Volume 2, Number 1 4 January 1988 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | - Nam Vet - We still don't have a | | logo! | | International It doesn't have to be | | Vietnam Veterans this small. Send us | | Newsletter your ideas?? | | | | We haven't seen ANY yet! | | | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor: Todd C. Looney, Vietnam Veterans Valhalla Assistant Editor: G. Joseph Peck, VETLink#1 Nam Vet is a special newsletter dedicated to Vietnam Veterans around the world, and provided both electronically and in print as a service to participants in the International Vietnam Veterans' Echo Conference (IVVEC) available on many FidoNet (tm) bulletin boards across the continent and Hawaii. It is passed from node to node over the network, and mailed upon request (see the subcription form in the back of this issue). Not all of the articles appearing in Nam Vet are written by participants in the IVVEC, but the Nam Vet is very much a newsletter by, of, and for Vietnam veterans, their friends, wives and lovers. Articles from veterans or anyone else wishing to express themselves about Vietnam or related experiences are especially invited. For inclusion in NAM VET, send your writings for publication to VETLink#1 (Node 321/203), to any node carrying the IVVEC whose sysop can forward your work from there, or to the Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla (Node 143/27), 28 Cecil Avenue, San Jose, CA. 95128, ATTN "NAM VET NEWSLETTER". Nam Vet is published monthly by the Vietnam Veterans Valhalla and VETLink#1. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the staff of NAM VET or it's volunteers. The newsletter is made up of articles and other newsletters as well as other sources. We are not responsible for the content of this nor are any of the above mentioned parties. In fact, most of the stuff we print comes from little furry people who hang out behind trees and whisper when we pass by, "Psssst ... hey buddy ... wanna read some good stuff?" Letters to the editors in response to anything you see in this newsletter are welcome and will be considered for publication in future issues. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions. Copyright 1988 by the Vietnam Veterans Valhalla and all contributing writers. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution is permitted for non-commercial purposes only. For any other use, please contact Todd Looney, Editor, Nam Vet Newsletter, in writing. HAPPY NEW YEAR! NamNews 2-01 Page 1 4 Jan 1988 Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 Editorial from the San Jose, California .................. 2 VETLink #1 - Beginnin' A New Year Right .................. 3 2. SERVICES ................................................. 5 Nationwide Vet Centers ................................... 5 How To Prepare for Job Interviews ........................ 15 International Vietnam Veterans EchoConference Nodelist .... 17 3. MEMORIES ................................................. 18 Memories of a Boy Becoming a Man (Part II) ............... 18 Going Apeshoot ........................................... 20 Sun Rays, Part I "The First Day" ......................... 21 4. TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY ................................... 24 Vietnam, January 1968 .................................... 24 5. GENERAL .................................................. 26 Brother Rat's Boonie Gourmet Cooking ..................... 26 Tribute to the American Pilot ............................ 29 The Vietnam Veteran in the Criminal Justice System ....... 31 A Different Battlefield .................................. 35 6. WOMEN VETERANS ........................................... 37 A Tribute to the Women of War ............................ 37 Women Are Veterans TOO! .................................. 39 The War was Pain and Fear ................................ 40 7. WANTED ................................................... 43 Rubbings from the "Wall" ................................. 43 8. THE LAST PAGE ............................................ 44 Nam Vet Newsletter Subscription Form ..................... 44 A Few More Kix Down the Road ............................. 45 NamNews 2-01 Page 2 4 Jan 1988 ================================================================= EDITORIALS ================================================================= Todd C. Looney Vietnam Veterans Valhalla, Inc. Node 143/27 It's That Time Again! Well, it's January 1988 already. Where on earth did 1987 go? A lot of things happened last year, so many that I almost don't know where to start. "How about with January of 1987?" he said. Great idea! By January of last year the Valhalla BBS system had been steaming along for 7 months. The International Vietnam Veterans EchoConference (IVVEC) had been fairly accepted and there were 21 nodes throughout the United States diligently volunteering their time and money to making it available to veterans in their areas. There were 216 registered Vietnam veterans and 129 veterans from other wars registered on the Valhalla's system, and 352 registered callers who were non-vets ranging in age from 12 to 73. The Valhalla was running into system trouble and the good folks participating in the IVVEC across the country put their efforts together and donated equipment and operating supplies to keep up and running. I was very touched over this and encouraged by the overall support during a time when Nancy and I were beginning to burn out and give up the entire project. God works in mysterious ways! The Valhalla now has a computer system on permanent loan from a generous computer company in the Silicon Valley, and we have gotten systems for two VA Vet Centers which were donated by ardent supporters of the IVVEC. Since the first of last year we have picked up another 637 registered callers; 46% of whom are veterans. The Valhalla began making contacts with Vet Centers across the country and have aided over 60 Vietnam veterans in various areas; getting treatment, having their discharges upgraded, steering them toward the right agencies to help them get the benefits they earned supporting their country in Vietnam, and so on. The IVVEC can now be accessed by Veterans in Canada, Hawaii, Australia, and Sweden; over 67 bulletin board systems worldwide that we know of. With voluntary help from lawyers in Massachusetts and Hawaii we were able to draw up a corporate charter and bylaws, and have registered with the State of California as a non-profit public service corporation. We have submitted tax-exempt forms to the Internal Revenue Service and are waiting (still) for their letter of acceptance. We formed a strategic partnership with the Berkshire Vet Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and VETLink#1 (the second electronic Vet Center to make its debut in the world; taking its rightful place alongside the Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla as an important service to veterans across the country!) The Valhalla, I might note, focuses on our Vietnam veterans - VETLink#1 focuses on ALL veterans, including those still serving, those recently discharged, those with questions about entering military service. Through this strategic NamNews 2-01 Page 3 4 Jan 1988 partnership, the NAM VET was born and is as you see it today; a thriving publication with over 1000 readers around the world. Recently through Joe Peck's brainstorm, the United Women Veterans' International EchoConference was born and is slowly making its way across the country. If you are interested in this conference, ask your local sysop to request it from either Joe (Fidonet Node # 321/203) or myself (Fidonet node # 143/27) and we'll get it right out there to you! There are a LOT of veterans whom we have not been able to reach. This newsletter is just one way Joe and I are trying to fill that gap. If you know a veteran, pass this newsletter on to him or her. That would be a big help. ----------------------------------------------------------------- G. Joseph Peck VETLink #1, Node 321/203 It's been a little over 11 years now. He's been seen from time to time in the veterans' "watering holes" throughout town. He'll discuss battles and 'crawlin' through the bush' and defendin' his country. He'll tell you about hooches and boonies, C4 and napalm. He'll talk about the "good" times and buddies and Mama San's. When you express an interest in him, though, when you want to find out "where he's really comin' from" or talk about wartime officers, leadership or politicians, a bitter, angry grimace brands his face and he menacingly glares at everyone in sight - challenging, daring, provoking. The remainder of the evening is spent in tense, raging silence. For two days afterwards, he'll talk to no one. You know him. He's standing in the shadows just about everywhere you go. You watch as he completes an application for employment and skips over the part that asks: "Are you a veteran?" You listen as he bitterly complains about South Vietnamese refugees who are successful in America while American ex-soldiers are homeless, incarcerated, or require aid of Social Service agencies because they just can't make it. You wish you could spit out the acrid taste that permeates your mouth as he describes the smell and feel of 'Nam. He's part of you - and part of me, too. We've seen him in the jails and prisons, in the workplaces and in the playplaces - doing whatever it was that he was doing so intently that there was little time left to look up, to feel - and remember. We've heard his voice as one of his ex-wife's told how she learned not to wake him from a nap or how he never wanted to talk about his military service. Or his children told of how he "he always played that funny-sounding music that he brought from the war..." NamNews 2-01 Page 4 4 Jan 1988 We've felt his anger and sense of shame and betrayal as his father told of his dishonorable discharge " 'cause he wouldn't shine his boots - or didn't carry out orders to senselessly torch another village - or 'cause he sandbagged a night patrol - or ..." We might even feel he's right - even though we chastise him a bit for his apparent loss of internal resolution - when he says that our America, who once said "Ask not what you can do for your country..." has made him an orphan amongst the veteran population, a real honest to goodness, ne'er-do-well 'cause society was punishing HIM for not winning a conflict he was not allowed to; that even the VA has tried to ignore and punish in refusing to honor its solemn pledge "To care for him who shall have borne the battle" - in denial of Agent Orange claims, in denial of Service Connection claims, in its' deafness to the needs of Vietnam veterans until the veterans' collective effort improved the Administrations' hearing. Well... here it is - 1988. Years of perplexing and sensitive effort are both behind and ahead of us. Through NAM VET we've opened another avenue of service to veterans everywhere; created, in a sense, our own history book - and daily write more into it. Copies of NAM VET are now being delivered to Veterans Administration hospitals and Old Soldiers' homes, to incarcerated veterans and City Hall's, to State Educational facilities and veteran organizations. Politicians, members of the news media, and publishing companies are now beginning to take notice of the aggregate efforts of America's most unique veteran population. If you, too, know the veteran who feels that "up the elevator of America's future he or she has been shafted" - give 'em a copy of NAM VET. Maybe you could even show them how to use your computer and they can rejoin the brothers and sisters who they thought had abandoned them. We can be proud - we've all done a fine job. And we've only begun! 