Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 . __ . . -*- 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 \ . . --------------- \ ------- ! . . IN-TOUCH: Ray "Frenchy" Moreau /\_____ ! . . INCARCERATED VETS: Joyce Flory / ! \ . . VETERAN BENEFITS: Jim Hildwine ! !___ \ . . VETERAN EMPLOYMENT: Fred Sochacki ! \/\____! . . KEEPER OF THE LIST: Joyce Flory ! ! . . GUEST CHAPLAIN: Rev. Ed Brant / Dak To ! . . / * / . . ! \_ . . ! Phu Cat\ . . \ * * ) . . \ 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 . . ! __/ NamVet's contributors or Section Editors. . . \_/ gjp . . . Fifth Annual NamVet Page i Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 ================================================================== T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S 1. From US to YOU Because I care ........................................... 1 Happy Birthday NamVet! ................................... 4 Copyright Notice ......................................... 5 POINT OF VIEW: The Black Veteran ......................... 6 Two Sides to Clinton Election ............................ 10 2. Thanx Veterans! Thanks Vets .............................................. 12 Memorial Day - 1992 ...................................... 12 A special note of thanks ................................. 12 3. Drums be not Silent A Viet Vet Speaks Out on POW/MIAs ........................ 13 How do you tell a small boy? ............................. 16 They haven't forgotten US!!! ............................. 17 POWs Abandoned, Perot Tells Senate Panel ................. 18 Remember? ................................................ 20 4. NamVet's Electronic Chapel Chaplain Ed's Monthly Editorial .......................... 21 The Electronic Chapel .................................... 27 5. THIS Veterans' Day Offerings at The Wall .................................... 28 The Wall: Bond for veteran, fallen friends ............... 30 6. In-Touch Siblings In Touch ........................................ 32 In-Touch: What is it??? .................................. 35 IN-TOUCH Registration/Request Form!!! .................... 38 7. Sister Vets VWMP's Sister Search ..................................... 40 Monumental Difference .................................... 41 VWMP's Sister Search Form ................................ 42 Women In Vietnam - Thesis Questionnaire .................. 43 8. Don't drink the water! Proposed Peripheral Neuropathy/Lung Cancer Regulations ... 47 Break out the Clearasil ! ............................ 49 Ranch Hand Investigators Release Sixth Mortality Report .. 50 9. Uncle Sam & NamVet want YOU to know Ask the Veterans' Affairs Counselor ...................... 51 Unit Associations ........................................ 55 10. Forgotten - again? OH, How Far It's Come .................................... 56 Incarcerated Veterans Residential Therapeutic Program .... 58 A visit or note once in awhile? .......................... 67 Hey... Let 'em know YOU care! ............................ 68 11. NamVet/IVVEC Concentrated Service NamVet/IVVEC Service Department! ......................... 73 12. Breaking Squelch & The Lighter Side IVVEC PhoneBook Listings ................................. 74 Creation According to the Recruiter ...................... 80 Political Virii .......................................... 81 NamVet Distribution Survey Form .......................... 82 NamVet Article Submission Guidelines ..................... 83 Some Gave All... ......................................... 86 "We all share the came color of blood" Fifth Annual NamVet Page ii Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 ================================================================== From US to YOU ================================================================== BECAUSE I CARE By G. Joseph Peck NamVet's Managing Editor VETLink #1 BBS - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 FIVE YEARS! Almost NEVER thought I'd see this day - and yet its arrived folks. We're making slow-but-sure progress towards communicating with one another, towards solving some of the deep, deep problems that have beset us, and towards putting meaning in ALL our lives. Things are still rough-and-tumble here in Pittsfield, always wondering where Peter is so's I can pay Paul, always one step away from somethin' important (Why spoil a perfect record?). Maybe that's the way life is SUPPOSED to be: always giving us something to reach FOR rather than looking back ON... The NamVet publications have been sort of scant this year and I've been super, super busy. It hurts ME to know that YOU have looked forward to the NamVet and its been put on the Second Priority list - but it was just something that HAD to be done in order for me to continue. Many of you have told me "If you don't take care of you, Joe, how can you help take care of anyone else?" Hard lesson to learn - but I'm getting there. Since this is our Anniversary edition, I'll not do much more than wish all of you a Happy, Happy Veterans' Day 1992 - and close with a message I recently put in all our VETNet echoes: = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = BECAUSE I CARE Because I care about each and every one of you, my brother and sister veterans and your families, I have a responsibility that I will not now nor shall I ever walk away from: ==> UNITY in our veteran commUNITY <== Zephyr-like, the winds of change have begun to blow throughout our America. Many of us are reminded about a place called Camelot and quiet breezes echo a phrase that was responsible for many of us putting our lives on-the-line for a place called home: "Ask not what your country can do for YOU... Ask what YOU can do for your country!" Fifth Annual NamVet Page 1 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 I watched President-elect Clinton's victory speech tonight. I watched, too, as Vice-President-elect Gore, a brother Vietnam veteran and one of the first members of Vietnam Veterans In Congress, spoke and reminded us that we MUST all work together. I heard echoes of a time long-past in President-elect Clinton's speech: "...let us not focus on getting, but giving; not on ourselves, but others; not on fixing the blame for things, but on fixing the breakdown; not on pointing out the faults and weaknesses of others, but on bringing out our best and the best of others; not on sitting back and letting others do it, but on rolling up OUR sleeves and putting America and its future first again as a world-class TEAM. "Ask not what your country can do for YOU... Ask what YOU can do for your country!" The echoes STILL ring true. And after the speeches were over and the stage cleared, I watched members of the crowd who'd gathered. Some talked busily amongst themselves; others stared blankly at an empty podium, perhaps wondering what would happen next. What happens NEXT is up to US! "Take back America!" and "Give us back our Country!" were themes often heard during the long and arduous campaigns; themes echoed primarily by the candidates who felt that too long America has stood in-place and heeded not the calls of her citizenry. America IS ours again, brother n' sister veterans (and, of course, your families!); the freedom we fought for IS ours. NOW is the time to begin providing YOUR elected representatives information about the changes in such bureaucracies as the Department of Veteran Affairs YOU'D like to see made; about the changes in Veteran Preference in employment, in education, in medical care, in being HEARD that YOU'D like to see made. NOW is the time... Too, I must share with you some of the things I've learned about "change" ... that it is often uncomfortable; that it often brings with it a NEW set of responsibilities with which we are unfamiliar; and that it often creates pandemonium as we attempt to solve new problems with thinking and processes that USED to work in an older situation. And, too, "change" irritates, annoys, and creates a strong desire to eliminate the irritant. Candidate H. Ross Perot beautifully described it with his analogy of being the grain of sand within the oyster, the end product of which would be a fine pearl. Without fear there can be no courage. With a little bit of "fear of the unknown," I look forward to a new Administration knowing that, from it I will learn more about courage - the courage so many of YOU in our various VETNet echoes have shown ME. "Some men dream dreams and say 'WHY?' ... I dream dreams and say 'WHY NOT!'" John F. Kennedy Fifth Annual NamVet Page 2 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 Towards UNITY in our veteran commUNITY, I am yours In Service to America ... and my fellow man In kindness, honesty, and good faith G. Joseph Peck, Founder/President Electronic Veterans' Centers of America Corp. (EVAC) Moderator/EchoMail Coordinator: VIETNAM_VETS Moderator Pro-Tem: VETERAN_ADVOCACY Administrator: VETLink BBSs Managing Editor: NamVet and a brother veteran. P.S. Thank you, Scott Summers, for causing me to research JFK's WHY NOT! statement (above) which, as we both learned, was neither an original of either John F. nor Robert F. Kennedy. George Bernard Shaw is the culprit ... "They all believed passionately that what they were doing was right" Fifth Annual NamVet Page 3 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 HH HH AAA PPPPPP PPPPPP YY YY HH HH AA AA PP PP PP PP YY YY HH HH AA AA PP PP PP PP YY YY HH HH AA AA PP PP PP PP YY YY HHHHHHHH AAAAAAA PPPPPP PPPPPP YYYYYY HH HH AA AA PP PP YY NH HH AA AA PP PP YY HH HH AA AA PP PP YY G. Joseph Peck * Joyce Flory * Jerry Hindle * Ray Moreau * Doc BBBBB IIII RRRRRR TTTTTTTT HH HH DDDDDDD AAA YY YY BB BB II RR RR TT HH HH DD DD AA AA YY YY BB BB II RR R TT HH HH DD DD AA AA YY YY BB BB II RR RR TT HH HH DD DD AA AA YY YY BBBBBB II RRRRR TT HHHHHHH DD DD AAAAAAA YYYYY BB BB II RR RR TT HH HH DD DD AA AA YY BB BB II RR RR TT HH HH DD DD AA AA YY BBBBBB IIII RR RR TT HH HH DDDDDDD AA AA YY Charlie Revie * Dave Doehrman * Joan Renne * Dale Malone * Bac Si NN NN AAAA MM MM VV VV EEEEEEE TTTTTTTT NNN NN AA AA MMM MMM VV VV EE TT NN N NN AA AA MM M M MM VV VV EE TT NN N NN AA AA MM M MM VV VV EE TT NN N NN AAAAAAAA MM MM VV VV EEEEE TT NN N NN AA AA MM MM VV VV EE TT NN NNN AA AA MM MM V V EE TT NN NN AA AA MM MM VVV EEEEEEE TT The International Newsletter for Vietnam Veterans ` ` ` ` _________|_|_|_|_____________ : Putting unity : :=============================: : In our Veteran CommUNITY! : :_____________________________: Clay Tannacore * Jim Hildwine * Lefty Frizzell * Alex Humphrey Craig Roberts * Ray Walker * Bill Plude * Jim Ferguson * Bil Cook Ed Brant * Mike Harris * Glenn Toothman * Carl Dunn * Don Purvis Fred Sochacki * Sarge Hultgren * George Currie * Ken Flory Joe Krickenbarger-Oliver * Sam Thompson * Marsha Ledeman Martin Kroll * Glen Kepler * Terry Hayes * Lydia Fish * Jim Ennes Karen Winnett * Scott Summers * Ralph Carlson * Joe Meadors Mike Kelley * Chick Curry * Charles Harper * David Kirshbaum Gordon Giroux * Rod Germain * Todd Looney * Pete Farias Brad Meyers * Jan Gerstner * Marge Clark * Ann Murrell * Bil Cook Bob Morris * Gale Barrows * Billy Palmergunner * Ralph Feller Richard Morrow * Henry Elsworth * Jesse Kitson * Jim Henthorn Art Fellner * Harlow Campbell * Rick Kelley * Mike Readinger Richard Wolbaum * Walt Fletcher * Mike Halley * Gary Searles >>>>>>> and all the rest of us!!! <<<<<<< Our *-FIFTH-* Year " Service with Pride! " Fifth Annual NamVet Page 4 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 > * - Copyright Notice - * ____/~~\_ < < ( * \ > > Prepared by G. Joseph Peck \ Quangtri < < NamVet Project \_/\ \_ Hue > > Electronic Veterans' Centers of \_Ashau Phu Bai < < America Corporation (EVAC) \_* \_ > > Copyright 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, \_ * ) < < 1991, 1992 _/ Danang > > ( \_*Chu Lai < < All rights reserved. \_ ------- \__ > > \_ I Corps \ < < NamVet is a collective volunteer \ ------- ! > > effort comprised of articles and /\_____ ! < < items sharing veteran-related news, / ! \ > > experiences and resources amongst ! !___ \ < < veterans, their family members, ! \/\____! > > concerned others and health, ! ! < < educational and correctional / Dak To ! > > institutions. / * / < < ! \_ > > ! Phu Cat\ < < Segments of this newsletter may be \ * * ) > > excerpted for counseling, self- \ Pleiku ) < < help, dissemination amongst veteran \ \ > > organizations and groups, and for / / < < scholarly purposes without further ( -------- ! > > permission; it is requested only _\ II Corps ! < < that proper credit be given to the / -------- \ > > author of a particular article and \ \ < < the contributor who submitted it. ! * / > > _/ Nhatrang / < < Any other use requires the _/ / > > written authorization of __/ ! < < _ __/ \ ! > > Electronic Veterans'___( )/ ! Camranh Bay < < Centers of / !__ ! > > America / \ / < < Corporation \ Bien Hoa \ / > > (EVAC) ! Chu Chi * \ __/ < < \_ * --------- \ ___/ > > . ____ \ III Corps \ _/ < < / \_____) )_(_ --------- !__/ > > ! ( ___/ < < _____! \__ * ___/ > > ! Saigon/ < < \___ -------- / \/ > > \ IV Corps / < < ) -------- / CONTACT: > > / ! Electronic Veterans' Centers of < < / ____/ America Corporation (EVAC) > > / Mekong/ ATTN: G. Joseph Peck < < ! Delta/ Managing Editor - NamVet > > ! ____/ Post Office Box 2056 < < ! / Pittsfield, Massachusetts 01202 > < ! / VOICE: (413) 442-1660 < < ! __/ > < \_/ gjp < Fifth Annual NamVet Page 5 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 POINT OF VIEW: The Black Veteran By Harold Bryant From an article found in VIETNAM VETERANS OUTREACH CENTER - New York, NY Input by G. Joseph Peck NamVet's Managing Editor VETLink #1 BBS - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 [Harold Lightbulb Brant served with the 1st Air Cav. in Vietnam from 1965 to 1967.] Since that cold day in March, 1770 when Crispus Attucks died in the Boston Massacre, Blacks have stood and fallen with all races of men to defend America. They fought from sea to sea, and from coast to coast to protect the union; they fought in Europe, in Asia and throughout the world. By 1891 the combat record spoke for itself. Blacks fought on the plains of Kansas and in Indian Territory, in the vast expanse of West Texas and along hundreds of miles of the Rio Grande and in Mexico in the deserts and mountains of New Mexico and Arizona, in Colorado, and finally in the rugged grandeur of the Dakotas. Few regiments could match the length and sweep of the Tenth Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers). This subject has caused me to talk to a lot of oldtimers who are fountains of information on Black soldiers. One told me, "It's funny that General Washington thought Blacks did right well in combat, General Sherman, General Grant, and even old turncoat General "Black Jack" Pershing found no fault with Blacks in battle. And old Teddy Roosevelt would never have lived to be President if Blacks had not saved his hide at Las Guasimas." The heroism of Black soldiers in America's wars is attested to by the records of those American fighting men, men who received the highest military decorations. Twenty Black soldiers won the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Civil War. Twenty Blacks won the Medal during the Indian Campaign from 1866 to 1890. Eight won the Congressional Medal during the Spanish-American War of 1898. Sixteen Black soldiers were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. To ignore the place of the Black soldier in this country's history is to deny him and his people part of their heritage as Americans - heritage antedating the American Revolution. But ignore him we did, for despite Black's patriotism and heroism it wasn't until the late 1940's that the army was ordered by President Harry S. Truman to desegregate. And it wasn't until the Vietnam War that the army was truly integrated. The material problems veterans confront are the more onerous for the context in which they occur. Men are willing to bear great discomfort and pain, even death, if they believe their actions have a legitimate and important purpose, that others have also done their part, and that their own sacrifices will be respected, or at least remembered. To most men these rewards are much more important than any material compensation. But when those private and personal satisfactions are not forthcoming, then the material problems stand out, and the inequities of sacrifice are least easily accepted. Even though Blacks made up only 11% of the U.S. population, by the start of the Vietnam War, Blacks comprised 31% of the combat Fifth Annual NamVet Page 6 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 troops. From 1961 to 1968 Blacks accounted for 16% of the combat deaths in Vietnam. In the year 1965, 23.5 percent of all Army enlisted men killed in action were Black. To an Administration trying to fight both a ground war in Asia and a war on poverty at home, it must have seemed a stroke of genius to fight one war with the other. A program known as "Project 100,000" was developed. It was designed to lower the minimum entry level requirements for the Army so that more bodies were available for duty in Vietnam. The results of "Project 100,000," however, were not as impressive as the ingenuity that went into its conception. In its brief history, which ended quietly with the war's deescalation, the program did very little useful training, though it did send several hundred thousand men to Vietnam and several thousand to their deaths. These were the men who went into the Army; they were the most likely to become casualties and the least able to acquire further education. Pentagon studies indicate that about 10 percent of them never finished their service, because they were either killed, disabled, or released with bad discharges. The proportion who received training in a skill transferable to civilian life has been small. Of course, there are those who argue or dread, that combat experience will turn out to be transferable back home. Some career officers came to see it as partly responsible for insubordination and drug abuse in the enlisted ranks. But perhaps the most volatile aspect of the program was race. Four of every ten of the men it brought into the armed forces were Black, two of ten were Mexican-Americans, and two of ten were Puerto Ricans. This did not trouble its creators. Nor could they suggest how many suffered. With the escalation of the Vietnam War, Black attitudes toward the military underwent a remarkable transformation. Initially, the Black community looked with pride on the achievements of its soldiers, but increasingly, civil rights leaders began to note that Blacks were suffering a disproportionate number of casualties, that the war distorted national priorities, and that American attitudes toward the Vietnamese were nothing but a reflection of the same racism Blacks suffered at home. Support for the war plummeted in the Black community and Black reenlistment rates dropped by 50 percent between 1966 and 1967. Indicative of the changing sentiment was a speech by Martin Luther King at Riverside Church in New York City in April, 1967: "We are taking the young Black men who have been crippled by our society and sending them 8,000 miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in Southwest Georgia and East Harlem. So we have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and White boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together at the same school. So we watch them in brutal solidarity burning the huts of a poor village, but we realize that they could never live on the same block in Detroit." Men who would never steal a nickel at home, buy and sell on the black market. Men from small towns who would never drink at home, suddenly begin taking drugs. Traditional values come apart in the war zone, the forbidden loses its terror, because of the proximity of greater terrors, the leash of society unravels, and inevitably some men become unstuck. The stress was accentuated by the distinctive aspects of the Vietnam War. Facing death is hard enough; facing it under Fifth Annual NamVet Page 7 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 conditions of ambiguity and doubt is still more difficult. But when Vietnam veterans have come home, there has been a difference. They have flown home alone, not in units, and so the experience has been private in two senses: it is not shared with their brothers and it does not ordinarily command public notice. Everyone has remarked that there have been no victory parades, but this suggests it is the absence of a triumphant return, of honor and celebration, that matters. It goes even deeper: it is the absence of any awareness, of any attention, of any visible concern at all. My own impression from interviews is that veterans, even those who oppose the war, generally do not feel ashamed of what they did. They believe they were much more sinned against than that they did any