Volume 1, Number 1 11 November 1987 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | If you have an idea for a | | - Nam Vet - logo which is ASCII printable | | and depicts the cause of | | International this newsletter | | Vietnam Veterans | | Newsletter Send any ideas to your | | IVVEC hosting sysop | | | | | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief: Todd Looney Contributing Editor: G. Joseph Peck Nam Vet is a special newsletter dedicated to Vietnam Veterans around the world, and provided electronically 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. Not all of the articles appearing in Nam Vet are written by participants in the IVVEC, but the Nam Vet is very much an electronic newsletter by, of, and for Vietnam Veterans, their friends, wives and lovers. Articles from Vets or anyone else wishing to express themselves about Viet Nam or related experiences are invited to consider submitting their writings for publication to the Vietnam Veterans Valhalla (FidoNet 143/27) or to any node carrying the IVVEC whose sysop can forward your work from there. Nam Vet is published monthly by the Vietnam Veterans Valhalla and contributing editors from across the U.S. Copyright 1987 by the Vietnam Veterans Valhalla, Inc. All rights reserved. Duplication and/or distribution permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, Please contact Todd Looney in writing at: Vietnam Veterans Valhalla, Inc., 28 Cecil Avenue, San Jose, California 95128. FIRST ISSUE! Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 Article Submission Specifications ......................... 4 2. SERVICES ................................................. 11 Agent Orange Settlement - Commonly Asked Questions ........ 12 Peace With Honor - The POW/MIA Issue ...................... 15 Presidential Commission Requested ......................... 18 Western Union Special ..................................... 19 Center for Disease Control Mortality Report .............. 20 U.S. Air Force Health Study .............................. 24 Preliminary Report - SERUM DIOXIN -Part 1 ................ 27 Preliminary Report - SERUM DIOXIN -Part 2 ................ 31 Vietnam Veterans Survey Results .......................... 35 NamNews 1-01 Page 1 11 Nov 1987 Table of Contents (cont.) 3. MEMORIES .................................................. 38 Attitudes ................................................ 38 Memories of a Boy Becoming a Man ......................... 43 Stone Cold - Poem ........................................ 44 Dreams of the Past ....................................... 46 Grapevine Cronicles ....................................... 47 Homecoming III ............................................ 49 Anatomy of a Warrior ...................................... 50 4. GENERAL .................................................. 52 Vietnam Veterans Valhalla ................................. 52 Bui Doi - Amerasian Children .............................. 54 Hamburger Hill - A review ................................. 56 5. WANTED ................................................... 57 POW/MIA Flag .............................................. 57 NamNews 1-01 Page 2 11 Nov 1987 ================================================================= EDITORIAL ================================================================= *Editorial By: Todd Looney Sysop, Vietnam Veterans Valhalla, Inc. FidoNet 143/27 San Jose, California There is one other wall, of course. One we never speak of. One we never see, One which separates memory from madness. In a place no one offers flowers. THE WALL WITHIN. We permit no visitors. By Steve Mason I started out with Steve Mason's poem because it tells a story in itself. I believe it accurately describes in very few words one of the very many complex, and probably one of the most protected, commonalities shared not only among a vast majority of military combat veterans of ANY war, but among nearly every person who has witnessed and survived any kind of life-threatening traumatic experience as well. This "wall" shields us from our darkest, most horrifying memories. It is, without question, one of the most significant components manifested in Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTS). One of the toughest things for any combat veteran can be to open his or herself up (yes, there are women who have seen combat, too) to another human being and share the traumatic events from their past. It is rare in this instance when the occasion can be found where both the will and and a sympathetic, non critical ear are both available at the same time. Most of find it very hard, even when conditions are perfect, to "tell it like it really was". One has to have an awful lot of trust in a person to risk the consequences of lowering "the wall" , much less to permit others to visit among our long-since buried memories and feelings. When it gets right down to the line, most of us lose the courage to face the emotional ramifications which unmercifully enshroud us when we dare to share our deepest, most personal secrets with someone else. It is especially difficult when that other person has never experienced the same kind of traumatic events, making it difficult if not impossible for them to truly understand our pain. How do you tell someone who has never experienced combat what it REALLY feels like to witness a comrades violent death? What will that person think of you when you tell them what it REALLY feels like to have to take the life of another human being? Is the emotional relief from getting it off your chest REALLY worth the gamble of possible rejection, ridicule, or criticism? Well, I can tell you from my own NamNews 1-01 Page 3 11 Nov 1987 experiences that is is far less painful to keep the "walls" in place than it is to face up to the terrifying realities they imprison. The problem with that is ... the walls have got to come down sometime, and if you aren't in control of that happening, they will crumble despite any efforts you can muster to keep them up. Many combat veterans have literally destroyed their lives trying to ignore the warning signs. There are a few places where I can feel safe bringing up those old, painful memories; places where I can slowly pull each one out and deal with it in a comfortable atmosphere free of mis-understanding and criticism. The local Vietnam Veterans Outreach Center is one, but I sometimes have problems in one-on-ones. Another place is the International Vietnam Veterans EchoConference (c) available on a number of FidoNet (tm) electronic BBS systems around the world. Although mostly in the continental United States and Hawaii, there are boards in Sweden and Canada as well who carry this conference. There are people from all walks of life contributing to the National Vietnam Veterans Echo-Mail Conference; combat and non-combat veterans from all wars, non-veterans of all ages, Vietnamese military veterans and refugees. Just because you are not a Vietnam Veteran, or even a military veteran at all for that matter, is no reason not to call one of the boards closest to you. All you need is an interest in learning about the realities of the Vietnam war, and hearing about it from those of us who were actually there; who know the true cost of war and have paid that price. No historian, unless he or she has been there personally, can tell you what WE can! Now we have an International Newsletter where we can express our feelings to those who may not have computers. The NAM VET newsletter is written in cooperation with the San Jose Vet Center and several other contributing editors across the country. Several of the articles in this newsletter have been contributed by non-veterans who have an interest in the Vietnam conflict; maybe they had a friend or close relative serve or die there, or maybe they are just caring people who want to know more about American history. It doesn't matter, this newsletter is for anyone who wants to read it. Articles can be published by anyone who wants to submit one for consideration. I am proud to be the Editor-in-Chief of this newsletter, another first of it's kind. There are no other electronically published Vietnam Veterans related newsletters in existence today other than the NAM VET. I owe G. Joseph Peck from the VETLINK #1 in Massachusetts a lot of thanks for helping me put this whole thing together. I probably wouldn't have done it without his gentle "coaxing" from across the continent. ----------------------------------------------------------------- *VETLink: The reasons G. Joseph Peck VETLink #1 Pittsfield, MA Node 321/203 NamNews 1-01 Page 4 11 Nov 1987 Have you ever arrived at a city, county or federal office just after everyone had gone home? Was the reason for your trip to get that last little bit of important information so you could finish filing your VA claim or a search for answers to questions about veterans' benefits? Maybe it was just to stop by and rap with some of your veteran counterparts. As many of us have learned by now, questions we have concerning veterans' benefits and entitlements, educational opportunities or an upcoming veteran event, occur to us about one minute after the office holding the information we need closes. An unanswered telephone tells us its going to be another tough night with memories of yesterday. Up until a few years ago, having a personal computer for home use was out of reach of all but those in high income brackets. Today, as their prices have decreased, computers are found in an ever-growing number of households. Used with a telecommunications modem and connected to a computer bulletin board service (CBBS), the computer can send an electronic letter to a friend, access vast amounts of stored data, and be the medium through which you can make new acquaintances. It has become a LINK between citizens and modern-day technology. After nearly three-and-a-half years of local field work and over 22 years of firing-line experience with a disapproving, somewhat antagonistic and disbelieving bureaucracy, VETLink #1 - a computer BBS dedicated and committed to veterans' and the issues that concern them - became a reality. Initially, VETLink #1 began CBBS operations on a Commodore 64. 2-1/2 weeks, a new PC, and the untiring non-stop technological help of local community sysops later, VETLink #1 was granted a Net/Node number. Today it operates on a 10 MHz Leading Edge with a 30-meg HD. Among its' many message and file areas, VETLink #1 has sections devoted to PTSD, AGENT ORANGE, GOVERNMENT BENEFITS, EMPLOYMENT (where the motto is: From "Search and Destroy" to "Found and Employed"), HELP-A-VET and VETFind, to name only a few. I know a little about these things: I'm a Vietnam vet, allegedly mis-diagnosed as having psychiatric difficulties after a life-threatening jeep accident while on active duty rendered me comatose for awhile and resulted in my honorable discharge; a Vietnam vet who endured the effects a negative "label" can have upon one - in areas such as employment, education, interpersonal relationships; a Vietnam vet who has married for the second time; a Vietnam vet who has engaged the Veterans Administration, the Small Business Administration, the Banking Industry, and various public officials in exacting battles for justice 'til the diagnosis-after-the-accident was finally corrected, 'til a small business was financed, 'til a home was purchased, 'til a Vet Center was a reality in Pittsfield, MA. I'm also a Vietnam vet who has worked for the Veterans Administration, has been the Veterans' Affairs Assistant at our local community college, a managing editor for a couple of veteran-oriented newsletters, a charter member of two Vietnam Veterans of America chapters - of a NamNews 1-01 Page 5 11 Nov 1987 state wide Vietnam Veterans organization, a Service Officer for two veterans' organizations, and who is a Past Commander of the Pittsfield, MA Chapter of Disabled American Veterans and completing my final year of training for a degree in Sociology. I'm also the Vietnam vet who's sysop of VETLink #1. VETLink #1 is dedicated and committed to providing YOU, the veteran, with answers to those questions you might be asking, with information that may be helpful to you or your dependents, to putting UNITY in our veterans commUNITY, to LINKing VETerans with needed services and sometimes long-overdue opportunities. VETLink #1 - open 24 hours a day - is humbled and honored to have a place in this, our first, electronic newsletter dedicated and committed to the Vietnam veteran. We look forward to hearing from each of you. