Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 . __ . . -*- N A M V E T -*- ____/ \_ . . ( * \ . . Managing Editor \ Quangtri . . -------------- \_/\ \_ Hue . . G. Joseph Peck \_Ashau Phu Bai . . \_* \_ . . \ * ) . . Distribution Manager _/ Danang . . Jerry Hindle ( \_*Chu Lai . . \_ ------- \__ . . Section Editors \_ I Corps \ . . --------------- \ ------- ! . . AGENT ORANGE: Martin H. Kroll, Sr. /\_____ ! . . MIA-POW : / ! \ . . REUNIONS: Glen Kepler ! !___ \ . . CHAPLAIN: ! \/\____! . . HOMELESSNESS: Lefty Frizzell ! ! . . FEDERAL BENEFITS: Jim Hildwine / Dak To ! . . INCARCERATED VETS: Todd C. Looney / * / . . Joyce Flory ! \_ . . MEMORIES: G. Joseph Peck ! Phu Cat\ . . IN-TOUCH: Ray "Frenchy" Moreau \ * * ) . . \ Pleiku ) . . -**- 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 (413) 442-1660 . . / ____/ Managing Editor . . / 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 9 September 13, 1990 ================================================================= T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S 1. EDITORIALS The Wheel Goes Around... ................................ 1 Vaya Con Dios ........................................... 3 Thanks, brothers and sisters! ........................... 5 2. Missing!!! Lookin' for Bobby ....................................... 8 Locating Missing War Buddies ............................ 9 Just Prayers Will Do! ................................... 10 They haven't forgutten US!!! ............................ 12 3. In-Touch Friends of Vietnam Vets Needs Your Help ................. 13 In-Touch: What is it??? ................................. 15 IN-TOUCH Registration/Request Form!!! ................... 18 It's Not Finished Yet ................................... 20 4. Silenced Warriors Native Spiritual Councils, Inc. ......................... 22 A visit or note once in awhile? ......................... 23 VVA Pushes Incarcerated Bills ........................... 24 5. NamVet's Quiet Corner 12 Steps for A Vietnam Veteran .......................... 28 The Electronic Chapel ................................... 29 Helping Disabled Vets ................................... 30 6. But Its ONLY Heat Rash! The Secret Agent ........................................ 31 Break out the Clearasil ! ........................... 38 7. Sand Fleas n' Camels IRAQ - Dismal Deja vu ................................... 39 Supporting our Saudi Troops ............................. 41 The U.S. and Poison Gas ................................. 42 Free Fax to Saudi Soldiers! ............................. 43 8. We CAN Do Something! Angry about Flag Abuse? ................................. 44 9. Not-So-Secret Service Info Common Reenlistment Codes ............................... 46 SPN Codes - All ya ever wanted to know! ................. 48 10. Hearts n' Minds Native American Veterans ................................ 57 A 'Nam Vets Daughter .................................... 59 Finally Here!!! ......................................... 60 Vets aren't Fonda New Neighbor .......................... 61 Look what they're doin' to our song! .................... 62 11. IVVEC & NamVet - WHERE? IVVEC Nodelist .......................................... 63 NamVet Roll Call ........................................ 66 Some Gave All... ........................................ 68 NAM VET Newsletter Page ii Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 ================================================================= E D I T O R I A L S ================================================================= The Wheel Goes Around... Editorial by: G. Joseph Peck NamVet's Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 A family emergency called me away at the beginning of September... Ex-wife was finding the goin' a bit tough what with our 15-goin' on-35-year-old daughter who struggled daily for her sense of independence... And my son... In the Active Reserves, my son was anticipating a call "at any moment" to be called up to go to Saudi Arabia. He talked a lot about "smokin' some camels" and doin' somethin' to desert people. Sheesh... I've been THERE before... [fade to 1964]... Join the service? Hmmm... The GI Bill seemed to help my father and mother a bit, seemed to help a few others I knew pay for their education, home loans, and delivery of their children. Military Service? Sounds like a GREAT opportunity! Just think... I'll get training, three squares, a roof over m' head, and there's no place to go but forward! Paul kept telling me about the tremendous heat when the plane door opened in 'Nam. "It'll take your breath away, Joe!" No problem, though, I was now a soldier. Been taught by the best... I'll be catchin' up to ya, Paul... Just wait, bro' - gotta finish Basic and AIT first. Then I'll be there. Interesting "coincidence": The motto of my Basic Training Unit (G-Company, 3rd Training Regt, Fort Dix, NJ) was "Golf Company goes FORWARD!!!" Dreams... Anticipation... "I can be anything I work hard enough to be!" Turned down from-the-ranks nomination to West Point. Wanted to see MORE before I made a decision which would involve the rest of my life. OCS instead... But FIRST must attend NCO school. Was to start on 15 Mar 65... volunteered (ahhh THAT word again!) for mission 13 Mar 65... Learned REAL quick that all the dreams, all the anticipation, all the goals, can be ended in a split second. End result: Honorable discharge (after near-four month stay in Army hospitals). Paul's name is on the Wall. His hard work, dreams, and whatever HE looked forward to ended in a split-second in 'Nam... where I never got to follow... [fade to early-September, 1990] "You're an awful lot like me, Son... Same MOS when you've finished your Basic and AIT; same drive to do the best you can for your country. Bet tears even come to YOUR eyes when you're standin' in formation and "God Bless America" comes over the PA System. You, too, son, have that DRIVE to make somethin' out of yourself and what you do. I'm proud of that. I'm proud of YOU for doin' what I've already tried to do... NAM VET Newsletter Page 1 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 I've got this real dichotomy of feelings right now, though. On the one hand, I want you to not put your life in places where it can quickly be snuffed out - along with all the hopes and dreams of your mother and I and yourself. On the other hand, Son, I want you stand proudly for what you believe in - to defend your beliefs against attack by any person or country. I'm proud that you believe in America and what it stands for. But, ya know, Son... I really know that you're doin' what YOU think is right - and that's JUST the way we've tried to raise you: to stand up STRONG for what you believe in, to make the best out of ANY situation, and to come out of it all a winner! Ya make this vet PROUD! [fade to present] Well... I've returned to VETLink #1 and doin' the NamVet's. Difficult situations in Florida seem to be well in-hand and we're movin' right along up here. As you can see by Todd's editorial, the "torch has passed" to us and to a different effort for NamVet and IVVEC. Amazin' the parallels... I got a "real-life" sample of it while I was away in Tampa, FL for two weeks! It's totally up to US now, folks... We NEED your submissions for future NamVet's and our various section editors (who do one heck of a 5-by-5 job!) need input from you! 'til next month Show a brother or sister veteran that YOU care!!! Ci'ao for Ni'ao - Joe - NAM VET Newsletter Page 2 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 Vaya Con Dios Parting Editorial by: Todd Looney NamVet's CoCreator and Editor Emeritus VIETNAM VETERANS VALHALLA - San Jose, CA (408) 298-2740 > What's happened to you? Where ya been? WHY don't we > hear from ya anymore? I'm really sorry to have abandoned the IVVEC and the NAM VET bro, but the most important things in my life right now are Nancy and my son Jeremy. As you might recall my saying to you some time ago,the excess amount of time I dedicated to the veteran's projects while Nancy and I were living together contributed greatly to the disintegration of our marriage. Nancy and I still love each other a great deal, and have been attempting to reconstruct what we can of our relationship and I cannot afford to permit extra curricular activities such as the computer and BBS to interfere with that process in any way. I have been able to sneak a little time in here and there whenever the opportunity presents itself to maintain the Valhalla, but even that has been infrequent and sporadic at best. To add to this, I have finally succeeded in winning custody of my son Jeremy after a long, painful, drawn out legal battle against the court system and his estranged mother which has left me emotionally exhausted to say the least. What little spare time I have is being obligated toward invaluable school and PTA-related activities in support of Jeremy's educational welfare. To be completely honest and frank with you, my dear friend, my present priorities do not include the IVVEC or the NAM VET. I can't even truthfully determine when, if ever, they will be again. I'm so sorry to drop this on you, but I think it's better to be up front with you than to sidestep the issue any longer. > Hey Bro... You n' I started somethin' that's in quite > high a demand... Ya left for a bit and I tried to cover m' > brother's backside with the echo (IVVEC) and NamVet. Now I > hardly ever see a message posted from you and/or your board... > hardly ever hear from you concerning what we began Veterans' > Day, 1987 I sincerely believe with all my soul that you know how much our accomplishments together mean to me Joe. I hope as deeply that you understand how painful it must be for me to have to let it all go, but there are just no feasible alternatives at this time in my life. You valiantly took the helm without question during my absence and continued to mold the IVVEC and the NAM VET into what they are today, and when I came back I honestly could not find a role for me there which was as rewarding as the one I served prior to my untimely departure last year. You demonstrated your ability to manage things quite efficiently and productively during that time without me beside you, and I have confidence that such will be the case without my presence now and in the future. You have assembled a loyal team of concerned and capable men and NAM VET Newsletter Page 3 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 women who have consistently demonstrated their willingness to do whatever they can to help you facilitate the future success of both invaluable projects. I intend to continue making the IVVEC and NAM VET Newsletters available to both Valhalla members and Email Freq's as I always have, so will retain my link to the FidoNet EchoMail Backbone as well as be Freq'ing the NAM VET from VETLink#1 monthly. I will also stay in touch with you and other who I care for by Email from time to time, so don't think you've gotten rid of me completely (grin). I wouldn't even be surprised to see my name pop up every now and then in the IVVEC when I get the chance. > <<<<<< HUGS >>>>>> <<<<<< HUGS >>>>>> <<<<<< HUGS >>>>>> Those hugs will always mean a lot to me little bro'. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Your friend for life, Todd NAM VET Newsletter Page 4 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 Thanks, brothers and sisters! Editorial by: Joyce Flory NAM VETs Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM (505) 523-2811 Hi folks; The following is a sample of what I'm getting from incarcerated vets. These guys DO want and need your support. Please start writing to them. Who knows, you may have served with them under a nickname. Copied by written permission from Vernon E. Miller: "Dear Joyce: A special greetings to you. And my own special thanks for your endeavors. This being in the form of your program, that of a Pen- pal program for incarcerated Viet Nam Vets. My name is Vernon E. Miller, but I prefer Vern. I am 43 years young, caucasian, but I pride myself on being very opened minded. My interests fall along the lines of outdoor activity, such as walks through the wild, camping, fishing, and the likes. Also, I've driven stock cars in the past and still enjoy auto racing. And though it does grieve me to say this, I am divorced. And I served 6 years in the US Army Military Police. I was in Viet Nam 1968-1969. Stationed in the Central highlands, Pleiku, to be exact. I am a Christian. I spend many hours in Bible studies. I also enjoy reading books on and about Viet Nam. In addition to this I also enjoy drawing, but, most of all, I have to say, I thrive on mail. I enjoy corresponding with others and learning about and from them. But, this is a problem. You see I get such few letters that when I do receive one, it is treasured. I have tried various Christian Pen-Pal outreaches, all with little success. I was given your address by fellow vets from our chapter of the VVA. I will be willing to write and receive mail from just about anyone. I have little problems in discussing Viet Nam related matters with any one. In fact I will go as far as to say I am able to talk about almost anything. So whomever should write me can feel completely at ease in discussing anything they wish. Well, in closing, I will say that it is my sincerest of wishes that an answer to this correspondence will not be long in coming. And that you have my heart felt wishes for success in your endeavors. As well as my prayers for God's blessing to be abundantly yours." I have answered this letter and sent the MIA\POW stamp petition, along with Ray Moreau's In Touch pamphlets and got word back that they were all greatly appreciated and that they would like a copy of the newsletter (on disc,which I'll do once I get it). Let's start supporting this effort by writing to some of the incarcerated!! The following list is one I've accumulated over the past 10 months. Please use it. Here's the latest addresses I have on Vietnam Vets that are incarcerated and would like pen-pals. NAM VET Newsletter Page 5 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 Whitmarsh Bailey #56715 Jack Baack #57098 Chris S. Crespin #45523 Dennis E. Prentis #43497 PO Box R Buena Vista, Colo. 81211 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 George Hebert (not a Namvet, but good people) Ron Gohn T2-rm 273 Lance Koren Richard Ortiz Arthur Coy Tyrone Smith Kevin M. Pennell Robert Thompson Leslie Gomes Frank Komnenus PO Box 466 Gardner, Mass. 01440 Billy Borkman #125740 (0221) (not seeking penpal but will answer) V Burton #108483 (A-120) M Davenport #155165 (N-321) M Donati #150219 (D-71) J Grace #136189 (B-108) M Glennon #140901 (O-101) (Non-vet that likes to write) J Heidinger #102513 (O-421) C Ladison #138228 (O-330) G Magno #112810 (N-418) W Merriman #131789 (A-66) L Rainsford #126380 (B-108) A Shah #101250 (O-417) G Stovall Jr. #98899 (O-328) R Sutton #141041 (O-317) Nottoway Correctional PO Box 488 Burkeville, Va. 23922 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-2 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 NAM VET Newsletter Page 6 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 Matthew Sanders #166545 " D-4 Micheal 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 Luther C. Beasley #110375 " D-2 James River C.C.R. State Farm, Va. 23160 George W. Bud (?) AJ2110 Vernon E. Miller Sr. AJ1004 Darryl Houseman AJ1063 Drawer A Old Route 22 Cresson,Penn. 16630-0010 NAM VET Newsletter Page 7 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 ================================================================= M i s s i n g ! ! ! ================================================================= Lookin' for Bobby By: Joyce Flory NAM VETs Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM (505) 523-2811 Hi folks: All this hoopla going on in the middle east has brought up a subject I had almost forgot, for me. For over 13 years I've carried a box of military papers, clothing and personal stuff of a Vietnam vet I met while in Weisbaden, West Germany. He entrusted me with his things, as his weight limit for discharge would not allow this ONE box. I've carried it from West Germany to New Mexico to California and back to New Mexico. I've seen him once since carrying this box (he was intransit to a new job and couldn't take it with him). "I'll send for it," he told me. This was in about 1978 or 79. He wrote me from a helicopter firefighting unit he worked with in Washington state and Alaska. The last word from him circa 1982-83 was from Jedda Saudi Arabia (hence my tie-in). I talked with his folks about 6 years ago (they knew less than I did) and I sent them some of the military papers so they could conduct their own search, but never heard anything back from them. Now for my request... The man's name is Bobby (Robert) R. Campbell 415-54-6961 CW3 according to the discharge papers I have USARPC- Wiesbaden (W38RAA A) w/dy. Can anyone out there help me find my long lost friend or his family (he had at least one ex- and a son, I think). If further info is needed, just ask. I have a whole box of papers - tell me what I need to look for. All I know about his Nam days is that he was a helicopter pilot, but he didn't talk too much about Nam, so I don't know what he did. I don't know if it'll help any, but his CB "handle" in West Germany was "Blackjack" (he said it was a nickname he picked up along the way and considering he retired a 25? year man, I assume the nickname came from the military). Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated. Before any of you say anything. I've already contacted Ray Moreau and it was his suggestion that I put this message here, and he's looking into it for me. Thanks, Joyce NAM VET Newsletter Page 8 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 THOUSANDS OF VETERANS LOCATE WAR TIME BUDDIES Input by: Joe Meadors SeaBat BBS - Corpus Christi, TX (512) 387-6638 MILITARY INFORMATION ENTERPRISES Post Office Box 340081 Fort Sam Houston, Texas 78234 (512) 828-4054 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Lt. Col. Richard S. Johnson (512) 828-4054 Thousands of people have been helped by the information in a popular book that has recently been revised and expanded. Among those benefiting from this book are veterans of all wars looking for former comrades, lawyers looking for heirs to estates, people looking for missing relatives and businesses seeking people who are delinquent on their bills. Hundreds of reunion organizers have used this book with very successful results, as have many genealogical researchers. This unique book "HOW TO LOCATE ANYONE WHO IS OR HAS BEEN IN THE MILITARY: Armed Forces Locator Directory" provides numerous methods to locate anyone who is or has been in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Guard or Reserves. It contains directories of hundreds of federal, state, military, private and veteran agencies and organizations. They can either provide addresses and telephone numbers of the missing person or can forward letters to them. It also explains how to obtain copies of unit or ship rosters and military personnel records of current, former, retired and deceased military members. This book is the only one available that contains this highly specialized information. It was written by Lt. Col. Richard S. Johnson who served over 27 years in the military and is an expert on locating military personnel. The book is published by Military Information Enterprises, PO Box 340081-N, Fort Sam Houston, Texas 78234. $15.00 post paid or call 1-800-999-8068. NAM VET Newsletter Page 9 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 Just Prayers Will Do! By: Joe Krickenbarger-Oliver Texas Father's BBS - Tomball, TX (713) 376-4767 Dear Brotherhood of Veterans: I am not usually lost for words, but today I am. I address this letter to The Brotherhood of Veterans as I send to to Veterans of all Wars many went to, or gave their life in to defend what we have in this Country today. Today I received a letter in the mail from a united states marines wife, the wife of a man who spent 5 years in a POW camp. His sons a Marine NamVet, and His sons son is a Marine who is engaged within Saudi Arabia. I want to share some lines of this message with you, as maybe there is a brotherhood that can get where I can't today and extend a hand, a smile, a ride. "Dearest Joe, Jane & Josiah: My copy letters will explain. Our lives are in complete collapse as Beryl fights terminal cancer (in the liver too) - his major surgery got it in the colon, but not all of it. Mid-week we got news, Keith Jr., is in Saudi Arabia. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Excerpts from insert she sent me. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "Beryl had a very bad weekend but is better now. The chemo did not affect him too drastically. All is paid for him here at the VA as an ex-POW. That is great for us who have such a small income and savings going, going. But, contacting every military organization for help for housing has netted zilch." "So due to no housing, distance to far to get to the VA, we must look somewhere else for help." "Beryl does not have SS. thus no medicare - if he did ALL would be paid for." >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Any one (out in NamVetLand) on this ECHO (VIETNAM_VETS) who lives in this area who can spare a hello, the offer of a ride to the VA for Beryl's treatments and moral support, suggestions on benefits available that might help meet their needs, please contact them. If you are a WWII vet, you share an even closer brotherhood with Beryl. If you were a POW during that period, even closer. They can be contacted at: Beryl Hall c/o Lorrain 19609 S.E. 284th Kent, Washington 98042. The Phone number is: Area Code: 206-631-3063 If you can't call drop Beryl a line. Of course these are just my feelings, what happens is up to you. All who pray, send a few Beryl & Pats way and one for Keith, Jr. who is in Saudi. NAM VET Newsletter Page 10 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 I believe in Miracles. Thanks to those who can and can't, but would like to. Joe NAM VET Newsletter Page 11 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 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 12 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 ================================================================= I n - T o u c h ================================================================= Friends of Vietnam Vets Needs Your Help By: Ray "Frenchy" Moreau NAM VETs IN-TOUCH Section Editor Herndon