sinning, and they feel overwhelmingly that people who were not in Vietnam have nothing to do with the situations they confronted. Nevertheless, many do feel they were used, sent to fight for no good reason, and then abandoned when it was all over, despised for things most of them never wanted to do in the first place and never did in the second. Not surprisingly, there is a great deal of disorientation, anger and resentment, rage and bewilderment, quiet desperation and violent discontent in these men. Those who have a tendency for names, even when the phenomenon is vague, call it "Post Vietnam Syndrome." Its manifestations are varied and mostly subclinical reticence, edginess, unproved outbursts, feelings of hopelessness, and purposelessness. But the consequences can be personal disasters: marriages broken up soon after return, intensified drug use, lost jobs, one- car accidents. The scars of Vietnam go deeper than any set of programs can ever reach. There is a certain dishonesty even in using words like "compensation." Of course there never really is any compensation for the loss of any arm or an eye, a mind at rest, or a husband. And with a war like Vietnam, there will always be a sense of absurdity and uselessness that makes it all hard to put away. To continue discussing benefits and programs seems at times like mistaking points of irritation for the deeper sources of distress. But men continue to be hurt by bad discharges, drug problems, and unemployment, and so one goes on despite the beckoning false wisdom that "it is beside the point." Veterans have been left with a sense of being unclean, as if the unworthiness of the war they fought somehow reflected on them. WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO SHOW THAT WE FEEL THEIR ACTIONS AND THEIR HONOR ARE SEPARABLE FROM THE CONFLICT. The challenge is to meet the need for respect without falsifying the past, and to meet the need for special assistance without creating a special social status and special privileges that place inordinate burdens on the future. Those of us who approved sending troops to Vietnam cannot now abandon them after they have returned. And those of us who fought against the war need to demonstrate that we have never been against those who fought the war. This is a time not so much for guilt and shame as for genuine sorrow that such things ever happened to our people and to others, and for genuine determination that, so far as we can help it, they shall never happen again. When I entered the armed forces of my country I sincerely believed in my government as it is supposed to be, a democracy Fifth Annual NamVet Page 8 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 that protects all of its citizens. My beliefs haven't changed, but I do wonder now just what kind of government we do have, where it is leading us, and just what Vietnam was all about. Our government is supposed to represent all of the people and it is the government that I killed - I repeat - the government that I killed for, I killed other men in the name of that government, in the name of some vague democracy. could the joke have been on me for being naive enough to believe in my government? "Cry, not in sadness - but in HOPE and UNITY for things not yet done!!" Fifth Annual NamVet Page 9 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 VIETNAM VETERANS SEE TWO SIDES TO CLINTON ELECTION By Stanley Meisler - Los Angeles Times Input by G. Joseph Peck NamVet's Managing Editor VETLink #1 BBS - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 WASHINGTON - Vietnam veterans like to say they are "visiting" names on the stark granite wall of the Vietnam Memorial. former Marine John Krankus, a 47-year-old accountant from Yonkers, N.Y., visits a handful whenever he comes to Washington. On this particular Tuesday afternoon - a day before the 10th anniversary of the dedication of the wall and a week after the election of a new president with a controversial Vietnam War-era draft record - he had reason to be even more contemplative than usual. He has heard talk this Veteran Day week that the election of Gov. Bill Clinton may prove that America has put the divisive Vietnam War behind it. But he is not so certain. After communing with the names of his fallen comrades, Krankus steps away. "I have a hard time reconciling coming down to honor this memorial and living with a president who avoided the draft," he said. Then, somewhat hopefully, somewhat skeptically, he added: "Maybe he'll do something for Vietnam veterans, and then we can say it's behind us." Along with Krankus, thousands of Vietnam veterans have crowded into the capital this week to mark the anniversary of the memorial, perhaps the most moving monument of all in a city replete with marble enormities honoring scores of heroes and leaders. Even at less-celebrated times, veterans, relatives and tourists come by the hundreds and thousands to touch the engraved names with their fingertips, to fashion mementos by rubbing charcoal against a slip of paper over a name, to pose by the wall for a photo. The election of Clinton demonstrates that the draft issue raised again and again by President Bush and other Republicans, was too anemic to avert the Democrat's victory. The electorate was clearly willing to accept a president who had opposed and avoided one of the most painful wars in American history. Citing his center's polls throughout the campaign, Donald S. Kellermann, director of the Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press, said, "While most Americans followed the debate over Clinton's Vietnam draft status closely, they did not think the issue mattered enough to influence their vote." For the Vietnam veterans, however, the problem is more complex. Many have long felt apart from the rest of the nation. They are veterans of a war who came home without ticker-tape parades and glory. They even dress differently from other veterans, eschewing American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars uniforms for old combat jackets bearing slogans across the back and colorful baseball caps identifying Vietnam veterans' organizations. Some veterans, far from fretting over the Clinton draft issue, gather hope from the election. Jan Scruggs, a Vietnam veteran who came up with the idea of the wall as a means of dissolving the bitterness and anger left by the war within American society. He now describes Clinton's election as an opportunity to realize that goal. In his view, Clinton's personal struggle over the war may be more important than his having avoided it. Fifth Annual NamVet Page 10 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 "The Vietnam generation has assumed the mantle of leadership," Scruggs told a news conference a few days ago. "The election campaign has given us an opportunity to help the healing." The point was echoed by Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Pa., as he spoke yesterday to a conference of Vietnam veterans across the Potomac River in northern Virginia. "With President Clinton, I think you are going to have an ear that can listen to your proposals. I think he will be very sensitive to that," said Kanjorski, who served in the Army between the Korean and Vietnam wars. Later, he elaborated on the theme in an interview. "The most important event in Clinton's adult life was this war," he said. "You would have thought that the first new-generation president would have come out of the Vietnam War. But that did not happen, because it is a war that we have not yet resolved in our psyche. "The Vietnam veterans don't hold a lot against the guys who didn't serve," he went on. "They wonder themselves what purpose they served by fighting." But a less conciliatory note was sounded at the conference by Sen. Robert Dole, R-Kan. In a letter read to the Vietnam veterans by one of his aides, Dole pointedly congratulated them for their service. "The Vietnam veterans did not dodge and did not fail," the Dole letter said. Yet, it was Kanjorski's optimistic and non-combative tone that was echoed by many veterans at the wall - albeit with some wariness. Dale Kusmiez, a machinist in South Bend, Ind., is 46, Clinton's age. The back of his jacket bears the slogan "Together Then, Together Again" and notes that he served in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. "I quit high school in 1966, two months before graduation, and joined the Army," he said quietly. "A lot of kids went to Canada in those days. Dan Quayle was really in the same boat as Clinton." "When I first heard about Clinton's avoidance of the draft, I thought about it a lot. Then I decided he has to live with it just the way I have to live with what I did. I voted for the man. We have to go on with the future." Paul Ryan, a 43-year-old electrician in Buchanan, N.Y., says he voted for Clinton for one main reason: "I don't think President Bush did anything for veterans." By and large, the Vietnam veterans who have come to Washington this week, some in wheelchairs, some on crutches, appear less concerned with the president-elect and politics than with the poignancy of their experience and the wall. From Sunday onward, long lines of volunteers - some relatives, some buddies, some officers, some outsiders - have stepped to a pair of microphones to read aloud the 58,132 names inscribed on the 247 feet of granite that stretches along a knoll near the Lincoln Memorial. The reading will end today. The names of all the war dead are arranged on the wall in chronological order of death. New visitors often follow a routine that has become ritual. They look up the name in thick directories, head for the designated section of the wall, search for the name, touch each letter, and weep. Fifth Annual NamVet Page 11 ================================================================== Thanx Veterans! ================================================================== Thanks Vets by Paul Isle VETLink #3 BBS - Poplar Bluff, MO (314) 686-0120 Just wanted to say THANKS!! to all the vets. I know this message ia a little late, but I had to tell you that I'm very apprecietave of all the sacrifices you have made for all Americans. In a time like to day when Memorial Day events are being canceled, I feel compelled to tell all Vets that there are many of us out there, that are very proud of you and what you have done. Your sacfices and dedication is someting all Americans should be proud of! While you opnly see one name on this message let me assure you that I have