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Nam Vet Newsletter Article Submission Guidelines Last Updated 9 November 1987 Nam Vet is a special electronic newsletter dedicated to Vietnam Veterans around the world, and provided electronically 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 (BBS-to-BBS) over the network. Not all of the articles appearing in Nam Vet are written by participants in the IVVEC, but the Nam Vet is very much an electronic newsletter by, of, and for Vietnam Veterans, their families, friends, wives, lovers, and significant others.. This document describes the technical aspects of submitting an article to the Nam Vet for publication consideration. It should be noted that authors need not be Vietnam Veterans to submit an article for consideration by the producers of the newsletter. Everyone's participation is welcome. However, the editors and staff of the Nam Vet newsletter reserve the right to make the final decision as to when and if any contributed submission shall be published, and whether its' content is suitable for publication in the Nam Vet Newsletter. Any and all articles, columns, and other works submitted to the Editors and staff of the Nam Vet Newsletter will not be returned, and will be retained by VETLink # 1, Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla, and other repository nodes of the Nam Vet Newsletter. The Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla, developer of said Nam Vet Newsletter, reserves the right to republish any and all articles, columns, and works published in the Nam Vet Newsletter as deemed NamNews 1-01 Page 4 11 Nov 1987 appropriate by the Editors and staff of the Nam Vet Newsletter, and no further claim to copyright in any way other than described above is made by either the Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla or the Editors or staff of the Nam Vet Newsletter. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW Nam Vet is assembled at the Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla, node 143/27 on the first Saturday of every month. A special utility called MAKENEWS is run, which puts together the various articles which have been received and generates the latest issue. The ROBOT utility is then run to place release messages into the network mail area, so that the finished newsletter will be automatically Echo-mailed out during the first Saturday morning of each month. The intended purpose of this procedure is to ensure that Nam Vet is assembled and released on time, even if node 143/27 is unattended on Friday night before the first Saturday of any given month. In practice, the primary purpose of the MAKENEWS utility is to scan the articles which have been submitted for any technical disqualifications. If MAKENEWS finds an article which does not meet its technical specs, then a message is logged and that article is not included in the newsletter. At this point the article must be modified by hand until it passes the technical specifications. Since this is dependent on the availability of human resources, an article which fails to meet the specs may be delayed indefinitely, or even canceled entirely. The Editors and staff of the Nam Vet Newsletter, as well as the Board of Directors of the Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla at node 143/27 would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to Mr. Thom Henderson of FidoNews (tm) for making this customized version of MAKENEWS available to us for this purpose, without which we would be hard-pressed to publish the Nam Vet in a timely manner. Much of this document is intended to describe the technical specifications which an article must meet in order to be included in the newsletter. SUBMITTING AN ARTICLE The first step, of course, is to create a file which contains the text of your article. You should then send the file via FidoNet (tm) mail to one of the distribution/accumulation nodes: 143/27 in San Jose, CA.; 321/203 in Pittsfield, MA.; 200/100 in Redondo Beach, CA.; or 123/6 in Memphis, TN. Filename extensions are used to distinguish types of submissions, as follows: NamNews 1-01 Page 7 11 Nov 1987 For articles about: Use this extension: ------------------- ------------------- Agent Orange Information, \ Post Traumatic Stress, \ Educational Information, \ Benefits Information, \ Vet Center Information, \ Community News, > .SVC Calendar of Events, / Articles Concerning Women Veterans, / Veterans Administration Information, / Services or Opportunities for / Vietnam Veterans / Poems, \ Memories, > .MEM Dedications / Soldier Searches, \ Employment, > .WAN Want-ads: You - or For Sale / Organization News, \ News about the Arts, \ Amerasian Children, > .GEN By or for Non-veterans, / Miscellaneous / Requiring Immediate Attention ---> .HOT If your file doesn't have one of the above extensions, then it will lay around taking up disk space until some human takes a look at it and realizes what it is. The name of the file is up to you, though you should use a name which is not likely to be "stepped on" by someone else. For example,NVNEWS.MEM is probably not a good name for an article. If you are writing a regular feature, such as a column or a series of articles, you can put a number at the end of the name, and submit several in a batch. For example, you could send in a set of five files, named: MYWORD1.GEN MYWORD2.GEN MYWORD3.GEN MYWORD4.GEN MYWORD5.GEN These would be used one at a time in sequence. MYWORD1.GEN would be printed first, MYWORD2.GEN the second month, and so on. NamNews 1-01 Page 8 11 Nov 1987 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS & REQUIREMENTS This section describes the technical requirements which an article must pass before the MAKENEWS utility will include it in the Nam Vet. If your file does not meet these criteria, then, again, it will languish on the disk until some human steps in and fixes it. These constraints are for purely practical reasons. There are roughly a million different word processors out there, all with their own different formats. We simply do not have the time to convert them all to the format we use. 1. FLUSH LEFT MARGIN: The finished Nam Vet is indented five columns. We do that here. If your submission is also indented, then your indent will be added to ours. So please set your left margin all the way at the edge of the screen. 2. RIGHT MARGIN AT COLUMN 65 OR LESS: Less is tolerable, more is definitely not. 3. NO FUNNY CHARACTERS: This includes formfeeds, returns without linefeeds, linefeeds without returns, and other oddities. 4. NO GRAPHICS CHARACTERS: Believe it or not, not everyone in the world has an IBM PC. Please restrict yourself to printable ASCII characters in the range 20 hex to 7E hex (space to tilde). However, if you are using PC-Write to create your file, then feel free to use the "hard space", "hard hyphen", and "soft hyphen" characters. MAKENEWS understands them, and will handle them properly. 5. TOTAL ARTICLE LENGTH: Well, there IS an upper limit, but I'm not going to say what it is, because: a) it's pretty big, b) it changes from time to time, and c) we override it now and then, as circumstances merit. 6. WHERE IS THIS ARTICLE FROM: A good question! You can submit an article anonymously if you want to, but most folks start out by stating their name and node number or City/State at least. If you want your article to be listed in the table of contents, then you should start it with a "content line". This is just a normal line, except that it is the FIRST line of your file, and it begins with an asterisk ("*"). Here's an example of a content line: * My Word! EXAMPLE Here's a sample of what a typical submission might look like: * A Sample Article Todd Looney Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla, Node 143/27 NamNews 1-01 Page 9 11 Nov 1987 This Is My Title And here is my article. Note that it is flush left (zero indent). Also note that the right margin is at column sixty five, so that the result will look good when the formatter sets it up. I also started the file with a content line, so my article will be listed in the table of contents. Figure 1. Table 1. +-------+ ======== | A Box | Alfa +-------+ Bravo Note that I am not using any funny characters. This ensures that the final article will look the same to every user, no matter what sort of hardware he or she has. This is the last sentence of my article. And that's all there is to it! You should be able to get a file like this out of any word processor as long as you use NON DOCUMENT format. FORMATTING ADVICE There are certain things you should do to improve the general appearance of your article when it is published. After all, several thousand of your friends might be looking at it. You want it to look good, don't you? You will soon notice that Nam Vet articles are separated by dashed lines. These are inserted by MAKENEWS, so you shouldn't add them yourself. If you put a dashed line at the top and/or bottom of your article, then it will appear right next to the dashed line MAKENEWS inserts. Since your line is almost certain to be a different length, the result will not look very good. You should also put a blank line between paragraphs. This sets them off better than just indenting the first line, and makes your article easier to read. You should not, however, put a lot of blank space at the top or bottom of your article. MAKENEWS works hard to make sure that the articles are well separated to the eye. Any space you add at the ends will just waste paper when someone prints out the news. If you want to put in a table or a figure, go right ahead. MAKENEWS does not rearrange text, so your table or figure will remain exactly as you entered it. If you want to justify the right margin, please feel free. You may also leave it ragged if you wish. An even right margin looks neater, while a ragged margin makes for text that is easier to read. A friend of mine once told me that an even right margin is really just a gimmick, since typesetters don't really do it NamNews 1-01 Page 10 11 Nov 1987 that way, but you decide for yourself. OTHER ADVICE The biggest thing I see, the thing that irks me most, is when someone submits an article that is full of basic errors in spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation. Please remember, many people will be reading what you write. Please, for your own sake, use a dictionary when you're not sure how a word is spelled. Or, if you're not good at grammar, get a friend to help you write your article. We ain't the Literary Digest here, and our standards are pretty (very) lax. If you're willing to write it, and it meets our criterion, we'll put it in. It's just that it's in your own best interest to come off looking good. If you want us to run it through a spell-checker first, let us know, we will be glad to do that for you although we cannot guarantee it will make the next issue, so we highly recommend you send it in "ready for publication". EDITORIAL CONTENT I suppose I should say something about article content. Basically, it's up to you. As we've stated many times, Nam Vet is for you, it's yours. We will publish just about ANYTHING (we do reserve the right to refuse any submission based on our own good judgment though). WHEN WILL YOUR ARTICLE APPEAR A good question indeed, and almost impossible to answer. If everything goes right (as we expect it usually will), then all received articles that meet the above criteria will probably be published in the next issue after they are received. Any reason for the delay is to allow us some time to "play" with each issue before it goes out. You see, while things are set rather well and we expect to get things done in time, we will still usually go over everything by hand. Fitting together a newsletter is in some respects like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. Some parts have to go right away, while others can wait a bit. Some articles are longer than others. And articles will probably arrive here in "spurts". We might get two articles one week, and then twenty the next. We will generally try to keep the issues more-or-less the same size, so you don't get a fifty page newsletter one month, and a two page newsletter the next. So sometimes we'll push an article up, and publish it right away. More often we'll hold it back for a short while. As a general rule, we will usually have some idea of how the next newsletter is shaping up, so we usually juggle things around a NamNews 1-01 Page 11 11 Nov 1987 bit to try and even things out. YOUR TURN I've typed enough for one night. It's 1:30 in the morning, my wife has gone to bed without me (again...bless her for her patience and understanding). Now it's YOUR turn to sit down and write that article you're thinking about! Best wishes, and good luck! Sincerely Yours, Todd Looney and the Editors and staff of the Nam Vet Newsletter! ** A note from Joe Peck - Sysop of VETLink # 1: "A new generation now brings up the rear - a generation very knowledgeable of current technology and simultaneously naive of the costs of conflict. NAM VET can be the "bridge" through which we, their POINT MEN, communicate and teach all that we've experienced. They won't know if we don't tell 'em. Have some info? Have some stories? Want to share? We want to hear from you!! ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 12 11 Nov 1987 ================================================================= SERVICES ================================================================= * AGENT ORANGE SETTLEMENT...FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AGENT ORANGE SETTLEMENT...FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Tri-County Council of Vietnam Era Veterans Latham, NY VETLink # 1 Pittsfield, MA Node 321/203 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1. What is the status of the Agent Orange settlement? On 7 January 1985, Chief Judge Jack B. Weinstein gave final approval to the $180 million settlement between the plaintiff class and the seven defendant chemical companies. The Court rules that the settlement was fair, reasonable and adequate. On 28 May 1985, the Court adopted a plan for distribution of the Settlement Fund. The Court's decisions approving the settlement and adopting a distribution plan were appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The Second Circuit issued decisions on 21 April 1987, upholding the settlement and affirming the plan to distribute cash payments to some class members. The parties may decide to seek further review in the United States Supreme Court. 2. How will the Fund be distributed? The distribution plan adopted by the District Court had two major components: (a) a payment Program to provide cash compensation for veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange and who suffer from a long-term total disability resulting from non-traumatic causes, or have died from non-traumatic causes; and (b) a Class Assistance Foundation to provide grants to organizations to help meet the service needs of the class, including the needs of children suffering from birth defects. An additional sum was set aside for Australia and New Zealand to satisfy claims by class members from those countries. On appeal, the Second Circuit upheld the distribution of cash compensation through the Payment Program but concluded that the District Court's plan to distribute funds to a Foundation must be modified. The District Court will hold a hearing on 26 May 1987, to consider suggestions for restructuring the foundation. 3. What role will veterans have in the distribution plan? Vietnam veterans will have a significant role in the governance of the distribution plan. A Veterans Advisory Group will consult with the Court and the Special Master on all aspects of the operation of the Payment Program. Members of the Veterans Advisory Group, who will be appointed by the Court, will serve without compensation except for reimbursement of reasonable expenses. NamNews 1-01 Page 13 11 Nov 1987 4. When will the fund be distributed? Money will be distributed to the class through the Payment Program as soon as the Court is able to set up a claims processing system. The Court plans to move quickly to distribute funds. However, it is possible that some parties will file an appeal with the United States Supreme Court. If another appeal is filed, the distribution of funds will be delayed. 5. Who will be eligible for cash compensation? Under the distribution plan adopted by the Court, to be eligible to receive cash compensation from the Payment Program, a veteran must show that he or she was exposed to Agent Orange while in or near Vietnam from 1961 to 1972 and he or she must be suffering now from a long-term total disability. Whether or not a veteran has a long-term total disability will be determined by a claims administrator to be hired for the Payment Program, who will use the same test of disability as stated in the Social Security Act. In addition, the disability must not be the result of trauma, accident or self-inflicted injury and must have occurred prior to the veteran's 60th birthday. Spouses or dependent children of deceased veterans will also be eligible to receive cash compensation from the Payment Program if they show that the veteran was exposed to Agent Orange in or near Vietnam from 1961 to 1972 and the veteran dies before his 60th birthday from causes other than trauma, accident or self-inflicted injury. To be compensable, the disability or death must occur before the Payment Program ends on 31 December 1994. 6. How much cash compensation can an eligible claimant expect from the Payment Program? The exact amount of cash compensation for eligible claimants cannot be determined yet because of the uncertainties about the number of claimants who will be eligible. Relying on very tentative estimates, the Court assumed that the MAXIMUM payment to a veteran will be about $12,800 and the MAXIMUM payment to a survivor will be about $3,400. Disability payments to eligible veterans will be made in annual installments and death payments to eligible survivors will be in one lump-sum payment. Maximum benefits will be paid for those whose disability or death occurred in 1970 and who, as of 1985, are (or would have been) age 50 or younger. 7. What should a class member do now to be eligible to participate in the distribution plan? Claimants who have already filed a claim form need not take any action at this time. Once the claims administration process is established and the claims administrator is hired, the Court will distribute additional application forms to claimants who have already filed claim forms. NamNews 1-01 Page 14 11 Nov 1987 Class members who have not filed claim forms should request a form, as described below. 8. What happens if a veteran becomes long-term totally disabled or dies in the future? In its 28 May 1985 opinion, the Court decided that all claim forms filed prior to the date of the opinion would be considered timely filings. If a veteran becomes long-term totally disabled or dies after 28 May 1985, that veteran or his survivor has 120 days from the date of the disability or death to file a timely claim with the Court to participate in the Payment Program. Class members should file claims even if they are late; the Court will determine at some time in the future whether to allow late claims. To receive a claim form, claimants should contact the Agent Orange Computer Center, P. O. Box 887, Smithtown, NY 11787. 9. Must class members retain attorneys to represent them for the distribution plan? There is no need for class members to hire attorneys to be eligible to participate in the distribution plan. If a class member hires an attorney, the class member should inform the attorney that all fees are subject to the approval of the Court under its authority to supervise the class action settlement. If you need further information, please contact: Agent Orange Computer Center; P O Box 887 Smithtown, NY 11787 or call: 1-800-832-1303 (in New York State) or 1-800-645-1355 (outside New York) ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 15 11 Nov 1987 * Peace With Honor? U.S. VETS LEFT BEHIND WITH "PEACE WITH HONOR" DID YOU KNOW? The North Vietnamese refused to take responsibility for negotiating on behalf of their communist allies in Laos or Cambodia, and Kissinger did not want to further complicate the talks by allowing those elements to participate directly? Kissinger found the solution when he convinced the North Vietnamese to make a "non-binding verbal agreement" to speak for the Pathet Lao and the Khmer Rouge. The Vietnamese were adamant, however, that such representation not be the final agreement. This did not prevent Kissinger from pretending that he had their assurance for the release of the prisoners which the North Vietnamese , who were always careful and exact with their wording, referred to those as "detained in Laos". (Hanoi was saying at the same time that there were no prisoners being held in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge.) But the North Vietnamese, either more skillful or more resolute, or the stronger negotiating position, had established their own "articles of enforcement". They and their Pathet Lao allies had over 1000 American prisoners in their hands and they would only release about half of them initially. They felt certain that rest could be used to force U.S. payment of the promised aid. The Vietnamese had waited in amazement, throughout the war, As American search and rescue teams sometimes flew as many as 300 sorties in the effort to save one downed U.S. pilot. America's fighting men had repeatedly demonstrated the value they placed on the lives and freedom of their comrades. Hanoi know WE knew they had many more than the 501 prisoners on the February 1st list. They knew WE KNEW the Pathet Lao were holding hundreds of prisoners in Laos. DID YOU KNOW? In a January 24 press conference Kissinger announced, "The return of American personnel and the accounting of missing in action is unconditional and will take place within the same time frame of the American withdrawal...American prisoners held in Laos and North Vietnam will be released to us in Hanoi". Senior communist representatives in Vientiane Soth Petrasy reacted to Kissinger's statement, "If they were captured in Laos, they will be returned in Laos". There had been NO discussions with the Pathet Lao, and there was NO AGREEMENT for return of prisoners "held in Laos". NO American was released who had been held in Laos. NO American was released in Laos. Hundreds of reports taken during debriefing sessions with Americans who ESCAPED from camps in Laos provide overwhelming evidence that many, many more Americans were left there. NamNews 1-01 Page 16 11 Nov 1987 DID YOU KNOW? Throughout the years numerous Pathet Lao officials had often spoken publicly about American prisoners in their control. They said that discussions regarding the release of those men could commence only after the hostilities in Laos were over, and most importantly the bombing was over. The U.S. continued bombing in Laos until August of 1973, 6 MONTHS AFTER Operation Homecoming, 6 months AFTER the U.S. government announced, "There is no reason to believe any American missing remain alive in Southeast Asia". DID YOU KNOW? On March 22, Nixon temporarily halted U.S. troop withdrawals. General John A. Wickham, Jr., Deputy Chief U.S. delegate to the Four Party Joint Military Commission, sent a letter to the North Vietnamese revising the time schedule for the withdrawal of remaining U.S. troops in Vietnam. The pullout was to be resumed only if the United States received a "complete list of all United States prisoners of war, including those held by the Pathet Lao, as well as the date, time and place of release". (A list of 9 American prisoners being held in Laos was already delivered to Washington. What prisoners was Gen. Wickham referring to?) The North Vietnamese responded that to hold them responsible for the return of prisoners detained in Laos illogical and constituted a violation of the Paris Peace Agreement, which placed on them no such responsibility. They showed for the first time that the "non-binding verbal agreement" was just that! On March 29, Pathet Lao officials traveled to Hanoi to participate in the release ceremony for the nine American and one Canadian prisoner captured in Laos by the Vietnamese, and both the Lao and the Vietnamese claimed these 10 were the "Laos prisoners". These 10 saw their "captors" for the first time that day! (These 10 were never "detained in Laos") The Vietnamese and the Lao were undoubtedly surprised when the OBVIOUS LIE was accepted by the U.S. But, regarding the large number of American prisoners captured and detained in Laos, Nixon was in a very precarious political position. One of the 22 Articles of Impeachment later considered, as the Watergate cover- up began to unravel, was for Nixon's illegal use of U.S. military personnel in Laos. Because of Nixon's vulnerability regarding his conduct of the war in Laos, it was too dangerous to take a