103RD DIV HQ BTY Ape 1990, Nashville TN Vince Runowich Sr 4063 10th Ave N, St Petersburg FL 33713 (813)323-3793 386TH INF. RGT., 97TH DIV., E CO., May 1990, Williamsport PA William Fulton, ZionView Dr Box 208 Linden PA 17744 (717)398-2545 414TH AVN SIGNAL CO., June 1990, Roseville MN Merlin Licht 880 W Hwy 36, Roseville MN 55113 (612)488-2990 419TH ARM'D FIELD ARTILLERY, July 1990, Tulsa OK A.G. Cluck, Rt. 4 Box 477, Van Buren AR 72956 448TH AAA AW BN., 35TH DIV., June 1990, Columbus OH Ike Kendall, Box 448, Silver Lake IN 46982 (219)352-2864 467TH AAA AW BN. SP, June 1990, St. Louis MO Ralph Steinhoff 4906 Howard St, Skokie IL 60077 (708)675-5327 475TH AAA AW BN., June 1990, Bloomsburg PA Lynwood O'Brecht 2620 Tower Rd, Bloomsburg PA 17815 (717)784-0786 478TH AAA AW BN., July 1990, Philadelphia PA Bob Caplan 1240 Striling St Philadelphia PA 19111 (215)289-7155 108TH INF., 2ND BTN, Planning for 1990, Jim Noblitt, 314 McBrien Rd. A3, Chattanooga, TN 37411 76TH AAA AW BTN., Planning for 1990, Roy Carrtuh, 1155 Maple Ave., Bensalem, PA 19020 NAM VET Newsletter Page 106 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 43RD INF. DIV., Jan. 25-28 1990, Orlando FL William E. Head, 5725 W. Paul Bryant Dr., Crystal River FL 32629 M CO., 26TH INF, DIV., Feb 1-4 1990, Tampa FL Robert Dehaven, 3303 Ashland Dr., Zephyrhills, FL 33540 86TH CHEMICAL MORTAR BTN., Mar 30 - Apr 4 1990, San Antonia TX John B Deasy, 1830 30th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94122 9TH INF. DIV., Feb 2-4 1990, Richmond VA John Eanes, 6246 Neptune Dr., Mechanicsburg, VA 23111 107TH TRANS. TURCK CO. (1950-52), Planning for 1990, James C. Thompson, 1025 Barnisdale Rd., Birmingham, AL 35235 796TH M.P. BTN., C CO., Planning for 1990, Vince Fitzpatrick, 806 Queenanne Rd., Paso Robles, CA 93446 CO. C., 801ST AVN. ENGR. BTN., Planning for 1990, Dallas Emanuel, 901 Everitt Ave., Panama City, FL 32401 388TH M.P. BTN., CO. C, Planning for 1990, Donald Direnzo, P.O. Box 34, Topsham, ME 04086 CO. E, 187TH PARA-GLIDER, Planning for 1990, Patrick Kenny, 213 Mrytle Beach, , SC 29577 63RD DIV., 253 REGT., CO. F, Apr 4-8 1990, Baton Rouge LA William Smith, 52 Palm Blvd., Madison, OH 44057 645TH T.D. BTN., Apr 26-29 1990, Lawton OK Kenneth McDonald, HC 30 Box 1775 Pl., Lawton, OK 73501 267TH SEPARATE C.A. BTN., May 4-5 1990, Pittsburg PA Harry Gibson, 315 Faber St., Pittsburg, PA 15214 CO. G, 180TH INF REGT., 45TH DIV., May 4-6 1990, Raul Trevino, 7791 Woodchase Dr., San Antonio, TX 78240 557TH AAA AW BTN. (WWII), May 18-20 1990, Carlise PA James T. Nealon, 6304 Crafton St., Philadelphia, PA 19149 500TH MED. CO., 60TH MED. BN., C CO., June 1990, Roscoe Jean, 1137 W. Warren St., Mitchell, IN 47446 508TH PARACHUTE INF. RGT. (WWII), Sep 1990, Minneapolis MN Jim Allardyce, 335 Ardussi, Frankenmuth, MI 48734 539TH SUPPLY CO. (VIETNAM), June 1990, J. Green, 7106 Sundays Ln., Frederick, MD 21701 555TH ENGR. HEAVY PTN. BN., May 1990, Waukegan IL Robert Garbutt, 2402 Elisha Ave., Zion, IL 60099 561ST FIELD ARTILLERY, May 1990, St Louis MO Richard Zwisler, 2810 Heidelberg Dr., Boulder, CO 80303 645TH TANK DESTROYER, Apr 1990, Lawton OK Kenneth McDonald, HC 30 Box 1775, Lawton, OK 73501 (405)429-8203 NAM VET Newsletter Page 107 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 716TH MP BTN., Sep 1990, Detroit Duane Hursey, Rt.1 Box 187, Shelby, IA 51570 (712)544-2662 726TH MP BTN., May 1990, Orlando FL Wilson David, 9415 Cal Rd., Baton Rouge, LA 70809 (504)293-9779 738TH TANK BTN., HQ CO., June 1990, Carthage TN Harris Kemp, Rt.1 Box 251A, Carthage, TN 37030 (615)774-3473 748TH ENGR. BASE EQUIP CO., June 