Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 . __ . . -*- N A M V E T -*- ____/ \_ . . ( * \ . . G. Joseph Peck \ Quangtri . . Managing Editor \_/\ \_ Hue . . \_Ashau Phu Bai . . Todd C. Looney - Chief, Emeritus \_* \_ . . \ * ) . . Jerry Hindle _/ Danang . . Distribution Manager ( \_*Chu Lai . . \_ ------- \__ . . Section Editors \_ I Corps \ . . --------------- \ ------- ! . . PTSD: Kathleen Kelly, Ph.D. /\_____ ! . . AGENT ORANGE: Martin H. Kroll, Sr. / ! \ . . MIA-POW: Rick Stolz ! !___ \ . . Glenn Toothman ! \/\____! . . HOMELESSNESS: Lefty Frizzell ! ! . . FEDERAL BENEFITS: Jim Hildwine / Dak To ! . . INCARCERATED VETS: Todd C. Looney / * / . . Joyce Flory ! \_ . . MEMORIALS: Aaron Schmiedel ! Phu Cat\ . . MEMORIES: G. Joseph Peck \ * * ) . . IN-TOUCH: Ray "Frenchy" Moreau \ Pleiku ) . . CHAPLAIN: Rev. Ed Brant \ \ . . -**- N A M V E T -**- / / . . "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 _/ Nhatrang / . . many veterans have endured, _/ / . . NAM VET is a shining beacon, __/ ! . . a ray of hope, and a _ __/ \ ! . . reminder that the _____( )/ ! Camranh 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 5 May 9, 1990 ================================================================== T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S 1. EDITORIALS Time ..................................................... 1 Valhalla Update .......................................... 4 A visit or note once in awhile? .......................... 5 Only the beginning ....................................... 6 2. Agent Orange American Legion Responds to NamVet's AO Section Editor ... 9 Two American Legion's??? ................................. 13 Break out the Clearsil ! ............................. 17 Vet hopes VA decision helps .............................. 18 The Battle Rages On... ................................... 20 3. Veteran Benefits & Info VA looks at choice meat in federal pork barrel ........... 23 VA Sec. Derwinski Featured at Public Service Awards ...... 25 VA Video Promotes Understanding of AIDS .................. 26 Ask the DVA Counselor .................................... 27 Project Transition ....................................... 28 4. Missing!!! MIA-POW News & Updates ................................... 34 MIA/POW Postage Stamp? ................................... 37 They haven't forgutten US!!! ............................. 39 MIA: Richard Michael Allard .............................. 40 MIA: Daniel Vernor Borah, Jr. ............................ 42 MIA: Albert Pitt ......................................... 43 MIA: Henry Muir Serex .................................... 45 MIA-POW Listings CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA .................. 48 5. Memories n' Special Articles Vet Feels a Monument's Embrace ........................... 53 Two Sons Lost To Vietnam ................................. 57 Marine Receives Bronze - 21 years late! .................. 59 Units in 'Nam??? ......................................... 60 6. When the Chaplain whispers... Proper Perspective!! ..................................... 66 The Electronic Chapel .................................... 67 A Pastoral Response to troubled Viet Vets ................ 68 7. Hearts & Minds Veterans for Peace and Nicaraguan Election ............... 77 Shave my head? Live with Men? Where do I sign? ......... 79 VA Expands PTSD Treatment Sites .......................... 80 8. Notices of Interest Vet does Army CV-2 / USAF C-7 Caribou Research ........... 81 9. In-Touch - New Service!!! In-Touch: What is it??? .................................. 83 IN-TOUCH Registration/Request Form!!! .................... 86 10. Concentrated Service Veteran Service Commissioners/Directors .................. 88 Concentrated Service ..................................... 90 USPO Replies to Congressman ...... 91 Asst Postmaster General Writes to Congressman re: Vet .... 93 Vet says, "Thanks, but no thanks." ....................... 94 Vet explains WHY, "Thanks, but no thanks." ............... 96 Congressman Acknowledges Receipt of Letters .............. 99 The US Postal Service begins to act! ..................... 100 IVVEC/NamVet USPO & Vet Service Summary .................. 101 11. IVVEC & NamVet - WHERE? NamVet Roll Call ......................................... 103 Parameters of IVVEC and NODELIST ......................... 105 Some Gave All... ......................................... 110 NAM VET Newsletter Page ii Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 ================================================================== E D I T O R I A L S ================================================================== TIME By: G. Joseph Peck NAM VETs Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 Now that all of the articles many of you submitted have been questioned , formatted, and fine-tuned to fit within the pages and margins of NamVet, its time for ME to write my editorial. I like to write and I can remember "way back when" NamVet first started (Veterans' Day, 1987) I had TIME then to write, TIME to climb into the hearts and souls of the characters I was attempting to tell each of you about, TIME to illustrate the up's and down's of today's Vietnam veteran. TIME, now, is so crammed with all the other things I've gotten myself into.... I'm looking at TIME today with a grateful, yet sad, mistiness. Look BACK, brothers n' sisters, and you'll see a time when so many of us, KNOWING that we were doing the right thing, followed the generations of soldiers and helpers who went before us and stood proudly in Uncle Sam's uniform... Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Merchant Marines, Coast Guard, USO, Red Cross, Civilian duty of one form or another. THAT was a time when we looked FORWARD and saw duty, challenge, and opportunity to be at our best. Many of us saw other countries , got the chance to learn about other cultures, other ways of living/existing. The wealth of experiences gained sat dormant for a bit whilst our beautiful America reconciled herself with the young men and women she sent off to battle, tried to deal with protesters, draft dodgers and evaders, student unrest, apathy, and severe criticism. Our America, with a little prodding , searched for the balance between what she THOUGHT was right and what her inhabitants came to think was correct. Many of us returned to civilian life and were expected to pick up where we'd left off as if nothing had happened in our absence. Others returned and were shunned, rejected, ignored. Each of us had to find our own way if we were to continue to survive. Sadly, some of us didn't. Others, only half-way or less. Move forward a little in TIME, and you'll see many concerned veterans appear on the American scene. Remember when the veterans camped out on the grounds of a California VA Medical Center? Or one drove his car into the front entrance of a VA hospital? Remember when then-VVAW member, now U.S. Senator John Kerry, like so many, disgustedly threw his war medals on the steps of the NAM VET Newsletter Page 1 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 National Capital? Remember when the last chopper left 'Nam? America was beginning to be concerned. Her Vietnam veterans were beginning to unite in a common effort to see that she honored the promises she made when they proudly served her. The Disabled American Veterans and Dr. John S. Wilson patiently, carefully, methodically moved forward and produced THE FORGOTTEN WARRIOR PROJECT which was the impetus for today's storefront Vet Centers. You and I and many like us, knowing that "if we poke holes in our lifeboat, we're all gonna sink," began to find areas of common agreement and purpose, began to concentrate and focus our energies towards finally making things right. 1986 brought with it Todd Looney's creation of the International Vietnam Veterans EchoConference (IVVEC) for computer-using Vietnam veterans, their friends, and those interested in/concerned about America's Vietnam veterans. March 13, 1987, operating on a Commodore 64 with two disk drives, VETLink #1 became a reality. Two weeks later, a PC was purchased and VETLink #1 became a FidoNet node and very shortly established a cross-country link with Todd Looney's Vietnam Veterans Valhalla. A few months later, the NamVet that you see today was born. Not having the in-country experience(s) so many of you have and not having the benefit of even being stationed outside of the U.S. while I was in the military but, after being thrown from a jeep travelling 55mph while on active duty, hitting the pavement head and elbow first, experiencing a near-month-long coma, being subsequently misdiagnosed and eventually honorably discharged, HAVING experienced many similar feelings of rejection, isolation, loneliness and loss that many of you have, I've been sincerely honored and terribly humbled to have a little something to do with both preparing and bringing your NamVet to you. (How's THAT for a freight-train sentence, teach???) TIME... Look at the time we've shared in the International Vietnam Veterans EchoConference and you'll miss the names that once used to be here, that once used to take an active, active part in sharing, advising, and just talkin'. You'll also see many of us who were originally here - many of us who know that all we need to is take the time to LISTEN and to help where we can, and we can put UNITY in our veteran commUNITY... You'll see a WELCOME HOME to our brothers and sisters who've just discovered us ... and a chance to grow -- past the yesterdays that caused so much pain; past the yesterdays where "loneliness" was the Order of the Day; past the yesterdays when you couldn't find the true friends, the ones who KNEW that when ya screwed up, the job wasn't permanent... THIS Memorial Day, after you've taken the time to solemnly remember those who paid the "ultimate price" for the freedom we today enjoy; after you remember the prices YOU'VE paid; after you've taken time to watch or take part in your local parades and listen to all the public speakers, take a little TIME to remember the 16 or 17 year old orphan whose father died of intestinal cancer after being sprayed with Agent Orange in 'Nam (and whose NAM VET Newsletter Page 2 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 family received/receives NO benefits from Uncle Sam) who said to your Managing Editor: "My father didn't fight in the war. He was a cook."; Take a little TIME to remember your unemployed or underemployed, your homeless, your incarcerated; your neighbor brother an' sister veterans and their families; a little TIME to remember that loving partner who shares your hopes and dreams... and, for those of you who have children, TIME to remember that YOU - what you've done and will do - will be part of the Memorial Days in THEIR future... After all... isn't that what Memorial Day is all about - TIME? 