strong public stand demanding the release of such a large number of prisoners in Laos, so that OBVIOUS LIE was not challenged and the American troop withdrawals resumed later that same day. The failure to challenge that lie, for political reasons, drove the first nail into the coffins of HUNDREDS of remaining American prisoners. NamNews 1-01 Page 17 11 Nov 1987 DID YOU KNOW? On April 5, the Senate voted down the consideration of aid - the Second nail was driven. Then on APril 7, the Vietnamese announced, for the first time, that there had been no detention facilities for holding prisoners in Laos, and that they had been executed within several hours of capture. (this comes as a shock to me! and I'm sure to the dozens of other U.S. soldiers who escaped from "detention" facilities well within Laos!) The Vietnamese KNEW we KNEW it was not true, and made the statement to warn us we might never get our men if we did not pay. In a last-ditch effort, Robert McFarlane was dispatched to Hanoi to offer $100 million in emergency medical aid for the North Vietnamese city of Vinh, in return for the remaining American prisoners. "We were promised $4 billion, and we want it!" Nail number 3. On April 11, Dr. Roger Shields received a phone call from his boss, Assistant Secretary of Defense William Clements who said, "All the prisoners are dead". Nail number 4. On April 12, Dr. Shields announced, "There is no reason to believe there are Americans remaining alive in Southeast Asia". Nail number 5. Almost immediately following Operation Homecoming, U.S. participants in the deliberations of the Joint Economic Commission (the North Vietnamese/U.S. team studying the nature and amount of U.S. post-war reconstruction aid) began for the first time to demand progress on unrelated issues as a condition to completing the aid package. Nixon and Kissinger apparently hoped that these discussions would convince the North Vietnamese that the U.S. really intended to pay the aid and that the remaining prisoners would be released before they discovered that the aid would NEVER be paid. On April 15, the talks broke down. The coffin was sealed. The remaining prisoners were not released, but were held, and are held to this day to force the payment of the promised aid. When Nixon and Kissinger failed in their attempt to deceive the North Vietnamese, the deception was turned on the American people: "There is no reason to believe any American missing remain alive in Southeast Asia". In the end, Nixon and Kissinger won the battle they thought they had to win, but they paid an awful price for their victory: they abandoned their South Vietnamese allies to a certain defeat; they abandoned their anti-communist allies in Laos; they left their Cambodian allies to suffer the wrath of a genocidal Khmer Rouge maniac; they abandoned hundreds of American servicemen and civilians in Laos and Vietnam, betrayed by the leaders they had gone to Indochina to serve. But, "PEACE WITH HONOR" was theirs! ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 18 11 Nov 1987 * Presidential Commission Requested * * * * PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION REQUESTED * * * * The American Defense Institute is spearheading a national campaign to generate a groundswell of public support for a thorough investigation of the POW/MIA tragedy. Join with us in asking the President and the Members of the United States Congress to assist in this investigation. WHAT CAN YOU DO? Write a letter to President Reagan, your Senators, and your Congressmen to express your support for the Presidential Commission headed by H. Ross Perot. This commission will strongly examine all of the existing evidence regarding the POWs/MIAs. I've included a sample letter which you might like to use as a guide. SAMPLE LETTER The Honorable _______________________________________ The White House/US Senate/US House of Representatives Washington, DC, 20500/20510/20515 Dear ________________________, I strongly support the Presidential Commission, headed by H. Ross Perot, to fully examine all of the existing evidence pertinent to the POW/MIA issue. Please do everything in your power to see to it that this commission is rapidly initiated, so that we may obtain a full accounting of all POWs and MIAs in Southeast Asia. These forgotten Americans can wait no longer. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 19 11 Nov 1987 * Western Union POW/MIA Hotline WESTERN UNION POW/MIA HOTLINE! You can help today!! You can send mailgrams at a discounted rate of $4.25 each to the President, your Senators, and/or Congressmen to help bring our POWs home. A prepared message is available all you have to do is mention the POW/MIA Hotline. CALL TODAY : 1-800-325-6000, ask for Operator 73 (Operator 73 can identify your representatives if you are not sure who they are. Confirmation will be forwarded to the American Defense Initiative by Western Union. What are you waiting for? ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 20 11 Nov 1987 Current Trends Postservice Mortality Among Vietnam Veterans Reported by Agent Orange Projects, Div of Chronic Disease Control, Center for Environmental Health, CDC. ----------------------------------------------------------------- The CDC has recently completed the first phase of the Vietnam Experience Study (VES), a comprehensive study of the health of Vietnam veterans. The VES is a historical cohort study in which the health of 9,324 Vietnam veterans is compared with that of 8,989 non-Vietnam veterans who served in Korea, Germany, or the United States during the Vietnam era. Eligibility for the study was limited to male U.S. Army veterans who first entered military service between 1965 and 1971, who served a single term of enlistment, and who were discharged alive in the enlisted pay grades E-1 through E-5. Participants were randomly selected from computerized lists of accession numbers taken from the military personnel files of Army veterans who were discharged during the relevant time period. The VES has three components: an assessment of mortality; health interviews of living veterans; and a clinical, psychological, and laboratory evaluation of a random sample of those persons who completed the health interview. The mortality component is the portion of the VES that has recently been completed; a summary of this phase follows (1). Several methods were used to determine the number of deaths occurring among Vietnam veterans after discharge from active duty and before January 1, 1984. The result was nearly complete ascertainment of the vital status for both cohorts. In addition to an analysis based on the cause of death as specified on each death certificate, a medical review panel independently assigned an underlying cause of death using information from supplemental sources. These sources included personal physicians as well as hospital records, autopsy reports, and coroner and law enforcement files. Causes of death were coded according to the Ninth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (2). The study indicated that veterans of service in Vietnam experienced a 17% higher rate of postservice mortality than veterans who served in Korea, Germany, or the United States. The most noteworthy pattern of overall mortality was the changing difference between Vietnam and non-Vietnam veterans over time. During the first 5 years after discharge, Vietnam veterans had a mortality rate 1.5 times higher than non-Vietnam veterans. During the succeeding years, there was essentially no difference between the two groups. This pattern was generally consistent across most demographic and military subgroups of veterans. When the data were stratified by type of military unit and military occupational specialty, the relative risk of postdischarge mortality for those less likely to have been in combat was similar to the risk for those who were more likely to have been in combat. NamNews 1-01 Page 21 11 Nov 1987 External causes, which include both intentional and unintentional injuries, accounted for most of the increased mortality in the early postservice period. Fatal injuries from motor vehicle crashes (MVC) were approximately two times more likely among Vietnam veterans than non-Vietnam veterans during this time. A more detailed examination of MVC deaths did not indicate any particular factor that could explain the overall excess among Vietnam veterans. Data on the involvement of alcohol (available for 62% of MVC deaths) indicated that drinking did not account for this excess. Furthermore, the increased death rate was evident regardless of the time of day of the crash or the number of vehicles involved. Suicide and homicide showed similar increases in the early follow-up period, with both rate ratios being at or below 1.0 thereafter. Mortality from unintentional poisonings was elevated among Vietnam veterans throughout the follow-up period, although the number of such deaths was small (rate ratio = 2.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.88-6.92). Most of these involved the use of illicit drugs. When all drug-related deaths identified by the medical review panel were analyzed together, the rate ratio between Vietnam and non-Vietnam veterans appeared to increase with the number of years since discharge. Furthermore, this excess was found almost exclusively among draftees; those assigned to tactical military occupational specialties; and those serving in Vietnam during 1968 or 1969, the years of heaviest combat activity. Circulatory system diseases were the only natural causes of death for which the mortality rate among Vietnam veterans differed from that among non-Vietnam veterans. As compared with non-Vietnam veterans, Vietnam veterans had a notable deficit in such deaths (RR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.25-0.99). For all causes of death except suicide, statistical adjustment for potential confounders such as age at discharge, race, military occupational specialty, and pay grade at discharge had little effect on the results. For suicide, adjustment increased the RR in the early postservice period from 1.7 to 2.5 (death certificate data). Editorial Note: The intent of this study was to assess the effect of military service in Vietnam on subsequent mortality. The 'Vietnam Experience' includes a wide variety of factors that could influence health. These include psychological stresses associated with war, infectious diseases prevalent in Vietnam, and exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange. Previous studies of Vietnam veterans reveal a similar excess of mortality from external causes among Australian Vietnam veterans (3). Deaths from suicide, homicide, and unintentional poisoning occurred more frequently among Australian veterans who had served in Vietnam than among other Australian Vietnam-era veterans. Mortality associated with MVCs was not elevated overall, but data suggested an excess in the youngest age group. NamNews 1-01 Page 22 11 Nov 1987 Findings on mortality from external causes from four other proportional mortality studies of U.S. Vietnam veterans are not consistent with this CDC study (4-7). These four studies showed no significant increases in deaths from MVCs (5), suicide and homicide, or unintentional poisonings (4) among U.S. Vietnam veterans. Whereas the CDC study revealed a continuing excess of drug- related deaths among U.S. Vietnam veterans, the only substance-related excess among Australian Vietnam veterans involved deaths from alcohol-related natural causes (1). These discordant findings may reflect differences in in-service use of drugs and alcohol. While the use of illicit drugs by American troops in Vietnam was reported to be heavy (8,9), drug use among Australian soldiers was reported to be uncommon. However, alcohol use was reported to be heavy among Australian soldiers (3). The lower mortality from circulatory diseases among Vietnam veterans is unexpected and may be a by-product of the selection process for assignment to Vietnam, which may have included consideration of cardiovascular fitness established during basic or advanced training. An opposite result was found in the Australian study, where mortality due to circulatory diseases was 90% higher among Vietnam veterans than among non-Vietnam veterans (3). Various indexes of cardiovascular morbidity measured in the other components of the VES may help to further explain these mortality findings. The CDC findings for external-cause mortality are similar to previous observations of postservice mortality in U.S. Army veterans serving in combat areas during World War II and the Korean War (10). In contrast, broader cross sections of World War II veterans, which included both men who had served in war zones and men who had not, did not show either a difference or a deficit in postdischarge traumatic deaths (10,11), as did non- Vietnam veterans in the CDC study. These findings suggest that the postservice excess of traumatic deaths among Vietnam veterans may not be unique to the Vietnam experience, but rather, may be a consequence of the unusual stresses endured while stationed in a combat zone. The pattern of drug-related deaths, however, may be more specifically linked to combat intensity rather than to the result of an across-the-board effect of the war experience. The mortality assessment of Vietnam veterans presented here is an incomplete evaluation of the health experience of this group. Additional data on the present and past health status of living Vietnam veterans will be forthcoming from the health interview and laboratory and psychological evaluation components of the VES. Because this group of veterans has not yet reached the age at which chronic diseases have an important impact on mortality, continued monitoring of mortality among VES participants may provide additional insights. NamNews 1-01 Page 23 11 Nov 1987 References 1. Boyle CA, Decoufle P, Delaney RJ, et al. Postservice mortality among Vietnam veterans. JAMA 1987;257:790-5 2. World Health Organization. Manual of the international statistical classification of diseases, injuries and causes of death. 