1990, St. Louis MO James Martin, 1310 West FM 93, Temple, TX 76502 (817)771-2276 749TH RAILROAD BTN., July 1990, Kansas City MO Jame McIntosh 1371 Arrowhead Ave San Bernardino CA 92405 (714)889-3004 773RD FIELD ARTILLERY ASSN., July 1990, Roseville MI Frank Chegash, 19130 Ike, Roseville, MI 48066 (313)776-1748 776TH TANK DESTROYER BTN., July 1990, Cheyenne WY Chet Vosburg, 2309 9th St. No, Fargo, ND 58102 (701)235-7197 817TH TANK DESTROYER BTN., June 1990, Buffalo NY William Sobecky, 623 Park Ave, Dunkirk, NY 14048 (716)366-8198 835H ENGR. AVN BTN, CO. C, July 1990, Paul Brennecke, 211 W. Main, Chanute, KS 66720 (316)839-5717 904TH FIELD ARTILLERY, 79TH INF. DIV., July 1990, Asheville NC Johnnie Hill, Box 215, Louisville, MS 39339 (601)773-3094 961ST FIELD ARTILLERY (WWII), May 1990, Springfield MO Melvin Coffin, Rt.2 Box 200, Waukomis, OK 73773 (405)758-3552 1255TH COMBAT ENGR. BTN., Aug 1990, Alfred Babecki 1405 Colony Rd Oxon Hill MD 20745 (301)839-5032 3189TH SIGNAL BTN., DD TEAM, July 1990, Columbus OH James Smith, 126 Patricia Dr., Kokomo, IN 46902 3572ND ORD. MM CO., June 1990, John Vogelpohl, Box 594, Benicia, CA 94510 (707)745-1091 WORLD WAR NURSES National Order of World War Nurses, att: E.M. Redfield, 569 South Main St, Red Lion, PA 17856. 76th INFANTRY DIVISION (ARMY) E. C. Cutler, Jr., Route 2 Jackson Avenue New Windsor, NY 12550. 24th INFANTRY DIVISION (ARMY) 24th Infantry Division Association, 120 Maple St Springfield, MA 01103. (413) 733-3194. 82nd AIRBORNE DIVISION (ARMY) 82nd Airborne Division Association, 5459 Northcutt Place Dayton, OH 45414. (513) 898-5977. NAM VET Newsletter Page 108 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 24th EVACUATION HOSPITAL (ARMY) Reunion for the staff and patients of the 24th Evac. Hospital, Vietnam. Larry Horn for more info., P.O. Box 430, Bridgton, ME. 04009 142nd INFANTRY MATNEY'S RAIDERS (ARMY Company "G", 142nd Infantry of the 36th Division. AKA Matney's Raiders. Have had reunions since the early 1970's. For information on future reunions contact Charles W. Stinson, 108 Westridge Rd, Plainview, TX 79072. Second Infantry Division (2nd Inf) Looking for reunion information for the Second Infantry Divn of WWII. Jerry B Riseley 8856 Lemona Avenue Sepulveda, CA 91343. (818) 893-3941. 105TH FIELD ARTILLERY VETS ASSN, October 1990, Great Neck NY Irving Stein, PO Box 1347, Bronx NY 10471 322nd SIGNAL BATTALION COMPANY B, February 1990, Willaim Hothan, 513 Lowell Ave. New Hyde Park Ny 11040 NAM VET Newsletter Page 109 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 ================================================================= I V V E C & N a m V e t - W H E R E ? ================================================================= The NAM VET Roll Call By: G. Joseph Peck NAM VETs Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 The following are the current locations where the NamVet newsletter and Annual editions are currently sent and, as I understand it, available for Bark/Wazoo File Requests. FidoNet & AlterNet Nodes: ------------------------ Scott McKnight 1:389/2001 Blytheville, Arkansas Mike Nelson 1:125/20 Burlingame, California Greg Peters 1:103/232 La Mirada, California Sam Saulys 1:141/488 Branford, Connecticut John McCorkle 1:369/10 Fort Lauderdale, Florida Charles Harper 1:370/10 West Athens, Georgia Gene Clayton 1:161/414 Kauai, Hawaii Mort Sternheim 1:321/109 Amherst, Massachusetts G. Joseph Peck 1:321/203 Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pete Farias 1:321/210 Pittsfield, Massachusetts Vern Pero 1:321/212 Dalton, Massachusetts Jim Henthorn 1:261/1044 Baltimore, Maryland Bob