'til Next Month Show a brother or sister veteran that YOU care!!! Ci'ao for Ni'ao -Joe- NAM VET Newsletter Page 3 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 Valhalla Update By: Todd Looney NAM VETs Chief, Emeritus Vietnam Veterans Valhalla - San Jose, CA (408) 737-2564 (Mail Only) Things have been changing with the Valhalla. During the last month we received approval and security clearances from both the County of Santa Clara and the City of San Jose to meet with incarcerated veterans at two of the county's minimum and maximum security correctional facilities for men, and are about to receive clearance for the women's facilities as well. We are very excited about this because currently the only resource incarcerated veterans have is to utilize a well-known national organization called "Friends on the Outside" (FO) to handle any affairs they might need taken care of. Although FO is adept at handling most anything the typical veteran might need (cashing paychecks, making court arrangements, paperwork, etc.) they are not versed in the veterans affairs and not familiar with the various organizations already set up to assist veterans. The services we are now extending to incarcerated veterans include setting up meetings with the American Legion, handling the various deluge of veteran-related paperwork involved in benefits for spouse and family, counseling through the VA and Vet Centers, Red Cross, etc. We have started working with FO in a strategic partnership-like arrangement wherein they call us in to handle veteran-related affairs and we call them in for the rest. All in all, the veterans in the local facilities are being taken care of at a much higher level than they were before. We are proud of this accomplishment and look forward to expanding before the end of this year to Solidad, San Quentin, and Folsom, and Vacaville Federal Correctional Facilities. We have plenty of volunteers to attend regular meetings with veterans in the local facilities right now, but could use some help in with the Federal facilities when we finalize our agreements with them. Anyone interested in helping can write for further information to: Vietnam Veterans Valhalla Incarcerated Veterans Program 1016 El Camino Real Suite 331 Sunnyvale, CA. 94087 ATTN: Jeanne Winfield At the home front, we have our new facility set up and operating, we are just waiting now for a PC to arrive so that we can connect up and get the Valhalla back up and running the way it was last year. This project has us all really excited because it has been *far* too long in the coming. Thank you all for your support and we look forward to expanding our services even further in the upcoming months. Keep looking out for more good news from the Valhalla! Todd Looney President, Vietnam Veterans Valhalla Sunnyvale, California NAM VET Newsletter Page 4 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 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. 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'.XXXX XXXXX :: XXXXX" ':.:'' XXXXX .'' .:::'XXXX XXXXX :: XXXXX:.. .:XXXXX.'' .::::' .XXXX XXXXX :: XXXXX '.. ..:' XXXXX ..:' . .:::'XXXX XXXXX ....::'XXXXX ':::::;' XXXXX .:''. .:::' XXXX XXXXX .:::::' XXXXX .: XXXXX :'. ..:... 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 5 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 Only the beginning.. By: Joyce Flory NAM VETs Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM (505) 523-2811 Well folks it's been real busy around here since last month's posting!! I've gotten a couple of more addresses to write to and a bunch of responses. The new addresses were through Hugh Erwin (once on my incarcerated list - now on parole). They are Mary Moyer, VV Readjustment Counseling in Va., Jim Loughrey, National Program Dir. for Incarcerated Vets., Billy Borkman, Nottoway VVNW Post VAI 20, and Peggy Snow, counselor at Nottoway. I also have received word from George Hebert from VVA Chapter 294 AVIP, Ma. Here's my current list of Incarcerated Vet's. Please, let's start writing to these people. A lot of them are lonely and only have the other Vietnam Vets in their cell block to talk to. I have found that a majority of them would just like to know what it's like on the outside and would like to know what they can do, while in jail, to adjust for getting out. BUENA VISTA, COLORADO 81211: Whitmarsh Bailey #56715 Jerry Baack #57098 Chris S. Crespin #45523 Dennis E. Prentis #43497 P.O.Box R Buena Vista,Colo. 81211 COLUMBUS, GA 31907: Thomas Adams (don't write unless single female, he tells me) Donald E. Head Dwight L. Lyons Mamie Harris EG 172282 RCI Box 98409 Columbus,Ga. 31907 GARDNER, MA 01440: George Herbert (not a Nam Vet, but good people) Lance Koren Richard Ortiz Arthur Coy Tyrone Smith Kevin M. Pennell Robert Thompson Leslie Gomes Frank Komnenus P.O.Box 466 Gardner, Ma 01440 BURKEVILLE, VA 23922: Billy Borkman #125740 (not actively seeking pen-pal,but will answer) Nottoway Correctional P.O.Box 488 (0221) V Burton #108483 P.O.Box 488 (A-120) NAM VET Newsletter Page 6 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 M Davenport #155165 P.O.Box 488 (N-321) M Donati #150219 P.O.Box 488 (D-71) J Grace #136189 P.O.Box 488 (B-108) M Glennon #140901 (Non-vet that likes to write) P.O.Box 488 (O-101) J Heidinger #102513 P.O.Box 488 (O-421) C Ladison #138228 P.O.Box 488 (O-330) G Magno #112810 P.O.Box 488 (N-418) W Merriman #131789 P.O.Box 488 (A-66) L Rainsford #126380 P.O.Box 488 (B-108) A Shah # 101250 P.O.Box 488 (O-417) G Stovall Jr. #98899 P.O.Box 488 (O-328) R Sutton # 141041 P.O.Box 488 (O-317) Burkeville,Va. 23922 STATE FARM, VA 23160: Jamal R. Rashid #110781 Dorm D-2 Joseph Huggins #99433 " D-6 Preston Parker #118311 " D-5 William Moran #131271 " D-2 Le'roi Mason #104969 " D-5 David Bailey #153526 " D-2 Oliver Mayfield #106330 " HA John Harris #133342 " HA Robert Hall #148001 " HA James Moody #160399 " D-4 William Simmons #106399 " D-4 Charlie Sherman #128403 " D-6 Carlton Heflin #170297 " D-5 Matthew Sanders #166545 " D-4 Michael Kay #136567 " D-5 David Swink #157682 " D-6 Gordon Cawthron #135734 " D-6 Curtis Wright #125330 " HA Roger Baxter #157594 " D-2 Thomas Hawley #167124 " D-5 Luthee C Beasley #110375 " D-2 James River Corr. Ctr. State Farm, Va. 23160 I have also, at long last, heard from Albany. Sorry to say they can't do anything to help. In the form letter I received is the following: "Your desire to extend this service to include incarcerated veterans is admirable. However, the Department of Correctional Services Directive #4422 Section III B-13 prohibits all inmates from using their correspondence privileges to solicit or otherwise commercially advertise for money, services, or goods." What this has to do with pen-pals, I haven't the foggiest NAM VET Newsletter Page 7 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 notion. Through Billy Borkman, I may be getting a computer hookup with Jim Loughrey incarcerated sponsor to Nottoway & VVNW National headquarters. Will keep you posted on this in the future. Well, that's it from here for now. As I said it's been a busy but productive month for me. As always, if there's a group or organization you think I should contact, leave word on the Echo, send it to 305/105 or to me at 1825 Evelyn Las Cruces, NM 88001. NAM VET Newsletter Page 8 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 ================================================================== A g e n t O r a n g e ================================================================== Input by: Martin H. Kroll NAM VETs Agent Orange Section Editor Fort Mountain BBS - Chatsworth, Ga. 30705 (404) 695-8703 April 2, 1990 2-48-2 The American Legion Office of the National Adjutant National Headquarters P. O. Box 1055 Indianapolis, Indiana 46206 Mr. Martin H. Kroll, Sr. Route 7, Box 7702 Chatsworth, Georgia 30705 Dear Mr. Kroll: Miles S. Epling, National Commander of the American Legion, is on an extended visit to various American Legion Departments and has asked me to reply to your letter of March 14, l990, asking a number of questions of The American Legion. The American Legion is a veteran's organization with over 3,000,000 war-time veterans as members. We were formed in 1919 with the following objectives: --Veterans affairs and rehabilitation - service to our fellow veterans --Americanism, children and youth - service to both the patriotism of our nation and our nation's youth --National security and foreign relations - service to "peace through preparedness" and help to democracies --Economics - service to veteran's employment Based on those objectives and the mandates of The American Legion given to the organization by the delegates to our National Convention and through our board of directors, the National Executive Committee, I will attempt to answer your inquiry of March 14. The American Legion has been concerned about U.S. foreign policy since its founding. The parallel could be drawn that we became veterans because of a failed foreign policy. In the 1920's and the 1930's, The American Legion counseled against the harsh treatment of Germany through the Versailles Treaty, and we urged the United States to keep militarily strong. Our objective was "peace through preparedness." The American Legion and the veterans of this country were ignored, and that, among other factors, led this nation to war. That policy has been consistent, and in the 1960's, The American NAM VET Newsletter Page 9 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 Legion argued that the United States should decide to either pursue a policy to win the war in Vietnam or get out. Now to your questions concerning our travel to Central America. There are U. S. veterans in Central and South America -- specifically, in Honduras, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama, and Mexico. There are also veterans in the Far East and in Europe. Each of those regions is served by American Legion Posts, and our National Commanders do try during their year to visit Legionnaires in as many of these areas as time permits. As to your question whether The American Legion supported the Contras with aid of any kind, the answer is no. The American Legion does not offer money or "in-kind services" to the Contras. Our National Commander's were visiting central America long before the Sandinastas came into power in a long-overdue revolution in Nicaragua. We were among the first to encourage the Sandinastas to hold a free, open election and to end all fighting in Nicaragua. We clearly understand the Nicaraguans' yearning for freedom, and we made our voices heard loud and clear when that freedom was being denied to Nicaragua by the Sandinastas. In 1987, we were the first to urge President Reagan to end the embargo aimed at Nicaragua, because our visits to that country showed it was hurting the very people that could not afford to be hurt any longer. Until their defeat last month, the Sandinastas were interested only in consolidating their power and encouraging revolution throughout Central America. We supported the kind of revolution they feared the most -- the power of the people to determine their own destiny through an open, free and fair election. Why should The American Legion be interested in Central America? The answer is obvious. First and foremost is the fact that The American Legion was an organization "born to die." We were founded by those who had fought the "war to end all wars, " hence our interest in this country's foreign policy. I assume you, nor I, nor any veteran I have ever met wishes his son or daughter to suffer the horrors of war unless there are clear and compelling reasons to do so. That's our interest. Only through open, free and fair elections will Central America be stabilized and a threat to our security and that of the region be reduced to zero. You raised the issue of the country's obligation to the warrior once the war has stopped. The American Legion believes it is a moral obligation that will continue until there are no veterans. You specifically mentioned Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Agent Orange, and frankly I am puzzled about your lack of knowledge of The American Legion's leadership in this area. We were the first to call for an investigation into the affects of exposure to Agent Orange, and we were also among the first to demand counseling for Vietnam veterans suffering from PTSD. I well remember being in a meeting in Washington, D.C. in 1980, while I was serving as Executive Director of The American Legion, when a plan calling for closing all VA outreach centers was being widely accepted. Needless to say, they have not been closed, and you can credit the work of The American Legion. NAM VET Newsletter Page 10 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 The government's refusal to accept the responsibility for the affects of