9th rev. Geneva: World Health Organization, 1977. 3. Fett MJ, Dunn M, Adena MA, O'Toole BI, Forcier L. Australian veterans health studies: the mortality report--part I. Canberra, Australia: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1984. 4. Lawrence CE, Reilly AA, Quickenton P, Greenwald P, Page WF, Kuntz AJ. Mortality patterns of New York State Vietnam veterans. Am J Public Health 1985;75:277-9. 5. Kogan MD, Clapp RW. Mortality among Vietnam veterans in Massachusetts, 1972-1983. Boston: Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 1985. 6. Anderson HA, Hanrahan LP, Jensen M, Laurin D, Vick W, Wiegman P. Wisconsin Vietnam veteran mortality study. Madison: Wisconsin Division of Health, 1985. 7. Holmes AP. West Virginia Vietnam-era veterans mortality study. Charleston: West Virginia Health Department, 1986. 8. Ritter C, Clayton RR, Voss HL. Vietnam military service and marijuana use. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 1985;11:119-30. 9. Robins LN, Helzer JE, Davis DH. Narcotic use in southeast Asia and afterward: an interview study of 898 Vietnam returnees. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1975;32:955-61. 10. Nefzger MD. Follow-up studies of World War II and Korean War prisoners-- I: study plan and mortality findings. Am J Epidemiol 1970;91:123-38. 11. Seltzer CC, Jablon S. Effects of selection on mortality. Am J Epidemiol 1974;100:367-72. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 24 11 Nov 1987 US AIR FORCE HEALTH STUDY The US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine is conducting a long-term study "To determine whether there is a causal relationship between adverse health effects and exposure to the complex environment of Southeast Asia." Physical examinations and questionnaires are being conducted over a 20- year period from 1982 to 2002. The following is a summary of the first USAF Health Study findings. SUMMARY OF THE 1982 PHYSICAL EXAMINATION RESULTS The analysis of the medical data collected by the Air Force Health Study in 1982 was completed in early 1984. Most of the data were obtained from the interviews and physical examinations of C-123 and C-130 aircrew members and support personnel. The physical examinations and the questionnaire data were analyzed by major body systems. The study assessed general physical health, malignancy, and fertility/reproduction, neurology, psychology, liver, immunology, dermatology, heart and blood vessels, hematology, lungs, kidneys and body hormones. There were no differences in the commonly used medical measurements of general health and both groups appeared to be in good health for their ages. There were no statistically significant differences in the occurrence of internal cancers between groups. Significantly more skin cancer was noted in the herbicide-exposed group, but these analyses were adjusted for sunlight exposure. Skin cancer is the most common malignant disease in the United States population, and excessive exposure to sunlight is a major cause of these cancers. There was no evidence that the skin cancers were related to herbicide exposure. Measurements of fertility and the reproductive systems showed mixed results. These results are preliminary since they are based largely on self-reports that await medical record and birth certificate verifications. There were no significant differences in fertility, infertility, miscarriages, still births or live births. Significant associations were noted between maternal smoking during pregnancy and learning disabilities, physical handicaps, infant deaths and birth defects. Maternal alcohol use during pregnancy was also associated with physical handicaps. Since these analyses relied heavily on unverified reports, further evaluation after verification, using birth certificates and medical records, is underway. The neurological assessment found no consistent abnormalities in the nervous systems of study participants. A strong influence of diabetes and alcohol upon neurological tests was identified. NamNews 1-01 Page 25 11 Nov 1987 The majority of psychological data were obtained from responses gathered during interviews and psychological testing. Educational level significantly and consistently influenced most test results. For example, expressions of fear, anger, and anxiety were much more common in the high school-educated Ranch Handers. There were no differences in IQ or performance testing. Liver function tests showed mixed results. Ranch Handers had some elevated liver enzyme tests and lower cholesterol levels. Exposure to alcohol, degreasing chemicals, and industrial chemicals strongly influenced the liver test results. No cases of chloracne were diagnosed clinically or by biopsy. A thorough questionnaire review of acne showed no differences between the groups. Evaluation of the cardiovascular system showed no significant differences between the groups in blood pressure, electrocardiograms and heart sounds. Differences in two peripheral leg pulses were noted and are being further evaluated in the 1985 examination. Cardiovascular findings were highly correlated with age and smoking patterns. The assessment of the immune system was greatly influenced by the age and smoking habits of the participants. These findings were previously unrecognized by medical experts on the immune system. Evaluation of kidney, pulmonary, and hormone functions disclosed minor group differences, not felt to be medically important. The results of the 1982 physical examinations indicate that the study participants are in good health for men of comparable age. SUMMARY OF MORTALITY EXPERIENCE RESULTS The Air Force Health Study evaluates the health of current and former Air Force personnel who were stationed in Southeast Asia during the 1960's and early 1970's. The Baseline Mortality Report was released in June 1983, the Baseline Morbidity Report in February 1984, and the first follow-up mortality study in December 1984. Neither of the studies demonstrated health effects that could be attributed to herbicide or dioxin exposure. A new report, released on 4 December 1985, described the third mortality analysis. Deaths in the 1257 Ranch Hand and 6171 C-130 subjects were determined. As of 31 December 1984, 55 Ranch Hand and 285 C-130 subjects had died. Death certificates were obtained on all subjects. The current mortality analysis did not reveal any statistically significant differences in mortality between the herbicide exposed and unexposed groups. Continued mortality surveillance is being conducted since the groups are still NamNews 1-01 Page 26 11 Nov 1987 relatively young and healthy. While sufficient time may have elapsed for some conditions (such as heart disease) to occur, additional time may be necessary for other conditions (such as cancer) to develop. At this time, however, there is no evidence of increased mortality as a result of herbicide exposure in individuals who were involved with herbicides in Vietnam. In addition, the death experience of these groups was compared to the death experience of the U.S. male population, the DOD retired population, and the active U.S. civil service population. Both the Ranch Hand and C-130 groups are living significantly longer than the males in the general population, and they are living as long or longer than the DOD retired population. Their mortality experience is also similar to that of the civil service group. It appears, at this time, the study groups are living as long or longer than expected and are not dying of unusual causes. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 27 11 Nov 1987 Preliminary Report - SERUM DIOXIN IN VIETNAM-ERA VETERANS REPORTED BY: AGENT ORANGE PROJECTS, DIV OF CHRONIC DISEASE CONTROL, DIV OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH LABORATORY SCIENCES, CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, CDC. Agent Orange, a defoliant used in Vietnam, was a mixture of 2,4-D (+) and 2,4,5-T (++). During manufacture 2,4,5-T was contaminated with TCDD (+++), a compound with marked toxicity in some species of experimental animals (1-4). In 1979, the U.S. Congress responded to concerns of Vietnam veterans by passing Public Law 96-151 mandating epidemiologic studies of the possible health effects on Vietnam veterans of exposure to herbicides and their associated dioxin contaminants. In 1983, CDC developed a protocol (5) for a historical cohort study (the Agent Orange Exposure Study) of U.S. Army veterans who had served in heavily sprayed areas of Vietnam. The protocol specified that the degree of exposure to Agent Orange be based on a score estimating the "likelihood of exposure" and calculated from information in military records. Men who served in the III Corps military region (around Saigon) during the period 1967-1968 were selected for study because this region was heavily sprayed during that time. The U.S. Army and Joint Services Environmental Support Group (ESG) found that 65 U.S. Army combat battalions had spent at least 18 months in the III Corps area during the period 1967-1968. The ESG abstracted daily locations of companies within these battalions from military records and obtained personnel records of men who had served in those companies. Using existing records of each application of Agent Orange by fixed-wing aircraft, helicopter, or ground-based equipment and ESG troop location data, CDC developed several different methods for computing exposure scores for each man. These methods were based on each man's daily proximity (in time and space) to recorded Agent Orange applications. Subsequent evaluation of military records by CDC and ESG revealed that daily tracking of individual soldiers was not always possible. The ESG evaluation also suggested that many helicopter and ground-based sprays, which were often near troops, were not recorded. Consequently, CDC has conducted a validation study using current TCDD levels in serum as a biological marker to determine whether scores based on military records or on veterans' self-assessed exposures to herbicides could identify those veterans who had received heavy exposure in Vietnam. During 1986, CDC's Division of Environmental Health Laboratory Sciences, Center for Environmental Health, developed a method for measuring TCDD in human serum. The measurement, which is based on lipid weight, is highly correlated with paired measurements of TCDD in adipose tissue (r=.98) (6,7). The same laboratory subsequently used paired sera (drawn in 1982 and 1987( to estimate the half-life of the TCDD body-burden in man as approximately 6-10 years (CDC, unpublished data). The sera came from Air Force personnel involved in spraying Agent Orange in Vietnam during 1968. Some of these sera still show markedly NamNews 1-01 Page 28 11 Nov 1987 elevated TCDD levels in 1987. These new developments suggest that only about 2 to 2.5 TCDD half-lives have elapsed since potential exposure in Vietnam and that serum TCDD can serve as a biological marker for previous Agent Orange