Rudolph 1:261/0 Reisterstown, Maryland Wayne Parrish 1:308/20 Alamogordo, New Mexico Chuck Haynes 1:308/60 Alamogordo, New Mexico Mike Connealy 1:305/101 Las Cruces, New Mexico Kathleen Kelly 1:1033/0 Staten Island, New York Tom Mickus 1:480/114 Toronto, Ontario, Canada Bob Currie 1:105/204 Milwaukie, Oregon Luis Salazar 1:367/16 San Juan, P.R. Jerry Hindle 7:48/0 Stratford Heights, Tennessee Aaron Schmiedel 1:124/4106 Dallas, Texas Carrie Brown 1:130/10 Fort Worth, Texas Rick Edwards 1:106/113 Houston, Texas Bob Davis 1:106/116 Houston, Texas Art Fellner 1:106/437 Missouri City, Texas Ray Moreau 1:109/316 Herndon, Virginia Jim Barth 1:350/21 Brownsville, Washington Ralph Sims 1:350/341 Grapeview, Washington Other Nets: ---------- Martin Kroll MetroLink Chatsworth, GA Lefty Frizzell RelayNet Houston, Texas Ed Lucas QuickLink Houston, Texas Edward Green Shop Qbbs Exeter, NH (603)778-1698 Areas not covered: If *-YOUR-* BBS is in any of the areas listed below *-AND-* you NAM VET Newsletter Page 110 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 have the NAM VET available for File Requests, please let us know your BBS (and SysOp) Name, its net/node number (if any), and its telephone number so that we might be able to direct a user in *- YOUR-* area to you. - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - Australian Continent - All European Continent - All Alabama Alaska Arizona Calgary, Canada Colorada Delaware Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Minnesota Wisconsin Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska New Jersey Nevada North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Pennsylvania South Carolina South Dakota Utah Vancouver, B.C Vermonts Washington, D.C. West Virginia Winnipeg, Canada Wyoming Connecticut Thanx for your help... Ci'ao for Ni'ao -Joe- NamVet's Managing Editor NAM VET Newsletter Page 111 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Parameters of VIETNAM_VETS echoconference... This message will be placed in the VIETNAM_VETS echomail area at regular intervals. This message constitutes the parameters regarding the use, access and distribution of the VIETNAM_VETS EchoConference. LEGALITIES: VIETNAM_VETS is an International "veteran-support" EchoConference that is privately owned and operated as both a support mechanism and outreach effort by its originator, Todd Looney and G. Joseph Peck, President, Berkshire Veterans' Center, Inc. VIETNAM_VETS is moderated by G. Joseph Peck. The ECHOMAIL COORDINATOR of VIETNAM_VETS is presently G. Joseph Peck - FidoNet 1:321/203; AlterNet 7:46/203 (1-413-443-6313). VIETNAM_VETS is carried as a courtesy and service to America's veterans on the FidoNet echomail "backbone" and through parts of AlterNet and other networks. Where policies of FidoNet or other networks and those of VIETNAM_VETS conflict, every effort will be made to reach an amicable solution to any posed problem. The right is herein reserved by the Moderator/EchoMail Coordinator, G. Joseph Peck, to remove VIETNAM_VETS from a network should the policies of that network prove to be obstructive rather than conducive to the mission of this EchoConference. OVERVIEW: For some Vietnam Veterans, every day is a bitter struggle to survive as they try to find some way to either escape the horrible memories of that war or to come to terms with themselves so they and their families can begin a normal life. For other veterans of the Vietnam era there is often a fervent desire for comradery with members of the military who also served during that troubled time in our nations history. Until May of 1986 and the creation of the