Byte eXchange - Herndon, VA (703) 471-8010 Dear Fellow IVVECNet Sysop, User and NamVet Reader: I am writing to you on behalf of the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial concerning a matter of great urgency. You may have visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington in which case you know firsthand what an important place it is. You probably saw on the faces of the visitors there, the pain and the very real need to resolve personal issues resulting from the war in Vietnam. You may have also seen one of the Friends volunteers or staff helping the National Park Service rangers by assisting visitors with questions, helping them find names and make rubbings, or even giving a gentle hug and an understanding ear where needed to ease the painful tears and help begin the healing. The Friends began as a small volunteer effort at the Wall, for just these purposes, but it has quickly grown to embrace the needs of people far beyond those who are able to come to Washington to touch a name on the Wall. For instance: Over 20,000 people have asked for and received a rubbing of the name of a very special person listed on the Wall. Each rubbing was done and sent with the same care and respect that one would use when folding and presenting the flag, for these rubbings are family heirlooms, treasured beyond words. Every Fathers Day at sunrise, Friends volunteers line the Wall with roses and to each is attached a special personal message sent in by a family member or friend. A program called "In Touch", developed with the cooperation of Electronic data Systems, Zenith Data Systems, Borland International, FastComm, Quarterdeck Office Systems and Hewlett-Packard, allows people who knew the same person on the Wall to find each other and to give long overdue recognition and to pass on important information or mementos. For the family members of those men and women listed on the Wall, as well as for veterans, this is an extremely important experience. All of these services and more are offered free of charge to anyone who needs them. But the Friends can only operate with the help of many people, like you and I, who understand the importance of the Memorial and the work that the friends do. And it is very important work indeed. There are a lot of people who would like to say that the war was long ago and no longer affects peoples lives. But the sad fact is that if we now wanted to build a Wall of names for those veterans who have committed suicide since returning home, it would have to be even larger than the Memorial in Washington, for there are more names. All of us have been shaken, in one way or another, by that war and the saddest part is that we have not been able to talk about NAM VET Newsletter Page 13 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 it or address it, so the healing never begins. But the Friends give people a chance. And in the process, they see that the Memorial is cared for to the best possible degree. However, they need our help and support. I have gladly given mine and now I want to ask you to do the same. In return, the Friends will recognize your concern for Vietnam veterans, their families and loved ones, and all the other people whose lives are listed between the lines of names on the Memorial. For your contribution of $100 or more, you (or your firm) will be proudly listed in the Roll of Honor maintained by the Friends at their information site at the Memorial which is visited by over three million people a year. In addition, you will receive a Certificate of Honor from the Friends, suitable for framing and display at home or at work, attesting to your support of the Memorial and those who work in its service. You will also be recognized in their newsletter which is distributed to their entire membership and to many thousands of visitors at the Wall, free of charge. Your contribution is, of course, fully tax-deductible. For a more modest contribution of $20 or more, you can become a member of the Friends and receive not only the newsletter and other member benefits, but a beautiful gold lapel pin proudly identifying you as someone who still cares deeply. It is very important that you do this as soon as possible (today would be best) so the Friends can continue to serve so many deserving Americans and to honor so many who served when they were asked. Send your check today to: Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial 1224 M St., NW Washington, DC 20005 I appreciate your support and your understanding. Yours in faith, most sincerely, Ray "Frenchy" Moreau USN (Retired) ...but not from life, the Wall won't let me. NAM VET Newsletter Page 14 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 In-Touch. What is it ??? Input by: Ray "Frenchy" Moreau NAM VETs IN-TOUCH Section Editor Herndon Byte eXchange - Herndon, VA (703) 471-8010 ================================================================= |+++++++++++++++++++++++++ IN TOUCH ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++| | There are some 43 million people in the United States whose | | lives were directly and irrevocably touched by the Vietnam | | War. | | | | Almost four million people served in Vietnam -- the longest, | | and perhaps most difficult, war in our history. More than a | | quarter of a million were seriously wounded. 58,175 are dead | | or missing. | | | | Each of those who returned recognizes the true cost of war. | | But so too do the families and friends, wives and lovers of | | those listed on the Wall. They too paid a tremendous price, | | not always recognized... many still do. | | | | Though twenty years have passed, it seems that is the period | | people have needed to get the distance necessary to begin to | | address the unresolved, deeply personal issues that have | | been haunting them since the war. Perhaps that is a measure | | of the pain. | | | | But, the "healing of a nation" that was intended by the | | building of the Memorial, has begun. | | | | In the office of the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans | | Memorial, we hear them on the other end of the phone on | | any given day, and far into the night, they call from all | | corners of the country. | | | | "If only I could find out..." | | "I need to find his family so I can keep my promise..." | | "I just want to talk to someone who was with him... " | | "Please, can you help...?" | | | | At the Wall, we find them every day. Veterans who have not | | spoken of their experiences even to their most intimate | | family members are now beginning, tentatively, to seek a | | responsive ear. | | | | Brothers and sisters, parents and even wives who were simply | | never allowed full expression of their grief because of the | | fierce pressures of the time, are now coming forward, | | looking for someone who can help with their healing. | | | | We hear from children, now 15 - 25 years old, who are | | searching for bits and pieces of information they can | | assemble to help fill that empty place in their lives that | | is the father they never knew well, if at all. And they want | | to talk to each other, to share their special needs and the | | unique experience of growing up with a father on the Wall. | | They understand each other all too well. | NAM VET Newsletter Page 15 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 | | | Millions of Americans need to meet and talk because of the | | Wall, and only the Friends can help them. | | | | Initial discussions with many other national organizations | | whose work brings them into contact with Vietnam veterans | | and their loved ones have attested to the need for IN TOUCH | | and their willingness to help. | | | | Simply put, the Friends will draw on its special work at the | | Memorial, its acquired and available data bases and | | programs designed and integrated by Electronic Data Systems | | (EDS), and the commitment and concern of its volunteers to | | place people with a common association to a name on the Wall | | to be in voluntary communication with each other. | | | | From there, we will let human nature take its good course. | | And let the healing begin. | | | | The starting point for the data base will be the more than | | twenty thousand names of people who have requested name | | rubbings from our volunteers in Washington. Each will be | | contacted and given the opportunity to participate by being | | listed in the IN TOUCH central data base file. | | | | Confidentiality is the keyword to cooperation and IN TOUCH | | will respect the integrity of all lists and records. Lists | | will be unavailable for public use and will not be | | distributed for any commercial purpose. | | | | By its nature, IN TOUCH must reach far beyond the veterans | | community in order to be successful. With professional | | guidance, the Friends will develop a program of on-going | | articles and other coverage in major media markets, high- | | lighting the personal experiences of people as they are put | | "in touch." The International Vietnam Veterans Echo | | Conference via the Herndon Byte eXchange 1:109/316 node as | | the enter point for gathering and disseminating information | | will be used. Aside from bringing the program into public | | awareness, these articles and stories will serve as a val- | | uable tool for public education on a wealth of matters | | relating to the Vietnam era. | | | | As a preliminary test of the IN TOUCH project, the Friends | | has implemented a pilot project to test the design and | | demands of such a program. Several hundred requests with | | full background information have been entered into a system | | designed to match requestor data with the existing Memorial | | data. Even with such a small sample, limited data and a | | fairly unsophisticated cross-indexing system, matches have | | been made and IN TOUCH has produced its first real | | connections. The results have been as profoundly moving for | | the participants as expected. And as gratifying for the | | Friends. | | | | But it was clear that the information management system and | | the supporting hardware system would have to be more power- | | ful and more complex in order to handle thousands, perhaps | | hundreds of thousands, of requests. Confidentiality of the | NAM VET Newsletter Page 16 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 | system and information must be paramount. | | | | With well over 2,000 Vietnam veterans, Electronic Data | | Systems (EDS) became involved and has been generous in its | | assistance with designing the data management systems which | | will be critical to a successful program. The Friends have | | reached a three-year working agreement with EDS which | | promises continuity and maximum potential for success in | | building an information bank that can truly help people in | | their search for others who knew a loved one. | | | | The Friends are delighted that Bob Hope has agreed to make | | a public service announcement which we can use on radio and | | television to help get the word out to the public on the | | availability of the service. | | | | The Friends are also pleased to note that Hewlett Packard, | | Zenith Data Systems, Borland International, FASTCOMM | | Communications Corporation and the First National Bank of | | Chicago have all