exposure.These findings are the basis for the study of U.S. Army veterans reported here. Vietnam veterans invited to participate in this study had served in at least one of the 65 selected battalions between October 1966 and March 1969. They were chosen from the 9,727 men whose records were sufficiently complete for exposure scoring and who met the original selection criteria proposed in 1983 (e.g., only a single tour of duty in Vietnam and a pay grade of E1 to E5 at discharge). The exposure score used to select Vietnam veteran participants was the total number of occasions on which the veteran's unit was within 2km of a documented Agent Orange spray within 6 days after that spray. This score is based on the assumption that TCDD undergoes rapid degradation on vegetation (8-10). All but 10 (++++) of the 314 with a high exposure (a score of 5 or more) were invited to participate in this study. A stratified random sample of 235 of the 1,351 men with a score from 1 to 4 were invited, and a sample of 440 of the remaining 8,062, all of whom had a score of 9, were invited. These men averaged over 300 days of service in Vietnam. A stratified random sample of 200 non-Vietnam veterans of the same era were invited as a comparison group. While they did not have Vietnam- related exposure to Agent Orange, their demographic and other personal characteristics were similar to the Vietnam veterans. Of the 979 invited Vietnam veterans, 871 (89%) completed telephone interviews, and 665 (68%) also completed medical examinations and gave blood for TCDD measurement at CDC. Those reporting health problems in the telephone interview were more likely to participate in the examinations and blood sampling than were those reporting good health. Of the 200 non-Vietnam veterans invited, 103 (52%) participated fully. This lower participation rate does not effect exposure scores or TCDD levels in Vietnam veterans. Each participant underwent a detailed interview regarding military and civilian exposures to herbicides. Table 1 shows selected characteristics of the participants by exposure groups. While 25% of Vietnam veterans reported direct exposures (present during spraying or handled spraying equipment) and 70% reported indirect exposure (walked through defoliated areas), 6% of the non-Vietnam veterans reported such exposures. Those who were both interviewed and examined were similar with respect to the characteristics shown in Table 1 to those who were interviewed only. The preliminary TCDD distributions, which are shown in Figure 1 and are based on the first 519 specimens processed, represent a 68% random sample of the participants. All of these men except one had TCDD levels (based on lipid weight) below 20 parts per trillion (ppt), which is considered the upper limit for residents of the United States without known TCDD exposure (6,7,11,12). There was no significant difference among the three Vietnam veteran exposure groups selected on the assumption of short NamNews 1-01 Page 29 11 Nov 1987 environmental persistence of TCDD (one method accounted for the distance from the spray, without regard to the time since the spraying, and the other accounted for total days spent in heavily sprayed areas). Finally, no association was found between TCDD levels and self-perceived herbicide exposure in the military (either direct exposure or delayed exposure). The median TCDD levels for all exposure groups were between 3.5 and 4.3 ppt. Furthermore, TCDD medians for Vietnam veterans (median = 3.8 ppt) and non-Vietnam veterans (median = 3.9 ppt) were virtually the same. A full report will be published after TCDD measurements have been completed for all participants and the full report has been reviewed by the Agent Orange Working Group of the Domestic Policy Council (Executive Branch) and by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. EDITORIAL NOTE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether estimates of exposure based on military records or on interviews of U.S. Army veterans can identify those with heavy exposure to TCDD. Serum TCDD levels measured in 1987 were not associated with any of the indirect exposure scoring methods evaluated. Because of the purpose of the study, men with higher exposure scores were deliberately over-sampled. The distribution of TCDD levels reported here cannot be generalized with confidence to all U.S. Army Vietnam veterans since the study did not use a random sample of all such veterans. While CDC was processing sera from the U.S. Army veterans reported here, it was concurrently processing sera from other groups with known occupational exposure to dioxin prior to but not after 1970. Some of those who were occupationally exposed had TCDD levels of more than 30-fold higher in 1987 (CDC, unpublished data) than the medial levels of approximately 4 ppt reported here for Vietnam veterans. The distribution of TCDD levels for the Vietnam veterans, with all but one below the upper limit for unexposed U.S. residents, suggests that few of the participants in this study have had unusually heavy dioxin exposure. No threshold level has been determined as yet for the health effects of TCDD on humans. REFERENCES: 1. Allen JR, Barsotti DA, Van Miller JP, Abrahamson LJ, Lalich JJ. Morphological changes monkeys consuming a diet containing low-levels of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Food Cosmet Toxicol 1977;15:401-10. 2. Norback DH, Allen JR. Biological responses of the nonhuman primate, chicken and rat to chlorinate dibenzo-p-dioxin ingestion. Environ Health Perspect 1973;5:233-40. 3. Schwetz BA, Norris JM, Sparschu GL, et al. Toxicity of chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins. Environ Health Perspect 1973;5:87-99 4. Zinki JG, Moore JA, Gupta BN. Hematologic and clinical chemistry effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in laboratory animals. Environ Health Perspect 1973;5:111-8. 5. CDC. Protocol for epidemiologic studies of the health of NamNews 1-01 Page 30 11 Nov 1987 Vietnam veterans. Atlanta, Georgia: US Department of Health and Human Service, Public Health Service, 1983. 6. Patterson DG Jr. Hoffman RE, Needham LL, et al. 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin levels in adipose tissue of exposed and control persons in Missouri: an interim report. JAMA 1986;256:2683-6. 7. Patterson DG Jr, Needham LL, Pirkle JL, et al. Levels of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in paired human serum and adipose tissue samples. Presented at Dioxin 86, Fukuoka, Japan, September 16-19, 1986. 8. Crosby DG, Wong AS. Environmental degradation of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Science 1977; 195:1337-8. 9. Nash RG, Beall ML Jr. Distribution of silvex, 2,4-D, and TCDD applied to turn in chambers and field plots. J Agric Food Chem 1980;28:614-23. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 31 11 Nov 1987 Preliminary Report - SERUM DIOXIN IN VIETNAM-ERA VETERANS REPORTED BY: AGENT ORANGE PROJECTS, DIV OF CHRONIC DISEASE CONTROL, DIV OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH LABORATORY SCIENCES, CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH, CDC. TABLES AND FIGURES: TABLE 1. Selected characteristics of participants in the Agent Orange Validation Study, by levels of exposure to Agent Orange* Vietnam Veterans Agent Orange Exposure Scores --------------------------------- Non Vietnam High Med Low All Veterans Characteristics (n=194) (n=164) (n=307) (n=665) (n=103) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Demographic characteristics Age (mean) 40 41 40 40 39 Race (nonwhite) 25% 30% 25% 26% 20% Military service characteristics Type of enlistment (draftee) 73% 80% 84% 80% 74% Tactical MOS** 68% 87% 89% 82% 28% Reported combat exposure (mean score***)36 41 38 38 -- Days in Vietnam (mean) 338 322 306 320 -- Self-reported herbicide exposure Military: Direct 23% 26% 26% 25% 6% Indirect 69% 69% 72% 70% 6% Civilian Occupational 19% 20% 20% 19% 32% Home use 35% 29% 35% 34% 44% Current health characteristics Smoking (cigarette) 47% 49% 51% 49% 48% Alcohol use (mean number of drinks/month) 66 46 66 61 54 Body mass index (mean) 27 28 28 27 27 ----------------------------------------------------------------- * 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) or "dioxin". ** MOS = military occupational specialty. *** From questionnaire; possible range of 0-72. A higher score indicates more combat experience. FIGURE 1. Serum TCDD* levels of Vietnam and non-Vietnam veterans participating in the Agent Orange Validation Study - United States, 1987 30 Vietnam Veterans (n=444) ... NamNews 1-01 Page 32 11 Nov 1987 25 ... ... 20 ...... ...... 15 ......... ............ 10 ............... ............... 5 .................. ..................... ........................... .............................. 0 ................................ ----------------------------------------------------------------- 30 Non-Vietnam Veterans (n=75) 25 ... ... ...... 20 ...... ......... 15 ......... ......... ............... 10 ............... ............... 5 ............... ................. ..................... ....................... ........................... ... 0 ........................... ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 TCDD Levels (parts per trillion) * 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) or "dioxin." ** One veteran had this level of TCDD. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 33 11 Nov 1987 * Excerpts from an article by DAVID HARRINGTON HEARTS AND MINDS ... July '87 VVA VETERAN UNDERSTANDING PTSD The American Psychiatric Association's DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL describes four elements of PTSD: 1. exposure to a recognizable stressor or trauma; 2. reexperiencing the trauma through nightmares, flashbacks and so forth; 3. emotional numbing or withdrawal from the external environment; and 4. two other symptoms (hyperalertness, sleep disturbance, guilt, memory impairment). While the composite is what counts, each element must be understood and applied to every assessment of PTSD. The exposure to a recognizable stressor is often exposure to live combat. However others in Vietnam such as nurses, airport technicians and rear-guard support personnel may have been traumatized without seeing combat. Some (McDermott, 1981) hypothesize that diet changes and deficiencies, housing, medical care, weather, loneliness and culture shock can also cause traumatic emotional disturbances in an individual. Second, reexperiencing the trauma can occur in a variety of ways. Often, Vietnam veterans do not recall the trauma for significant periods of time. However, let a new stressor come along (loss of a job or failure of a marriage, for instance), and the veteran starts dealing with not only today's stress, but recalls and brings forward the stress from Vietnam. That recall can come from reminders of smells, faces or places. Third, emotional numbing or withdrawal is easy to describe. What is your favorite, "good for you," form of relaxation? How often have you done it in the past year? Have you done it with someone special? If you can't answer positively to these types of questions, you are probably stressed and isolated. Last, examples of other symptoms include: feeling restless, making mountains out of molehills, being startled by movement or sound and having trouble with sleep. APPLICATION FOR THE PTSD DIAGNOSIS If you believe this diagnosis fits you, then follow these procedures: 1. Get to a vet center and start working to resolve your feelings. 2. If you have a bad discharge, then file for a discharge upgrade. Remember the VA has its own criteria for what are dishonorable conditions of discharge. So, for example, if you received an upgrade under the Carter clemency program, you may not be deemed eligible for VA compensation. You are eligible for NamNews 1-01 Page 34 11 Nov 1987 treatment of war-related injuries, however, pending a review of your discharge. 3. File for social security benefits. 4. File for VA benefits. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 35 11 Nov 1987 Vietnam Veterans Survey Results The following survey questions have been accumilating data on the Vietnam Veterans Valhalla BBS system for several months. There were 437 responses to this questionnaire and I was very pleased with the results. Where do you fit in? *What branch of the service were you in during the Vietnam war? -United Staes Marine Corps 37% -United Staes Navy 17% -United States Army 37% -United Staes Air Force 7% -South Vietnam Marines 1% -South Vietnam Air Force 1% *What rank did you hold? -Enlisted (E1-E3) 21% -Enlisted (E4-E6) 53% -Enlisted (E7-Warrant Officer) 2% -Officer (O1) 12% -Officer (O2) 9% -Officer (O3) 2% -Officer (O4) 1% -Officer (O5 or above) 1% *Which of the below applies? -Combat vet in country 59% -Support position in country 31% -Tonkin Gulf on a ship 4% -I was no where near the war 6% *What years were you in the military during the Vietnam war? -Between 1964 and 1969 52% -Between 1968 and 1972 34% -Between 1971 and 1973 13% -Other 1% *Were you a POW? -Yes! But I escaped! 1% -Yes! But I was released! 3% -No, never! 96% *Were you wounded? -Yes, once! 32% -Yes, more than once! 12% -No, never. 56% *What, if any, drugs did you use while in the military during the Vietnam war? NamNews 1-01 Page 36 11 Nov 1987 -Marijuana only 13% -Opium only 2% -Hashish only 10% -Heroin only 1% -Cocaine only 0% -Amphetamines only 6% -Booze only 10% -Other 2% -More than one of the above 57% -Never touched the stuff! *What were your educational accomplishments PRIOR to entering the military? -Not graduated High School 42% -Graduated High School 36% -Started college/no degree 17% -Associate degree from college 3% -Bachelor degree 1% -Masters degree 1% -Phd 0% *What have you done with your education SINCE being discharged from the military? -Nothing at all 16% -Back to High School/graduated 11% -Studied and passed my GED 14% -Associates/Vocational degree 32% -Bachelors degree 21% -Masters degree 5% -Phd 1% *Are you still in school? -No 72% -Yes 28% *How has your job career been going since your discharge? -Unemployed 16% -Non-skilled job 26% -Vocational Skill job 28% -Blue collar job 12% -Professional white collar job 18% *How many jobs have you had since your discharge? -One Company 22% -Several Jobs 38% -Many Jobs 28% -Too Many Jobs 12% *Since your discharge from the military, have you had to undergo any psychological assistance for mental health? NamNews 1-01 Page 37 11 Nov 1987 -No, Never needed any 22% -No, probably should 36% -Yes, Vet Center counsellor 20% -Yes, Private 12% -Yes, In-Patient Care 10% ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 38 11 Nov 1987 ================================================================= MEMORIES ================================================================= ATTITUDES Submitted by: Thom Patten San Jose Vet Center San Jose, California They came from the heartland. They came from the coasts. They came to answer their nations call. They grew up with those values - Duty, Honor, Country. And, when the time came, they readily volunteered. Thrust into an impossible situation, they became sickened by the pointless waste that was paraded before them day after day, eventually numbing themselves emotionally just to survive. And, upon their return, they did not hear the words "Welcome home". Instead, they found a country that was ill prepared and, in some cases, unwilling to acknowledge their accomplishments or address their needs. These were not the combat soldiers of Southeast Asia. These were the women who served in Vietnam. Fran McDaniel was 24 when she served her first tour in Vietnam. "I grew up hearing stories about World War II", Fran says of her childhood in Virginia, "I wanted to do something significant." Although she loved her mother, she wanted nothing to do with the drudgery of being a housewife. Wrapped in patriotism and longing for adventure, Fran McDaniel joined the Army. Within 5 months 2nd Lieutenant Fran McDaniel was in Vietnam. The year was 1966. The first two months of Fran's were relatively uneventful as her group went about setting up a mobile field hospital. There were casualties, but not in overwhelming numbers. Once the hospital was set up, the casualties started coming in. "Marines, Navy, the Big Red One, I think, I don't know...I blocked things out." That was how Fran dealt with the casualties. She didn't want to know the identities of the incoming wounded. She referred to them as "the chest wound", or "the abdomen wound". "I had to do that in the O.R.", she continued, "I didn't have to know...I didn't want to know." She even went so far as to not visit the post-op areas. "I didn't want to see those guys whose legs I just took off the table." With the heavy use of mine warfare in Vietnam, came an inordinate amount of leg amputations. Explained Fran, "We did a lot of heavy surgery...vascular, big abdomen operations...but all the legs...it seemed like that's all I did. Fran dealt with Vietnam much the same as other Vietnam Vets-she blocked it out. So effective are her blocking mechanisms, that she struggles to remember the units with which she served. "With two tours", she explains, "it all runs together." Fran has no problem remembering the positive aspects of her time in Vietnam. She fondly recalls the camaraderie of her group. She still misses the attention she received as "Queen for a Year", a term describing the treatment the nurses received. Still, she deals with the horror, Fran continued to block. She NamNews 1-01 Page 39 11 Nov 1987 admits to "drinking more over there", but maintains it was part of a "Purposeful Fog". And, even though the hospital was flattened three times, and at one point almost overrun, Fran denies any lingering effects. "I guess I just blocked that, too." Upon her return to the states, Fran McDaniel continued to block Vietnam. "It was like I'd never been there...like it was someone else. Remaining in the Army, she was insulated from any negative reaction in the community. She did a two year "dream assignment" in Germany, but eventually wound up back in Vietnam. The Vietnam of 1971 was a different war from Vietnam 1966. "Most everybody didn't want to be there", Fran remembers, "I had more guys in the hospital for drug addiction that we did for wounds." Now a supervisor, Fran had difficulty getting her people to do the things that needed to be done. And the casualties continued. She recalls the aftermath of a firefight when a truckload of dead South Vietnamese soldiers were brought to the hospital in Pleiku. "They piled the bodies up outside...piles and piles of bodies." For all the blocking, Fran still carries two images with her- " three big piles of bodies" and "hundreds and hundreds of legs". A few years ago, at the request of a friend, Fran joined a Vet Center's Women's Vet Group. She admits to being resistant. She felt that the others were just "cry-babies" wanting to blame all their problems on Vietnam. She has since changed her mind. "hey, I've got some problems here myself. I realized I had these images I was carrying around here, that every time I tried to talk about them I just blocked them out." About the earlier group, Fran says they are "probably better off than me. They got it off their chests eight or nine years before I did. I just didn't think I had that much to say about it." To this day, Fran still tip-toes through the emotional mine- fields of Vietnam. She refuses to read Linda VanDevanter's "Home Before Morning". "I won't read it...I don't want to read it. I don't want to see all that stuff", she explains fidgeting nervously, "because I just might lose it. I know that I probably do need to read it and I think that someday I will." For Fran McDaniel, the Vietnam War has not ended. * * * * * Linda McClenahan is a minority within a minority. She is a non-nurse Vietnam veteran. Born to Midwestern parents, raised with Midwestern values, and educated in Catholic schools, Linda readily admits her patriotism. Her soft demeanor belies the fire within. "I always had the attitude that freedom is a two-edged sword. With the good things of freedom you also have the responsibility. And though I'm a Minnesotan by birth, I suppose that I have a little of that Missouri attitude - show me". After High School, Linda decided to join the service. When the Air Force couldn't guarantee her more than a clerical position, she decided to join the Army. "I wanted to do something that mattered," Linda explains. "The day I talked to these people I knew I was going to volunteer for Vietnam. I wanted to know what was going on." Linda graduated with honors from both Basic training and AIT, and was WAC of the Month at Ft. Richie, MD. NamNews 1-01 Page 40 11 Nov 1987 Her specialty was fixed station communications. She was told that the waiting list for non-nurse assignments in Vietnam was "years". While on leave, she enlisted the help of a family friend who was an assignment officer in Oakland. Within three weeks, Linda McClenahan had her orders for Vietnam. Within hours of her arrival, Linda got her first taste of what she had volunteered for. "The first thing that happened is we (US Air Force) started filing out. About fifteen minutes later we were lying flat on the ground, , just really glad I'm a 32 no-cup, laying just as flat as I could get and that stuff's commin' in explodin' all over the place. That was the moment I realized `My God, I could get killed over here'. And I said to the Captain, `I don't understand this...aren't we behind the lines here?' and the Captain said, `Lady, this is Vietnam...there is no behind-the- lines here.'" Enroute to her assignment, Linda had her first contact with casualties. It was the result of an earlier attack. They were children. Within hours, she was already thinking to herself, "It's not supposed to be like this." While I was looking at this...and I don't know what kind of look I had on my face, but this Captain, in his second tour, grabbed me by the arm and pointed to the kids and said, "Young lady, if you're going to survive over here, you'd better get used to that." Linda's voice softened, "How do you get used to that?" The WAC detachment in Long Binh did not have a mess hall of it's own. They shared a mess with the 24th Evacuation Hospital. The walk to the mess hall took Linda right past the triage area for the 24th Evac. After only five days in-country, Linda saw her first chopper load of casualties. "It was amazing what the human body can withstand and still be alive. I was walking with some old timers...they went on to the mess hall...I went back to the WAC detachment...I didn't feel much like eating." Six months later, Linda would be able to complete the walk to the mess hall, numb to the horror. "It was one of those odd-ball guilts...it made perfect sense, and you still felt guilty that it didn't bother you anymore." The constant contact with the dead and injured would come back to haunt Linda many years later. Linda soon discovered that she had yet another identity, that of "Round-Eye", a term referring to any American woman in Vietnam. "You started hearing, `Wow, I haven't seen a round-eye in fill-in-the-blank months", Linda says with a chuckle, "Guys would jump off trucks. Some of the women had trouble with that ...I didn't. I had the attitude that I wasn't a nurse and I wasn't saving lives...and the guys got a big kick out of it." At first, she enjoyed the attention, but after a while it got tiring. Still, she took the time to care. "It was different with the women officers, because they had to play muckity-muck games...they'd be transported to this party with this colonel, or that major...we were down with the real guys...grunts and dust- off pilots. We were treated better by the real field grunts who were in on the stand-down that we were by the guys in the safe areas. Any sexual harassment came from the guys in the safe areas. The grunts just wanted to dance and talk about anything...their cars, their sports teams, home. Most of the guys were very glad we were willing to just spend the time...we NamNews 1-01 Page 41 11 Nov 1987 were willing to share the hell-hole with them. They wouldn't do anything to mess that up. You'd work 12-hour shifts, 7 days a week, and then go out there for three or four hours...it was tiring. But", she added with an affectionate smile, "I wouldn't change that. I wish I'd done more." Slowly, Linda's attitude began to shift concerning America's involvement in Vietnam. There were discrepancies between the number of casualties reported in the CommCenter, and what were being reported in the Stars and Stripes. There were also reports she was processing about units taking hills, holding them for a short time, and then being ordered off the hill. "Two months later we got guys dyin' on that same stupid hill." Linda found herself struggling with the same issue as her male counterparts- what were we doing in Vietnam and why were we there? "It just seems to me that you've got to make sure that the cause is worth the sacrifice...and I don't think we did that in