Agent Orange led The American Legion to commission our own study of Vietnam veterans in 1983. This study is titled The American Legion-Columbia University Study of the Vietnam Veteran. It took five years for the study, which resulted in the findings being published in the December 1988 issue of the scientific journal "Environmental Research." We are now on the verge of exposing the deceit surrounding the government's commissioned studies on this subject. We have run dozens of articles in The American Legion Magazine, enlisted thousands of Vietnam veterans to tell their stories, and published dozens of special reports on Agent Orange alone. We have stood shoulder to shoulder with Senator Tom Daschle (SD) and Representative Lane Evans (IL) as they have faced strong and consistent opposition from their colleagues on this issue. Perhaps what we have been doing for dozens of years might not have been exciting, it might not have gotten us into the headlines, but it sure kept us in the forefront of our main mission -- that of veterans affairs and rehabilitation. We welcome anyone to assist us where it counts -- in the halls of Congress and back home in their districts. Frankly, it sometimes angers me that people have a tendency to write about an issue when it's "hot," but when it concerns helping a veteran and his family, more times than not they are left wanting. The American Legion has not shut out any veterans, especially Vietnam veterans. If that were so, H. F. "Sparky" Gierke, a Vietnam veteran, would not have served as our National Commander last year; Miles S. Epling, another Vietnam veteran, would not have been elected to serve this year; and Robert S. Turner, another Vietnam veteran, would not be a candidate for National Commander. We would not have had our largest growth period for the last eight years, with the majority of membership coming from the ranks of the Vietnam veteran. If you are interested in statistics, we have more Vietnam veterans as members than all the other veterans' organizations combined. There are serious problems facing veterans of all generations. The American Legion is large enough, and with its compassion feels that it can serve the needs of all veterans. I encourage any veteran to read "The Wages of War" by Richard Severo and Lewis Milford, who have traced the treatment of veterans since 1783. This book demonstrates just how the warrior is treated once the war ends. We thank you for sharing your thoughts. We veterans are part of a brotherhood who, whether we recognize it or not, should be committed to those that still need our help. We are adding you to our mailing list, and I am sure that you will do your part to help us pull together what others keep trying to pull apart. Sincerely, /s/ Robert W. Spanogle NAM VET Newsletter Page 11 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 National Adjutant Att. cc: Miles S. Epling - National Commander Robert S. Turner - Americanism Commission Member Lew Wood - Public Relations Director _ | | -----/_\----- -O==============< : >==============O- ( ) (...) ( ) NAM VET Newsletter Page 12 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 TWO American Legion's ??? By: Martin H. Kroll, Sr. NAM VETs Agent Orange Section Editor Fort Mountain BBS - Chatsworth, Ga. 30705 (404) 695-8703 May 2, 1990 Martin H. Kroll, Sr. Sysop - Fort Mountain BBS Namvet AO Editor Rt. 7 Box 7702 Chatsworth, Ga. 30705 Mr. Robert W. Spanogle National Adjutant The American Legion National Headquarters P. O. Box 1055 Indianapolis, Indiana 46206 Dear Robert, I would like to thank you for your very informative letter to me dated April 2, 1990 (2-48-2) in which you replied to my several questions regarding The American Legion's trips to and involvement in Central America. I am publishing it and this reply to you in the Namvet International Newsletter so that even more veterans will become aware of the leadership and efforts of the American Legion. Of course you realize that the questions that I asked were not just the questions of one lone writer seeking to sensationalize the issues, but rather bonafide questions that many uninformed veterans ask when they read such an article as I referred to in the Georgia Legionnaire. Veterans need these answers presented in an intelligent manner such as you have done. I myself served in Vietnam with soldiers from Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and possibly some of the Central American countries mentioned in my previous letter. It is obvious that veteran's organizations should have posts in these countries serving those veterans that served our nation. You expressed that you were puzzled about my lack of knowledge of The American Legion's leadership in the areas of Agent Orange and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Yes, I and many more Vietnam veterans have not been aware of what our veteran's organizations have been doing for us. I will attempt to explain some of the reasons for this, not in criticism, but hopefully in such a constructive manner that may lead to a correction of these shortcomings, if not for us then for future generations of our brother and sister veterans. I am part of a proud and patriotic family that has served in the Spanish American War, World War 1, World War 2, The Korean War, and Vietnam. When soldiers came home from all but the Vietnam war they were treated as heroes, gained instant respect in the NAM VET Newsletter Page 13 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 community, and had no troubles obtaining further education and meaningful employment thus making their transition back into civilian life a little bit easier to handle. The Vietnam veterans came home from a war that was not won to be spat upon and face chants of "baby killer" and "murderer." Those of us who applied to the VA as early as 1971 for service connected skin disorders were denied our claims. Employers did not want to take a chance on hiring "crazed" Vietnam veterans in more cases than we would like to admit. Many of us who attempted to further our education through the GI Bill were discriminated against also. I can give you a good personal case history if you are interested but will not go into it at this time. So where were we to turn for help? When many of us tried to affiliate with The American Legion and The Veterans of Foreign Wars we were not welcomed. After all we were losers and had not fought in a "real" war, or so we were told. At this point I, and many other Vietnam veterans, just said "to hell with it" and tried to get on with our lives in the best way that we could. In other words we became "loners" and withdrew into ourselves. We had many problems to face and conquer and some of us have been successful and many others have not been quite so fortunate. Compounding the problems were the fact that at that time many people viewed The American Legion and the VFW as just a place to go get drunk, tell war stories, dance a little, and get into a fight. Many posts still have that reputation whether it was "earned" or not. Our local Dalton Post was the subject several years ago of a highly publicized raid that netted a drug bust and an illegal gambling operation. The Post was subsequently padlocked by court order and shut down for quite a period of time. Although it is questionable as to just how many of the individuals involved were actually veterans, people tend to link these unfortunate events with veterans and do not forget easily. It seemed that the "Legion" was not for veterans, but rather for anyone that had the cover charge to get in the door, the price of a few beers, and looking to have a good time. In light of all these circumstances, I hope that it is now clear to you why many Vietnam veterans have not been aware of The American Legion's leadership in the areas of Agent Orange and PTSD. Many of us were already burdened with more problems than we needed, had been shunned by society, employers, educators, and veterans organizations alike, and just simply chose to withdraw into a hardened shell and ignore many things that we should have been paying attention to all along. It is easy to see now though that there have been not one, but two "American Legions" all along. There is the one that you and many others are a part of and the rest of us are deeply indebted to. Proud, hard-working individuals at the forefront of the battles for gaining and keeping benefits and rights for veterans. Always diligently striving to do your best and not receiving much publicity or reward for your efforts. Then there is the "other" American Legion, the one that many veterans see when they return to civilian life. The Legion where you go to get drunk, tell war stories, dance a little, and maybe get into a fight or two. This is the one that is seen by the average working class veteran and much of the public. NAM VET Newsletter Page 14 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 I fully understand that the Legion can not survive on membership dues alone and continue to do the good work that they do. It can also be argued that the "bar room" atmosphere of many of the veterans organizations local posts is indeed what attracts many veterans to come in to begin with. I can't help to feel though that a change of image on the local level would do quite a bit to enhance the respectability of veterans overall. Don't get me wrong here Robert, occasionally I like to have a drink as much as the next person, but my opinion is that if the veterans organi- zations must engage in a business to survive, then it should be an exclusive place for veterans and their guests where you would not care to take [Editor note: Regional colloquialism - meaning the same as: "not care about taking"] your children and the atmosphere would be more conducive to discussing matters of importance to veterans over a nice dinner, enjoy family activities, and be a pillar of respectability in the community. I may again be wrong on this one since I have not been inside a Legion Post for a number of years. If things have indeed changed please accept my apology, set me straight, and understand that this may be one of the reasons that many veterans are not aware of the tremendous amount of good that you guys of the "other" American Legion are doing. You also stated that "Perhaps what we have been doing for dozens of years might not have been exciting, it might not have gotten us into the headlines, but it sure kept us in the forefront of our main mission -- that of veterans affairs and rehabilitation." This is very true, and The American Legion should be commended for hanging in there when many of us didn't. These actions have been a labor of love and a sacrifice for the many Legionnaires like yourself. Times do change though as do wars and attitudes. The Agent Orange and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder issues are different from the issues of previous wars in many respects. The only way that these issues will be resolved in an acceptable manner though is through massive public support. Enough support that the voice of the veterans and the public at large will be heard loud and clear in Washington D.C. and government officials get the message that "they are our servants" paid for by our blood and our tax dollars "rather than us being their subjects!" The only way that I see to gain that public support is by gaining respectability in all areas, drawing all veterans into one massive group effort, getting much more publicity for our accomplishments than we have in the past, and yes.... We MUST capture the headlines in a favorable way! Are you aware that almost one out of six home mortgages in this country are Veterans Administration guaranteed? How could so large a segment of this population possibly have to be always on the alert and forever struggling and fighting for benefits that are regularly threatened or never