lots of friends (who don't have computers) that feel the same way. So from all of us THANKS to all of you. Paul Isle ================================================================== Memorial Day '92 Input by Mike Readinger WVAU BBS - Terre Haute, IN (812) 238-9295 A million miles, the darkest of night... will it all end here, his country's fight. A very young man, still in his teens... trades into "camo", his dearly loved jeans. Way beyond his years, the thousand yard stare... He'll raise no family, does this seem fair. It's all in his heart, the way he's been taught... politics or not...he can't be bought. For it's the things he loves, that takes him beyond... even if it be his life, he sets down at dawn. For in the heart of man, there lies a special place... for his goodtime memories...must not become waste. And don't ever doubt the man and his cause... the memory of home, was reason for pause. That big shade tree, the cool, cool, grass... his Mom, his Dad, in his life that's now past. And when Memorial Taps are blown, before Memorial Day is past... just say to yourself....thanks guys, for defending my ass! For those who cannot, C. M. Readinger ================================================================== A Special Note of Thanks By Nancy L. Rinsma Fifth Annual NamVet Page 12 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 Berkshire Estates BBS - Pittsfield, MA (413) 499-1327 Dear Veteran, Because of you, I can sit here and write this message. Because of you, I am warm, dry,and well fed. Because of you, I have the freedoms granted me by the constitution. Because of you, I live in what I still believe to be the greatest country in the world, in spite of our problems and faults. Because of you, I am proud to be an American citizen. BECAUSE OF YOU, I AM FREE. THANK YOU ALL Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 ================================================================== Drums be not Silent ================================================================== A VIETNAM VETERAN SPEAKS OUT ON THE POW/MIA ISSUE National Vietnam POW Strike Force 2615-Waugh Drive Suite 217 Houston, Texas 77006-2799 (713) 520-5777 * Fax (713) 682-8134 Uploaded to VETLink #1 by Marsha Ledeman from "OUR TOP PRIORITY" POW/MIA BBS (206) 367-0479 I am a heavily-decorated Vietnam Veteran. I flew 147 Combat Missions North of the 17th Parallel. I was one of the lucky ones who made it home. If a SAM Rocket had been a few inches closer, I would be what is referred to as a POW/MIA. I volunteered for three tours of duty in a unit with a very high casualty rate. My father was a decorated flyer in the Eighth Air Force in WWII. Both of us considered it an honor and a solemn duty to be among the first to answer the call to arms, to defend our nation against its enemies, foreign and domestic, wherever in the world that should be, on the premise that Freedom is not Free, and that a country that is not worth dying for is not worth living in. I have been having nightmares lately. I was never really bothered by my Vietnam Experiences, but in all likelihood, it was just my subconscious doing a good job of blocking them out. The nightmare involves coming face-to-face with a just-released POW/MIA. He is sitting in a wheelchair, his hair long and scraggly. He only weighs 90 lbs. His head is bowed and he is having difficulty breathing. As he hears me approach, he looks up and his cold, piercing eyes meet mine and he asks me if I am a Vietnam Veteran. I say yes. Then he says, "You abandoned me on the battlefield and ran 30 years ago. The Government wrote me off, but you were over there, you must have known, or at least suspected some of us survived, but all those years, you said nothing, did nothing and let the government get away with it, WHY? Why didn't you know what to say. Then I awaken from the nightmare in a cold sweat and it is 3 am. I know I can forget going back to sleep. The Government is very good at lying to us. They do it every day. "Read my lips-no new taxes, etc. " Did you know that the button on the stoplight for pedestrians is not hooked up to anything? It is only put there by the Government to make us feel we have some veneer of control over our lives. Distrust of the Government is at an all-time high; 84% of the people surveyed do not believe the findings of the Warren Commission. The most chilling scene for me in the movie "JFK' was when Lyndon Johnson addressed a room full of four-star Generals and he said, "Make me President and I'll give you your damned war". One cannot help but feel that the same people in Government who had something to do with the Kennedy assassination are the same ones who shafted Vietnam Veterans on the Agent Orange issue and the abandoning of the POW/MIAs. Like a cancer that eventually kills the person it is feeding on, these people in government who are responsible must be found and removed if our country is to survive. I remember well my first day in-country in Vietnam. In the early Fifth Annual NamVet Page 13 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 morning hours before dawn on the day you know you will come face to face with the enemy in mortal combat, sleep is impossible and my stomach was in knots and I realized that this is how all young, new soldiers must have felt throughout history, all the way back to the time of the Roman Conquerors. To overcome his fears, a soldier must focus on why he is there and the consequences of his success or failure on the battlefield. The future of my family, my country and the Free World was at stake. The right soldier in the right place at the right time can alter the course of history. There is nothing about Vietnam that reminds you of home. A Wagnerian Opera, or Hell, perhaps, but not home. Late one night at a Marine Firebase in the middle of nowhere, after a USO show, the Marines stood and sang "America the Beautiful". It had been a very long time since I had heard the song or thought about the words; Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, thy purple mountain majesty above the fruited plains. As Boy Scout and College Student, I had been very fortunate to have traveled much of our great country and seen most of these things firsthand like the Rockies of Colorado, the beautiful beaches of California and Florida, the Fall Foliage of Vermont and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. For a brief moment, I was able to recall all their beauty. I also remember singing the Star Spangled Banner in Elementary School and now hunkered down in my underground bunker after a night of intense shelling, I could quite literally look out and see "The Rocket's red glare while bombs bursting in air" and contemplate the sayings, "The darkest hour is just before dawn" and "There'll be a new tomorrow if you can hold on through the night." On one Christmas Eve, the only present we wanted was to be alive to see the sun rise. I saw firsthand the horrors of War, I smelled the smell of gunpowder in the trenches, I looked solemnly at the long lines of dead heroes at Graves Registration in Da Nang, I saw the agony and pain of the Vietnamese women who came to claim the bodies of their husbands and sons killed in the Tet Offensive. In the infrequent lulls in the fighting, we carried our wounded to safety, paused momentarily to mourn those who had fallen, and then those who were able, returned to the battle, the battle that never seemed to end, and in fact is not over, not even today. In 1973, The Government of the United States formally ended the Indo-China Conflict. In its haste to depart, it left behind on the battlefield, abandoned and betrayed, over 2,300 of America's best fighting men, Pilots, Green Berets, Marines, Sailors and Soldiers, heroes and patriots all, who proudly served in the most unpopular war in American History. They were tortured and put in bamboo cages by a cruel and vindictive enemy who told them, "Your country does not care about you anymore." This treasonous act of abandonment of these brave men is contrary and antithetical to everything that has ever defined the United States as a Nation, the leader of the Western World. I am ashamed of the last five Presidents who had knowledge of the fact and did nothing and I am more ashamed of myself for waiting this long to get 110% involved and committed to the POW/MIA Cause. If a Government makes a covenant between itself and its fighting men committed to arms; it is understood and accepted that the cost Fifth Annual NamVet Page 14 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 of going into battle could be your life, or your arms and legs, or psychological scars that never heal. No one in the Government, however, ever told me or anyone else who ever went to Vietnam, "Oh and by the way, if you get captured, we don't know you and we won't come looking for you and we will keep the fact that you are captured a secret from your family and the American People." That was not part of the oath taken at enlistment time, but that is the de facto policy in regard to Vietnam Prisoners of War. Some Military Bureaucrats have described their writing off of the POW's as "Acceptable Casualties". I could have very easily become a POW and I would not appreciate having myself referred to by that term, nor would the bureaucrat if he had been captured, and I am sure the POW's alive today are even less appreciative of that term being used to describe their imprisonment. Before the U.S. Government should be allowed to fund a 150 Billion Dollar B-2 Bomber Project, give Billions in farm aid to Russia to make it through the winter, guarantee 10 Billion Dollars in loans to Israel, and send new soldiers to new wars, it should finish the Vietnam War once and for all, by bringing home, by whatever means necessary, the American Prisoners of War still alive in Southeast Asia. What must be established for now and all time is that the forced retention of even one American Soldier after hostilities have ceased is viewed by ALL FUTURE U.S. Government Administrations as "Totally Unacceptable". When that is done, all Veterans and all Americans can proudly look up at the American Flag waving in the afternoon breeze on the town square, over the land of the free and the home of the brave. For the Cause, Joe L. Jordan Da Nang 67-68 Executive Director February 24th., 1992 Member Liberty Lobby Board of Policy Permission to quote in part or in whole or to reprint or distribute in any quantity is hereby granted to anyone in possession of this