'Til next month... ... show a brother/sister veteran that YOU care... G. Joseph Peck Sysop VETLink #1 321/203 ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 5 4 Jan 1988 ================================================================= SERVICES ================================================================= The following is a list of Federal VET CENTERS as published in the 11/83 VVA Service Representative's Manual VVA SRM:11-83: NOTE: If there's a State or Private VET CENTER operation in YOUR town, please let us know its' name, address, city, state and zip - and telephone number. VET CENTERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES: ALABAMA 2145 Highland Avenue, Suite 250, Birmingham 35205 205 933 0500 ALASKA 550 West 8th Avenue Room 101, Anchorage 99501 907 277 1501 515 7th Avenue Room 230, Fairbanks 99701 907 456 4238 905 Cook Street P O Box 1883, Kenai 99611 907 283 5205 Box 957 Mile 1/2 Knik Road, Wasilla 99687 907 376 4318 ARIZONA 807 North 3rd Street, Phoenix 85004 602 261 4769 727 North Swan, Tucson 85711 602 323 3271 ARKANSAS 813 West 3rd Street, Little Rock 72201 501 378 6395 CALIFORNIA 859 South Harbor Boulevard, Anaheim 92805 714 776 0161 1899 Clayton Road Suite 140, Concord 94520 415 680 4529 1340 Van Ness Avenue, Fresno 93721 209 487 5660 251 West 85th Place, Los Angeles 90003 213 753 1391/2/3 2449 West Beverly Boulevard, Montebello 90640 213 728 9984/9999 or 213 728 9966/7 NamNews 2-01 Page 6 4 Jan 1988 18924 Roscoe Boulevard, Northbridge 91335 213 993 8862 616 16th Street, Oakland 94612 415 763 3904 4954 Arlington Avenue, Riverside 92504 213 993 8862 1520 State Street Suite 110, San Diego 92101 714 235 9728 1708 Waller Street, San Francisco 94117 415 386 6726/7/8 2989 Mission Street, San Francisco 94117 415 824 5111/2 967 West Hedding Street, San Jose 95126 408 249 1643 1406 Pacific Avenue, Venice 90291 213 392 4124/5/6 NamNews 2-01 Page 7 4 Jan 1988 KENTUCKY 249 West Short Street, Lexington 40507 606 231 8387 821 South 2nd Street, Louisville 40203 502 589 1981 LOUISIANA 1529 North Claiborne, New Orleans 70116 504 943 8386 MAINE 96 Harlow St, Bangor 04401 207 947 3391/2 175 Lancaster Street Room 213, Portland 04101 207 780 3584 MARYLAND 1420 West Patapsco Ave, Patapsco Plaza Shopping Ctr. Baltimore 21230 301 355 8592 1153 Mondawmim Concourse, Mondawmin Shopping Ctr. Baltimore 21215 301 728 8924 7 Elkton Commercial Plaza, Elkton 21921 301 398 0171 8121 Georgia Avenue Suite 500, Silver Spring 20910 202 745 8400 MASSACHUSETTS 480 Tremont Street, Boston 02116 617 451 0171/2/3 362 Washington Street, Brighton 02135 617 783 1343/4 15 Bolton Place, Brockton 02401 617 580 2720 1985 Main Street, Northgate Plaza, Springfield 01103 413 737 5167 MICHIGAN 5514 Woodward Avenue, Detroit 48202 313 871 3233 18411 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit 48219 313 535 3333/4 1940 Eastern S.E., Grand Rapids 49508 MINNESOTA NamNews 2-01 Page 8 4 Jan 1988 2480 University Avenue, St. Paul 55114 612 644 4022/5601 MISSISSIPPI 522 North State Street, Jackson 39201 601 353 4912 MISSOURI 3600 Broadway, Suite 19, Kansas City 64111 816 753 1866/1974 2345 Pine Street, St. Louis 63103 314 231 1260/1/2 MONTANA 2708 Montana Avenue, Billings 59101 406 657 6071 NEBRASKA 1240 North 10th Street, Lincoln 68508 402 476 9736 5123 Levenworth Street, Omaha 68106 402 553 2068 NEVADA 214 South 8th Street, Las Vegas 89101 702 385 2212/3 341 South Arlington Street, Reno 89501 702 323 1294 NEW HAMPSHIRE 14 Pearl Street, Manchester 03104 603 668 7060 NEW JERSEY 626 Newark Avenue, Jersey City 07306 201 656 6986/7484 601 Broad Street, Newark 07102 201 622 6940 318 East State Street, Trenton 08608 609 989 2260/1 NEW MEXICO 4603 4th Street N.W., Albuquerque 87107 505 345 8366/8877 211 West Mesa, Gallup 87301 505 722 3821/2 NEW YORK, 875 Central Avenue, West Mall Office Plaza Albany 12206 518 438 2505 NamNews 2-01 Page 9 4 Jan 1988 226 E. Fordham Road, Rooms 216, 217, Bronx 10458 212 367 3500 165 Cadman Plaza, East Brooklyn 11201 212 330 2825 114 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo 14201 716 882 0505 166 West 75th Street, Manhattan 10023 212 944 2917 148-43 Hillside Avenue, Queens 11435 212 658 6767/8 200 Hamilton Avenue, White Plains Mall, White Plains 10601 914 684 0570 NORTH CAROLINA #4 Market Square, Fayetteville 28301 919 323 4908 NORTH DAKOTA 1300 South 13-1/2 Street, Fargo 58103 701 237 0942 108 Burdick Expressway, Minot 58701 701 852 0177 OHIO 31 East 12th St., 4th Floor, Cincinnati 45202 513 241 9420 11511 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland 44111 216 671 8530/1/2 4959 North High Street, Columbus 43214 614 436 0300 438 Wayne Avenue, Dayton 45410 513 461 9150 14206 Euclid Avenue, East Cleveland 44112 216 451 3200 OKLAHOMA 4111 North Lincoln Blvd., #10, Oklahoma City 73105 405 521 9308 1605 South Boulder, Tulsa 74119 918 581 7105 OREGON 1247 Villard, Eugene 97403 503 687 6918 NamNews 2-01 Page 10 4 Jan 1988 2450 S.E. Belmont, Portland 97214 503 231 1586 PENNSYLVANIA 127 State Street, Harrisburg 17101 717 782 3954 4328 Old William Penn. Hwy., Monroeville 15146 412 372 8627/8 1107 Arch Street, Philadelphia 19107 215 627 0238 5601 Broad Street, Philadelphia 19107 215 627 0238 954 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh 15222 412 765 1193 NamNews 2-01 Page 11 4 Jan 1988 PUERTO RICO, Suite I.C. 8-A/9, Medical Center Plaza La Riviera Rio Piedras San Juan 00921 809 783 9269 RHODE ISLAND 172 Pine Street, Pawtucket 02860 401 728 9501 SOUTH CAROLINA 904 Pendleton Street, Greenville 29601 803 271 2711 3366 Rivers Avenue, North Charleston 29405 803 747 8387 SOUTH DAKOTA 610 Kansas City Street, Rapid City 57701 605 348 0077 100 West 6th Street Suite 101, Sioux Falls 57102 605 332 0856 TENNESSEE 1515 E. Magnolia Avenue Suite 201, Knoxville 37917 615 971 5866 Sterick Bldg - 8 North 3rd Street, Memphis 38103 901 521 3506 TEXAS 500-A Lancaster-Kiest Center, Dallas 75216 214 371 0490 2121 Wyoming Street, El Paso 79903 915 542 2851/2/3 Seminary South Office Bldg. - Suite 10, Forth Worth 76115 817 921 3733 3121 San Jacinto St Suite 106, Houston 77004 713 522 5354/5376 717 Corpus Christi, Laredo 78040 512 723 4680 107 Lexington Avenue, San Antonio 78205 512 229 4025 1916 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio 78201 512 229 4120 UTAH 216 East 5th Street South, Salt Lake city 84102 801 584 1294 NamNews 2-01 Page 12 4 Jan 1988 VERMONT 75 Woodstock Road, White River Junction 05001 802 295 2908 RFD #2 Tafts Corners, Williston 05495 802 878 3371 VIRGIN ISLANDS Havensight Mall, St. Thomas 00802 809 774 6674 VIRGINIA 7450-1/2 Tidewater Drive, Norfolk 23505 804 587 1338 Gresham Court, 1030 West Franklin Street, Richmond 23220 804 353 8958 WASHINGTON 1322 East Pike Street, Seattle 98122 206 442 2706 North 1611 Division, Spokane 99208 509 326 6970 3591 South D Street, Tacoma 98408 206 473 0731/2 WEST VIRGINIA 1014 6th Avenue, Huntington 25701 304 523 8387 1191 Pineview Drive, Morgantown 26505 304 291 4001/2 WISCONSIN 147 South Butler Street, Madison 53703 608 264 5342/3 3400 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee 53202 414 344 5504/5815 WYOMING 641 East Second Street, Casper 82601 307 235 8010 1810 Pioneer Street, Cheyenne 82001 307 778 2660 NamNews 2-01 Page 13 4 Jan 1988 TEXAS 500-A Lancaster-Kiest Center, Dallas 75216 214 371 0490 2121 Wyoming Street, El Paso 79903 915 542 2851/2/3 Seminary South Office Bldg. - Suite 10, Forth Worth 76115 817 921 3733 3121 San Jacinto St Suite 106, Houston 77004 713 522 5354/5376 717 Corpus Christi, Laredo 78040 512 723 4680 107 Lexington Avenue, San Antonio 78205 512 229 4025 1916 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio 78201 512 229 4120 UTAH 216 East 5th Street South, Salt Lake city 84102 801 584 1294 VERMONT 75 Woodstock Road, White River Junction 05001 802 295 2908 RFD #2 Tafts Corners, Williston 05495 802 878 3371 VIRGIN ISLANDS Havensight Mall, St. Thomas 00802 809 774 6674 VIRGINIA 7450-1/2 Tidewater Drive, Norfolk 23505 804 587 1338 Gresham Court, 1030 West Franklin Street, Richmond 23220 804 353 8958 WASHINGTON 1322 East Pike Street, Seattle 98122 206 442 2706 North 1611 Division, Spokane 99208 509 326 6970 3591 South D Street, Tacoma 98408 206 473 0731/2 WEST VIRGINIA 1014 6th Avenue, Huntington 25701 NamNews 2-01 Page 14 4 Jan 1988 304 523 8387 1191 Pineview Drive, Morgantown 26505 304 291 4001/2 WISCONSIN 147 South Butler Street, Madison 53703 608 264 5342/3 3400 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee 53202 414 344 5504/5815 WYOMING 641 East Second Street, Casper 82601 307 235 8010 1810 Pioneer Street, Cheyenne 82001 307 778 2660 NamNews 2-01 Page 15 4 Jan 1988 VETERANS - how to... PREPARE YOURSELF FOR JOB INTERVIEWS U.S. Veterans Employment and Training SVC State Employment SVC PREPARE YOURSELF ...before you get almost any job, you will have an employment interview. That