International Vietnam Veterans EchoConference (IVVEC) at the Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla, finding a way to satisfy the needs of these - the toughest, most persistent and determined veterans in ALL of US history - as well as give non-veterans and others a chance to interact and learn firsthand from the Vietnam veterans about the war and its complexities, was difficult at best. IVVEC has changed all that! DESCRIPTION: VIETNAM_VETS is an "open forum" type conversational conference for the discussion of topics related to service in the Southeast Asian and other theaters, crisis support and possible intervention, state and federal benefit entitlements, employment rights and guarantees, discharge upgrading, and other veteran service-oriented topics. PURPOSE: The purpose of the International VIETNAM_VETS EchoConference (IVVEC) is to be the support vehicle through which the veteran, particularly the Vietnam veteran, and his or her family will have an opportunity to communicate about his or her war experiences, often for the first time since returning from Vietnam. Each of us - as veterans, significant and/or concerned others - participate in the IVVEC to help each other with support, suggestions, ideas and comments. Together, as one of America's proudest groups, we can share resources and experiences which will strengthen and build our fellow veterans and may help provide a NAM VET Newsletter Page 112 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 guide through the labyrinth of state and federal services many of us have honorably earned and have every right to expect. HANDLES: The use of "handles" in VIETNAM_VETS is allowed, only if the handle that you use is the name you normally use on the board on which you access the conference. MESSAGE CONTENT(S): Personal attacks on individuals whose sometimes-strong opinions differ from the IVVEC "norm" are discouraged. The object is to learn from and support others, not argue with them or "go for their throat"! Aside from the parameter concerning attacks upon other users, it is hereby stipulated that messages in the conference will use tasteful language. Flames, comments, suggestions and such should be addressed to the conference moderator/coordinator via netmail at 1:321/203 and NOT posted in the EchoConference. Generally, messages should relate to the discussion of topics related to service in the Southeast Asian and other theaters, crisis support and possible intervention, state and federal benefit entitlements, employment rights and guarantees, discharge upgrading, as related to prior military service. ADVERTISING: Advertising of for-profit organizations is not allowed. Acceptable advertising is that which announces a veteran-oriented BBS, supports a veteran-related enterprise of a veteran-member of the EchoConference, or of the efforts of a nationally recognized veterans' group or organization. DISTRIBUTION: The conference is commonly known as the International Vietnam Veterans EchoConference (IVVEC) and is distributed throughout America, Canada and parts of Australia as "VIETNAM_VETS". Distribution in America is generally via the FidoNet backbone which is part of the distribution topology currently in effect. Other nets distributing the VIETNAM_VETS EchoConference are asked to follow proper procedures for zonegating as established by the FIDONET International Coordinator. All messages in the echo MUST have an ORIGIN: line which should contain the word ORIGIN: followed by the originating systems name, zone, net, node and point number if applicable. Distributing messages between systems of various networks