document. Joe L. Jordan Bring them Home or Send us Back... Fifth Annual NamVet Page 15 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 HOW DO YOU TELL A SMALL BOY? Author Unknown Submitted to VETLink #1 BBS - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 His hair was long and it tumbled down across his face like a tiny clown. He stared at me with a funny look as he held on to a comic book. I thought I'd cry, but Dad's don't cry! His words were short with a question why, Are you the lost man that makes Mama cry? Have you come home to be my Dad? Maybe now Mom won't be so sad. Don't you know we missed you so? CHORUS How do you tell a small boy that had to go to war? That you spent most of your time behind a prison door. And that you wanted to be with him most of all. Sometimes late at night, you swear that you heard him call. Sat on a bench and we talked a lot 'bout his first bike that his Mom had bought. His first day at school and his best friend, Joe whose Dad first took them to see the snow. How could he know, I couldn't go? Try to explain the reason why I wasn't there But I dared not try You can't make up for the time he's lost when he needed me He paid the cost I wasn't there -- no time to spare. CHORUS (Repeat) Son I'm home now and I plan to stay Your Mom, you and I, we're gonna play. Win or lose, we'll be together from now on, we'll help each other. It's O.K. now, go and play. I've come home to stay. Fifth Annual NamVet Page 16 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 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 !!! " Fifth Annual NamVet Page 17 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 POWs Abandoned, Perot Tells Senate Panel DAV MAGAZINE - September, 1992 Input by G. Joseph Peck NamVet's Managing Editor VETLink #1 BBS - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 H. Ross Perot, the billionaire Texas businessman who has been intimately involved in the POW/MIA issue since 1969, told the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs during an August 11 hearing that he's certain American prisoners of war were left behind in Southeast Asia after the United States withdrew from the Vietnam War. "There is no question in my mind that we left people behind and we left people in Laos," Perot said during his first major public appearance since dropping out of the presidential race on July 16. "And I think I can prove it to any rational person." Perot, who at times was feisty and combative during his nearly day-long testimony, relied mostly on evidence already made public by the Select Committee to back up his claim. When pressed by several senators for specific sources or sightings to support his conclusion, Perot testily shot back, "I don't have any videotapes, no." He later said that his conclusions were "not some philosophical, moonbeam conjecture on my part." Testifying before a packed house in the same ornate Senate hearing room where the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings were held, Perot also told the senators that U.S. government officials had "covered up, dissembled and finessed this issue for 20-some- odd years," while pursuing a misguided and unproductive policy of isolating and "humiliating" the Vietnamese government. "What we have done for 20 years is teat them (the Vietnamese government) rudely and punch them around," Perot said. A better approach, he said, would have been to build trust with Vietnam. He then suggested appointing a resident negotiator who would be able to make deals with Hanoi, which with the Laotian government is still seeking "reparations" of $3.2 billion. "We ransomed our prisoners out of Hanoi," he said of a 1973 promise of reconstruction aid from the Nixon Administration that Perot alleged prompted the Vietnamese to release 591 American prisoners during Operation Homecoming in February and March of 1973. "But we never wrote the check and that's what caused the people to be left in Laos." Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a former Navy pilot who was held as a prisoner of war by the Vietnamese for more than six years, immediately rebutted Perot. "I wasn't ransomed home, it was the B-52s that got me back home," McCain said in reference to intensified bombing raids conducted in North Vietnam by the U.S. in late 1972. Perot suggested that the Committee call in all the top U.S. government officials who have had responsibility for the POW/MIA issue and then "get them all in a room and give them total amnesty - total immunity I guess is the word you'd use here - anything to get them to tell you the truth. See, these people are worried to death, a huge number of them are worried about their images. This is a town that lives on how it looks, not how it is." Based on his extensive meetings with high-ranking U.S. intelligence and government officials and their counterparts from Fifth Annual NamVet Page 18 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 Vietnam and Laos, Perot said he was convinced that not only have POWs been abandoned in Southeast Asia, but that some U.S. government officials have tried to conceal the fact. He did not, however, name any official. Also during the hearing, Committee Vice Chairman Sen. Robert Smith (R-N.H.) said that three separate U.S. government officials have confirmed reports that the Reagan Administration received an offer from Vietnam to exchange living American POWs for $4 billion in 1981. The WASHINGTON TIMES reported in its August 11 edition that the Treasury Department was trying to block the testimony of a Secret Service agent who allegedly overheard government officials discussing that offer in January of 1981. Following the hearings, DAV POW/MIA Advisory Committee Chairman Joseph Andry said he agreed that the government's tendency to overclassify POW/MIA documents has left the issue shrouded in mystery. "The DAV has felt all along that these documents should be declassified so all Americans can make their own determination of the facts," Andry said. "That's why the delegates at our latest national convention again adopted a resolution calling for the immediate declassification of all POW/MIA documents." Andry said the DAV, in light of all the new evidence that has been presented in recent months, will continue to urge the Senate to extend the life of the Select Committee. Legislation that created the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, Senate Resolution 86, mandates that the Committee conclude its business and disband at the end of the current Congress. "With all the new evidence that has been presented, and with the promise of even more startling revelations to come, we feel the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs should be allowed the time to resolve this emotional issue once and for all," Andry said. "We also think the Committee should be given ample time to find answers to the questions surrounding the fates of some 78,000 missing American servicemen from World War II and another 8,800 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines still missing from the Korean War." "Think of me ... and carry on!!!" Fifth Annual NamVet Page 19 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 . =DMZ= Camp Carroll__Con Thien =DMZ= . . |___/ \_ Quang Tri . . Khe (| * * \ . . Sanh-/\* * Dong \Camp Evans . . (Hawk \_/\ Ha *\_ Hue . . LZ) / \_ \Phu Bai . . Cam Lo \_Bastogne\_ . . \ An. )Da Nang . . / Hoa \ (Marble . . ( ------- \_Mountain) . . \ I CORPS \__ . . \------ Hoi \ Chu Lai . . \ An ! . . /\_____ ! . . / ! Duc \ . . ! Ben !___ Pho\ . . ! Het \/\____! . . ! !English LZ. . / Pleiku ! Bong . . / Camp / Son . . V I E T N A M ! Holloway Happy \_Hammond . . ! Camp Valley \ LZ . . \ Enarl An Khe ) . . \ Qui) . . \ \ Nhon\ . . / Oasis / . . ( ! . . _\ -------- ! . . / II CORPS Tuy\ . . \ -------- Hoa \ . . ! / . . _/Ban Me / . . --------- _/ Thuot Nha / . . III CORPS Song Be_/ Trang! . . --------\Quan Loi __/ \ ! . . Katum\_____( )/An Loc! Dong Ba ! . . /Dau Loc Ninh!__ Thin ! Cam . . Tay /Tieng \ / Ranh . . Ninh\ Phu Phuoc Yinh\ Dalat / Bay . . ! Loi \ __/ . . Lai Khe\--* Di An \ ___/ Phan . . Cu Chi\ Bien Hoa \ _/ Rang . . / \_____) )_(_Tan San Long Binh !__/ . . ! ( Nhut Bearcat ___/ . . _____! An Long \__Long Thanh_/ . . ! | . \/ Long Giao . . \___ My /| \/ \ (Black Horse) . . \ Tho Dong / | \ Vung Tau . . )Vinh Long Tam / | Saigon . . / \\ ! Tan An . . /Can Tho Phu ___\\| . . /-------- Vinh . . !IV CORPS\ \ / . . !-------- \ \__/ (Due to rectangular restrictions of character . . ! Soc / placements/positions, locations approximate) . . ! Trang / . . ! __/ . . \_/ gjp . Fifth Annual NamVet Page 20 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 ================================================================== NamVet's Electronic Chapel ================================================================== Chaplain Ed's Monthly Editorial By Rev. Ed Brant NamVet's Guest Chaplain VETLink #7 BBS - Portland, Oregon (503) 775-1554 Well, another few months have come and gone. As I promised in June's issue, we'll begin to look at some things that have to do with Liberation Theology. We're going to look at what the Church is, and we want to see what the Kingdom is in relation to the Church. If you are a Christian Veteran, then YOU are a member of The Church. Not a denomination, but the universal body of Christ. If you are a non Christian Veteran, YOU, too, are a member of a universal group. God loves you, too. The social actions of the Church is the very reason a lot of us rejected the Church at large upon our return from Vietnam. Clergy marched at the head of parades against us and the war in Vietnam. They (the body of people called the Church) rejected us as friends, brothers, and even fellow citizens of our own country. Yeah, some of you remember. I have a question. It's an accepted fact that if someone hates you, and you dwell on that thought a lot, you will become just like them. You'll end up hating, too. Why? That's the question, WHY? Do any of you hate? As Vets WE CAN CHANGE THE THINKING OF A DEAD CHURCH! We don't have to march to the same drumbeat the living dead march to. We can be alive in more ways than breathing. The first thing we must do is gain an understanding of what the Church and it's social part (the Kingdom) is as we seek to change a Church that doesn't relate to us, and to which we don't relate. Do we have to understand an enemy to defeat him? I tend to think so. Do you? Isn't it helpful to know the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent? In