contributed computer equipment, computer | | software, and office equipment to the project, so they are | | beginning to feel fully functional. | | | | The Friends hear from people who have long been living with | | the pain of loss and looking for a way to heal. For | | instance, the Friends recently received a letter from a | | woman who wrote: | | | | Dear Friends: | | For quite some time I have been searching for a | | way to know my brother. It seems hopeless at times. | | I was 12 when he was killed... I had waited for the | | day he would come back to us. He never did. A part | | of me will always be 12 and continue to wait. | | Thank you for giving me hope that there may be | | a way to find him and bring him home to my heart..." | | | | + + + | | | | The Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial | | Electronic Data Systems | | Herndon Byte eXchange TCOMMnet BBS 1:109/316 | | | |+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++| NAM VET Newsletter Page 17 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 IN-TOUCH Registration/Request Form Input by: Ray "Frenchy" Moreau NAM VETs IN-TOUCH Section Editor Herndon Byte eXchange - Herndon, VA (703) 471-8010 THIS FORM REQUIRES SIGNATURE FOR CONFIDENTIALITY RELEASE PLEASE READ BELOW ------------------------------------------------------------------ I wish to be IN TOUCH with (Please circle and/or comment) Family, Friends and/or Fellow Veterans of the following: __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ----------- PERSON WHO DID NOT COME BACK FROM VIETNAM ------------ First Name_____________ Middle Name___________ Last Name__________ Relationship to You and/or Reason for Request (Answer as fully as possible)_____________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ================================================================== -------- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT HIM/HER - IF KNOWN --------- Rank_______ Birth Date ______________ Soc. Sec. # ________________ Tour Date of Birth _______________ Where Buried __________________ Branch of Service: AR__ NA__ AF__ MC__ CG__ RC__ CIV__ (Fill in his/her equivalent unit designations in the spaces below) Division ____________ Brigade ___________ Battalion ______________ Regiment ____________ Company ___________ Ship ___________________ Battles:__________________________________________________________ Locations:________________________________________________________ Nicknames:________________________________________________________ Hometown (while in Nam): ____________________ Home State: ________ ================================================================== ---------------------- INFORMATION ABOUT YOU --------------------- Title___ First Name ____________ Middle/Maiden Name _____________ Last Name ____________________ Address___________________________________________________________ City __________________________________ State ____ Zip: _____-____ Your Home Phone ( ) ____________ Work Phone: ( ) ____________ ---------------- IF YOU ARE A VIETNAM-ERA VETERAN ---------------- Tour date _______________________________ Rank __________________ Branch of Service: AR__ NA __ AF __ MC __ CG __ RC __ CIV __ Fill in your equivalent unit designations in the spaces below Division: __________ Brigade: ___________ Battalion: ___________ Regiment: __________ Company: ___________ Ship: ________________ Battles: _________________________________________________________ Locations: _______________________________________________________ Nicknames: _______________________________________________________ Hometown (when in VN) _______________________ Home State: ________ Comments: ________________________________________________________ NAM VET Newsletter Page 18 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT _____ I give permission to the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to release my name, address, phone number and relationship to other participants in the IN TOUCH project seeking information on the individual above (strike out phone number if you do not want it released). OR _____ I would like to have the names, addresses, and phone numbers of persons who knew my friend or relative, but prefer NOT to have my name, address, and phone number released. I hereby release the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from any and all liability that may arise from the operation of the IN TOUCH project. Signature ____________________________________ Date _____________ NOTE: Do not electronically transmit this form, instead mail to: Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial 1350 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Suite 300 Washington, DC 20036 ----------------------------------------------------------------- NAM VET Newsletter Page 19 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 It's Not Finished Yet By: Ed Henry From: Among Friends - a FVVM Publication In October (1989) I began a new endeavor with The Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. For the past year the organization has manned an assistance booth near the Memorial. Bob Evans, a founding member of VVA Chapter 227, has established himself at the booth and he's been doing an outstanding job of meeting the public, answering the myriad of questions surrounding the Wall - and the war. Bob and I have worked on many Vietnam-related projects so he asked me to come down to the Memorial grounds and help him out. For those of you who have the privilege of knowing Bob, and I know there are many out there, you know what kind of sensitive bearing he can bring to this solemn place. Bob will let you know right up front about how he feel about the Vietnam war and what it did to him and his brother and sister vets. He bears the scars of it on his face, and in his heart. He nearly died in the A Shau Valley when an NVA bullet ripped through his lower jaw. His story really begins after that horrendous incident, and he has shared it widely with high school and university audiences and he shares it now with the multitudes of visitors at the wall. He never preaches, he doesn't proselytize. He only answers when asked about the events that have shaped his live as a Vietnam veteran. He is especially good with the younger generation. Always patient, he expresses a special need to assist the families and loved ones of those who are now memorialized on the black facade. One particularly beautiful October day I was with Bob at the booth near the Lincoln Memorial and that day the crowds were fairly heavy. The site is near the TourMobile stop and it can be an interesting day spent just watching all the various nationalities and tourists go by. The kids come noisily with not much understanding of the events surrounding this monument. The foreigners approach it with an interested curiosity. The families of the men and women whose names are on the Wall approach it with great solemnity and silence. They also come with anger and bitterness harbored too long. They come with questions that have tugged at their lives since the day they got the news that someone was no longer in their lives. On this day, Bob and I were standing there talking about nothing in particular when three or four women strode abruptly up to our table and practically yelled "It isn't finished yet!" in our faces. Bob and I just looked at each other and then we looked at the women. They were about my mother's age, and I felt like a son who had just gone a bit too far with the amount of cookies he'd had that afternoon. Bob spoke first with the ever brilliant and diplomatic "May I help you?" I chimed in with something as equally brilliant: "Excuse me, but what did you say?" She said "It isn't finished yet. It's just not done. I don't like it. It needs something more - a flag or something. Just something to make it not look so plain. The names are just startling, and stark. What do you think about it? Do you agree with me?" After one great big pregnant pause I decided to break the ice with introductions all around. Her name was Marie Nissen and she and her friends were visiting from Waterloo, Iowa. She asked if NAM VET Newsletter Page 20 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 we were Vietnam veterans and we nodded our heads. We don't wear fatigues down there. We don't promote the fact that we are vets and that in and of itself has a calming effect on the public. Bob immediately dove right in with an explanation of the design of the Memorial; how Maya Lin wanted the names above anything else to be the focus of her design. Both of us talked at length about what the Memorial meant to us as vets, and what it means to other vets and the thousands of families who have been touched by the war. Mrs. Nissen's persistence continued. She probed and questioned us about this and that and how we felt about the war and its aftermath. We soon found ourselves embroiled in a 45 minute historical-psychological-political discussion that involved the geo-politics of twenty or thirty nations. In the end she said, "Yes. But it's not finished YET!" Bob and I laughed. The women from Waterloo laughed. It dawned on me that this provocation was taking on a profound magnitude. The lady from Waterloo taught me a lesson that day. While she and Bob talked, and I thought about it, her every word was correct in the concept. I finally said, "You're right. You're brilliant. In your one little statement you've summed up the whole of the situation. This Memorial isn't finished and may never be finished. The war isn't finished and that may never be finished, either. The aftermath isn't finished yet. We veterans of the war aren't finished yet in what we have to do with ourselves and the rest of the population that's been affected by the war. In summation, Mrs. Nissen, nothing was finished from this thing we called the Vietnam War and discussions about it may never get finished. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Nissen, because of your discussion, I'm off to write an article about all this unfinished business we have on our hands as Vietnam veterans. And when people tell me to go away as a Vietnam veteran and stop talking about the war and its aftermath, I'll mention your name and tell them that a woman from Iowa told me it wasn't finished yet!" Bob just nodded in agreement and embarrassment, being the saint that he is. I felt like giving Mrs. Nissen and her friends a big hug. I felt renewed and enlightened through this simple conversation with the visiting heartlanders. I thank you, Mrs. Nissen, for the lesson you taught me that day. My own process of daily insight isn't finished either. God bless you, Mrs. Nissen, and all the rest of your generation. We have so much to learn from people like you, if we would only take the time to listen - closely. As a Vietnam veteran, I have a long road ahead of me in trying to finish this thing. NAM VET Newsletter Page 21 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 ================================================================= S i l e n c e d W a r r i o r s ================================================================= "NATIVE SPIRITUAL CULTURE COUNCILS INC." P.O. BOX 466 GARDNER,MASSACHUSETTS 01440 Input by: Joyce Flory NAM VETs Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM (505) 523-2811 NATIVE SPIRITUAL CULTURE COUNCILS is a group of Native American Indians in prison. We are the first group of this kind in any facility in Massachusetts State Prison System. We have united in order to teach of our Heritage, Customs and beliefs. To bring back the "Circle" as it should be. The Circle symbolizes Life, Unity, Equality and Eternity to our people in this type of environment. COUNCIL RINGS, SACRED HOOPS, and MEDICINE WHEELS, are all a part of the Great Circle of Life. We provide for spiritual, mental, emotional and physical well- being of the Native American Indians. To promote pride and self identity to Native People and Native Americans. Also to instill respect, love, care, concern and understanding for all that participate in the strength of Native Ways of Life. Provide the Sacred Pipe and Ceremonies to the people in the traditional manner teaching the sacred and ancient ways to those in search of true spirituality. Such as learning the Creators Laws, Natural Laws as a reality and for the accountability factor, on a regular basis. To bring Native peoples out of the demise and raise their spirituality, also to rejuvenate spirituality back into Native Cultures. The NATIVE SPIRITUAL CULTURE COUNCILS INC. is duly formed and organized under the Massachusetts State Law as a spiritual entity. We welcome all party's to help preserve our culture and beliefs, and ways of the Native American Indian. For more information please contact: Native Spiritual Culture Councils Inc. C/O Roy Gauthier (Chief Thunderson) P.O. Box 466 Gardner,Ma. 01440 OR COUNCIL MEMBERS Marcel Nadeau, Sub-Chief Bernie Bailey, Secretary Randall Trapp, Peace Keeper Andrew Mallory, Dog Soldier NAM VET Newsletter Page 22 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX \ \ \ \ \XXXX XXXXX XXXXX.::::::::::::::.XXXXX INCARCERATED XXXX XXXXX XXXXX --------- XXXXX \ \ \ \ \ \ \XXXX XXXXX .XXXXX W W I I XXXXX. VETERANS \ \XXXX XXXXX ::XXXXX --------- XXXXX::. \ \ \ \ XXXX XXXXX :::XXXXX ------------- XXXXX:::. 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XXXX XXXXX.::' :: XXXXX: PREPARED TO XXXXX .'' ''.. XXXX XXXXX::' :: XXXXX`: FIGHT XXXXX.' '.XXXX XXXXX' :: XXXXX ``. XXXXX XXXX XXXXX '' XXXXX PREPARED TO XXXXX XXXX XXXXX :: XXXXX DIE ...'XXXXX XXXX XXXXX :: XXXXX `...' XXXXX XXXX XXXXX `..' XXXXX .' XXXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX /\ .' .' XXXX XXXXX /\ \ . . XXXX XXXXX / \ \...' `. .' XXXX XXXXX / NOT PREPARED TO BE DESERTED XXXX XXXXX / .'.' . .`.' XXXX XXXXX / ~ | : : : . XXXX XXXXX / |`. : : . .__________ XXXX XXXXX / ~ ~ ||.` ` : || \ / XXXX XXXXX / WRITE OR VISIT AN INCARCERATED VETERAN SOON ! XXXX XXXXX / ~ || . .'. / / XXXX XXXXX/ ~ ~ ~|| ||/ / XXXX XXXXX ~ ~ ~ || || / XXXX XXXXX || || / XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX \_________XXXXX________|| XgjpX XXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXX NAM VET Newsletter Page 23 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 VVA Pushes Incarcerated Bills A VVA STAFF REPORT Input by: Joyce Flory NAM VETs Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM (505) 523-2811 April and May were two of the busiest legislative months in recent memory, at least as far as veterans affairs issues were concerned. In the space of just over 30 days, VVA testified on no less than seven different issues: incarcerated veterans, veteran's employment and training legislation, veteran's education, the VA home-loan guaranty program, veterans' disability-compensation legislation, and Agent Orange legislation. Perhaps the most important testimony offered by the organization came on April 24, when VVA national membership director Wayne Smith and VVA member John Woods (Woods is the national vice chairman of VVA's standing committee on incarcerated veterans) testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and Administrations of Justice. The VVA's comments were presented in support of House legislation that would offer "systematic assistance in addressing the legitimate needs of incarcerated veterans." The legislation, H.R.3453, was drafted by Rep. George Brown (D- CA.), with the help of the VVA. In giving testimony, Wayne Smith noted that his co-presenter before the committee was helped by the kind of program being advocated in Brown's legislation. Smith also noted that VVA member Emanuel Heard, a former incarcerated veteran who went on to pass his high-school equivalency exam and obtain a college degree and a masters degree, was also greatly aided by the programs that Brown advocates. "In offering the benefit of our experience with incarcerated veterans to Representative Brown's efforts, we have been painstakingly careful to prevent anything in this bill from being construed as 'soft on criminals,'" Smith told the committee. "Instead, this bill simply proposes to offer the counseling, treatment, and guidance that veterans in need of readjustment assistance ought to receive in order to be balanced, productive citizens." In other words, Brown's legislation would offer some of the same readjustment-assistance programs to incarcerated veterans that are now being offered to those who are not incarcerated." From a public-safety as well as a public-policy perspective, it must be understood that it makes far more sense to assist veterans prior to release from prison than it does to await release and take our chance," Smith noted. "An inmate veteran fully aware of VA- provided benefits and counseling programs, as well as employment programs for veterans operated by the Department of Labor, has to be said to be better prepared for release than an inmate veteran released without such preparation." The bill would require the federal prison system to provide the names of veteran inmates to the VA so that their compensation and benefit status can be reviewed - under law, part of the benefits due an incarcerated veteran can be given over to a spouse. A second part of Brown's bill would remedy the absence of a VA policy on psychological-readjustment counseling for incarcerated veterans by mandating that such counseling be provided. In addition, incarcerated veterans would be given VA medical NAM VET Newsletter Page 24 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 examinations to determine military service-related disabilities. The bill would also require the VA to develop a training curriculum for use by prison facilities and require that incarcerated veterans be given information on VA services and locations of their nearest vet center just prior to their release, and it would mandate that federal prisons pass information on to state and local prisons on incarcerated veterans, if so requested. "This is a balanced approach to providing needed services to incarcerated veterans," Smith told VETERAN. "I'm very proud of the work we've all done on this bill," Woods added. "This is generating a lot of interest in Congress. But we have to keep working to get it passed into law." COSPONSORS OF H.R.3453 THE INCARCERATED VETERANS REHABILITATION AND READJUSTMENT ACT OF 1989 VVA requests that VVA members write their representatives to urge support of H.R.3453. If your representative's name does not appear on this list, it should. H.R.3453 was introduced by Congressman George Brown (D-CA) on October 12,1989. Ackerman (NY) Hawkins (CA) Owens (NY) Atkins (MA) Hayes (IL) Pallone (NJ) Bonior (MI) Hughes (NJ) Panetta (CA) Boucher (VA) Jontz (IN) Pelosi (CA) Boxer (CA) Kaptur (OH) Poshard (IL) Bryant (TX) Kennelly (CT) Richardson (NM) Bustamante (TX) Kildee (MI) Roybal (CA) Carper (DE) Kolter (PA) Schroeder (CO) Clay (MO) Lancaster (NC) Slaughter (NY) Collins (IL) Long (IN) Torres (CA) Dellums (CA) Martinez (CA) Towns (NY) de Lugo (VI) McDermott (WA) Traficant (OH) Evans (IL) Morrison (CT) Volkmer (MO) Fauntroy (DC) Mrazek (NY) Weiss (NY) Frost (TX) Nagle (LA) Wolpe (MI) Gejdenson (CT) CORRECTIVE ACTION VVA legislative affairs director Paul S. Egan testified on April 25 on H.R.4087, which "would authorize local veterans employment service representatives (LVER) and disabled veteran outreach specialists (DVOP) to provide services to members of the armed forces who are preparing to leave the military." VVA's action on H.R.4087 was forward-looking, as Egan himself noted, a way of dealing with the expected demobilization of thousands of military personnel. "Making these DVOP and LVER services available is an important step but probably will be insufficient alone to prevent a glut of demand for work resulting from demobilization," Egan said. Egan also mentioned that VVA supports H.R.4087 because it extends by five years the statute of limitations on the Vietnam era, the effective date at which Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans are no longer eligible to receive benefits under the DVOP and LVER programs. VVA actually prefers that a statute of limitations be dropped altogether, though it now supports H.R.4087 as an interim solution. VVA also supports a recodification of the Department of Labor secretary's Committee on Veterans Employment, which Egan claims is "top-heavy" with NAM VET Newsletter Page 25 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 political appointees and therefore is ineffective in carrying out its mandate. Egan also testified before the House Veterans Subcommittee on Housing and Memorial Affairs, which provides oversight of the VA home-loan and guaranty program. Egan recommended that the VA take steps to cure defaults and avoid foreclosures in the program and to exempt first-time home buyers from current indemnification fees. Egan also recommended the subcommittee consider authorizing veterans to use "buyer's brokers." Egan said that VVA was concerned that the VA practices on debt collection rendered veterans "powerless" to defend themselves. "Real estate laws in the nation today are as varied as the 50 different states," Egan noted. "The complexity of these laws often, if not invariably, requires the expertise of competent attorneys in order to be properly protected by them. As it stands now, the full force of the VA and federal government is arrayed against the veteran when it comes to debt collection, while the veteran alleged to be in debt is limited to $10 in mounting a defense. How absurd! Any assistance this subcommittee can offer in correcting this situation will be most appreciated." GETTING THEIR DUE On May 18, VVA testified in favor of S.2556, a bill that would adequately compensate radiation-exposed veterans and their survivors. The organization strongly endorsed the bill and called for its immediate passage. The legislation would add two new diseases to the list of 13 for which compensation is available, and it would "remove altogether the period from date of discharge within which one or more of these diseases must appear in order to be eligible for compensation," VVA noted. In giving its endorsement to the bill, VVA stated that it marks an "important improvement" in the current manner of compensating radiation victims but noted that the bill is "more than a mere improvement; it is a farsighted initiative to accommodate radiation-exposed veterans based on the latest and still- accumulating scientific data on actual and potential hazards of radiation exposure." VVA used the opportunity afforded by the hearing to remind the committee that the steps