without authorized zonegating and/or changing of distribution topology beyond the original transfer is in direct violation of the distribution topology of this conference. Fido-AlterNet Nodelist as of 03/01/90, Sorted by Area Code Also received on RelayNet; MetroLink; QuickLink Max Net/Node Name, City Telephone No Baud ========= ================================= ============== == 7:520/563 3 EEE's BBS, Clifton NJ Ed Edell 1-201-340-3531 96 107/563 EEE's BBS Clifton NJ Ed Edell 1-201-340-3531 96 141/488 Alice's Restaurant Branford CT 1-203-488-1115 24 141/250 Wilton Woods Wilton, CT 1-203-762-8481 96 124/201 Hardwired Dallas, TX 1-204-931-2987 24 344/117 LSO QuickBBS, Everett WA 1-206-334-3088 96 344/9 The Precedent, Everett WA 1-206-355-1295 ? 138/35 US HDS Human Service Seattle, WA 1-206-442-8127 24 NAM VET Newsletter Page 113 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 343/26 AFMINS BBS 1-206-488-4309 96 343/111 Lessor Puget TB Edmonds, WA 1-206-742-8067 24 138/52 Burrell's Ballpark Tacoma, WA 1-206-752-4672 24 138/4 PTC Net Mount Vernon, WA 1-206-757-5248 24 138/49 The Cohort Puyallup, WA 1-206-848-2646 96 138/101 Story Board Puyallup, WA 1-206-848-5317 96 138/3 Reg17 ADVISOR EMERITUS Puyallup WA 1-206-848-9232 24 200/200 CSULB Long Beach, CA 1-213-494-8737 12 200/100 The Board Room Belmont Shores CA 1-213-498-6425 24 124/117 NCC-1701 Node 1 Dallas, TX 1-214-240-8821 24 124/106 CHAI Way II Dallas, TX 1-214-250-3323 96 136/200 The Chai Way II Austin, TX 1-214-358-3738 24 124/4210 Hardwired Dallas TX 1-214-437-4075 96 124/110 Flying Dutchman Dallas, TX 1-214-642-3436 96 124/14 Chrysalis Dallas, TX 1-214-985-9054 24 157/501 The PC-Key BBS Girard OH 1-216-545-9205 24 157/1 Auer Register Cleveland, OH 1-216-883-0578 24 227/1 Michiana TechLine Mishawaka, IN 1-219-258-0286 96 227/150 The SX Project Whiting IN 1-219-659-2711 24 13/33 Avi-Technic Lutherville, MD 1-301-252-0717 96 109/648 Falcon's Rock College Park, MD 1-301-345-7459 24 261/1004 The PainFrame 1-301-488-7461 ? 13/30 The Futurists BBS Perry Hall, MD 1-301-529-0716 96 109/717 Tin Badge BBS Silver Spring, MD 1-301-589-2016 12 109/722 Ronnie's Roadies, Camp Springs MD 1-301-736-0135 12 261/628 Liberty Hall Reisterstown, MD 1-301-833-8933 24 261/1044 Firestation BBS, Baltimore, MD 1-301-866-8613 24 261/1007 FINAL FRONTIER 1-301-947-4404 ? 104/51 P2 B2 South Denver, CO 1-303-329-3337 24 104/28 Pinecliff BBS Boulder, CO 1-303-444-7073 24 128/16 Firenet Leader Colorado Springs CO 1-303-591-9600 24 104/739 The Phoenix Parker, CO 1-303-841-9570 24 135/35 The Sober Way Out BBS Miami, FL 1-305-445-6917 24 135/27 Bitsy's Place Miami Beach FL 1-305-865-0495 96 232/4 Runways End OPUS Peoria, IL 1-309-691-5416 96 115/20 North Shore BBS Evanston, IL 1-312-491-2611 24 115/529 Elk Grove Repeater Elk Grv Vlg IL 1-312-529-1586 24 115/761 ICS/TRIX 1 OPUS Chicago, IL 1-312-761-7887 24 11/202 SouthSide BBS Indianapolis, IN 1-317-882-9330 12 285/622 Friend's BBS Omaha, NE Joan Renne 1-402-896-2669 24 370/5 Athens Forum Athens, GA 1-404-546-7857 96 370/11 Classic City Vet's Conf, Athens, GA1-404-548-0130 ? 