basketball (BLAZERS WON!...My home here in PORTLAND,OR) the teams get all the knowledge they can of the team they intend to play. Same with a boxer, a football team, etc. If we Veterans would change the Church into that which it should be, we must first understand some basic things about it. Therefore, this initial "Bible Study". Walk carefully the next few pages. Misunderstanding of this subject can lead to maimed understanding and an inability to see the true light ahead. Got your gear on? Move out! The Church sometimes thinks it is in the business of the Church. It is at these times that the Kingdom is forgotten, and the Church becomes embroiled in trouble. It was in trouble when we returned from the Nam. Today, it still is. With this idea in mind, one may well wonder just what the Church is, and what the Kingdom is. I'm going to list several scriptures to illustrate what the Church is and what it consists of. I'll follow each Fifth Annual NamVet Page 21 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 scripture (mostly) with a comment. THE CHURCH: Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, [even] to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. (Romans 7:4) It appears that the body of Christ is here related to people, and that the people are to bring forth fruit because of the fact of death. (a seed must end its existence as a seed in order to grow up into a plant.) The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:16) Communion is defined by Webster as: 1. A possessing or sharing in common; participation. Therefore in 1 Corinthians 10:16 the people are sharing together that which they possess, i.e. the blood and body of Christ. Once again, people are involved in the body of Christ. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. (1 Corinthians 12:27) Here it becomes more clear. The people are the body of Christ. Each and every one of them are members of that body. It would seem to take on universal authority, that is, that the body is common, or is shared not just with the Church at Corinth, but every body of believers in the world. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: (Ephesians 4:11,12) The members of the body have different functions within that body. Each one is for the purpose of edifying, or building up, the body of Christ, or the people of which the body consists. Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the Church of the Thessalonians [which is] in God the Father and [in] the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace [be] unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 1:1) Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the Church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: (2 Thessalonians 1:1) The Church is seen here to be in the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the people who are addressed (Grace [be] unto you - you is plural). So the Church consists of people, and people are the body of Christ. The conclusion immediately seen is that the Church is the body of Christ. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church: and he is the saviour of the body. Fifth Annual NamVet Page 22 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 (Ephesians 5:23) Christ is the head of the Church, and thus the head of the body. THE KINGDOM: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the Kingdom of his dear Son: (Colossians 1:13) Observation: The Kingdom belongs to Christ. Question: Does it then belong to the people? Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. (1 Corinthians 15:50) Answer: No, to the extent that humanity cannot inherit the Kingdom. Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: (Colossians 1:12) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the Kingdom of his dear Son: (Colossians 1:13) People can be in the Kingdom. And Jesus, which is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These only [are my] fellowworkers unto the Kingdom of God, which have been a comfort unto me. (Colossians 4:11) People can work in the Kingdom. That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his Kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:12) God calls people into the Kingdom which belongs to Him. Colossians 1:13 identifies the Kingdom with Christ. What does the Kingdom consist of? For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17) For the Kingdom of God [is] not in word, but in power. (1 Corinthians 4:20) Answer: Righteousness, peace, joy All found in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives within each believer John 14:16-17) and therefore each believer has the possibility of righteousness, peace, and joy. The question then, is this: Is the Kingdom located within the believer? Several passages indicate that the Kingdom can be inherited. (1 Corinthians 6:9; 15:50) and 1 Corinthians 15:24; 1 Timothy 4:1 and 2 Timothy 4:18 all indicate that the Kingdom is yet future. Fifth Annual NamVet Page 23 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 George Ladd (Christian Theology; Baker house publishing)makes some observations about the relationship between the Church and the Kingdom. They are: 1. The Church is not the Kingdom. 2. The Kingdom creates the Church. 3. The Church witnesses to the Kingdom. 4. The Church is the instrument of the Kingdom. 5. The Church is the custodian of the Kingdom. Ericksen (Christian Theology; Baker house publishing) defines the Kingdom as the reign of God. (Remember that Commanding officer? The Church is the evidence of the Kingdom, and people make up the Church. (The base is evidence of an encampment of soldiers) The Kingdom is God's rule over the Church. So the people are under the rule of God, and the Church is the present form of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is found wherever His will is done. Therefore the Kingdom was in heaven before creation as mankind thinks of creation. The angles do the will of God and are also in the Kingdom, but are not in the Church. The Kingdom is manifested in the Church and in many other ways. The Kingdom is seen in the cross-denominational gathering of people for such things as pastors' conferences and Christian Life and Witness classes. The Kingdom is also evidenced in various microstructures of society such as the family, neighborhood gatherings and home Bible studies. It is seen when Christian organizations work to meet human need, relieve human suffering, and take up the cause of widows and orphans. It is seen in the missionary involvement, in spreading the Gospel throughout a land where people do not know the Savior. The Kingdom keeps violence and the dehumanizing aspects of society in check. It helps to maintain social stability. The Church is not the Kingdom and yet from the examples the Church is used within the Kingdom and proves the existence of the Kingdom by its actions within society. In this way the Church is the instrument of the Kingdom and the keeper of the Kingdom. It is the keeper of the Kingdom as each member of the Church which is the body of Christ seeks to give evidence of their unity through a humbleness of relationship in their daily life. The Church is for the praise of the glory of God the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Paul reveals through the book of Ephesians that the Church is a body united in Christ. As such, there has been a work of reconciliation in which strangers were united to become one body consisting of the same family and the same building. This would seem to be evidence of God's Kingdom at work to effect the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile. Today this might be seen in the reconciliation work taking place within the body of Christ where denominations of various backgrounds and beliefs come together for corporate worship ignoring such things as skin color and affluence. When the Church exhibits a unity within the denomination, but a disunity within the greater context of the Church at large, it tends to destroy the effect of the Kingdom work in the lives of those within and without the walls of the body of members of that particular Church (local). The motives of Christian life within the body are the fear of the Lord and the love of Christ. Fifth Annual NamVet Page 24 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 As Christians seek to act on these as useful tools for the advancement of the Kingdom within a hostile environment, the Kingdom will, once again, be exhibited. It will be clearly seen in the lives, in the actions, the activities, the attitudes, and the service to one another that is evidenced in daily living. The Kingdom is illustrated in the lives of members within the Church. The Church is not the Kingdom, but the Kingdom and Church go hand in hand. The Church is the tool used by God to spread the gospel, and this is done by individual members of the Church with the various gifts of service given them by the Holy Spirit. It might be seen that Kingdom work does not take place totally within the confines of the Church building, or for that matter within the organized Church. As previously stated, Kingdom work is done when the will of God is done. As each and every Christian believer learns this truth, they will be freed to begin working for God in the Kingdom. This in turn will free up the "professionals" the clergy to become members, too! The body will begin to function as a unit with various members exhibiting the unique gift given them by the Holy Spirit. There will no longer be a separation of secular and clergy/laity calling, for all will understand and function as one unit, a body under the leading of the holy Spirit in doing the work of the Kingdom, whether in the Church or our in the marketplace of the world. It has been suggested that the Kingdom work of the gospel says go! but the Church building seen in Christianized areas says stay!. The Kingdom understanding of the Church would tend to also liberate from staying home and supporting missionaries, or going to the mission field. In essence, each member would become a missionary working for the Kingdom with the confines of his individual space in society. The grocery clerk would be freed in the Kingdom to share Christ where he works, and the pastor would be spared the feeling that all was not well if he didn't get all the house calls done, because as fellow workers within the Kingdom, and members of the Church, all work would be done. This then is called service. The serving of one