interview is probably the most important single step to a job. To help you along the way, here are some suggestions -- ways you can prepare yourself beforehand for that decisive step into your future. KNOW YOURSELF What are your interests and qualifications? Your prospective employer will want to know, so be prepared to talk about them briefly, intelligently and clearly during the interview. KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THE FIRM Before the State Employment Service sends you out for a job interview, ask about the firm. The more you know about the firm the better able you will be to suggest ways you can be of service to your prospective employer when he interviews you. CHECK YOUR APPEARANCE - DO look neat DON'T wear jeans Before you leave for the interview, check your appearance. Be neat, clean, with hair combed, fingernails clean, and shoes shined. Don't wear skintight jeans, slacks or party dresses. Gaudy jewelry, heavy makeup, strong perfume are out. GO TO THE INTERVIEW ALONE The employer is interested in you, in the way you present yourself. He doesn't want to hear what your relatives or friends think of your qualifications. He will judge for himself. So go to the interview alone. ARRIVE EARLY Get to the interview a few minutes ahead of time. Present yourself in a straightforward manner. Let the receptionist know who you are and whom you wish to see. BE ALERT DURING THE INTERVIEW - DO sit straight DON'T slouch Sit up straight and look alert during the interview. Try to be at ease and to answer your prospective employer's questions in a business-like manner. THINK BEFORE ANSWERING Think before answering questions. Be polite, accurate, honest and frank. The employer is especially interested in the experience and training which fits you to the job. So be prepared to answer questions such as these: -What work have you done? -How did you do it? -Did you use any special tools or equipment? -How much did you earn? -Have you done any volunteer work, work without pay, around church, school or home? NamNews 2-01 Page 16 4 Jan 1988 -Do you have hobbies which might help you on a job? BRING A FACT SHEET A fact sheet about your jobs, dates of work, wages, kinds of work and reasons for leaving is essential. Make the fact sheet brief but accurate. HAVE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION READY: 1. Names and address of employers 2. Dates you worked. 3. Names and addresses of at least two other persons who know of your abilities and background. 4. Names and adresses of all schools you have attended. 5. Dates you attended each school. 6. Dates of graduation and type of diploma received. 7. Subjects you took in school and ones you liked most, and least, and those that might help you with a job. 8. Extracurricular activities at school, like clubs and offices held. 9. Important papers such as proof of age, military records, draft cards, work permits, social security card, health certificate, licenses (driver's), union cards. DON'T ARGUE Be diplomatic, polite and tactful. Listen to everything the prospective employer has to say. Don't argue. Try to answer all questions accurately and tactfully. LEAVE YOUR TROUBLES AT HOME Don't tell the employer your troubles. He is not interested in your personal or family problems. He is interested in YOU as a prospective employee. SEEK ADVICE As the interview ends, even though you feel you may not get this job, be cordial. Seek the employer's advice on other jobs which may open in the future. Make a good impression; he may call you back in the future. Your State Employment Service is ready to help you with: - Referral to Jobs - Counseling - Testing - Vocational Choice - Training Referral - Improvement in Employability - On-The-Job Training Contact your nearest State Employment Service office today... ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 17 4 Jan 1988 The following list of bulletin boards are some of the Fidonet nodes carrying the International Vietnam Veterans EchoConference (IVVEC). They most certainly do not represent all of the BBS systems carrying the IVVEC, but we will list others as they request us to do so. Node# MaxBaud BBS Name Phone # Location =========================================================== 123/6 9600 SOFTWARE_CENTRAL 1-901-353-4563 MEMPHIS_TN 200/100 2400 THE_BOARDROOM 1-213-498-6425 BELMONT_SHORES_CA 161/509 2400 ENTERPRIZE 1-415-758-1650 PINOLE_CA 161/1 9600 NERD'S_NOOK_#1 1-415-672-2504 CONCORD_CA 370/5 9600 ATHENS_FORUM 1-404-546-7857 ATHENS_GEORGIA 124/106 2400 CHAI_WAY_II 1-214-250-3323 DALLAS_TX 15/4 2400 NASW_New_Mexico 1-505-646-2868 Las_Cruces_NM 321/203 2400 VETLINK#1 1-413-443-6313 PITTSFIELD_MA 143/27 2400 Vietnam_Veterans 1-408-293-7894 San_Jose_CA 141/250 9600 Wilton_Woods 1-203-762-8481 Wilton_CT 362/501 2400 Coconut_Telegrph 1-615-698-4858 Chattanooga_TN 11/109 2400 Peoria_Opus_Net 1-309-691-5416 Peoria_Il 125/7 2400 Survival_Comm. 1-707-545-0746 Santa_Rosa_CA 109/648 2400 FALCON'S_ROCK 1-301-345-7459 COLLEGE_PARK_MD 227/1 9600 Michiana_Tech 1-219-258-0286 Mishawaka_IN ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 18 4 Jan 1988 ================================================================= MEMORIES ================================================================= Don Griffith Enterprize BBS, Pinole CA Memories of a Boy Becoming a Man Part II Oakland, CA April 1969 We are sitting in the buses waiting to leave the Oakland Army Base to go to Travis Air Force Base, in Fairfield, to catch our flight to Vietnam. I spent this time thinking and trying to hold back the tears. In the last 30 days, I thought that I had fallen in love with a young lady named Kathy. Since we lived in the area, she came to see me on my last night at the base. A nice M.P. allowed me to go outside the building and sit in the car with her. It was a time of hand holding and tears. I was able to share with her some of my fears for the very first time. Finally, the buses started to move. I realized that my leaving from Oakland was a major personal mistake. Since I was 10 years old, we had lived in a house about 1/10th of a mile from Interstate 80. This is the freeway that would take us to Travis. I have compounded my mistake by sitting on the drivers side of the bus. This allowed me to look at the area that I had lived for the last 10 years. But, the other side wouldn't have been any better. That would have allowed me to view my grammar school. Either way, I was in for a depressing time. We finally passed the area where I was raised and moved on towards Fairfield. For some strange reason, the bus driver stopped for a rest break just outside of Vallejo. We are only about 8 miles from the Air Base at this time. I guess it was to give us our last look at freedom. Since the Army is known for its policy of "hurry up and wait", we had to spend what seemed to be several hours at the Travis Terminal to get onto our airplane. We found out that we would be on a Flying Tigers Airline. And I thought that it was a cargo line! The airplane was a "stretch" DC-8. I guess they streched it to cram more of us inside. It seemed like there were over 200 men on the plane, and about 3 stewardesses. So much for a nice flight to our home for the next year. ================================================================ EDITORS NOTE: This actually the third article submitted by Don Griffith; the second being his "Christmas Memories". Don has already written several supplementary articles in his "Memories NamNews 2-01 Page 19 4 Jan 1988 of a Boy Becoming a Man" series which we are proud to continue publishing in the Nam Vet Newsletter each month. At this time I would like to exhort each of you, whether or not you are a veteran, to share your Vietnam-era experiences with us. Submissions must be original, of course, but they may be anonymous or under pseudonyms if you prefer. The idea is for us to portray various perspectives to our readers. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 20 4 Jan 1988 GOING APESHOOT Mike Dealey (of Opus node 124/106) 1968, I-Corps, Firebase McCollough on the Laotian border. Late afternoon, we're hanging around our hootch, and we hear the arty startlaying down heavy. We figure it's a little early for your run of the mill H&I fire, but we don't think too much about it...till about an hour later. We get called into the briefing shack in S-3. This LT from S-2 is jumping up and down like a little kid about to wet his britches. Seems that one of S-2's "thumpers" (not to be confused with the M-79) detected a large concentration of enemy troops moving down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and they called in arty to saturate it. This LT figures he done got the week's body count maxed to the onions. Wants us to go in for a confirmation. We're less than enthused about such a boondoggle, but you do your job or they throw your butt in the stockade. So at first light next day they chopper us out to an old LZ couple of klix away from the point in question. We jump off and hump it on over to the Ho Trail. I'm walking slack when we come up to the intercept, RTO's behind me. We cautiously stick our heads out of the jungle, figuring the dinks are probably repairing the roadway that the arty creamed. But no, everything's clear. And, man, were we surprised at what we saw! I figured Higher had to hear about this...rat now. Conversation went something like this: "Hey Oscar, gimme that horn." "Buttercup, this Rover One Actual. Over." "Go ahead, Rover." "Buttercup, we're at intercept and count niner confirmed kills by arty, probable twelve. Over." "Rover, are you sure of that count? We expected lots more. Over." "Buttercup, confirm niner. No sign of blood trails. Over." "All right, Rover. Empty out their pockets and bring back all documentation. Rendezvous at the PZ at 1400. Over." "Buttercup, they don't got no pockets. Over." "What! Are they NVA or Victor Charlies? Over." "Negative on both, Buttercup. Over." "Oh my God! Don't tell me we've greased some friendlies? Over." "Depends on how you look at it, Buttercup. Over." "Well dadgum, Rover, who are they -- or were they? Over." "Buttercup, they look to be rock apes. Your freakin' one- five-fives done blowed the sherbert out of a whole family of rock apes. And now you got a entire Mau-Mau Team out here counting their hairy freakin' bodies." We figured the apes just happened to converge on top of the thumper and decided to have a party, so S-2 thought the whole NVA army was marching south to Siagon. The arty guys sure didn't like the ribbing they took for being "ape killers". And you know what? I'll bet my bottom dollar that those 9 apes went on the body-count report next morning. Anything to get the kill ratio up. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 21 4 Jan 1988 Sun Rays, Part I "The First Day" By: Todd Looney "Ba!...Ba!" Linh called out, walking in a stoop around the American compound looking for Lady, the camp cat. He leaned on the doghouse style hooch where Lt. Pursey lay recovering from his wounds and recent beatings. "Ba!" he called out again. The small boy peeked around the wall and into the doorway as the American officer slowly opened his eyes, wincing against the brightness of the mid-day sun. Linh knelt down and looked into the man's bruised and swollen eyes, "You wake now, maybe...huh, Joe?" Pursey's lips mouthed a response, but no sound came. He wanted to tell the boy he was in pain, but couldn't muster strength enough to push wind past his layrnx. All that finally emerged was a raspy "Uhnnng...", as he closed his eyes again. "Me check," Linh said, as he moved closer to the half conscious Lieutenant. "No move now," he ordered. The boy inspected all of Pursey's wounds, looking stoically at the seeping, maggot-filled gash in the prisoner's thigh. "Umm...not good," he said, "You no move, I come back. "The boy rose to his feet and slowly walked away toward what appeared to be the camp kitchen area. Pursey tried in vain to sit up as the boy left his hooch, but was hit by a wave of nausea and dizziness, forcing him to lay back down again. The blood in pounded loudly in his ears and his legs were so cramped and knotted he found it incredibly painful to straighten them even the tiniest bit. His stomach grumbled continuously and the smell of someone's cooking nearby made him all that more nauseous. He knew he should be hungry, and God only knew when was the last time he ate. He felt as though he hadn't eaten in a month, but the thought of food right now was just too much to handle. He looked out through the open doorway of his hooch toward the sun. It must be around noon, he thought to himself. His attention was drawn away from the gnawing pains in his stomach by the sudden appearance of a small tabby cat bounding through his doorway. "H-hel-lo th-there, kitty," he painfully stammered in a raspy voice. The kitten tottered across the wood slat floor, dislodging small clouds of dust into the air as it bounced toward him. The cat sat directly in front of his face, nudging his sweaty cheek with it's cold, wet nose. Pursey smiled, nudging the kitten back with his face. The soft, purring response was soothing and he was grateful for the attention. It made him almost feel at ease with his present NamNews 2-01 Page 22 4 Jan 1988 circumstance. God! He thought, what a position to be in. Where the hell am I anyway? He wondered if the U.S. Army even knew he was alive. Probably not. Outside his hooch he could hear someone yelling angrily in Vietnamese. The American in the hooch across from his looked as if he were locked up in some kind of wooden stock. The man must be extremely uncomfortable, he thought. A long iron bar was closed across his legs, making it impossible for him to lie down comfortably, if at all. The man's feet were chained to the bar at either end. A Vietnamese guard was waving his arms wildly back and forth, screaming at the man, who looked oblivious to the verbal onslaught. Shortly, the youthful VC guard stomped off in a huff. The small cat in Pursey's doorway rose slowly to its feet with a lazy stretch and trotted off after him. Pursey ignored the dizziness as he found the strength to lift himself up on a stiff elbow. Mustering the rest of his energy, he climbed up onto his hands and knees. He crawled painfully to the door and dragged his throbbing frame around to sit on the edge of the hooch, legs stretched out in front of him across the ground. His feet looked awful. They were caked with grime and swollen to almost twice their normal size. He reached out to massage his sore ankles while he looked around the camp area. It was well concealed from the air by triple canopy of tightly woven tangle of parasitic vines and branches. Now and then a monkey would scamper into view, or leap from one limb to another, moving from its leafy cover for only seconds at a time. Birds cried out into the mid-day sky, breaking the otherwise silence enveloping the fifty-foot jungle clearing. Sun shown brightly in ruler-straight columns, dotting the hard-packed red clay ground outside Pursey's hooch with white spots dancing around with the afternoon breeze. A makeshift bamboo and barbed wire gate was the only opening in the concertina wire fence encircling the camp area. Guards stood on either side of the gate; one inside, and one outside of the compound. Another pair patrolled the camp perimeter with predictable regularity. Across the compound was another string of uncoiled concertina wire, surrounding what looked at first glance to be a pig sty of sorts, overcrowded with ARVN prisoners. The South Vietnamese prisoners in that separated area looked worse than he felt. None of them moved around at all; they just sat around, apart from each other by a couple of feet, staring into the ground at their feet. They looked defeated, beaten, and hopeless in their individual plight. NamNews 2-01 Page 23 4 Jan 1988 The VC and NVA must hate them even more than they hated us, he thought. He felt sorry for those pitiful ARVN soldiers for the first time since he'd been associated with them, but certainly no sorrier than he felt for himself or the other American in the hooch across from his. He looked around the area again, acquainting himself with his surroundings. There were five other "doghouse" hooches on his side of the compound. Twenty feet away, a much larger and well maintained hooch stood ominous in its appearance. Alongside it was a ramshackle structure, more like a lean-to, which appeared to be an open-air meeting place of sorts. Makeshift benches were positioned within its bamboo walls facing a dilapidated blackboard. Pursey decided it must be a classroom of sorts. A cookhouse was next to the "classroom" and he could see several civilian-looking Vietnamese milling around performing chores of one kind or another. Suddenly, the small boy reappeared, breaking his concentration and causing him to recoil. Pursey crawled backward to his bedroll; a paper-thin, moth-eaten wool blanket which wreaked of old urine, barely covering a blood-stained mattress lying on the floor in the corner of his hooch; and laid back. The boy methodically scooped and picked the newly hatched maggots from the Lieutenants leg wound, much to the young officers' revulsion. He couldn't bear to watch the boy work. Although the pain was not that intense, he could hardly fight back the urge to vomit. When Linh had finished removing the visible larvae from Pursey's thigh wound, he poured a reddish, stinging liquid from a small bottle over the open crater.. Pursey winced and gnashed his teeth, gripping the sides of his mattress with white knuckles until the pain faded away. By the time he felt the blood rushing back to his face, the boy had finished applying fresh bandages to prevent further infestation. "Th-thanks," Pursey quietly said as he looked up at the small boy with a smile as the child rose to leave. The boy was outside the door and half way across the compound before thought about asking him for food. But the gnawing pains in his stomach returned with a growl as he lay staring at the thatch and bamboo ceiling wondering if he could stomach the food even if they did decide to feed him. Excerpted from the unpublished manuscript written by Todd Looney Copyright 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 24 4 Jan 1988 ================================================================ 20 Years Ago - January 1968 ================================================================ By January of 1968 the United States had sacrificed over 16,000 young men sent to fight in the Vietnam war, and almost 100,000 soldiers had been wounded in action. There were approximately 486,000 fighting Americans assigned to Vietnam at the time; an increase of more than 100,000 since the beginning of 1968. On the first of January, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) announced that it would hold talks with the United States if all bombing and "other acts of war" against North Vietnam were halted. During the first three weeks of 1968 enemy activity steadily increased at Khe Sanh. On January 20th a Marine company made contact with a North Vietnamese battalion entrenched between two hills just a couple of miles northwest of Khe Sanh itself. The 3rd Battalion, 26th Marines (Alderman), attacked and killed 103 North Vietnamese Regulars (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC). This was the beginning of the second battle of Khe Sanh. The very next day, the NVA overran the village of Khe Sanh. Refugees crowded came around the perimeter. The outpost on one of the adjacent hills and the base itself came under heavy attack. The largest ammunition dump at Khe Sanh blew up under the mortar and artillery barrage. The commanding officer, a Colonel Lownds, asked for another battalion. General Thompson told General Cushman that, unless otherwise directed, he intended to send his Division reserve, the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines from Quang Tri to Khe Sanh. But this was one of the battalions scheduled to revert to Task Force X- Ray, so Cushman directed Thompson to send his 1st Battalion, 9th Marines (commanded by Colonel John F. Mitchell), a 3rd Marine Division battalion, which was at Camp Evans. Mitchel's battalion arrived at Khe Sanh the very same day, January 21, 1968. Over a thousand civilian refugees were flown out by air. On the 26th of January General Lam agreed to send a Ranger bat- talion to Khe Sanh. The 37th Rangers, their on-board strength down to 318, came in on the 27th from Phu Loc. The same day, two more batteries of 105mm howitzers joined the garrison. There were now