370/10 Classic Quick Echo, Athens, GA 1-404-548-0726 24 128/13 COSUG-Colorado's User Clrdo Spg CO 1-719-633-4563 24 385/6 Bink's Barn Lawton, OK 1-405-357-2473 24 385/4 Info-Net Lawton, OK 1-405-357-6181 24 147/14 Dark Star TBBS Oklahoma City, OK 1-405-691-0863 96 363/10 Midas Touch Orlando, FL 1-407-648-1133 24 363/9 MaMaB--Mark's Bedroom, Orlanda, FL 1-407-894-0807 96 157/506 Beacon Hill OPUS Transfer, PA 1-412-962-9514 24 321/109 PIONEER VALLEY PCUG #1 Amherst, MA 1-413-256-1037 96 321/203 VETLink #1 Pittsfield, MA 1-413-443-6313 24 321/210 Berkshire_Estates Pittsfield, MA 1-413-499-1327 96 154/200 PC-Express Greenfield, WI 1-414-327-5300 24 139/640 Fox Valley Tech Appleton, WI 1-414-735-2513 24 125/78 Living Sober BBS San Mateo, CA 1-415-342-2859 24 143/20 SeaHunt BBS, Burlington, CA 1-415-343-5904 96 143/86 Cat's Tail BBS STOP San Mateo CA 1-415-349-8245 24 161/208 G.A.D.M. Multi-User Hayward, CA 1-415-581-3019 ? NAM VET Newsletter Page 114 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 125/31 Echo Coord San Francisco CA 1-415-621-5206 96 161/56 Nat'l Family Forum Freemont, CA 1-415-651-4147 24 161/1 Nerd's Nook Concord CA 1-415-672-2504 96 161/509 Enterprize Pinole, CA 1-415-758-1650 24 161/7 Mover Mouse BBS Fremont, CA 1-415-883-1644 24 11/700 FCAU IBM Net Toronto, ON 1-416-427-0682 96 148/120 Genetic Research Vat Toronto ON 1-416-480-0551 24 14/703 Telen-Quest BBS 1-417-882-5108 ? 19/43 McScott's BBS, Blytheville AR 1-502-532-6212 96 105/61 Shotgun OPUS Portland, OR 1-503-760-4521 24 105/16 Net 105 EchoMail Hub Portland, OR 1-503-761-3003 24 305/101 NASW New Mexico Las Cruces, NM 1-505-646-2868 24 305/105 Desert Dolphin, Las Cruces, NM 1-505-523-2811 24 381/401 Border Connection White Sands, NM 1-505-678-1318 24 322/230 Denis's OPUS, Ayer, MA (Ft.Devins) 1-508-772-6373 ? 382/1 Crystal Palace Lake Travis, TX 1-512-339-8037 24 387/401 Comp-U-Gen II San Antonio TX 1-512-496-9373 24 387/601 NCOA Intl BBS San Antonio TX 1-512-653-0409 24 382/14 Corona Del Mar Rockport, TX 1-512-729-7026 96 110/20 EDS Data Dayton, OH 1-513-455-2431 24 221/156 Waterloo CBCS PUBLIC Waterloo, ON 1-519-746-5020 96 153/130 VETSTAR (Northwest) 1-602-462-8752 24 114/13 Corwin's Keep Tempe AZ 1-602-644-0179 24 132/101 BBS Source Archive Nashua, NH 1-603-888-8179 24 153/123 DAETECH Burnaby BC 1-604-420-2641 96 153/133 Hot Line Data Network Langley BC 1-604-533-0421 24 220/20 Old Frog's Almanac Nanaimo BC 1-604-758-3072 24 153/508 Ebenezer Christian BBS Mission BC 1-604-826-6607 96 108/50 The ZOO BBS Independence, KY 1-606-283-2040 24 108/105 Global Time Systems Cincinnati, OH 1-606-341-7910 24 108/90 DATANET Info System Erlanger KY 1-606-727-3638 24 150/803 Jersey Vertex Moorestown, NJ 1-609-869-0139 24 362/1 The Mines of Moria Chattanooga, TN 1-615-344-9601 24 362/501 Coconut Telegraph Chattanooga, TN 1-615-698-4858 24 10/215 Silver BBS San Diego, CA 1-619-226-4502 24 202/401 jabberWOCky Escondido CA 1-619-743-9935 24 109/639 The RENEX BBS Woodbridge, VA 1-703-494-8331 24 109/124 ZEPHYR National Capital Area 1-703-620-5418 96 109/604 ShanErin Alexandria, VA 1-703-941-8291 24 379/201 Metro Link Charlotte, NC 1-704-553-9534 96 125/7 Survival Forum Santa Rosa, CA 1-707-545-0746 96 125/12 The Grape Vine Santa Rosa, CA 1-707-546-4938 24 161/502 Wildcat Benicia CA 1-707-746-5820 24 106/132 Fast BBS OPUS Katy, TX 1-713-392-0093 24 106/114 The Fireside Houston, TX 1-713-496-6319 24 106/357 TMBBS Houston, TX 1-713-497-5433 24 106/108 Stormy Weather I Houston, TX 1-713-644-4345 96 106/113 The Opus Network Houston, TX 1-713-780-4153 24 106/386 Info Center Exchange Houston TX 1-713-872-4429 24 106/111 Shutterbug's OPUS Houston, TX 1-713-880-4329 24 103/507 Philosopher's Log Anaheim CA 1-714-535-1258 96 103/501 Mount Silverthorn Tustin, CA 1-714-544-3369 24 7:441/1 Lord Frog Of Swamp 1-715-362-3895 ? 