another is evidence of unity through humility. This working as a unit for the Kingdom will not happen by itself, though. It is for those gifted in accordance with Ephesians 4:11-12 to equip their fellow members of the body for works of service. Service takes place within the body, and evidences the Kingdom. Kingdom life must of necessity be centered in God. He is the ruler of the Kingdom, and it is only as one keeps his gaze fixed on Him, that contentment in service will come about. The members will see the world from the perspective of Gods rule and seek to be content living within Gods creation. The life within the Kingdom is a life of community. Community life implies not common ownership, but once again, unity of purpose. The purpose will be at odds with the world having a different viewpoint. The community of the Kingdom will exhibit a disciplined lifestyle. A disciplined lifestyle will include debt, clothing, food, home furnishings, all tending toward the simpler, in order that with contentment one might serve others. This is Kingdom in action. Fifth Annual NamVet Page 25 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 To compare the Kingdom with the Church is most difficult. The Kingdom is of God, the Church is ordained by God. The Church is to serve and witness of Christ through the body, that is the Church. But the Church doing just that in all ways is showing forth the Kingdom of God. The one compliments the other. As the Church works, the Kingdom is shown. As the Kingdom is shown, the Church grows and demonstrates the gospel. If this could be done in a perpetual manner, the Church would grow, and the entire world would come to the saving knowledge of Christ. Next: OUR INVOLVEMENT IN VET COMMUNITY WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE CHURCHES' KINGDOM. Rev. Ed Brant Brother of all Veteran Christians. Friend of all those without Christ. Hoping and praying for those without to find true peace. 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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 Fifth Annual NamVet Page 27 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 ================================================================== THIS Veterans' Day ================================================================== Offerings at The Wall by John Wheeler in The Washington Post Input by: G. Joseph Peck NamVet's Managing Editor VETLink #1 BBS - Pittsfield, MA (413) 443-6313 [John Wheeler is fund-raising chairman of Beyond the Wall, the organization funding the Smithsonian exhibit. He was chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (1979-89) and national chairman of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (1984-1987).] WASHINGTON -- NONE OF US who helped build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial - the Wall - ever anticipated that it would spawn hundreds of similar Vietnam memorials in other cities and towns, much less two half-size traveling versions of the Wall and two Smithsonian photo exhibits that crisscross the country. We could not imagine that our work would inspire San Franciscans to create the AIDS Quilt and embolden former freedom riders to build a memorial to slain civil rights workers in Montgomery, Ala. We did not expect that it would become the most popular memorial in the nation - 30 million visitors in the last 10 years - or that it would become a fixture in novels Hollywood features, television series and even commercials. The Wall has become an emblem of America - and its meaning continues to unfold, to grow and to surprise. On Oct. 27, the National Museum of American History will open an exhibition of some of the thousands of items left each year at the Wall. The scale model of the exhibit already under construction in a Smithsonian workshop features dozens of tiny models: jungle boots one-fourth-inch tall, a little teddy bear and Christmas tree, miniature medals, cans of beer and battle ribbons, minuscule notes, photos, dog tags, reunion invitations, flak jackets and helmets. The curators say tears come to everyone who works on the project, and that record crowds are expected. A week later, on Nov. 5, more than 100,000 vets and their families will flood into Washington for the 10th anniversary of the Wall. Five days after the presidential election, volunteers will begin reading the 58,183 names on the Wall. When we first saw the amateur pastel sketch of Maya Lin's winning entry in the open competition for the Wall's design, we did not fully grasp its power, how the polished black granite would serve as a true mirror, showing colors, faces, the nearby American flag, and how the reflections at the cleft of the Wall switch back and forth from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. It took a child to show me how the mirrored surface links the visitor's image with the names carved in stone. In the summer of 1982 as the wall was being built, we invited families of men names on the first panels to see our progress. While adults chatted, a little girl went alone to the panels and began touching the names. Since then, millions have touched the names. Why do so many people come and keep on coming to the Wall? Why do they leave personal possessions in such a public place: a Fifth Annual NamVet Page 28 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 working black and white television,m a bicycle fender, lace panties, a purple high heel shoe, photos ("Hi, Dad. I'm grown up now."), a Silver Star earned by a Marine in Desert Storm ("Dad, you are the one who deserves this.")? Like a kind of chorus, these objects are the voice of our country as we wrestle with the memory of Vietnam. Leaving an object is an attempt to break down the barrier of death, to bridge the vale of grief and understanding. The Smithsonian exhibit will allow us to say we treasure each of these personal items and share the loss of the givers. It will be an acknowledgement that our national for hunger remains strong. I spent a passionate decade building and providing for the Wall. It wasn't enough. Exhausted, I fell into a depression and fierce relapse that ended my marriage, wounded my kids and left me clinging to the Wall at 1 a.m., looking for my ow healing. Twenty years after serving in Vietnam, I could finally see that the cataclysm broke my life in two. The only meaning I could find in the death of friends was the Wall. When a few dozen of us started working on building the Wall more than a decade ago, we did not understand the spiritual foundation of the venture. Now I see the clues everywhere, even in all those cans of beer left at the Wall: grain and spirits in a ritual of grace, a soldier's communion. Unable to bring home a victory, we were able to bring something our country needs more: a place of healing. The opening of the Smithsonian exhibition, the conclusion of the presidential campaign and the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Wall, promise to be a profound process to watch and join: our country restoring itself to health. I will read names at 1 a.m. Nov. 11. Maybe I will find healing, too. Fifth Annual NamVet Page 29 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 Wall provides bond for veteran, fallen friends by Blair Kamin in the Chicago Tribune Submitted By Joyce Flory, NamVet's Incarcerated Veterans Section Editor (with thanks to Francis Smith, Danville, IL.) Desert Dolphin/VETLink #13 - Las Cruces, New Mexico (505) 523-2811 (Pre-Registration Required) "Shorty," they called him in Vietnam. Today, all Shorty wants is his privacy - and a chance to pay tribute to his fallen friends. Shorty lives in Chicago. His buddies didn't make it back from Vietnam. "I'm not the one who's important," he says. "They are." As if to prove it, Shorty pulls out a gold dog tag from beneath his shirt. It is inscribed with the names of five of his dead pals. Two were his schoolmates in west suburban Lisle. Three served with him in the Army's 168th Engineer Battalion. Yet that isn't the only way the 44-year-old Army veteran keeps their memories alive. Shorty is the one who left a lovingly crafted, anonymous tribute to his late comrades at the foot of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It was featured in a May 25 Tempo column. Of the 25,000 mementos that have been laid down before the black granite walls of the V-shaped memorial, this one, perhaps more than any other, was guaranteed to make a Chicagoan weep. It was a small glass box with a brick from the old Comiskey Park and an autographed baseball inside. A Purple Heart was attached to a White Sox doll. Dog tags, inscribed with the names of Shorty's friends were hung around the neck of a Cubs doll. Taped to the top of the glass box was a jukebox selection for a Statler Brothers song about the memorial; "More Than a Name on the Wall." Also taped to the box were snapshots of a cross and four headstones. I happened to be in Washington in May when Shorty left his tribute at the memorial. Because it was dusk, I found it hard to make out the names in the snapshots. So I figured that their identities - and the identity of the person who had left this tribute - would remain a mystery. Fortunately, they won't. Shorty saw the column and came in to talk about it. When he returned from Vietnam in 1970, Shorty said, he did the best he could to forget the war. But after he marched in a Vietnam veterans parade in Chicago in 1986, he began tracking down information about his friends and even visiting their graves in such places as Portland, Ore. Since 1987, he has visited the Vietnam memorial 17 times, leaving everything from autographed baseballs to a model of an aircraft carrier. He is single and makes good money, so he can afford the Fifth Annual NamVet Page 30 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 trips, he said. He goes because he wants to make sure that his friends will be "part of history." "It's baseball games they never got to go to," He said. "They never got to see some of these players. They'll never go to see Comiskey Park again - or the new park." Army Pfc. Stephen R. Ford was killed by sniper fire Sept. 11, 1967. Ford and Shorty went to high school in Lisle. Marine 2nd Lt. David F. Garringer died of wounds from a rifle shot Nov. 24, 1968. Garringer also was from Lisle. Army Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Monroe Mays of Salt Lake City, Shorty's sergeant, died in a mine explosion Dec. 21, 1969. Army Pfc. Jimmie Lee Johnson of Anderson, Ind., who served in