given to begin with? The answer is because of a severe lack of unity. Can we work together to correct this? You also said that you welcome anyone to assist where it counts and that "Frankly it angers me that people have a tendency to write about an issue when it's "hot," but when it concerns helping a veteran and his family, more times than not they are left wanting." This is a very good point, but maybe it should anger us more that the issues do not stay "hot" for long enough periods to NAM VET Newsletter Page 15 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 encourage the massive publicity that is severely needed to reach into every nook and cranny of our great nation. Just in the past year I discovered Vetlink #1, an electronic BBS in Pittsfield, Massachusetts that is dedicated to helping veterans. I began to come out of my shell and realized that I had given up the fight too soon but at the same time I questioned whether or not I would have been capable of continuing the battle intelligently at that point in my life. So full of resentment because we were shunned and discriminated against, so full of anger at the government for exposing us to toxic chemicals and denying that they harmed us, I doubt if I could have continued at that time without exploding. Through reading the many messages to and from Vietnam veterans on Vetlink #1 and reading the monthly Namvet Newsletter, I soon understood that I was not alone and I wanted to be in the mainstream again so I became more and more involved with Vetlink #1 and Namvet. It saddens me to know that there are many thousands of other Vietnam veterans still out there in their own little hardened world who have not been reached yet. It saddens me to know that veterans organizations are fragmented and not pulling together. It saddens me to know that many veterans and their wives and children still suffer from just not knowing how their health and lives have been affected by Agent Orange and PTSD. It saddens me to know that a massive battle must be fought in order to gain the proper health care for veterans and their families when it is common knowledge that health care is justifiable and deserved, bought and paid for not only with our blood, but in this case with the physical and emotional health of our wives and children also. It makes me happier to see an individual such as yourself who is dedicated to our cause and willing to remain open minded and continue with the battle when so many of us have failed. I appreciate your decision to add me to your mailing list and sincerely hope that we can all work together to gain the momentum that we so desperately need at this point in the history of our great nation. I agree with you that we are part of a brotherhood that should be committed to those that still need our help and would like to add just one last thought... "United we stand, and divided we fall!" I would also appreciate it very much if you would make copies of this response available to Miles Epling, Robert Turner, and Lew Wood. Sincerely, Martin H. Kroll, Sr. Vietnam Veteran 1966-67 Sysop - Fort Mountain BBS Namvet Agent Orange Editor P.S. Would you by chance have access to a computer system and modem? Your presence in the International Vietnam Veterans Echo Conference from time to time wouldn't hurt a thing, and who knows just what good might come from it? Heck, you might even bump into some old friends there and make some new ones too. NAM VET Newsletter Page 16 Volume 4, Number 5 May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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 17 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 "Cancer-stricken veteran hopes recent VA decision covers illness" By: Laura Palmer El Paso Times Sun. Apr. 8,1990 Input by: Joyce Flory NAM VETs Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM (505) 523-2811 Rick Strubeck, a Vietnam veteran in East Brunswick, NJ, clutches to hope the way he once held an M-16. It's almost the only weapon he has in his desperate struggle against bone marrow cancer. The 39-year old, who was heavily exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, is hoping his cancer will be included in the latest Veterans Administration ruling, which makes non-Hodgkin's lymphoma a service-connected disability. In the six months since his story appeared in this column, Strubeck's health has deteriorated. The pain is relentless and he needs a cane to walk. His doctor describes Strubeck's cancer as a "next-door neighbor to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, "so there's a possibility that because it's a related illness, he may soon be eligible for benefits. Now, because his illness is not considered service-connected, he gets nothing and is treated as a charity case at a nearby medical center. His main concern is for his wife and two small children. This week he felt a flicker of hope. "If I was getting money every month and I could know that my children could go to college if they wanted to and have medical coverage, that would mean a great deal to me. I can't go out and work." The latest ruling, handed down late last week, will mean a maximum monthly payment of $1,500 for veterans who are 100 percent disabled by their cancers. Veterans who have had earlier non- Hodgkin's lymphoma claims denied will receive payments retroactive to the time of denial. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Edward Derwinski says: "When in doubt, give veterans the benefit. I don't think I should make a judgment in any other way." Derwinski's action was based on a Centers for Diseases Control cancer study that found men who served in Vietnam had a 50 percent greater chance of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma than men who didn't. What would Derwinski have done if the study had concluded that Vietnam vets had only a 25 percent greater chance of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma? "Frankly, yes, "Derwinski said. Fifteen percent? "Probably." Even 10? "Probably." Derwinski is a man who plays his cards close to his chest. He looks like a linebacker, but politically he moves like Fred Astaire. The job gets done. This latest decision will cost the government at least $20 million. What if Derwinski had been told the cost was too high? "Any dollar and cents argument would not have washed, in my opinion," he said. "When you say the (VA) benefits budget is $16 billion, $20 million is absorbable." Derwinski says he hopes to complete work on additional Agent Orange guidelines by the end of May. His adviser on the issue, Adm. Elmo Zumwalt, is due to hand in his report at the end of April. Derwinski will then consult with his advisory commission in May and make his decision. NAM VET Newsletter Page 18 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 "I don't want to announce that we are going to wait another year and a half for some other study, "Derwinski says. "We are not going to be ducking." Meanwhile, Strubeck lives in pain and waits with expectation. "Benefits for my family would take a load off my mind," he says. "If this disease overcomes me and they planted me 6 feet under I would rest in peace knowing that my family wouldn't be left struggling." )| _+|__|_ |--- --| ------------------------=========================== \_______________________________________________) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ NAM VET Newsletter Page 19 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 For these women, the battle continues By: Cal Orey Woman's World Investigates - April 17, 1990 Input by: G. Joseph Peck NAM VETs Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 In the last 10 years, Lily Adams's life has been one medical crisis after another. She's suffered from skin disease, endured a life-threatening pregnancy and given birth to a son with serious intestinal problems. Maureen Nerli has also lived through medical nightmares. She speaks wistfully of the days when she was "as healthy as a horse." Now her life's a round of migraines, body rashes, dizziness and thyroid problems. Illness is Penny Burwell's constant companion too. She's been hit with bone disease, kidney stones and gynecological problems that resulted in a hysterectomy. Penny says her doctors think "I've come into contact with something that's done very bizarre things to my body." According to Lily, Maureen and Penny, Agent Orange is the cause of their problems. All three say they were exposed to the dangerous chemical when they served in Vietnam. From 1962 to 1971, 12 million gallons of Agent Orange were dumped on the tiny country. American troops sprayed it from the air and sea in an effort to strip away the enemy's jungle cover. Ironically, the chemical once used in an effort to save American lives may now be destroying them. One of the reasons Agent Orange is so dangerous is that it contains dioxin, a cancer-causing contaminant that has been linked to birth defects, infertility, miscarriage and disorders of the immune system. Because dioxin doesn't dissolve in water, Americans in Vietnam were inadvertently exposed to it in their drinking and bathing water and in the local food. Out of the more than 500 military women who have reported coming in contact with Agent Orange, 85 to 90 percent were nurses. "Many nurses told us they were stripping clothing off the dead and dying soldiers," says Paul Sutton, head of the New Jersey Agent Orange Commission. These soldiers had been out in the jungle, and their clothing was probably saturated with the deadly chemical spray. Marilyn Edgerton-Mallard was one of the Army nurses who tended these men. Today she is certain that her exposure to Agent Orange is the cause of her infertility. "I didn't think being around Agent Orange had affected me until many years later," Marilyn says. "I tried to get pregnant and couldn't." Eventually Marilyn underwent a hysterectomy, which she believes was necessary because of her exposure to the chemical. What does the government have to say about an issue that may affect thousands of women who served in Vietnam? Not much. Hard, scientific data is sketchy. The government paid the Centers for Disease Control $20 million to conduct an Agent Orange study but, like most research on this subject, it didn't include women. NAM VET Newsletter Page 20 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 And, shockingly, women who served in Vietnam, in the Red Cross and USO, both civilian volunteer organizations, are being totally ignored. Maureen Nerli, who is a former USO worker, says, "Ever since I came home from Vietnam I have had one illness after another." Maureen is also distressed that although she served 18 months in Vietnam as a volunteer, her service isn't officially recognized by the government, which excludes her from VA health benefits. "The VA doesn't deal with us. They classify us as non-Vietnam veterans," she says. Therefore, USO and other civilian workers can't get compensation. (Army nurses can, but only if they are seriously disabled.) Vernon Houk, M.D., of the Environmental Health and Injury Control of the Centers for Disease Control explains, "It's possible to do a study of military women who served in Vietnam because we know who they are, but it is not possible to do a valid study of the non-military women because there is no master list." Maureen Nerli understands the frustration. "I have a friend who served in Vietnam with the Red Cross," she explained. "My friend called me a couple of months ago. She was hysterical. She said, "I'm so nervous and depressed. I can't have kids because I was sprayed with Agent Orange when I was in Vietnam. Does anybody care?" Lily Adams, 41, an Agent Orange activist from California, was an Army nurse in Vietnam. Says Lily, "We keep on saying to the government we don't want compensation - we want you to do research. The VA is saying that if it does