taken to compensate radiation victims had yet to be fully given over to victims of maladies associated with the spraying of Agent Orange." We encourage you to take the same magnanimous steps on the issue of Agent Orange as you have on the issue of radiation exposure," VVA said. THE RTI STUDY-ONE YEAR AND SEVEN MONTHS LATER On November 7, 1988, the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) released "Executive Summary, Description of Findings and Technical Appendices of the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study" (NVVRS). The study, mandated by Congress, represents one of the best scientific reports on Vietnam veterans. While PTSD and war-related psychological problems provide areas of focus for study, RTI went further in order to provide a comprehensive report on total life adjustments of in-country veterans as opposed to Vietnam-era and non-veteran groups. While the goals and design of the study were ambitious, the way in which the information was obtained is a testament to the stamina of those chosen to be interviewed and the determination of the NAM VET Newsletter Page 26 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 organization for their conclusions. Begun in 1984, the study consisted of 3016 interviews of three to five hours in length. The study interviewed 1500 in-country veterans, 730 era veterans, and 650 civilians. Each person in the three categories was matched for age, sex, race, and ethnic background. The women were also matched by occupation. The best news for VVA members is that the study confirms a number of things the organization has been saying for some time. The RTI study also tells us something about Vietnam veterans and how they compare to non-veterans. In addition, the study shows that there's common ground between in-country and era veterans. In all, the study estimates that over 830,000 Vietnam veterans currently have war-related symptoms of PTSD. Current cases include 479,000 veterans with PTSD and 350,000 with "partial PTSD." Additionally, the scientific analysis of the total lifetime prevalence of PTSD found that a total of 30.6 percent of men and 26.9 percent of women who served in Vietnam had a full PTSD disorder at some time in the past. Within this number, half of the men and one-third of the women still suffer from PTSD at the present time. The information contained in the study supports the notion that PTSD is a long-term chronic disorder, rather than a short-term acute disorder. Not surprisingly, the study found that there is a " strong relationship between PTSD and other postwar adjustment problems." Within the PTSD group, the highest rates were among Hispanics (27 percent) and Afro-American (19 percent) as compared with caucasians (13.7 percent) and other veterans. The disparity among the experiences of each in the wartime environment of Vietnam. In spite of the fact that the study was intended to focus on the magnitude of PTSD, there was also a mandate to explore other problems that might be occurring in the readjustment of Vietnam veterans to civilian life. While 49.1 percent of in-country veterans met the criteria for having at least one major psychiatric diagnosis, alcohol abuse or dependence was the most frequently identified veteran malady. The rate of abuse or dependence was not as high, however, in Vietnam-era veterans. The closeness in frequency of psychiatric problems and alcohol and drug dependence strongly suggests that serving during the Vietnam era may well have been a risk factor for developing such disorders. In-country veterans also reported an array of other readjustment problems: 40 percent have been divorced at least once, 14 percent have increased levels of marital problems, 23 percent report problems raising their children, and 10 percent have been homeless or vagrant at one time or another. Violent acts and active expressions of hostility were reported by 46.8 percent of in- country veterans. Yet, in each case, the incidence of these problems was NOT significantly higher for Vietnam veterans. NAM VET Newsletter Page 27 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 ================================================================= N a m V e t ' s Q u i e t C o r n e r ================================================================= 12 Steps For a Vietnam Veteran Input by: Brad Meyers FOG-LINE BBS - Ankeny,IA (515) 964-7937 Step 1: We admitted that we were powerless over Vietnam and dysfunction in our past, that our lives had become unmanageable. Step 2: (We) came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Step 3: (We) Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of that Power, as we understood that Power. Step 4: (We) Made searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Step 5: (We) Admitted to our Higher Power, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Step 6: (We) Were entirely ready to have that Higher Power remove all these defects of Character. Step 7: (We) Humbly asked HP to remove our shortcomings. Step 8: (We) Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all. Step 9: (We) Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. Step 10: (We) Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. Step 11: (We) Sought, through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with HP as we understood our Higher Power, praying only for knowledge of HPs will for us and the power to carry that out. Step 12: (We) Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs. 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IIXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXpX The Vietnam Veteran XII IIXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX has relatives in the III IIIXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXX Old and New Testaments III IIIXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX who also experienced loss II IIXXXXXXXXX XXX and grief, guilt and shame, II IIXXXXXXXXX XX rejection and betrayal, I IXXXXXXXXX alienation and estrangement, I IXXXX XX isolation and withdrawal. II IIXXXX II IIX Adam and Eve tried to hide from God; II II Moses, born Hebrew and raised Egyptian IIII IIII searched long and hard for his real self; II II Job, losing his children and all he owned, II II became sorely diseased; IIII III Biblical Joseph was rejected by his brothers, II II lied about and imprisoned; I Peter denied Jesus. II I "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" Matthew 28:20 NAM VET Newsletter Page 29 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 HELPING DISABLED VETS By: Don Sadler Mentone Beach RBBS - Mentone CA (714) 794-3031 We have an opportunity to really help the disabled Vets... in many cases, to help ourselves! There is an inequity in the law that we can change now! There is a bill in congress that needs our support. Read on... Disabled Veterans receiving a disability pension from the VA receive that pension in addition to whatever other income they may receive. For example, if you (a disabled Vet) worked for a department store, you would receive your disability pension plus your department store pay. If you were retired from a job, you would receive your retired pay plus the disability pension. So what's the problem? The problem is that a disabled vet who retires from the military and receives a disability pension from the VA has to give up an equal amount of their military retired pay. In other words, they don't really receive any disability pension! Service members who have made the ultimate sacrifice to our country should be able to receive compensation for their injuries above their military retired pay, just like their civilian counterparts. In many cases, their disabilities prevent them from getting appropriate work to supplement their diminished incomes. Here's what we can do to help.. There is a bill (HR303) in the House of Representatives that will fix this inequity. It is supported by the majority of congress but is having trouble getting out of committee so it can be voted on. We can write to congress to show our support and request their help in getting the bill to the floor for a vote. The addresses to write to are as follows: Chairman Sonny Montgomery House Committee of Veterans' Affairs 2184 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 Chairman Beverly Byron Armed Services Subcommittee on Military personnel and Compensation 2430 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 Please mention HR303 and urge them to help. Let's show what BBS power really is.. please write and help. Thank you. NAM VET Newsletter Page 30 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 ================================================================= B u t I t s O N L Y H e a t R a s h ! ================================================================= The Secret Agent A Guide for Study and Discussion Input by: G. Joseph Peck NamVet's Managing Editor VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 THE SECRET AGENT: 57 minutes, color, 16mm and videotape. Produced by Jacki Ochs and Daniel Keller. Directed by Jacki Ochs. Edited by Daniel Keller. Original score by Country Joe McDonald. Written by L. S. Block and John Crowley. Sound Editor: Margie Crimmins. Associate Producer: Charles Light. SYNOPSIS THE SECRET AGENT begins with a mystery: American veterans of the Viet Nam war, one after another, relate a startling series of physical problems that have beset them after their return from the war. Many veterans, it is clear, believe that something that happened to them in Viet Nam is responsible for these maladies, that range from a persistent skin rash, to paralysis, cancer, and birth defect among their children. The film then "flashes back" to Viet Nam. Scenes from that war quickly remind the viewer of the extraordinarily technological nature of the weapons used by the United States. The narrator explains that such potent new weapons can have unknown effects and consequences beyond the battlefield. The film begins to focus on one such class of weapons: chemicals. Film footage from the archives of the early 20th century reconstructs the history of chemicals in warfare and agriculture. The horrors of poison gas used in World War I led to the Geneva Protocol of 1925, which limited use of chemicals in war. But the United States did not sign the agreement, and research, as well as commercial use of these chemicals, grew rapidly. In the 1940's a herbicide, or weed killer, called 2,4,5-T was developed, and soon put into agricultural use. By the early 1960's, the role of the U.S. in the war in Viet Nam was widening. Faced with an enemy that could attack by night, then by day slip back into the civilian population, or into underground tunnel complexes, the U.S. turned to "technological tricks and gadgets" that would offset this enemy advantage. In 1962, the U.S. began Operation Ranch Hand - a massive aerial spray program which was to drench much of the countryside of Viet Nam with 2,4,5-T and other herbicides over a ten year period - to reduce the enemy's cover and destroy food supplies. To soldiers fighting the war, the nature of the chemicals and their possible consequences were unknown. As the war expanded, the use of herbicides increased. U.S. chemical companies began to experience health problems i workers handling 2,4,5-T, but this information