13/1033 NY Transfer Staten Island, NY 1-718-448-2358 24 12/7 HPCUA Honolulu HI 1-808-422-8406 96 12/1 Aura Net Honolulu, HI 1-808-533-0190 24 130/5 CUSSNET UTA Arlington, TX 1-817-273-3966 24 366/38 Jolly Green Giant Shalimar, FL 1-904-651-3875 96 19/5 Micro Application El Paso TX 1-915-594-9738 24 NAM VET Newsletter Page 115 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 381/201 Pro Link San Angelo, TX 1-915-944-2952 24 161/943 Eagle's Nest Sacramento, CA 1-916-334-2822 96 161/39 Nightline Mather AFB, CA 1-916-362-1755 24 161/11 The Byte Boutique Sacramento CA 1-916-483-8032 24 161/5 River City II OPUS Sacramento, CA 1-916-646-9678 96 161/34 Now and Zen OPUS Fair Oaks CA 1-916-962-1952 96 151/601 VMC-BBS Winston-Salem NC 1-919-744-0883 24 151/100 NC Central Raleigh, NC 1-919-851-8460 96 151/1000 REDCON Raleigh, NC 1-919-859-3353 96 632/350 Yarra Valley BBS Melbourne AU 61-3-848-331 12 NAM VET Newsletter Page 116 Volume 4, Number 3 March 7, 1990 Some Gave ALL ... Some Still Give!!! O O O SOME GAVE ALL ... ________O__________________________________O______________ ! O O ! ! pow mia pow mia - BRING THEM HOME NOW! - pow mia pow mia ! ! O O ! ! ~~~~~ ~ ~ O~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~ O ~~ ~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~ ! ! ~~~~ ~ ~~ O ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~O~~~ ~~~ ~ ~~~~ ~~ ! ! ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ O~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~ O ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~ ! ! ~~~ ~~ ~~ ~ O ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~ O ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~ ~ ! ! ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~ O ~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ O ~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~ ! ! ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~ O ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~ O ~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ! ! ~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~ O ~_~_~_~_~_ ~ O ~ ~~~~ ~ ~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ! ! ~~~ ~ ~ ~~~ ~~ ~ O ) O ~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ! ! ~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ /(O) / O \ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~ ~ ! ! ~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~ / / O \~~~~ ~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~ ! ! ~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~~ / PRISONER / \~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~ ~~~~~~ ! ! ~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~ / / MISSING \~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~ ~~ ! ! ~~~ ~ ~~ ~~ / OF /\ \~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~~ ~ ! ! ~ ~~~~ ~~ ~ / / \ IN \~ ~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ! ! ~~~ ~~~ ~ / WAR / ~~ \ \ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ! ! ~ ~~ ~~ ~ / / ~ ~~ \ ACTION / ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ! ! ~~ ~~ ~~~(__________/ ~~ ~~~ \ / ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ! ! ~~~~~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~~~ \ / ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ! ! ~~ ~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~ ~~~ \ / ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~ ! ! ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ \ /~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ! ! ~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ! ~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~ SOME STILL GIVE ! ~ ~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ! ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ! ! mia pow mia pow - BRING THEM HOME NOW! - mia pow mia pow ! !__________________________________________________________! NAM VET Newsletter Page 117