the research and it proves there's a connection it's going to go bankrupt." The issue of compensation is thorny. In 1984, after years of litigation, a $180 million fund for Vietnam veterans was created by Agent Orange manufacturers to resolve the class-action suit filed against them. The fund excludes spouses an birth-defective children of vets - and, of course, it excludes all civilian volunteers such as Maureen. Since there's not enough money to cover all vets, disabled veterans and their dependents are angry. So is Karen Johnson, a vet who spent two years in Vietnam as an Army reporter. She's being compensated with a small monthly amount because she'd 60-percent disabled, but she is still irate over what she calls the government's "gobbledygook." She suffers from a chest ailment and is desperate to know more about Agent Orange. Will she get worse or die from long-term effects of the poison? Says Bart Stichman, attorney and litigating director for the Vietnam Veterans of America, "The VA would be compensating veterans if it believed there was a connection between Agent Orange and various disabilities. But it doesn't. So no vet with an Agent Orange-related illness is getting very much now." The government must step in to compensate vets, he says. So far, it has refused, but is reexamining its position. For the women who gave so generously of their time, energy and talents during the war, this realization is cruel. It's ironic that after serving their country faithfully, they don't know whom to turn to for answers about the mysterious Agent Orange. Until there is more medical data, the thousands of women who served in the U.S. during the Vietnam War will continue to fear the enemy within. In a very real sense, they have met the enemy - and it is their own government. NAM VET Newsletter Page 21 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 | | |____====________ ||__________}____)==================|) =============---------------------===_____ /| | | | |\\ \________|__________|_________|_________|/ \\(O)___(O)___(O)___(O)___(O)___(O)// NAM VET Newsletter Page 22 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 ================================================================== V e t e r a n B e n e f i t s & I n f o ================================================================== "Beefed-up VA examines choice meats in federal pork barrel" "Secretary pledges Agent Orange action" El Paso Times, March 11, 1990 Input by: Joyce Flory NAM VETs Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM (505) 523-2811 (AP) Washington -- It's starting to sprinkle on the election- year parade that last March brought the nation's 27 million veterans more access to the White House. Not that the marching and music will stop anytime soon. The Bush administration's 1991 budget proposal asks for a record $31 billion for the Veterans Affairs Department, including an unheard-of $12.3 billion for health programs. The proposal is "the best VA medical care budget request by a president in more than a decade," Sen. Alan Cranston, D-Calif., chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, said. And VA Secretary Edward Derwinski has raised the hopes of the 3.1 million Vietnam War veterans by promising he personally will settle the Agent Orange question this spring. Derwinski, more than any VA official in the recent past, has opened his doors to that group of veterans, Paul Egan of Vietnam Veterans of America said. But the same members of Congress who praised the budget already have begun tinkering with it, and have refused to go along with a review of the VA medical system that could mean closing hospitals or clinics. Veterans groups demanded $1.1 billion more and are attacking VA's effort to review the benefits system. Derwinski is the first VA secretary of the United States. Until March 15, 1989, VA stood for the Veterans Administration - just another government agency, albeit a massive one. Now it is a department, giving Derwinski full Cabinet status. Va helps educate, house, treat, and bury people who served the country in war or peace. It operates the largest health-care system in the free world. Second in size only to the nation's veteran-producing machine, the Pentagon, VA employs about a quarter of a million people. Its 172 medical centers and other facilities are choice cuts of meat in the federal pork barrel. Since they make up well over a tenth of the US population and are all of voting age, veterans are a political force to be reckoned with. Derwinski, a wily former congressman from Chicago, knows that hard times lie ahead. He must decide what to do about 9 million or so World War II veterans who are getting older - and many of them sicker and poorer. Large numbers have moved South and West away from existing facilities in the East and Midwest. He must deal with an overstrained bureaucracy that forces young veterans to wait months for their claims to be handled or just can't get through to VA on the telephone. He must deal with chronically underpaid doctors and nurses. Finally, Derwinski must develop and maintain good working relationships with Congress, where he served 12 terms before NAM VET Newsletter Page 23 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 joining the Reagan State Department, and with the veterans' lobby. Congress and the veterans groups "tend to be better second- guessers than blocking backs," Derwinski said recently in a rare show of pique. "They tend to be less cooperative about proposals to innovate than they do critiquing our past performance," he said. "That's the headache part of the job." When Derwinski made those remarks, the Disabled American Veterans had just questioned "the department's commitment to its role as veterans' advocate." The group had discovered VA was quietly studying benefit reforms." That study includes a look at the sacred cow known as disability payments. VA is looking at ways to restore fairness to the system, including equal death benefits for survivors of privates or generals. Derwinski ran up against a brick wall in Congress last July when he asked for legislation to create a study commission that would examine the VA's network of hospitals and clinics. He said no such review had been done for 25 years." NAM VET Newsletter Page 24 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 DERWINSKI FEATURED AT PUBLIC SERVICE AWARDS DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Office of Public Affairs - News Service Washington DC 20420 (202) 233-2741 Input by: G. Joseph Peck NAM VETs Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 Organizers of a Washington luncheon to honor federal career employees have announced that Secretary of Veterans Affairs Edward J. Derwinski will be a keynote speaker at the Private Sector Salute to Public Service on May 9. Derwinski will be joined by famed business entrepreneur H. Ross Perot to deliver remarks recognizing the contributions of the nation's public employees. Office of Personnel Management Director Constance Berry Newman will be master of ceremonies for the event, to be held from noon to 2 p.m. at the J.W. Marriott Hotel. Some 750 civil servants, chosen to represent the nation's federal work force, will attend the luncheon which will include special awards for exemplary public service. The privately funded program takes place during Public Service Recognition Week. Derwinski was named the nation's first VA Secretary on March 15, 1989, when VA was elevated to Cabinet status. A former 12-term Chicago-area congressman, Derwinski served for many years on the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee where he played a major role in the passage of federal-employee reform legislation. NAM VET Newsletter Page 25 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 VA VIDEO PROMOTES UNDERSTANDING OF AIDS DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Office of Public Affairs - News Service Washington DC 20420 (202) 233-2741 Input by: G. Joseph Peck NAM VETs Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 The Department of Veterans Affairs has produced a videotape designed to help health-care personnel, as well as the general public, in their understanding of the effects of AIDS. Entitled "...like any other patient," the tape includes interviews with AIDS patients and their families, and provides a powerful insight into what it is like to have AIDS. A workbook accompanies the program. The 26-minutes, 1/2-inch videotape has been distributed to all VA medical center libraries, VA outpatient clinics and Vietnam Veteran Outreach Centers (Vet Centers) throughout the country. Individuals interested in viewing the tape should contact their local public or school library and arrange to borrow it from a VA medical center library. Copies also may be purchased for $55 from the National Audiovisual Center, 8700 Edgeworth Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743; telephone: 1-800-638-1300. The AIDS Program in VA has become the largest single source of direct health-care services available for treating the AIDS epidemic in the United States. VA also conducts a variety of AIDS-related research projects and operates six AIDS Research Centers at VA hospitals in Baltimore; Durham, N.C.; San Diego; New York; Houston and San Francisco. NAM VET Newsletter Page 26 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 "Ask the Veterans' Affairs Counselor" (Following are representative questions answered daily by VA counselors. Full information is available at any VA office.) DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Office of Public Affairs - News Service Washington DC 20420 (202) 233-2741 Input by: G. Joseph Peck NAM VETs Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 Q-- I am submitting paperwork to VA for a headstone to mark my father's grave in our family plot. Should I include any documents regarding his service in the Navy with the application? A-- To assist in processing our application a copy of any official document attesting to service in the armed forces should be submitted along with the application form. Please send only copies of documents to the Department of Veterans Affairs (42), Washington, D.C. 20420. Q-- I send VA a check every month for my insurance premium. Do I have other payment options? A-- Yes. You may pay your premiums quarterly, semiannually or annually and receive a discount. If you receive VA disability or pension benefits, your premiums can automatically be deducted from your monthly checks. Similarly, if you receive military retired pay, an allotment can be established to pay your premiums. YOu can also use the new VA Matic option, where monthly premiums are automatically deducted from your checking account. These payments options can be effected by calling 1-800-422-8079. Q-- I am a divorced veteran. Can my ex-husband force me to maintain him as beneficiary on my VA life insurance policy? A-- Under your Government Life Insurance contract, you have the right to designate or change a beneficiary at any time.. YOu can do this without the knowledge or consent of your designated beneficiary or beneficiaries. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that state courts cannot restrict your right to make changes to your beneficiary designation. All changes must be made in writing to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Q-- How can I apply for Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance (RH)? A-- Application for RH insurance must be made within one year from date of notification by VA that a service-connected disability has been established. NAM VET Newsletter Page 27 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 Project Transition By: Kathleen Cassedy VVA Veteran - March 1990 Edition VVA Members in Ohio Have Created A Model For Community Organizations Everywhere By: G. Joseph Peck NAM VETs Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 Forty dollars isn't much money, unless of course you just don't have it. It's even more money if that's the amount you owe the electric company - which just sent you your last cutoff notice. That's how bad finances had become for Vietnam veteran Thomas Pastor of Columbus, Ohio, after an accident left him disabled. Even with workers' compensation, he was barely able to support his wife and small child. "We can scrape by, but if anything out of the ordinary comes up, then that leaves us with nothing," confides Pastor, 42, a Vietnam- era veteran who served in the Navy between 1965 and 1969. "It's just that each month I've slipped a little further behind. Now I'm in such a hole, there's no way I can get myself clear.... If I could get caught up, I could stay caught up," he declares. Enter Project Transition, a program started in 1988n by the VVA Ohio State Council to help veterans who are homeless, economically disadvantaged, or hitting temporary hard times. The project's goal is to help veterans make a better life for themselves. Sometimes this involves locating affordable housing, helping to find jobs, or providing emergency funds, as in Pastor's case. Concerned about what kind of Christmas he could provide for his two-year-old son, Pastor didn't know about Project Transition when he telephoned a VVA chapter in December to inquire about a "Toys for Tots" program. Not only did he receive gifts for his son; but he learned about Project Transition, which gave him money - fast - to pay his outstanding electricity bill. Project Transition coordinators also put him in touch with local agencies that can assist him with food and additional funds, if the need arises. Pastor, an electrician, says he never needed special assistance until he was injured three years ago. While wiring a ceiling, he fell off a scaffold. He shattered bones in his heels and fractured a vertebrae in his back. Today, he walks with a limp, due to a locked ankle, and he is unable to lift his 30-pound son. Pastor is optimistic that his rehabilitation will conclude this year, but he'll never be like he was. "I won't be able to go back to my previous employment," he explains, and he adds that since his accident, he has had difficulty climbing and standing for long periods. When Pastor is ready to find new employment, Project Transition can help him locate new work or refer him to agencies that provide job training. At the Columbus office where Project Transition is located, a counselor from the Ohio Bureau of Employment and a VA job specialist are on duty each week. The Ohio-based project is administered by David Bradley, executive director of the VVA Department of Ohio, and by the assistant director, Carol Tolliver. Four full-time VISTA volunteers coordinate the project, three of whom are Vietnam NAM VET Newsletter Page 28 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 veterans, two with disabilities from their combat experiences. The program, which serves the greater Columbus area (where about 400,000 veterans and their dependents live), is aimed at helping Vietnam-era veterans, but no veteran, regardless of time or type of service, is refused aid. "Project Transition is veterans helping veterans and their families," explains Executive Director Bradley. "If veterans want to help themselves, we are here to help them make a difference in their lives." The idea for Project Transition came in 1987, and soon it attracted a $15,000 grant from the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation and a $77,000 grant from the Agent Orange Assistance Program. The Agent Orange money is allocated separately as this grant stipulates that the money must be used to help Vietnam-era veterans who served in-country between 1961 and 1972. Help provided by Project Transition to veterans and their dependents is based on a well-defined class of circumstances. For instance, if a veteran needs counseling and can't make it to a community-based "storefront" vet center, the program will pay for private counseling or provide bus tickets or gasoline money. In addition to these services, Project Transition has undertaken a Homeless and Incarcerated Veterans Project. This separate project is designed to help homeless veterans and ex-felons find jobs and affordable housing. At the same time, the project provides these veterans with emergency assistance during the period of their reacclimation to society. The Project Transition team estimates at least 1,000 veterans are homeless each night in their region - the best proof possible - perhaps - that homelessness remains endemic among Vietnam veterans. While Project Transition provides emergency funds to individual veterans in need, it is also an agency that places great emphasis on "networking." The project puts veterans and their dependents in touch with the right agency to meet their needs - whether the agency is under the jurisdiction of a city, a state, the federal government, or is located in the private sector. The number of agencies, programs, or volunteer groups with whom Project Transition works is continually expanding as different veterans' needs are introduced. "Something comes up new everyday. We network with a new agency when a new veteran is added," exclaims Project Transition coordinator Darrel Peakes. "It's like a snowball going down a hill - it just gets bigger and bigger." Some of the agencies in Ohio that work with Project Transition include Legal Aid, the Literacy Council, the Franklin County division of human services (which provides an updated listing of affordable housing), Franklin County Mental Health Services, the Red Cross, the Private Industry Council (which administers the Job Training Partnership Act), and Greyhound, Inc., which offers a 25 percent discount on bus tickets to the project. Project Transition coordinators make a point of talking several times each day with the local VA vet center as well as with the Franklin County Veterans Service Commission. The commission administers a number of other valuable programs designed specifically to help veterans. "They're constantly calling us, and we're constantly calling them, too," remarks Nelson Waldrop, an investigator and administrator of the relief program at the Veterans Service Commission. "They can do what we can't do, and they're doing a NAM VET Newsletter Page 29 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 good job of it." The Veterans Service Commission, a county-funded agency, does not help veterans find housing or jobs but provides emergency funds to pay for rent, utilities, and food. Michael Shearer, a team leader at the Columbus vet center, uses his relationship with Project Transition as a "hand-and-glove operation." The vet center refers veterans who are homeless, hungry, or unemployed to Project Transition, which specializes in providing immediate help to veterans and their families. Once persons are stabilized with an address and a job, they can be referred to the vet center for substance abuse, familial relations or Post-traumatic Stress Disorder counseling. "If a person isn't stabilized, it doesn't do much good to start any type of therapy. If you're hungry, if you don't have clothes on your back, you're not real concerned why that might be at that time," explains Shearer. The Project Transition program encompasses outreach into the community, especially at shelters, where many homeless veterans find refuge during hard times. Columbus's three main shelters - Open Shelter, Faith Mission, and Friends of the Homeless - are all downtown, and they provide 24-hour emergency housing to men and some families. However, some "emergency" situations have stretched into permanent domiciles with people living at shelters for years. Both the Holy Rosary and the Salvation Army shelter women and children, and the Volunteers of America of Columbus operates an overflow emergency shelter at night. Church-based organizations provide "scatter-site" shelters by arranging temporary lodging at hotels or in church basements. The Open Shelter, begun in 1983, provides accommodations to approximately 95 men per night and offers daytime services such as medical, financial, and legal counseling - in other words, it provides those services normally available to needy people in the community who do not stay at the shelter.. "We've been full every day except for two days after we opened," related Kent Beittel, director of Open Shelter. "When we started here, it was estimated that 250 people were on the streets of Columbus on any given day competing for 200 beds in the shelter system. Today, it is estimated that over a thousand people are on the streets every day, competing for 650 beds." "I've seen the problem get worse and worse," laments Anita Gallick, associate director at Faith Mission, which houses 110 men, 20 women, and five families each night. Overall, in the Columbus, Franklin County area, about 1,450 different people are housed per month at one of nine shelters, according to CALLVAC (Caring, Answering, Listening, and Linking Volunteer Action Center), a local volunteer organization which received 10,000 calls in 1989 from people in distress. CALLVAC processes statistics from the Community Shelter Board, a volunteer group which receives survey information from Franklin County shelters to assess their funding needs. Shelters are funded by the city and United Way and through donations from other organizations and individuals. Determining how many people are homeless is difficult because surveys are voluntary, irregular, and sometimes inaccurate - then too, not all homeless people go to shelters. Some homeless are on the streets or temporarily housed with families or friends. Determining the number of homeless VETERANS and their families is NAM VET Newsletter Page 30 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 even more elusive, but that number is believed to be as high as 1,000 nightly. The Community Shelter Board, which began requesting surveys last year, will incorporate questions regarding veteran status in future surveys. In a year's time, Open Shelter houses 1,200 different men, of whom 40 percent are believed to be veterans and 20 percent to be Vietnam-era veterans. About 25 percent of the homeless at Faith Mission are believed to be veterans, and most of them are from the Vietnam era. Estimated statistics for Columbus, determined by CALLVAC, show that 80 percent of the homeless people are men and 20 percent are women; 40 percent have a high school education and 10-15 percent have some college. One-third of the homeless people work. Many homeless veterans are reticent to identify themselves as vets, having "fallen through the crack" one too many times in programs designed by the armed services or by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Project Transition, on the other hand, does not seem to have the same kinds of administrative problems - as a volunteer organization, it has been cited innumerable times as a model for what a community=based organization can do when it is staffed by dedicated and hardworking people. In other words, the VVA members of the Columbus area as well as those from all over Ohio have made Project Transition a success. So far, Project Transition has helped more than 455 veterans, of whom 118 served in Vietnam. "Project Transition is one of several activities that veterans have believable access to," charged Beittel of Open Shelter. "Let's face it, many projects for veterans we set up because veterans do not trust the Veterans Administration, and because they don't trust it, they don't use it effectively. Therefore, they need someone to be their advocate in approaching the traditional veterans' organizations and bureaucracies. That's the only way they'll know that they can get the best results." Members of the Project Transition team visit the Open Shelter