was not passed on to government officials. Criticism of the spray program, by the Vietnamese and scientists from around the world, also began to grow. In 1969 the North Vietnamese released film footage documenting their charges that the herbicides were causing birth defects. NAM VET Newsletter Page 31 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 Later that year, the U.S. revealed results of tests which showed that a little known chemical, dioxin, present in 2,4,5-T, caused birth defects, still births, and abortions in rats and mice. The following year, the Pentagon cancelled the spray operation. Some 12 million gallons of Agent Orange, a chemical blend of 2,4,5-T and its sister herbicide 2,4-D, had been dumped on Viet Nam. Years later, the birth defect issue took on new importance. Hundreds of veterans, touched by the tragedy of severely deformed children, began to connect these defects to Viet Nam, and they blamed Agent Orange. Meanwhile, the chemical companies and their advocates argued for the continued use of 2,4,5-T. They acknowledged the dangers of dioxin, but said that quantities of the toxin were so small in 2,4,5-T, that the herbicide could be used safely. In 1978, a veteran named Paul Reutershan, who was dying of intestinal cancer, filed suit against the chemical companies which produced Agent Orange. He claimed that his cancer was caused by exposure to the herbicide. Soon thousands of other veterans had joined the suit. Veterans also appealed to the Veterans Administration for help, and treatment. But the VA staunchly refused to admit that the chemicals were at the root of the veterans' ailments. The histories of veterans who have found themselves trapped in this position illustrate the frustration that can develop from not knowing their own fate, and not being believed. By the 1970's, the hazards of dioxin had become more widely known. An industrial accident in Seveso, Italy, and the contamination of a riding arena in Missouri, spread death and sickness across wide areas, and made "dioxin" a household word. As THE SECRET AGENT ends, much of the secrecy and mystery surrounding these chemicals has been dispelled, but the controversy has intensified. A chemical company representative argues that 2,4,5-T is safe and needed, while the wife of a Viet Nam veteran, and mother of a severely deformed child, argues that corporate America, for the love of the dollar, has sacrificed her daughter. BACKGROUND INFORMATION VIET NAM Viet Nam is a Southeast Asian country about the size of New Mexico. What Americans call "the Viet Nam war," also known as the Second Indochina War, had its roots in events at the end of World War II. At that time President Roosevelt expressed a desire to see Viet Nam fall under international mandate, rather than revert back to French colonial rule. The French were not convinced. In August, 1945, Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese leader, declared independence for Viet Nam and sent several requests to the U.S. and other countries asking that Viet Nam be accorded "the same status as the Philippines for a period of tutelage, pending independence." His pleas were ignored. After the fall of mainland China to the communists in 1950, the Truman administration moved to provide military aid to the French against the growing forces of Ho Chi Minh. The French army found its armor useless and its troops out of their element in tropical jungle warfare. As they were facing their final defeat in 1954, the U.S. began to take charge of the war. By 1954 to [the] United States was spending $1.1 billion a year on the French war effort, 78% of the total. NAM VET Newsletter Page 32 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 The "official" American war in Viet Nam began in 1962, when President John Kennedy ordered 10,000 American troops into combat. The intensity of this effort grew for six years. Herbicides expended peaked in 1967. Americans killed peaked in 1968. Total American forces committed peaked in 1969 at 539,000. In all over 50,000 Americans were killed. Some 1.5 million Vietnamese were killed. AGENT ORANGE In 1890 Henry Herbert Dow got his start in the chemical industry by extracting bromine and chlorine from the brine which lay under much of Michigan. In 1918 he obtained a patent for phenol, and by 1930 the Dow Chemical Company was operating the largest phenol plant in the world. The marriage of the basic products chlorine and phenol soon produced the chlorophenols, which were sold by Dow in the early 1930's as preservatives - fungus killers - for wood. In 1941 a Chicago scientist developing chemical weapons suggested the use of certain chlorophenols, called 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T, as herbicides to kill enemy crops. The chemicals were not used during World War II, but after the war they were introduced to the commercial market as weed and brush killers. The use of chemicals on forests, range land, crop land, power lines, and lawns grew rapidly through the coming two decades. The large chemical companies added these herbicides to their inventories, in various formulations and under various trade names. When the Department of Defense became interested in the products during the early escalation of the Viet Nam war, a 50-50 blend of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T was given the code name Agent Orange. DIOXIN In 1889, in Germany, a doctor used the word "chloracne" to describe a severe form of acne observed in workers i plants that produced chlorine. In 1936 the affliction was discovered in more than 300 workers at a lumber mill who were treating wood with Dowicides. As the production of chlorine and chlorophenols grew, so did the number of chloracne cases. Furthermore, the symptoms went far beyond the skin rash. Doctors could not detect the source of these problems, but they noted that symptoms included kidney damage, liver damage, nervous system disorders, and even death. In 1957, German scientists solved the riddle. They discovered that a chemical called 2,3,7,8-TCDD, a member of the dioxin family, is the cause of chloracne. They also found that this dioxin is always present in certain chlorophenols. It is an unwanted contaminant in, among others, 2,4,5-T. Chemical companies took measures to protect their employees from exposure to dioxin, but gave no warnings to consumers or commercial users of the brush killers. As production of 2,4,5-T mushroomed to meet the growing needs of the war in Viet Nam, so did the number of accidents exposing workers to TCDD. Dow and Monsanto both saw major outbreaks of chloracne among their workers in the early 1960's, as did several foreign manufacturers. In 1967 American scientists showed the effects of TCDD are cumulative over time, and that the effects can include damage to the blood and bone marrow. In 1970, TCDD was proven to deform chick fetuses. In 1972, TCDD was shown to be the most powerful teratogen, or deforming agent, known in mice. In 1975, TCDD was NAM VET Newsletter Page 33 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 found in the fatty tissue of western U.S. beef, and in mothers milk in Texas. THE VIET NAM WAR The name still evokes controversy, and has widely different messages for different Americans. The war sparked fiery arguments while it was being fought, but when it ended, discussion of this divisive period of American history fell silent. Today, as time gradually provides perspective on these events, Americans are beginning to grapple with the facts of our longest and most expensive war. THE SECRET AGENT raises questions about the Agent Orange program, one of the war's most controversial aspects. What kind of war was Viet Nam, and why did it spawn such techniques as Operation Ranch Hand? What were the results of the spray program, planned or unexpected, that might shape the future use of chemicals in war? How could a nation as mighty as the U.S. fail to win? TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN VALUES Herbicides have been used in war and peace for decades. In the case of 2,4,5-T and its contaminant dioxin, who knew about the dangers of the herbicide, and when; who should have known, and when? Is this chemical safe, and who should ultimately decide such a question? How should we guard against the birth of a new "Agent Orange" or the creation of another Times Beach, Missouri? In the case of dioxin, we have a chemical that is so powerful that dangerous levels can often barely be detected. Who is responsible for detecting such poisons, or developing the complicated detection systems? Do we need to know more about toxic substances? What should be the fate of chemicals whose safety is still in question? Advocates of 2,4,5-T and others often claim that the risks of using the chemical are outweighed by the benefits of the chemical. This method of value assessment is called risk-benefit analysis. Is this a fair method of assessing 2,4,5-T? What might some other methods be? How can cancer deaths that may appear 20 years from now be weighed against short term gains? The Geneva Protocol of 1925 outlawed the use of "asphyxiating, poisonous, and other gases." The U.S. did not ratify the agreement then, but did sign the accords under President Nixon. The Nixon administration claimed, though, that the Protocol did not apply to tear gas and herbicides, and that their use in Viet Nam was legal. What is chemical warfare? What is the U.S. position on chemical warfare today? Does the use of herbicides constitute chemical warfare, and should these chemicals be a part of a world wide chemical weapons ban? THE VETERANS OF VIET NAM There are approximately 2.5 million American veterans of combat in Viet Nam. For many of these soldiers the return home was not a happy one, and life since has not been the same. The prospect of future health problems stemming from exposure to toxic chemicals many years earlier can produce stress and frustration. In many cases traditional sources of comfort and assistance have failed. Communities and even families often failed in their duty to embrace these soldiers as they returned. The V.A., charged with health care of all veterans, has compensated only a handful (less NAM VET Newsletter Page 34 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 than five) veterans for chloracne, and none for any other Agent Orange related health problem. Years after the war, the V.A. has recognized post-traumatic stress disorder as a bonafide affliction stemming from the Viet Nam experience. Psychiatrists speculate that the disorder results from the extremely stressful nature of the war - fighting an unseen enemy, not being able to distinguish the enemy from the friendly population, the immensity of firepower and technology at the Americans' disposal, and the return home without assistance to a hostile environment. The veterans' lawsuit against the chemical companies endured a six-year pre-trial discovery period and was settled on May 7, 1984 before it went to trial. The chemical companies agreed to pay $180 million to a fund to aid the veterans with health problems. Some veterans are dissatisfied with this settlement. The chemical companies made no admission of culpability. The sum seems small to veterans faced with large health care bills, and much of the total will be paid to lawyers and administrators. Some of the veterans dissatisfied with the settlement plan to have their wives and children sue the U.S. government. But a prior claim by veterans themselves against the government has been turned down by the U.S. Supreme Court, which cited the principle that a soldier cannot sue the government. Generally under U.S. law, as established by the Supreme Court in Feres vs. U.S., soldiers cannot sue the government or their commanders for injuries received during wartime. Who should be responsible for injuries stemming from mistakes or negligence on the part of commanders? Are these responsibilities more serious when the injuries are more severe or long term, or involve future generations? What is the V.A.'s responsibility to veterans with Agent Orange complaints? Has the V.A. ignored the Agent Orange issue, and, if so, why? Americans are said to have turned their backs on veterans of Viet Nam. How can citizens help insure justice for these veterans? RESOURCES LITERATURE Buaghman, Robert W. TETRACHLORODIBENZO-P-DIOXINS IN THE ENVIRONMENT: HIGH RESOLUTION MASS SPECTROMETRY AT THE PICOGRAM LEVEL. Thesis to Department of Chemistry, Harvard University. December, 1974. Browning, Frank and Forman, Dorothy. THE WASTED NATIONS. Harper Colophon, New York. 1972. Buckingham, William A. Jr. THE AIRFORCE AND HERBICIDES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, 1966-1971. Office of Air Force History, U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. 