five battalions at Khe Sanh, supported by three batteries of 105mm howitzers, a battery of 4.2 inch mortars, and a battery of 155mm howitzers. Three batteries fell short of the rule-of-thumb ratio of one battery to each infantry battalion. More guns could have been moved into the perimeter, but this would have increased the congestion at the base. Further, it was foreseen that the controlling factor in direct support artillery would not be the number of tubes, but the number of artillery rounds that could be supplied by air. Offsetting this slight deficiency in direct-support artillery NamNews 2-01 Page 25 4 Jan 1988 were eighteen long-range U.S. Army 175mm guns within supporting range: fourteen of them at Camp Carroll, and four at the Rock Pile (Thon Son Lam). Also at the Khe Sanh Combat Base (KSCP), there were six 90mm gun tanks, ten ONTOS with their 106mm recoilless rifles, two Army M- 42s mounting dual 40mm "dusters", and two Army M-55s with quad .50 caliber machine guns. In late January General Westmoreland issued his instructions to American forces for what had become the annual Tet (Vietnamese New Year) truce period. Quite to American forces surprise, a Viet Cong nation-wide offensive steadily gained momentum. In the first few hours of their campaign it was feared that Hanoi was about to realize its final objective of conquering South Vietnam. During the Tet New Year in January 0f 1968 a total of 28 provincial capitols were attacked along the sprawling metropolis of Saigon-Cholon. At 2:00 a.m. on the last day of January the Communists attacked Hue City; following up with similar attacks on Quang Tri, Quang Tin, Quang Ngai, Phan Thiet and the highland resort of Dalat. I Corps in the northermost regions as well as II Corps in the highlands had there hands full. The Tet Offensive had begun! . . . . . This data was extracted from several sources, the primary being "Vietnam Voices", compiled by John Clark Pratt. If you don't own a copy of this book.....go out and buy it now. It's worth it's weight in gold! ----------------------------------------------------------------- I went there so young. I came back so old. A Vietnam vet ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 26 4 Jan 1988 ================================================================= GENERAL ================================================================= BROTHER RAT'S BOONIE GOURMET COOKING This column presents the most delectable (deleteable?) cuisine south of the 17th parallel and west of the international dateline. By popular demand, after much online debate over the delights of ham and MF's (or MF's and beans as one brother insists) and other delights of the palate. Your participation will determine the longevity of the column. If we get any submissions, the column will continue. No new recipes cancels the column. BOONIE BREAKFAST EXTRORDINARE INGREDIENTS: One packet of Vietnamese style Shrimp Ramien (with Red Peppers) One packet of C Ration Cocoa Three packets of C Ration Creamer One packet of C Ration Coffee Three packets of C Ration Sugar Veggies, onions, and stuff scrounged as available Nouc Mam One canteen of water (preferably without iodine tablets) Two canteen cups Two 1cm squares of Composition C4 DIRECTIONS: Fill one canteen cup 2/3 full of water. Dump in the Ramien seasoning mix and stir. Add in any Veggies , onions, garlic or other additives you have found on the trail or been able to bargain for at the last ville. Add good quality Nouc Mam to taste. If you can spare it, you may want to drain and dice a can of C Ration Pork slices. If you have recently gotten a goody box from home, you may want to splurge and put some canned shrimp or tuna in the mix. After adding the other ingredients, break the ramien noodles so that the liquid will cover them and add them to the cup. Use your K-Bar or bayonet to dig a two inch trench. Place one square of C4 in the trench and the canteen cup over the C4. Light the C4 and allow the water to boil vigorously for 30 seconds or until the C4 quits burning (which ever occurs first). Set aside the main course to steep while you prepare the beverage. Fill the second canteen cup 2/3 full of water. Add the Cocoa, creamer, sugar, and coffee. Stir. Place the cup over the previously constructed trench and add the second cube of C4. Ignite and allow to boil vigorously for 30 seconds. The breakfast stew should be consumed with home made chopsticks slirpily while in an oriental squat. If you have not yet made NamNews 2-01 Page 27 4 Jan 1988 your chopsticks, cut some bamboo and split out a few pair. Traditionally, the beverage is consumed either before or after the stew, but not with it. Try it. It'll make your whole day. HONOR THY CO VAN MY (AMERICAN ADVISOR) CHICKEN STEW INGREDIENTS: One whole (completely) chicken 250 grams of oriental rice Vegetables of the season Plenty of Water One large cooking pot Salt, Pepper, MSG, garlic, Nouc Mam DIRECTIONS: This dish is usually served at a festive occasion with appropriate ceremony an decorum. The Co Van is always the guest of honor. First, catch and kill the chicken. Pluck most of the feathers off the bird. Cut the head and neck and the feet off and set these delicacies aside till later. Gut and clean the chicken at your option. Next, take a machete or some other blunt cutting instrument and hack up the chicken into uniform pieces (bones and all) appropriate size for eating with chopsticks. Now, cut all the other ingredients into chopstick size pieces. Place them in the cooking pot along with the raw rice and cover with water. Add Nouc Mam, and all other seasonings. Now, to prepare the garnish and decoration that makes the dish suitable for formal eating. Take the feet you set aside earlier and place them on top of the contents of the pot claws up and crossed. Next, place the head (with eyes) and neck in the center of the crossed feet. Once you have garnished the dish, place over a fire until the rice is done and the meat cooked. Bring the dish to the table with a flourish and place it before the guest of honor. The guest of honor is always served first, and given the choicest parts (head and feet). The advisor should observe proper protocol by diving into this feast head first (eyeballs are especially considered a delicacy), and not loosing lunch. This can truly be described as the lunch of champions. From: Todd Looney Orig: Vietnam Veteran's (143/27) San Jose CA You won't need a mess sergeant's steam tables to dish up these meals on a minutes notice; all the ingredients (except TABASCO brand pepper sauce) are included in your MRE packs. If you can get hold of your own personal supply of Tabasco, secure it with your gear for quick draw protection against chowline boredom! PARATROOPER PORK AND BEANS Don't take a dive on your next meal! Jump in with a hearty NamNews 2-01 Page 28 4 Jan 1988 appetite to enjoy an old familiar favorite and let the others take a flying leap. Use plenty of Tabasco without reserve - it will lift you right off your feet! 1 pork patty 1 pouch beans in tomato sauce (from menu's 3,6, or 8) 1 envelope dehydrated catsup, optional TABASCO pepper sauce Rehydrate pork patty in hot water; crumble (grin) into warm beans. Sprinkle on catsup, if desired, and 2 to 3 spoons water from soaking pork patty. Add several dashes Tabasco and mix well. With Tabasco, the sky's the limit! COMBAT CANAPES Jazz up the chow line in the front lines! Try this simple but satisfying before-dinner treat. It'll give you a charge! Many flavors mix great with peanut butter. So, try it with bacon, if you can get it, or with pickle slices or chopped onions. If you find a few carrots around, boil 'em up, mash 'em, and mix 'em up with the peanut butter, adding a few drops of Tabasco for zest and you'll have a delicious side dish that will leave the others up in arms! EVER WONDER WHAT TO DO WITH THOSE HARD TACK CRACKERS? 4 spoons pineapple or applesauce. 1 envelope peanut butter (from menu 2,4,5,or 12) 1 envelope apple jelly (from menu 6,7, or 10) Crackers Combine pineapple or applesauce, peanut butter and jelly; mix well and spread on crackers for even more military might! Next Month, (if there is a next month) look forward to such delights as the all goat party menu. Maybe, we'll work up a special edition of the column for Tet. Send in those recipes. We need more contributors. ================================================================= EDITORS NOTE: This can be a real fun section; one to look forward to each month. We all know that there were countless variations in the ways "bush chow" was made palatable. Share some of your personal culinary delights with the rest of us. The recipes in THIS issue will undoubtedly dumfound non-veterans who read them. Your recipes can be sent e-mail to 143/27 or 321/203, or written down and mailed to: Vietnam Veterans Valhalla, 28 Cecil Avenue, San Jose, CA. 95128, ATTN: NAM VET NEWSLETTER. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 29 4 Jan 1988 OUR LEADERS The American pilots who flew sorties in Vietnam showed an uncanny knowledge of target procedures. One of the popular pilot songs of the day is entitled "Our Leaders", sung to the melody of "Manana". At Phillips Range in Kansas The jocks all had the knack, But now that we're in combat We've got Colonels on our back And every time we say, "Shit-hot!" Or whistle in the bar, We have to answer to somebody Looking for a star. CHORUS Our leaders, our leaders, Our leaders, is what they always say, But it's bullshit, it's bullshit, It's bullshit they feed us every day! Today we had a hot one And the jocks were scared as hell, They ran to meet us with a beer And tell us we were swell, But Recce took the BDA And said we missed a hair; Now we'll catch all kinds of hell From the wheels of Seventh Air. They send us out in bunches To bomb a bridge and die, These tactics are for bombers That our leaders used to fly, The bastards don't trust our Colonel Up in Wing, and so I guess, We'll have to leave the thinking to The wheels in JCS! The JCS are generals, But they're not always right, Sometimes they have to think it over Well into the night; When they have a question or something they can't hack, They have to leave the judgment to That money-saving Mac. Now Mac's job is in danger For he's on salary, too; To have the final say-so Is something he can't do; Before we fly a mission And everything's OK, NamNews 2-01 Page 30 4 Jan 1988 We have to get permission from Flight Leader L.B.J.!! ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 31 4 Jan 1988 THE VIETNAM VETERAN IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM By: G. Joseph Peck Crouching low in the underbrush, his weapon at the ready, 19- year-old Jeremy carefully slithered toward the village where his friend was being held as a prisoner of the Vietnam war. The slightest unnatural sound would give his position away and would most likely result in his being captured. Adrenal glands furiously producing their now-needed commodity, Jeremy feared the rushing in his ears would be audible to the villagers. He moved forward, waited to be sure no one was near his friend, then slipped in and untied him. Together they sprinted to freedom, Jeremy experiencing an exhilarating "high" from this close encounter with danger - a "high" that would become addictive in his later years. Jeremy completed his tour of duty in Vietnam after successfully completing many more missions like the one just cited. As his Freedom Bird (airplane flight home) gently touched the California runway, he looked anxiously at the terminal ahead hoping to catch a glimpse of his family or girlfriend. "They're probably inside," he thought, gathering up his duffle bag, boonie hat, and instinctively reaching for his rifle - amused when he realized what he had done. "Don't need it here," he laughed, "this is the hero's home turf. Boy! Wait 'til I get my arm round that gal of mine!" The terminal was empty as Jeremy and the 135-or-so other soldiers, all still in combat gear, trudged inside. Jeremy rushed to the telephone and, once in the booth, hurriedly dialed the familiar number. "Hello, Mom? It's me! Jeremy! I'm home! Where's Dad? Can you come pick me up?" The tone of her voice dripping with annoyance and what seemed to be disgust, Jeremy's mother replied. "Your father's at the antiwar demonstration in Golden Gate Park. He won't be back 'til late. He'll be tired. Why don't you come over tomorrow? I'm sure you and he have a lot to talk about. Good-bye." Dazed, he hung up the telephone and started walking out of the terminal towards the highway. A group of young men just about his age was coming. They were carrying banners and placards that read "Stop the War" - "Baby Killers!" and "Hell No! We won't go!". As Jeremy got closer, he recognized a couple of them as friends he had graduated high school with only 2 years ago. He quickly turned and walked away. "Nineteen hours ago I was in the bush over in 'Nam fighting for those damned kids," he said, toying with the long-dreamed-of American beer the man he had hitched a ride with had bought him. "What the hell's the matter with 'em?" NamNews 2-01 Page 32 4 Jan 1988 "Whaddya 'spect, kid? You guys go over there and destroy villages, kill women and children, bomb the hell out of innocent people. Waddya' wan' us to treat ya' like - heroes? I heard about Calley, an' I seen that naked gal' a runnin' down the road, an' I seen that kid get his head blowed off. Hell, man, you guy's is just plain murderers." Jeremy never did see his dad or his mom. A familiar pulsing in his ears as blood raced through his veins. He fought himself for control - and lost when somebody spit. The ensuing fight saw three men hospitalized, one of them with critical head injuries, and a tavern so extensively damaged it would be at least two months before it could reopen. Handcuffed and being put into the back of a police car, the last thing he remembered hearing before he saw the officer's nightstick come crashing down on his skull was: "You have the right to remain silent..." Two of the men recovered. The one with critical head injuries had been reduced to a vegetable-like state of existence. Jeremy was charged with attempted murder. A popular TV game show at that time was "Family Feud" - a show that asked questions of the contestants concerning a variety of everyday topics. The "winning answer" wasn't always the "correct" answer but one which had emerged the victor in an audience poll. The "law of the land", too, was akin to Family Feud - the "correct" law wasn't always the one that had been enacted by the voters and the legislature. Jeremy was listening as the Public Defender matter-of-factly told him he could plead guilty to the lesser offense of assault and battery with intent to do great bodily harm when the news came that the hospitalized man had died. "We'll get you off with second degree," said the Public Defender, as Jeremy suddenly realized that any benefit he had earned as a veteran had suddenly vanished, any freedom he had fought for would not be his. "We, the jury, find you guilty of murder in the second degree." Jeremy couldn't believe his ears as the judge sentenced him to 20- years-to-life in the state penitentiary. He hadn't been taught criminal thoughts or behaviors by his family or peers. He didn't even have a juvenile record. On the contrary, he had always been taught to obey the rules. "Jeremy" is a fictitious Vietnam veteran, created to illustrate some of the social attitudes and experiences of the Vietnam veteran during the latter part of the 60's and nearly most of the 70's. He is only one of the 2000 Vietnam veterans in federal prisons (out of a total populace of 24000) and of 13000 out of an estimated 275000 inmates in state prisons - as reported in the March 10, 1982 edition of the New York Times. According to the "laws of the land" he has been justifiably and fairly imprisoned and has given up his individual rights and freedoms. If Jeremy needs to see anyone from the Veterans Administration for information regarding any kind of veterans' benefit, it will only be on a twice-a-year basis. The NamNews 2-01 Page 33 4 Jan 1988 Administrator of the Veterans Administration, in his 1982 Annual Report, has said "Service to incarcerated veterans began after World War II and has continued throughout the years. However, recent budget limitations on travel have had an impact on our outreach to veterans in correctional facilities and semiannual visits to federal and state institutions are no longer being made on a routine basis." With the implementation of the Gramm-Rudman- Hollings balanced budget act, the situation has only worsened. There is a bright side, though, for the Jeremy's of the penal systems. A "bright side" in organizations such as Vietnam Veterans of America and its' legal defense system, in the Disabled American Veterans, and even in the federal courts. A federal judge in Boston, MA proposed that "parole boards across the nation give 'special consideration' to Vietnam veterans in prison because of the traumatic effects of their war experience." "The judge, D. J. Skinner, of the U.S. District Court, said in an unusual decision... that the nation's Parole Commission, which sets policy for the early release of prisoners, could serve 'a useful purpose' and decide a policy toward Vietnam veterans 'on a national basis.'" " 'It may well be that special consideration should be given to war veterans who have made great sacrifices for their country,' said Skinner, whose decision was immediately lauded by Vietnam veterans." New York Times March 10, 1982 In case-after-case across the nation, according to numerous volumes of research - among them including the Service Officer's Manual of the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Disabled American Veterans Service Officer's manual, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Service Officer's manual - the service of the veteran and any possible extenuating circumstances are being taken into consideration. An incarcerated veteran who has been diagnosed after sentencing as having Post Traumatic Stress (a natural reaction to the life-threatening episodes of combat), has many alternatives for utilizing that fact to attempt to speed his/her release from custody so that he/she can obtain treatment. The legal system which has incarcerated veterans such as "Jeremy" are systems that have become the regulatory mechanisms of life in America. As an ordered society, we must attempt to comply with those laws, rules, and regulations that those we have elected as legislator's have enacted into being. In some cases, though, our "system" can take extenuating circumstances into consideration - and prior honorable service to protect and preserve what we now call "Freedom." There is much work to be done, though, prior to release of the "Jeremy's" of this nation - if "release" is the verdict of the parole boards. The veteran will need a place to go upon his release - a place such as a halfway house, where there is someone working to assist him in employment, medical and psychological NamNews 2-01 Page 34 4 Jan 1988 services, Rap-Group counseling, schooling, and camaraderie. While he is still incarcerated he needs help in Family Assistance Programs where his family's needs will be given every possible consideration, Parole counseling, Job and/or Vocational Counseling. If he/she has had difficulty with release from service (Discharge) there will also be matters of legality to consider. For this article, I have looked carefully, closely at the incarcerated Vietnam veteran. I have looked at the situations surrounding many instances of incarceration. The numbers and offenses have been many. The troubled families have been many. I have been touched by what I've read and seen. I have read of instances where the veteran has attempted to use his/her Vietnam service as a 'ticket to freedom' - a 'degree' of service. Hopefully, I have learned the ability to perceive a veterans' actual motives when he/she has been charged with a crime - and whether or not the motivating factor behind the crime might have some relation to the negative public reaction the veteran received during his/her homecoming from battle, the negative employer reaction to hiring a Vietnam veteran (we are slowly growing past that in our Pittsfield, MA community), and the negative social reactions. To ILLUSTRATE some of those REALITIES was the basic purpose of creating JEREMY - so that you, the reader, might FEEL what I, the writer of this report, have felt as I read report after report, case after case. In the final analysis, if there IS one, many Vietnam veterans judged "mentally fit" when they were sentenced to their periods of imprisonment, because of an undiagnosed and/or treated case of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (aka Vietnam Stress Syndrome), were NOT. Many of those cases are just now beginning to surface. JUSTICE - does work. Sometimes, though, it takes a little longer. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 35 4 Jan 1988 A Different Battlefield A short while ago I thought I'd visit my old home town. "Bert" -- the 35-inch-plus smallmouth bass, was still reported to be in the pond I used to fish before I joined the service. Patches of snow dotted the mountainside near the pond and occasionally the sound of a moving automobile on the highway far below would disturb the silence. Barren trees, somehow vaguely reminiscent of a faraway jungle, stood careful watch over the now-empty, century-and-a-half old, two-story farmhouse where I once lived. Truly, this IS "America the Beautiful". The entire town still looked the same. Even the new supermarket - built to replace the Country Store after it burned awhile ago - retained a familiar look. "Funny," I thought, "How the supermarket and I are somewhat alike: older, yet new; still a part of this Town. We bring our experiences to town under an accepted, familiar covering and help it grow." The train of thought steered my thinking to the college I was attending, colleges I had read about, and colleges the news media had mentioned over the past few years. Something had begun to disturb me. In this solitude, this peace and beautiful quiet, could I find out what it might be? A huge, dark form moved through the waters below me, and the hint of a problem began to crystallize into recognizable form. Proud and patriotic Patrick Henry once said: "Give me liberty or give me death!" Over the last few years, from campus to campus across this great nation of ours, lurking between studies of calculus, psychology, and business management, and concealed in the midst of classes in Political Science and Saturday night parties, hidden - yet clearly evident - in the nonexistent studies of Military Strategy and Intelligent Counterinsurgency, a new, not-too-cryptic version of his statement has filtered the air and can be faintly heard with an almost-cowardly, almost-un-American sound: "Give me liberty and all the things that loyalty and freedom can buy; give me a chance to be all that I can be, but DON'T, in any way, ask me to physically defend this country's precious principles, and please, DON'T give me death.! For example . . . A few months ago, startling many students (and sending one hurriedly home to protect his family), a military medevac helicopter slowly descended upon a local college campus while, almost simultaneously, representatives of the U.S. Military began arriving in jeeps, a semitrailer, and an ambulance with a big red cross painted on the side of it. Armed Forces Open House day was about to begin - but not NamNews 2-01 Page 36 4 Jan 1988 without conflict! Across the open-air quad in which the event was being held, with a fervor and actions that would have been admirable on any battlefield, many members of the campus group of Conscientious Objectors (C.O.'s) were busy corralling passersby, handing them a printed page, and trying to impress upon them their feelings that involvement in any form with the present U.S. Military is wrong (Imagine, if you will, what would have happened had there been a "counter-Open House" presented by the C.O.'s and, during the event, representatives from the various military branches actively attempted to recruit new personnel for their services.) "Where my feelings THEN, feelings of anger? Did I want to forcibly remove the C.O.'s from the Armed Forces Open House?" I thought, "Have I learned anything from our country's involvement with 'Nam? Do these people, many of whom haven't even SEEN a rifle - let alone used it to defend themselves, have ANY idea of the price of freedom?" The thoughts of moments past came flooding back into my mind: "...older - yet new; still a part of this ... We bring our experiences... under an accepted, familiar covering and help it grow." There on a mountaintop in my old home town, fishing line vanishing into the dark-green pond world of the "Bert's" and others like him, I came to realize that, for the American soldier, the battle for Liberty and Freedom isn't just in another country, isn't always a battle conducted with physically damaging weapons. The "battlefield" and "weapons" change. Sometimes it is "silence - no matter how much another course of action is desired" that will prove the true exercise of Freedom, allowing others to be free. A tug on my line! Was it Bert? Or could it have been the thought: "Freedom - is not without costs, not without constant awareness, and, most assuredly, not a one-way street!" ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 37 4 Jan 1988 ================================================================= WOMEN VETERANS ================================================================= A Tribute to the WOMEN OF WAR From the September 1986 Springfield, MA VET CENTER TRIBUTE "I strongly believe that recognition of those who served our country so faithfully and with great strength... is long overdue. The completion of this memorial is an important statement of remembrance and gratitude for a job well done." --Senator Alan Cranston Ranking Minority Member United States Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs-- More than 10,000 women served in the Vietnam War, yet, their contributions remain unnoticed by a majority of the American public who do not realize that women witnessed firsthand the horrors of conflict and made the ultimate sacrifices to their country. The time has come for America to honor these women. The Vietnam Women's Memorial Porject, was formed to erect a lifelike bronze statue of a woman, and place her in proximity to the "Wall" and the "Three Fighting Men" on the grounds of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The statue represents and honors all women who served during the Vietnam war, from every branch of military service as well as from other private and governmental agencies. The statue is a composite of the ideals for which all women performed their duty...to aid, to heal, to insure the survival of others. With this goal in mind, the Vietnam Women's Memorial Porject has begun the task of securing the site and raising the necessary funds to cast and erect the monument. This is where you can help. One million dollars will be needed to fund the placement of the statue. Three 33 inch bronze replicas are currently being displayed throughout the United States to help with the fundraising efforts and to increase public awareness of the Project. These statues will tour the country until placed in permanent locations after the memorial is dedicated. The establishment of this Memorial will achieve one objective of the Project -- to compliment and complete the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in our Nation's Capitol. There is an equally important second goal--to educate and remind Americans that women participate, sacrifice, and deserve recognition for their particular contributions to their fellow citizens in war and peace. The Project, a non-profit corporation, was organized in July, 1984 by Diane Carlson Evans, River Falls, Wisconsin and Donna-Marie (D-M) Boulay, Roseville, Minnesota. Diane served as an Army Nurse at the 36th Evacuation Hospital, Vung Tau, and the 71st Evacuation Hospital, Pleiku, in 1968 and 1969. She served four years in Army Hospitals in the U.S. D-M was an Army Nurse NamNews 2-01 Page 38 4 Jan 1988 in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, at the 36th Evacuation Hospital and the 93rd Evacuation Hospital in Long Binh. Diane is a counselor working with Vietnam veterans. D-M is a Minneapolis attorney. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 39 4 Jan 1988 WOMEN ARE VETERANS TOO!! From the September 1986 Springfield, MA Vet Center Tribute YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT... THERE IS A PROBLEM LOCATING WOMEN VETERANS -- Until the 1980 census was completed, data on women veterans was sparse. In fact, the census reported 500,000 more women veterans than the Veterans Administration ever knew existed. WOMEN VETS DON'T/CAN'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF BENEFITS -- Women vets apply for benefits at half the rate of male vets. -- Veterans information materials, brochures and outreach programs, designed to inform vets of their rights and benefits, have traditionally been aimed at a male constituency. Consequently, many women veterans are not aware of their entitlements. Those who are, are reluctant to initiate claims for benefits. -- In 1981, most VA-run facilities began to accommodate women. Yet, because integrating women requires renovation of facilities, women are still not fully integrated into the VA health care system. -- A study revealed that women veterans' level of benefit awareness was low on eight out of 10 programs. STATISTICS INDICATE THAT THE NEED FOR SERVICES IS HIGH -- The lifetime prevalence of cancer among women veterans (9%) is nearly twice as high as among the general population of adult women (5%). -- Female Veterans use VA medical facilities in far fewer numbers than male Veterans of the same age, particularly as they get older. WOMEN VETERANS ARE GROWING IN NUMBER -- Today women constitute 10% of Armed Forces compared to 1% at the beginning of the 70's. -- Nationwide there are an estimated 1.2 million women veterans. THE POPULATION OF WOMEN VETERANS IS AGING -- Currently, 29% of male veterans and 38% of female veterans are age 65 or over. -- By 1992 one out of two women vets will be at least 65 years of age. -- [ In the state of Massachusetts ] there are 76,000 women veterans, nearly half between the ages of 45 and 64. As the number of female veterans grows, and as more and more move into the older age groups, their health care needs will increase accordingly. For the above reasons, (MA?) Assemblywoman Barbara Patton and the (MA?) Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs will be holding hearings during the summer of 1986 to discuss these and other issues of importance to women veterans. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 40 4 Jan 1988 The War Was Pain and Fear By: Joan Arrington Craigwell and Ellen Hoffman Young Submitted by the San Jose Vet Center The estimated 8,000 to 10,000 American women who went to Vietnam have a special perspective on the suffering that occurred in that war. Most of their stories remain untold. In San Diego, the Federal Outreach Program for Vietnam Veterans (the Vet Center) has no way of knowing how many women Vietnam veterans reside here. The Department of Defense has acknowledged its own embarrassing lack of statistics. It does recognize that significant numbers of women served admirably in all branches of service as professional nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, air traffic controllers, aerial reconnaissance photographers, intelligence and language specialists, legal officers, and in security and administrative positions. Civilian women also served in Vietnam in the Red Cross, USO, the Central Intelligence Agency and the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as in other government agencies. Other women worked there as journalists, flight attendants, and in various church and humanitarian organizations. Where are these women today? Could they possibly be your wife, your nurse, co-worker, your supervisor, your physician or your next door neighbor? Could you find them if you looked? These women have camouflaged themselves, an easy task in our society. All they have to do is keep quiet. It is a fact that women served in Vietnam. More importantly, they witnessed first-hand on a regular basis the tragic consequences of the Vietnam conflict: mangled bodies, horrible head, abdominal, chest, and face wounds, as well as the endless colostomies, disfigured faces, amputations, burns from napalm and white phosphorous; and the unending cries of 19-year-olds, begging God to let them live just a little longer. Every day, for 12 hours a day or more, for six days a week or more, for a whole year of duty, the medical personnel who were assigned hospital ships, air evacuation centers or hospitals dealt with the bits and pieces of war-ravaged bodies. War is traditionally men's arena, and it shocks people to think that women were there also. In other wars, nurses were in hospitals, but they were in the "rear" where they were safe. In Vietnam there was no "rear", and no one was safe. Eight women serving in the American military were killed in Vietnam. Their names are on the "Wall", the memorial to Vietnam veterans in Washington, D.C. Some Red Cross workers also died, but because they weren't military their names are not inscribed. Forty-five American women died in the crash of the C-5A that went NamNews 2-01 Page 41 4 Jan 1988 down during "Operation Baby Lift" in April 1975. The Vietnam Women's Memorial Project plans to dedicate a statue of women veterans near the "Wall" in Washington in November of 1988. Stanley Karnow writes in his book, VIETNAM, "Many (Vietnam) veterans feel themselves to be members of a dislocated generation, their place in society uncomfortable, undefined and almost embarrassing, as if the nation has projected onto them its own sense of guilt or shame or humiliation for the war." Women vets have had the added stigma of being misunderstood as to what their roles were. If they showed compassion, there were men who assumed it was because they wanted sex. If they controlled their emotions, there were men who assumed they were unfeeling. They occasionally were looked upon as weird, doughnut dollies, or as prostitutes, both by the men in Vietnam who didn't know better, and by the population at large when they returned. It is no wonder that so few of their stories have been told. Our country needs to hear all the stories. Otherwise, how will we heal? We cannot assimilate the war experience if we don't know what it was all about, and what happened there. There were many aspects of the war, and each person there had his or her own particular experience. Of the women there, nurses saw the dark side, probably more than any other group that participated in the war. For them, the war was about pain, suffering, mutilation, carnage, and blows to the spirit that were so profound that they still cause pain 20 years later. Two books just out about women in Vietnam are IN THE COMBAT ZONE, by Kathryn Marshall, and NURSES IN VIETNAM, THE FORGOTTEN VETERANS, edited by Dan Freedman and Jacqueline Rhodes. Both of these books are remarkable in that there is no one position on the war taken by the women who went. However, each person interviewed felt the impact of her time in Vietnam more strongly than any other event in her life. Why have women themselves remained so constrained and controlled about telling their experiences in Vietnam? Many women who served in Vietnam do not acknowledge themselves as veterans. Many fear this recognition will stir up unwanted memories or unfounded confusion about their role there. Until recently, veterans organizations would not permit women full membership, thus adding further invalidation and stigma for being a woman and serving in a combat zone. The data reported by researchers Jenny A. Schnaier (1982), Julia Stroud (1983), and others, indicate that the same emotional problems by the male combatant upon coming home, such as alienation, depression and emotional numbing also were experienced by women. NamNews 2-01 Page 42 4 Jan 1988 Many women veterans suffering anger, rage, sleep disturbances, and alcohol or drug abuse do not understand that these symptoms may well be related to their war experiences. These are frequently symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an adverse reaction that afflicts many combat veterans. Some nurses imagine that acknowledging these feelings somehow would impugn their professionalism. Some women are reluctant to admit they were in Vietnam for fear of even more misunderstanding from their families, friends, and colleagues. In addition, in spite of many nurses who have made outstanding contributions in the field of nursing, large numbers gave up the profession entirely; the vivid memories of the war were just too painful and they experienced "burn-out" in their chosen field. Although many women veterans of Vietnam choose to remain anonymous, much was gained from the horrific experiences. Many of these nurses became highly skilled and self-reliant. They realized a sense of independence and strength. Certainly, they learned what suffering is and were deeply moved by it. Women served alongside men in that sink-pit of war. For the country to heal, these women need to reveal the full depth of their experiences, first to themselves and then to the rest of us. It's time for women's experiences and contributions to be recognized and acknowledged as an important part of the history of the Vietnam conflict. Help is available for those women who are still having difficulties resulting from their service in Vietnam. For more information contact your local Vet Center (there is a complete listing of Vet Center locations and phone numbers in this edition of the Nam Vet). You can also contact the Valhalla (FidoNet Node 143/27) or the VETLink#1 (FidoNet Node 321/203) by electronic mail, or write to Nancy Looney, Vietnam Veterans Valhalla, 28 Cecil Avenue, San Jose, California, 95128. ================================================================= EDITORS NOTE: If you are a woman veteran who served in Vietnam, or know a woman who did, please take the time to share some of your experiences with us. If you have a computer, you can just upload the ASCII text file to the Valhalla at 143/27, VETLink#1 at 321/203, or to any IVVEC system so they can transfer it to us, or mail it to the Valhalla. We CARE! ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 43 4 Jan 1988 ================================================================= WANTED ================================================================= By: Alex Humphrey RUBBINGS If you would like a rubbing taken of the name of a relative, friend or loved one from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, you can get it done by writing: Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Inc. 4200 Wisconsin Avenue NW Suite 106-108 Washington DC 20016 Attention: Name Rubbing ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-01 Page 44 4 Jan 1988 THE LAST PAGE We hope that you have enjoyed this month's edition of the NAM VET as much as Joe and I did putting it together for you! Remember, it is now available in print for those who do not have access to a computer and modem. If you or anyone you know are interested in receiving this newsletter by mail, just complete the form below and mail this entire page to: NAM VET NEWSLETTER Vietnam Veterans Valhalla 28 Cecil Avenue San Jose, California 95128 Make sure you include a buck and a half or so to cover the postage and envelope for however many months you want us to mail it out. NAME: ___________________________________________________ STREET ADDRESS: _________________________________________ CITY/STATE/ZIP: _________________________________________ TOTAL AMOUNT ENCLOSED: _________________ Note: If you send checks or money orders, please make them out to TODD LOONEY. NamNews 2-01 Page 45 4 Jan 1988 A few more klix down the road... G. Joseph Peck VETLink #1 Node 321/203 We'll be publishing a partial list of many of the VA forms and materials you'll need to submit a proper VA claim. We'll also be looking at the 75 - 85% of our brother/sister Vietnam veterans who have returned to civilian life and achieved success. We'll be keeping watch on the Agent Orange lawsuit and will, from time to time, publish updates on what is happening. We will try to keep you posted on the POW/MIA situation. Through our brother/sister veterans working within the political system(s) of both federal and state governments, we'll keep you up-to-date on important changes in the legislature that affect you and/or your family. With more and more Vet Centers coming on-line, you will undoubtedly see an increase in service-oriented features appearing in NAM VET. We'll also begin a BUDDY SEARCH section. STAY TUNED for exciting developments and growth as our international family continues to grow and we all learn more about one another !!