the 168th Engineer Battalion, was killed in a mine explosion March 1, 1970. Army Spec. 4 Henry Louis Valo Jr. of Phoenix, another battalion member, was killed Feb. 24, 1970. Some veterans go to the memorial to grieve. Others go to say goodbye. Others, like Shorty, go to keep in touch. "He's not able to get together with particular guys for reunions," says Brenda Doherty, a therapist who works with Shorty at a veterans hospital on Chicago's West Side. "He takes things that they would have wanted to be part of - like going to a Cubs game or wanting to know that old Comiskey Park was torn down," Doherty says. On Memorial Day, Shorty left a tribute at the Wall for Jimmie Lee Johnson, who loved the Indianapolis 500. Shorty put his tribute in the same place as the glass box he left in early May, right below panel 13-W on the Wall, where Johnson's name is etched in granite. It was a teddy bear dressed in an Indy 500 T-shirt. Shorty rested three tickets to the Memorial Day weekend race on the doll's lap, and placed an Indy 500 pennant and a miniature checkered flag along the wall. "There's just this bond between us," Shorty said of Johnson and his other friends. "Now that I've found them, I don't want to let them go." Fifth Annual NamVet Page 31 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 ================================================================== In-Touch ================================================================== Siblings In Touch Input by Ray "Frenchy" Moreau NamVet's IN-TOUCH Section Editor VETLink #2 - Herndon, Virginia (703) 471-8010 From: AMONG FRIENDS -- News of The Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial VOLUME 5 - NUMBER 2 FALL 1991 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The following article is a speech given by Jo Anne Seyfried at New York for brothers and sisters of those who died (or are missing) in Southeast Asia. For more information, call (202) 628-0726. He Was Just My Brother: The unknown Pain of Vietnam Siblings We are here today because we are survivors. I would like to tell about someone who has not been this fortunate - my brother Richard Alan Gilley. On January 31, 1968, the first day of the Tet offensive, he lost his life, along with 25 other guys of the 716th M.P. Battalion in Saigon. He would have been 21 years old on February 19th, just 18 months older than I. My first reaction to the news that my brother had been killed in Vietnam was, of course, shock. The second was denial. I thought "This can't be happening, he's my brother, the kid I grew up with. He's too young to have died." When his body was returned home, I had to face the truth, I had to acknowledge the fact that he was gone from my life. During the funeral, people showed a lot of compassion for my parents - you could see the deep hurt etched on their faces. Everyone did their best to console them on their loss. I, on the other hand, was given instructions - "Be strong for your mother. Don't cry, it will upset your parents. Be sure to make them proud of you." Gold Star Mothers came to speak with my Mom and she has been a Gold Star Mother since that time. By becoming active in Gold Star Mothers, she found a special way to cope with her loss. She is one of the past presidents of the Glendale Chapter in New York and is currently president of the Gold Star Mothers of the Volusia County Chapter in Daytona Beach, Florida. Mom is also very active in several other veteran organizations. I'm very proud of her for all her contributions. When my Dad withdrew from us in his grief, a friend of mine, Father Sal Castagliolla, spoke with him privately. It was acceptable and expected for parents to mourn, but what about the siblings? No one was there for me. What was said to me was of little or no comfort. Things like, "You're young and you have a life ahead of you," or, "In time, you'll feel better," would not take the hurt away. My brother was young too; this will never go away. "I was told to help them, but how could I when I needed Help myself?" Fifth Annual NamVet Page 32 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 The worst was said when I was in hearing range: "He was just her brother! Just my big brother, just my only brother, just the only sibling I had! All of this made me feel as though my parents were the only ones that suffered a loss. I was told to help them, but how could I when I needed help myself? For years I did my best to follow all the instructions given to me during that time. I was full of anger, survivor's guilt, hurt and other feelings I couldn't identify. My parents, for all they lost, still had the parent/child relationship. But my relationship was gone - I would never again have a sibling. In 1989, I met Laura Palmer, a journalist who at the time wrote a weekly article for the 'New York Daily News' entitled "Welcome Home." We spoke, and to my surprise, I started to cry. She gently hugged me and afterwards gave me Melinda Knapp's telephone number, (she had also lost her brother Gregg in Nam) and took my number to give to her. Laura knew I was reluctant to call, so she had Melinda call me. We spoke for a few minutes about our losses, but because I held back, I felt no better. Months went by and I started to feel worse than ever about Richard's death, so I called Melinda and opened up my heart. It was the best thing I had done for myself in years. She didn't stop me from crying, like everyone else did, but cried with me - for both our brothers and ourselves. By the time we hung up, there had even been some laughter through all the tears. We were on the phone a lot - she knew how badly I was struggling and never let too many days go by without calling to say "Hi, how are you?" Any time I would ask "How are you?" she would say, and still says, "I'm here!" I guess that's why I kept calling - I knew she would be there. On Memorial Day, 1990, Melinda called me several times. It was really the worst year for me. The last time she gave me the number of Joe Tori, whose brother, Tommy, was also killed in action. The first time I called, I left a message on his answering machine as to who I was and why I was calling. When he called back, I asked if he was okay, and he said "I was until your call." Maybe he was - but I don't think so. By returning my call, he was reaching back to my reaching out. A few days later, Melinda asked me if I had ever been to the Wall in Washington, D.C. When I told her "no," she said I needed to go there, and before I knew it, she and Joey had made arrangements for the trip. At the last minute, while speaking to Joey, I tried to get out of going. But in the middle of one of my excuses, he stopped me cold and said, "You are going; Melinda and I are taking you." It was 4:00 a.m. when we arrived, and as I saw the Wall for the first time in the darkness, I froze with fear. Together they gently led me to the panel that bears my brother's name. As I stood staring at his name, they stood on either side of me. They heard and understood my screams of anger, frustration and sorrow. They cried with me for the loss of our brothers and the pain they knew I was in. When my legs gave out and I could no longer stand, they held me up. When I turned to run from the Wall, Melinda grabbed my shirt and told me I was running from myself and I couldn't do that anymore. That was the worst and best morning I had in 22 years. They knew and understood firsthand just what I was feeling. More importantly, they allowed me to voice some of what had been shut up inside me for so many years. Shortly after that trip, we founded the Siblings 'In Touch' program through the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. This would enable Fifth Annual NamVet Page 33 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 other siblings to be able to speak to one another about what they are feeling: To talk about it, to cry about it, or just call to say "hello" to someone who shares a common loss. If anyone here is interested in Sibling 'In Touch', or knows of anyone who may be interested, we want you to now that we are here to help. Before I close, I'd like to share something of my childhood with all of you. When Richard and I were little, there was a favorite show of ours on television - maybe some of you recall it. It was called "Winky Dink and Me." During the show, children got to draw along with Winky. There was a kit that contained a green piece of plastic you put on the TV Screen and drew on with special crayons. Rich drew the turtle and I drew the bridge. It was a work of art, we couldn't have been more pleased with ourselves. Mom, on the other hand, was less pleased because she hadn't bought the kit yet! She bought it that day! I always thought of Winky as a cute character - who was lost to me as Richard was. Recently, remembering Winky, I realized that his body was shaped like a star, and knowing that a star is a bright spot of light in the darkness, I've come to believe that although my brother cannot be with me, I have found Winky Dink once more. Winky lives within Melinda, Winky lives within Joey, and all the other siblings I have come to know through the program. They brighten the way for me to be helped, as well as help others come to terms with the loss of brothers or sisters in the darkness of loneliness and despair - and there's a lot of that. In closing, I just want to say to Melinda and Joey, that I love you and thanks for being here. I don't know where I'd be without you, certainly not here tonight. And to the siblings, that we of the "In Touch" program care about you and are here for you if you should need us. Thank you. Fifth Annual NamVet Page 34 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 In-Touch. What is it ??? Input by: Ray "Frenchy" Moreau NAM VETs IN-TOUCH Section Editor Herndon Byte eXchange/VETLink #2 - 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. | Fifth Annual NamVet Page 35 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 | | | 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 | Fifth Annual NamVet Page 36 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 | 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 | | | |+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++| Fifth Annual NamVet Page 37 Volume 5, Number 1 November 11, 1992 IN-TOUCH Registration/Request Form 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)_____________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ==================================================================