1982. Carson, Rachael. SILENT SPRING. Houghton Mifflin, N.Y. 1962. Epstein, Samuel. THE POLITICS OF CANCER. Cancer Control Society. Fitzgerald, Francis. THE FIRE IN THE LAKE. Little and Co. 1972. Gelb, Leslie, and Betts, Richard. THE IRONY OF VIET NAM: THE SYSTEM WORKED. Brookings, 1979. Hay, Alastair. THE CHEMICAL SCYTHE, LESSONS OF 2,4,5-T AND DIOXIN. Plenum Press, New York, 1982. Herring, George. AMERICA'S LONGEST WAR. Wiley, 1979. Lewallen, John. ECOLOGY OF DEVASTATION: INDOCHINA. Penguin Books. Maryland, 1971. Lindecker, Clifford, with Michael and Maureen Ryan. KERRY - AGENT ORANGE AND AN AMERICAN FAMILY. Dell. New York 1982. NAM VET Newsletter Page 35 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 McCarthy, Hon. Richard D. THE ULTIMATE FOLLY. Alfred A. Knopf. New York, 1969. Neilands, J.B., Orians, G. H., Pfeiffer, E.W., Vennema, Alje, Westing, Arthur H. HARVEST OF DEATH. Macmillan. New York, 1972. Rose, Stephen, ed. CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WARFARE. Beacon Press. Boston, 1968. Santoli, A. EVERYTHING WE HAD. Random House. N.Y. 1981. United Nations Press. CHEMICAL AND BACTERIOLOGICAL WEAPONS AND THE EFFECT OF THEIR POSSIBLE USE. United Nations. New York. 1969. United States Senate. THE GENEVA PROTOCOL OF 1925. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1972. United States Veterans Administration. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ON HERBICIDES, INCLUDING PHENOXY HERBICIDES AND ASSOCIATED DIOXINS. Washington, 1980. Vien, Nguyen Khac. U.S. CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WARFARE. Vietnamese Studies #29. Hanoi. 1969. Vietnam Courier. U.S. CHEMICAL WARFARE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. Hanoi, Vietnam, 1980. Vietnam Courier. HERBICIDES AND DEFOLIANTS IN WAR. Hanoi. 1983. Weir, David, and Shapir, Mark. CIRCLE OF POISON. Institute for Food and Development Policy. San Francisco. 1981. Westing, Arthur, H. ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE SECOND INDOCHINA WAR. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Stockholm, 1976. Westing, Arthur H. WARFARE IN A FRAGILE WORLD. Stockholm International Peace and Research Institute. Stockholm, Taylor and Francis. London, 1980. Whiteside, Thomas. THE PENDULUM AND THE TOXIC CLOUD. Yale University Press. New Haven, 1979. Whiteside, Thomas. THE WITHERING RAIN, AMERICA'S HERBICIDAL FOLLY. E. P. Dutton. New York, 1971. Wilcox, Fred. WAITING FOR AN ARMY TO DIE. Vintage Press. New York. 1982. ORGANIZATIONS In addition to the organizations listed below, there are many groups and institutions with resources and information on veteran, environmental and peace issues. Many of the states have their own Agent Orange Commissions, usually located in the state capitals. Information is also available through the Veterans Administration and regional chapters of organizations such as Friends of the Earth, Audubon Society, Sierra Club, Greenpeace, the American Legion, and others. Chem-Safe, 10239 Prince Place, Suite 303, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772 Citizen Soldier, 175 5th Ave. New York, N.Y. 10010 (212)774-3470. Citizens Clearinghouse for Hazardous Wasted, P.O. Box 926, Arlington, VA 22216 (703) 276-7070 National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, 530 7th Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003 (202) 543-4312 Northwest Coalition Against Pesticides, PO Box 375 Eugene OR 97440 Veterans Education Center, PO Box 42130 Washington, DC 20003 Vietnam Veterans Against the War, PO Box 25592, Chicago, IL 60625 NAM VET Newsletter Page 36 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 Vietnam Veterans of America, 2001 "S" Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. (203) 332-2700. Vietnam Veterans Agent Orange Victims, Inc. 93 Prospect St. Stamford, CT 06902. (203) 323-7478. For rental or sale information about THE SECRET AGENT, contact Green Mountain Post Films. Additional copies of this study guide are available from GMP for 60-cents per copy, postpaid. A transcript is available for $2.00 postpaid. Green Mountain Post Films Box 229, Turners Falls, MA 01376 413-863-4754 NAM VET Newsletter Page 37 Volume 4, Number 9 September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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 38 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 ================================================================= S a n d F l e a s n ' C a m e l s ================================================================= "War would be dismal deja vu for veterans" From 8/26/90 El Paso Times By: Laura Palmer Input by: Joyce Flory NAM VETs Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM (505) 523-2811 When the phone rings at the Vietnam Veterans Outreach Center in the Bronx, N.Y. these days, the reason is frequently the crisis in the Middle East. " A lot of vets think this Persian Gulf situation is Vietnam repeating itself, and if it's not closely monitored will turn into another Vietnam," says Walter Sampson, a therapist at the veterans' center. "Many vets with sons are divided," says Sampson, who was an Army medic in Vietnam 22 years ago. " Some think that under no circumstance will they let their sons go, and the other group thinks it's up to their sons to make their own decisions, but that it's their role to warn them about what they'll get into." Many of the calls coming in are from wives of Vietnam veterans. "I didn't get this from Lebanon, Panama or Granada," Sampson says. "Something is brewing and what it is, we really don't know. Some wives ask me," If war breaks out, what will my husband do?'" "The crisis is having a great impact on people who have post- traumatic stress disorder. For someone with the disorder, this crisis could be somewhat of a breaking point. That's why the wives are calling me. They say he never paid attention to the news before. "Where is this leading? Am I going to be living with the monster (of post-traumatic stress disorder) again?' That's their question," Sampson says. "At this point, I can't answer that. PTSD can continue for a number of years and then it takes an incident for one to decompensate, get worse." Most of the wives who are calling are married to men who have never had counseling." I've encouraged everyone I've spoken with to try and get their husbands to come in with them and talk about it - just for one or two sessions - because there are a lot of thoughts going on in their heads." If U.S. troops start being killed in the Middle East, and television is suddenly filled with images of body bags, Sampson thinks many veterans will reexperience their own war trauma. "That's when I think the numbers will really increase at vet centers,"he says quietly. Sampson's interviews with the young soldiers create in him an instant sense of deja vu. "It seems they're saying word for word what we said: 'I'm going for my country. We have to stop the madman.' ... I even heard someone say we want to stop the spread of communism. That's not even an issue in this one. They're kids, just like we were. When I hear that, though, I do get my flashbacks." Flashbacks in the Bronx. Nightmares in Westport, Conn., an affluent Manhattan suburb. Dee Lippman was an Army nurse in 1967-1968 who cared for NAM VET Newsletter Page 39 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 soldiers so seriously wounded in Vietnam that they had to be flown to the Field Hospital in Japan for treatment. Lippman is a professor of nursing at Fairfield University and the mother of three sons, 21, 18, and 16 years old. "I've had nightmares about it, dreaming that my kids' names are on the wall (of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington)," Lippman, a psychiatric nurse, says. "I dream about being back in the hospital and taking care of soldiers, but the soldiers are my kids and their friends, like the ones in my house right now, hanging out before they go back to school. "It's 20 years later and I'm working with Vietnam vets who are disabled, and I look at these young kids and it's like they're going to be sacrificed and this just can't happen again. I have such pain and torment. It just breaks my heart." NAM VET Newsletter Page 40 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 Supporting Our Saudi Troops By: Joyce Flory NAM VETs Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM (505) 523-2811 I was able to get a couple of addresses on how to contact the men and women currently serving in Saudi Arabia. Maybe some of you might want to drop them a line or two. This first address is a chocolate manufacturer that wants to send samplers for each and every serviceperson over there. They would like personal messages to be included in the samplers. They have an agreement with the services to use refrigerated trucks, etc. to insure the chocolates don't melt. Whitman Chocolates Treats for Troops P.O.Box 6070 Philadelphia,Penn. 19114 These next addresses were published in the current (10-1-90) issue of PEOPLE magazine. Any Service Member Operation Desert Shield APO N.Y.,N.Y. 09848-0006 (for desert troops) Any Service Member Operation Desert Shield FPO N.Y,N.Y. 09866-0006 (for troops on ships) Let's show the fine men and women serving in a far away place that we support them and their efforts. Thanks, Joyce NAM VET Newsletter Page 41 Volume 4, Number 9 September 13, 1990 "U.S. should retaliate quickly if Iraqis use poison gas" By Fred Reed, El Paso, NM Sunday Times 8/26/90) Input by: Joyce Flory NAM VETs Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM (505) 523-2811 Some random thoughts on events in the Middle East: There is great concern that the Iraqis may use poison gas against our troops. The only statement I have heard is that the United States will not retaliate with chemical weapons. It may have been made for public rel