weekly, identifying themselves as a nonprofit organization that can help veterans. "We stress to them that we are not with the government," notes Peakes of the Project Transition team. They stay about one hours, distributing literature and answering questions. At first, their visits were met with skepticism. "When we first got over there, people were reluctant to even talk," recalls Peakes. "But once they knew we were there to really help, once they saw we got a few veterans jobs, got them out of the shelter - word got around." There are any number of reasons why Vietnam veterans make up an ever-increasing portion of the total homeless population. Certainly economic dislocation has had something to do with the rising numbers. In the Columbus area, there is a shortage of factory jobs and affordable housing. In addition, local governments are unwilling to tackle the problem through a more equitable tax system, a revamped welfare program that assists people into the work force, and a realistic minimum wage. With housing as expensive as it is, working full-time at minimum wage does not insure a person will earn enough to cover life's necessities: food and shelter - especially when unexpected costs or accidents keep them from their jobs. "As it is now in Ohio, if a person gets a job, they (Sic) NAM VET Newsletter Page 31 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 automatically lose their medical benefits they may have received when on welfare. Their food stamps are often lost or drastically cut. And if you're working for $3.35 or $4.00 an hour, you simply can't make ends meet," explains Gallick of Faith Mission. "The biggest problem for economically disadvantaged or homeless people is they don't have the type of job to bring in the income they need. They are struggling. Some of them are in between jobs. At times like these, if you don't have anybody to lean on, then you're going to have problems," notes Bradley. That's the area in which Project Transition is the most beneficial. It provides peer support for veterans by veterans. It helps needy veterans regain self-esteem. In addition to word-of-mouth communication, veterans learn about Project Transition from public-service announcements on local radio and TV stations. An advertisement ran in a citywide free newspaper. Brochures explaining Project Transition are dropped off at key locations in the Columbus area - and at agencies or shelters where homeless or needy veterans may show up. The VVA members of Ohio, the creators of Project Transition, believe that the program has a bright future, and they point out that VVA's most recent convention endorsed the project and the chapter members' hard work. Project Transition and the Ohio State Council are compiling a larger list of foundations and corporations for additional grants to keep the program ongoing. In one respect, however, the VVA members of Ohio are fortunate. The Ohio State Council is unique because the State of Ohio supports it financially, enabling it to have a paid staff. VVA had the office and core people to begin the project, but the state funding has been of tremendous help. Project Transition seems to be catching on in other parts of the country. After VVA's endorsement in August of 1989, the Ohio State Council received innumerable calls from VVA chapters in other parts of the country. For instance, the West Virginia State Council has moved ahead to set up its own Project Transition in Logan County. "All of the guys down here from Vietnam, we grew up together," notes Kyle Workman, president of the West Virginia State Council. He points out that West Virginia was Number One in sending its young men to serve in combat roles in Vietnam. Logan County, which has a population of around 40,000, sent 2,000 men to Vietnam. The Ohio State Council is helping the West Virginia State Council tailor a Project Transition program to meet the particular needs of Logan County. "They've brought a lot of awareness to our neighborhood that we didn't really understand," notes Workman, who regards the lack of jobs in the area as the biggest problem. VVA chapters are encouraged to use the name "Project Transition," as outlined in the VVA resolution, when they sit up similar programs in their own states. "It's easier when you go to a foundation and try to get their help," explains Jim Tudor, the Ohio State Council president. "It's easier to say, 'This is not a new program but a program that's active in other states, and here's their involvement and what they have done.' It establishes a track record." As long as the Ohio State Council can attract funding, it intends to continue Project Transition until the need is no longer there. And it seems now to be an axiom: Project Transition has not only become a model for a successful community-based organization, it is now reaching out nationally to all veterans NAM VET Newsletter Page 32 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 who need help. David Bradley is proud of the success: "Hey, we worked hard," he says. "We deserve it." ____________ ======= _________________/|_____... | | " === |_______________| |-----::: |._ - " ) |_|___| / / |___| /_/ NAM VET Newsletter Page 33 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 ================================================================== M i s s i n g ! ! ! ================================================================== MIA-POW News & Updates by: Rick Stolz NAM VET MIA-POW Section Editor The Reunion BBS - Okauchee, Wisconsin (414) 567-0437 Well here we go with another month, and there has been some progress. Slow, but there where 10 more remains sent to Hawaii for identification. We still have to get them to send them back from Cambodia, and Laos. We must get negotiations going there. United States is giving aid to the Cambodians to help overthrow the Vietnamese installed government, and that would be one way of tying in an agreement to have remains returned. I tried this month to use Bio's on people that there are still some questions as to what really happened. One of Richard Allard is extremely interesting. If it is true then our government definitely has some explaining to do. LETTERS ON ANN MILLS GRIFFITHS TO ALL POW ORGANIZATIONS, We need to inform all Family Members of our brothers still missing in Southeast Asia that we need the following info as soon as possible. 1. Any letters or other documents pertaining to the NLF's refusal to admit or readmit them as members of the National League of Families. 2. And/or draft letters that the National League of Families does not represent them with respect to the POW/MIA issue, "LIVE POW ISSUE" or any of the pending legislation. It is important that we receive this information in the next month as it will have great bearing on our chances of introducing an identical "TRUTH BILL" in the U.S. SENATE. The window of opportunity is near and we must act now! Please send any info to either of the people listed below. Chuck Schantag Al Ziegler POW NETWORK HOMECOMING II 7303 Volquardsen 502 N Ivy St. Davenport, Ia 52806 Arlington, Va 22201 >> FLASH FOR THOSE WHO CARE << TODAY IN ARLINGTON CEMETERY THE FOLLOWING SEVEN NAMES WERE BURIED. TAKE NOTE I SAID SEVEN NAMES MAJ SAMUEL K. TOOMEY, III US ARMY 1LT RAYMOND C. STACKS US ARMY SSG KLAUS D. SCHOLZ US ARMY SP5 RICHARD A. FITTS US ARMY NAM VET Newsletter Page 34 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 SGT ARTHUR E. BADER JR. US ARMY SP4 MICHAEL H. MEIN US ARMY SP4 GARY R. LABOHN US ARMY THE CILHI ANTHROPOLOGICAL REPORT 0071-89 PLAINLY STATES THAT THE 145 BONE CHIPS CANNOT BE IDENTIFIED BY RACE, SEX , HEIGHT, WEIGHT OR AGE AND THUS CANNOT BE CORRELATED TO ANY OF THESE MEN. THE USG BURIED SEVEN NAMES BUT UNTIL THEY'RE IDENTIFIED, THEY ARE UNACCOUNTED FOR. AL ZIEGLER HOMECOMING II >> ALERT for HR 3603 << Have you passed a Bill (Memorial) or a Floor Resolution making it a state law that your state legislature fully endorse the Truth Bill (HR 3603)? If so, please contact Dolores Alfond at 206-881-1499. If not, and you want to help get a movement started in your state government, contact Dolores Alfond. State Representatives and Senators are now in the process of drafting such a bill for Washington State. When passed into law, it will be sent to the U.S. Congress and President Bush showing that Washington State (or your state) has endorsed the passage of the Truth Bill. RIGHTS OF OUR SERVICEMEN LACKING ================================ House Resolution 1304, Similar to the Missing Service Personnel Act, has over 100 Co-sponsors. Florida was the latest to go with it. This bill does not go far enough to correct the injustice of the 1942 Missing Service Personnel Act. It has no depth, no Guts. 10, 15 or 20 years ago, this would have worked to update the 1942 Act. Today, many families of P.O.W.'s stand behind the wording, content, and intent of 1730. The American Legion, VFW, AND VVA passed resolutions in support of HR 1730 at 1989 summer conventions. Well that about covers it for this month. One last item that I would like to add. Reunion BBS has added a database on Service reunions, if you are looking for reunion information of have reunion information please add it to the database. It has over 1200 reunions now and I still have to put in another 500 or so from the Navy. This is a way to keep track of all reunions for all branches of service. Your help on updates and additions would be helpful. If you are interested in a reunion for your unit, you can add it with a note on the end saying that you are looking fore reunion information. Who knows, there might be someone else that is looking too and between the two of you, you can start a reunion. Till next month: Keep the faith and remember that 'till we are all home we still have unfinished business. NAM VET Newsletter Page 35 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 Let us not forget our brothers still there ! Rick %%% _ | | -----/_\----- -O==============< : >==============O- ( ) (...) ( ) NAM VET Newsletter Page 36 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 MIA/POW Postage Stamp? Input by: Joyce Flory NAM VETs Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM (505) 523-2811 (From) VietNam Veterans of America Chapter #294 American Veterans in Prison P.O. Box 466 Gardner, Massachusetts 01440 Dear Friend; Enclosed with this letter you will find a request form for thirty (30) names to be signed to it for the initiation for a postal stamp for our NOT FORGOTTEN servicemen. We would appreciate once you have filled the sheet to mail it to the Honorable Postmaster General, address on form. If more forms are needed, feel free to copy this form while still blank and or ask us to send you some more. Your help and patriotism is most appreciated and welcomed to our efforts. Thank you for your time and cooperation in making this one of America's most united joint efforts to bring back our MIA/POW and a nation wide awareness to Americans and our leaders in Washington, that we want our men and women to be returned to their families and their country. Respectfully (signature) James J Mickle State Committee for POW/MIA Massachusetts James Mickle George Herbert Albert Articolo RED BADGE OF COURAGE,INC. For The Return Of All MIAs/POWs 1023 5th Ave. So. St. James, MN (507)375-5435 POW-MIA POSTAGE STAMP The Honorable Anthony Frank,Postmaster Gen. United States Postal Service 475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW Washington, D.C. 20260 We respectfully request that you initiate a postage stamp which bears the logo of the National League of POW/MIA Families. The logo serves to create awareness and concern over the POW/MIA issue. The logo depicts a prisoner of war with a prison camp tower over his shoulder, barbed wire extends horizontally behind the prisoner in silhouette form. Below the logo are the words imprinted "YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN". _______________ _______________ _______________ NAM VET Newsletter Page 37 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ _______________ NAM VET Newsletter Page 38 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 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 39 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 Bio of Richard Michael Allard by: Rick Stolz NAM VET MIA-POW Section Editor The Reunion BBS - Okauchee, Wisconsin (414) 567-0437 CASE SYNOPSIS: Allard, Richard Michael Name: Richard Michael Allard Rank/Branch: SP4/US Army Unit: 119th Aviation Company, 52nd Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade Date of Birth: 24 August 1946 (Bay City MI) Home City of Record: Chesaning MI (Family in Schaumburg IL) Date of Loss: 24 August 1967 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 141813N 1075140E (ZA087831) Status (in 1973): Missing In Action Category: 4 Acft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1H Other Personnel in Incident: Kenneth B. Goff; Ronald L. Holtzman; Richard Schell (all missing); Dayton Witherall; Richard N. Morrison; John R. Ulp; Cynthia Colburn (all rescued); Sterling A. Wall (died, body recovered) REMARKS: SYNOPSIS: On August 24, 1967, WO Dayton Witherall, pilot; WO Richard N Morrison, aircraft commander; SP4 Richard L Holtzman, gunner; SP4 Richard M Allard, crewchief; 2Lt Kenneth B Goff, 2Lt Richard J Schell, Sgt Major John R Ulp, 1Lt Sterling A Wall, and Miss Cynthia Colburn, passengers; were aboard a UH1C helicopter (serial #66-12526) which departed Plei Kleng, South Vietnam to Plei Krong, South Vietnam on a combat support liaison mission. The 4th Infantry, with the assistance of the 25th Infantry Division and 1st Cavalry (Airmobile), was at that time conducting an operation called Paul Revere IV, a continuing effort near the Cambodian border of Pleiku Province. The UH1H flying over Pleiku Province that day in August 1966 was flying out of Pleiku, where its crew and passengers were stationed. (NOTE: While the U.S. Army and describes the flight mission as combat-related, it also acknowledges that Ms. Colburn was on the aircraft, a situation which was "illegal", as women serving in Vietnam were not supposed to be placed in combat situations. It is not clear in public record why she was on the aircraft, although Phyllis Allard, Richard Allard's mother, has said that the aircraft was carrying passengers enroute from a hospital and that Colburn was a Red Cross worker.) During the flight, the pilot elected to fly low-level along the Dak Bla River. While attempting a 180 degree turn, the aircraft failed to recover and was caught in a severe downdraft and crashed into the Krong Bo Lah River in about 10 feet of water at a point where the current was swift and the water was deep. (NOTE: loss coordinates place the site of loss unquestionably on the Se San River about 15 miles southwest of the city of Kontum, and about 28 NAM VET Newsletter Page 40 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 miles due south of the city of Dak To. Just south of Dak To is the juncture of the Se San and another river. Whether at this juncture the two rivers have other names cannot be determined with materials on hand at the time of this writing. Information provided by family members states that the aircraft landed in the "bottomless, rapid Boc River called Dak Bla".) Rescue helicopters arrived 10 - 45 minutes after the crash and rescued WO Morrison, WO Witherall, Ms Colburn and Sgt. Major Ulp, after their having been swept several hundred feet downstream. 2Lt. Goff, SP4 Allard and 2Lt. Schell were not seen by any of the survivors after the crash. SP4 Holtzman was seen by WO Morrison, who stated that Holtzman was wearing a flight jacket, armor plate, and a flak jacket, and called out to Morrison that he could not swim. WO Morrison stated that Holtzman drifted away in the swift current before he could help him. Later searches of the area revealed several pieces of debris, but the aircraft itself was not found. In September, Lt. Wall's body was retrieved from the river. Searches were conducted through December 26, but neither the aircraft nor the four missing men aboard it were found. Richard Allard's mother received a collect call from Cambodia a few days after the crash by someone she believed was Richard. She subsequently had the call checked by Illinois Bell and states that the results "produced evidence that they [the crew] were in the hands of the enemy". In 1970 she saw a prisoner on television in a Viet Cong film which she believed was Richard. The Army was elusive in its conclusions on both events, so Mrs. Allard borrowed money from friends to go to Cambodia in January of 1972. Through a series of events which belong in a spy novel, Mrs. Allard said that she found herself in a cave where she was blindfolded and led into a bare room. An official and a soldier came in with her son. In the moments he was allowed to stay, he said, "Shame on you for coming." He apparently was afraid for his mother's safety. The Army later said they couldn't believe Mrs. Allard's account unless the Communists corroborated it in writing. Mrs. Allard has worked continually for 22 years for information about her son. In 1969, a communist defector was shown a number of photographs of missing men. One of the photos he identified positively as being a prisoner of war was Richard Schell. The U.S. could not determine why the photo was selected. Clearly, all the evidence is not in on the events of Aug 24, 1967. Whether Mrs. Allard's story is true is unknown. Whether Allard and Schell were truly prisoners can only be known by the communists, and of course, Allard and Schell themselves. The Vietnamese deny any knowledge of any of the four missing. NAM VET Newsletter Page 41 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 Bio of Daniel Vernor Borah, Jr. by: Rick Stolz NAM VET MIA-POW Section Editor The Reunion BBS - Okauchee, Wisconsin (414) 567-0437 CASE SYNOPSIS: BORAH, DANIEL VERNOR, JR. Name: Daniel Vernor Borah, Jr. Rank/Branch: O3/US Navy (Reserve) Unit: Attack Squadron 155, USS ORISKANY (CV-34) Date of Birth: 18 June 1946 Home City of Record: Olney IL Date of Loss: 24 September 1972 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 164635N 1072035E (YD140540) Status (in 1973): Prisoner Of War Category: 1 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A7B Other Personnel In Incident: (none missing) REMARKS: ALIVE IN CHUTE-NO MORE CONTACT SYNOPSIS: On September 24, 1972, Lt. Daniel Borah launched from the USS ORISKANY in his A7B Corsair II subsonic attack plane as the flight leader of a two plane strike against North Vietnamese troops entrenched in bunkers northwest of the city of Quang Tri, South Vietnam. They were directed to the target area by a Forward Air Controller aircraft (FAC). Lt. Borah and his wingman began their initial bombing run as briefed. Due to an improper switch setting, the wingman expended his entire ordnance load on the first load instead of the several runs that were briefed for. He then proceeded to a holding position at 13,000 feet overhead the target to observe Borah's succeeding bombing runs. During the second run, Borah's aircraft was seen to draw a barrage of 37mm anti-aircraft fire. His wingman radioed for evasive action, then almost immediately saw Borah's aircraft burst into flames. The FAC saw Borah eject safely from the aircraft and later established emergency radio contact with him for 10-15 seconds. No other contact was received during the following two days of search and rescue efforts. Intelligence reports indicated that North Vietnamese soldiers removed Borah's parachute from a tree within half hour of his landing on the ground, and he is believed to have been captured alive. When the war ended, and 591 Americans were released from Vietnamese prisons, Borah was not among them. The Vietnamese deny knowledge of his fate. As thousands of reports of Americans still alive in captivity accumulate, Borah's family must wonder if he is still alive waiting for his country to bring him home. Whether Borah is still alive is unknown. What is certain, however, is someone knows what happened to him. It's time we got answers and brought our men home. NAM VET Newsletter Page 42 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 Bio of Albert Pitt by: Rick Stolz NAM VET MIA-POW Section Editor The Reunion BBS - Okauchee, Wisconsin (414) 567-0437 CASE SYNOPSIS: PITT, ALBERT Name: Albert Pitt Rank/Branch: O3/US Marine Corps Unit: VMFA 315, MAG 11 Date of Birth: 30 November 1934 Home City of Record: Hemstead NY Date of Loss: 24 January 1966 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 161900N 1073900E (YD830065) Status (in 1973): Missing In Action Category: 4 Acft/Vehicle/Ground: F4B Other Personnel in Incident: Lawrence N. Helber (missing); on another F4B same date, same coordinates: Doyle R. Sprick; Delmar G. Booze (both missing) REMARKS: SYNOPSIS: Capt. Doyle R. Sprick was the pilot and 2Lt. Delmar G. Booze his navigator/bombardier on board an F4B Phantom fighter jet flying out of Da Nang Airbase, South Vietnam on January 24, 1966. Sprick and Booze were part of a multi-aircraft strike mission during a Christmas moratorium. At some point during their mission, while over Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam and about 10 miles south of the city of Hue, the aircraft flown by Sprick and Booze went down. Both men were declared Missing in Action. Another F4B, apparently on the same strike mission, was downed at the same location on that day. This aircraft was also flying out of VMFA 314, 11th Marine Air Group, and presumably departed Da Nang as well. The second Phantom was flown by Capt. Albert Pitt, accompanied by navigator 2Lt. Lawrence N. Helber. This aircraft disappeared after striking a target. The last contact with the aircraft was a report that their strike on the target had been successful. Helber and Pitt were declared Missing in Action. All four Marines lost that day were also given a clarifying code indicating the degree of enemy knowledge of their fates. These four were all classified Category 4, which means U.S. Intelligence has no information to indicate that the Vietnamese know their fates. According to Doyle Sprick's twin brother, Duane, searches were conducted for the aircraft which were extensive and thorough for the time and condition. The Da Nang area, according to Duane, was unfriendly, so the search and rescue was fairly restricted since the area was "owned by the Viet Cong at the time." In 1969, the Central Intelligence Agency received a rather extensive and detailed report relating to a POW camp near the city of Hue in which scores of Americans had been held. When asked to review photographs of Americans still missing, the source giving NAM VET Newsletter Page 43 Volume 4, Number 5 May 9, 1990 the information positively identified Albert Pitt as having been detained in this camp. This identification was made on April 11, 1969. The source also listed the Viet Cong Huong Thuy District Committee members and provided sketches of the committee's headquarters and POW camp. The U.S. intelligence community determined that it could not "be determined why the source selected (Pitt's) photograph" as he "was never seen by other US PWs following his loss incident". The source was summarily dismissed, and his information discounted. The report was classified. Over 15 years later, this report was unearthed by a concerned citizen through the Freedom of Information Act. He immediately contacted the family of one of the men on the "positive ID" list, and was shocked to learn that they had never been told of the report's existence, nor did they have any clue that their son could possibly have been captured. Since that time, the lengthy report was distributed widely, and came into the hands of