Vietnam. Still, Linda served with distinction, being awarded an Army Commendation Medal for her service. "Somehow, I thought things would be different", Linda reflects about her return home. "I felt like I did a really good job in a tough situation, and I was proud." But instead of a warm welcome, Linda fell victim to ridicule and sexual innuendo. She admits to setting herself up for some "real nasty situations" with flag burning demonstrators. She was derided by her friends for having brought it on herself by choosing to serve in Vietnam. Her parents just wanted her to leave Vietnam behind. In a class at Berkeley, Linda rose to the defense of another Vietnam vet who was being ridiculed by both class and professor. When she identified herself as a Vietnam vet, a voice from the back of the class asked if she was one of "Uncle Sam's whores". On a visit to the VA a doctor literally asked her if she had made a lot of money "whoring around over there". Attempts to receive gynecological care from the VA resulted in a voucher for "inadequate funds" for a private physician. Isolated, frustrated, and angry, Linda tried to walk away and begin a new life. After changing jobs three times in two years, she settled into the job which she has held since. Linda thought Vietnam was behind her. There had been temper flare-ups, drinking binges and occasional nightmares, but she never related it to anything. In her sleep, Linda kept seeing the casualties and the body-bags. As the nightmares increased, so did the drinking. "I didn't drink to get drunk," she explains, just until I heard this click. Once I heard the `click', I knew I wouldn't dream. I didn't have to drink anymore." Her difficulties were compounded by a self imposed system of denial. She was convinced that because she wasn't a nurse or a grunt, that she really didn't see anything over there. After one exceptionally terrifying nightmare, Linda went to a Vet Center and hooked up with Vet Center counselor Rose Sandecki. She's been sober ever since. "Thanks to Rose and my other counselor," she grins, "I can talk about it pretty level actually." Today, Linda McClenahan faces a new hurdle. After 15 years with a large local firm, Linda has been told that she is being laid off. This Irish fighter shows no sign of defeat. To Linda this is an opportunity. Meanwhile, she'll have her hands full NamNews 1-01 Page 42 11 Nov 1987 with her pet project. Linda J. McClenahan, Vietnam vet, is the Chairperson for the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. With funding having reached the halfway point, groundbreaking took place last month. Says Linda, "I'm gonna get it built. Well, me and about 200,000 others...but it's gonna get built." I asked Linda if there was anything that she wanted to be sure to say about the women of Vietnam. She said, "tell `em we were there." She paused for a moment and said, "We're always there, and always forgotten." When I started this article and those you will read in successive issues of the Nam Vet, I knew very little of the women of Vietnam. Male myopia. In doing the research, I immersed myself in the literature of these veterans in a attempt to not only understand what they went through, but to feel it. For the last few months, I've been traveling back through Vietnam and seeing it through the eyes of these women. It has been a profound journey. I have looked into the hearts and minds of some of the most courageous and cheated veterans of the Vietnam war. I have felt courage born of fear, rejection born of devotion, and pain born of healing. And I have been reminded of something very important. I have been reminded that the story of Vietnam is incomplete without the acknowledgement of the women's contributions. Finally, that any service organization that claims to serve the interests of Vietnam vets, is absolutely negligent unless their agendas include the ongoing needs of this special group of people. On July 1, 1986, the VA Medical Center in Martinez, California, hired a full-time Gynecologists to it's staff. In addition, the Medical Center now has a Womens Clinic, which provides a wide range of services to the female veteran. Veterans whose needs cannot be met at a local VA facility are referred to the Martinez Center in California. According to the hospital spokesperson, the staff is both proud and excited about their new program. The mental health community is now becoming educated to the post-war issues of the women vets as more and more come forward to tell their story. But, still there is a lot to be done. In our next big edition we will continue our series with an article that deals with the ongoing readjustment problems of those veterans who, in the words of Linda McLenahan, "are always there...and always forgotten." The Women of Vietnam. Recommended reading: A Piece of My Heart - The stories of 26 women who served in Vietnam - Ballantine Books; Long Time Passing - Myra MacPherson - Signet Books/Doubleday & Company; Home Before Morning - Linda Van Devanter - Beaufort Books, Inc. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 43 11 Nov 1987 Don Griffith Enterprize 161/509 Memories of a Boy Becoming a Man Ft. Sill, Ok March 1969 In a few more days we will be getting our orders. Everyone is talking about going to Germany or Korea or even being stationed in this hell hole called Ft. Sill. But in the backs of our minds we know that all of us (except for the reservists) will be going to one place only, Vietnam. Being 19 years old, I stupidly think that I am the only person that is afraid to go there. We all raise brave fronts saying how we want to go and kill some VC. But in my heart, I know that I don't want to go and get killed. My journey into the Army began as a 18 year old kid that had to get away from his mother. I talked to a recruiter about getting out of Richmond CA. He arrainged for me to go to Oakland to take all of the tests. When the test results came back, it was determined that I had a high score in Electronics. So, the Sgt. signed me up for a 36 week Voice Scrambler Technicians course. He told me that since I had a high score, I was sure to fly through the course. It didn't matter that I didn't know how to change a T.V. tube, I would do fine. Well, 10 weeks at Ft Monmouth, NJ, and a bounce out of class later, I find myself at Ft. Sill, OK in Artillery School. This course isn't as hard, in fact, no one fails this course! We finally receive our orders and of course we are all going to Vietnam. The bright point is that I have 30 days leave before I have to report. The second bright point, or so I thought at the time, was that I would be reporting to the Oakland Army Base. Since that is only a few miles from my house, I wouldn't have to spend any extra money to get home. The 30 days go by too quickly. I keep looking around, trying to remember the area. I also tried talk to everyone that I knew in High School, that I could find. Something tells me that I will never see them again. About the author: Don Griffith served in Vietnam from April 17 1969 to April 1 1970. I spent most of my time in II Corp, about 7 miles inland from Phan Thiet at LZ Sandy with C Battery 5/22 Field Arty. I worked on a 175 mm gun. I am now a Benefit Authorizer for the Social Security Administration. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 44 11 Nov 1987 I respectfully submit the following poem for your audience: STONE COLD By Matthew Murphy Ex: SGT USAF 6924th CT3 USN 902nd SecGru SSGT USA 11th SFG SGT USMC Co "G", 2BN, 4th MarDiv SGT NJNG 50th Armored Div . There was no snow no ice around no wind, no hail no frozen ground . The rain, the night the foe out there the chill from fear was that to bear . This chill, like cold went to the bone and brought us to a soul of stone . And in this state the thought is bared of life on earth no longer shared . As has come true to some, not all our friends by name on stone cold wall . Yet those we love and those we hate never, ever knowing this state . Will see this stone from time to time though foe has gone no reason, no rhyme . And when you do just understand we're once again in a far, far land. . (c) Copyright 1987 (All rights reserved) Mathew Murphy NamNews 1-01 Page 45 11 Nov 1987 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Please feel free to send us your poetry to publish in the Nam Vet Newsletter. You will retain all copyrights. Share your feelings with others. I learn more about my life and the lives of other veterans by reading these poems than I do from all other experiences combined! The Editor ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 46 11 Nov 1987 Dreams of the Past By: Capt.Jim Lord (USA/ret.) 101st Airborne 3rd/105th Dac To, Vietnam 1970-1973 There's this guy I knew a hundred years ago...crazy mother who looked so naive that you just had to put your arm around him when you saw him and try to protect his little white tail from the big bad world we called 'Nam. Crazy thing is that even though I spent two and a half years there, I can hardly remember the names of the guys in my platoon, much less this little suckers name. We just called him "Doc" and that was all we needed. He was a sweet guy, from New Jersey I think, and he was our medic. Wasn't even in the Army..which is really what makes this all so silly...he was a Navy Hospital Corpsman attached to our unit (they called us a "combined action platoon"). Anyway, we all loved this crazy mother who never thought twice about doing a sprint out under our cover fire to pull one of the guys back behind the dike so he could fix him up. We all figured he either had more guts than John Wayne, or was as crazy as Harpo Marx. Either way, we all repected the hell out of him. I remember the last time I saw him. I dream it at least once a month still. It was the day my best friend, Georgie from Tennessee, died in my arms while Doc was trying to save his life. Bizarre thing about this was that Doc himself had been hit and was bleeding all over both of us while Georgie died...which was just seconds before Doc died. I don't know if Doc ever got a Medal of Honor for that or what, but he can have all my medals. I can still see his eyes looking up into mine after Georgie died...he was sad more than in pain. His last words were "I'm sorry, man...I really tried...I really tried." Then he closed his eyes and laid his head down in my lap next to Georgie. I'll always love that guy, and I hope God gave him the medal he deserves. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 47 11 Nov 1987 Grapevine Chronicles From the Diary of Calvin College 0600 hrs 14 Oct 1968 "Saddle up movin north" "Oh hell not another tail end convoy ride" "Naw a c 130 to phu bai" " Shoot thats even worse" "Awe stop the bitchin and saddle up inspection in 10 minutes" 0700 hrs 14 Oct 1968 Da Nang airstrip a large green mas of airfield matting stuck in the middle of nowhere. The seebees were allready patching the rocket craters from last nights raid,the V.C. had laid in a few 122 mm rockets just before dawn which was his favorite pastime since we had arrived in country."Well his aim was getting better he only used to hit the rice paddies with the damn things. 0900 hrs 14 Oct 1968 Hurry up and wait was still the militarys stratigy for moving troops anywhere.The gear was getting heavy,the dust was thick from passing convoys,the heat was its normal hellish self,and worst of all the wind was blowing from the direction of Dog Patch village this oder at its best smelled of rotting corpses.Not a thing to do but bitch. "Hurry up and wait oh shit". 1130 hrs 14 Oct 1968 "Lets go the C130 is in saddle up move it move it" 1145 hrs 14 Oct 1968 First the officers get on then the NCO's then the vietnames. "Hey the slopes are taking whats left of the seats we'll have to sit in the belly well at least it beats walking". 1200 hrs 14 Oct 1968 Riding in the exact center of a C130 isn't all that great,with every movement of the aircraft a person is tossed about into buddies and worse extreme nausia sets in and when packed elbow to elbow there's no where to go and get sick. Hot, cramped, dirty, and smelling like a backed up sewer we just sat there hopeing the ride would end soon.In the back some locals were rattling on about something then the enevidible. "Shut up you lousy friggin dinks just shut the hell up" "Awe leave them alone man" "Ya whos going to make me" A near riot broke out what a place for a brawl in a few seconds it was over. 1310 hrs 14 Oct 1968 Phu Bai airstrip another mass of green in the middle of the most god forsaken place on this planet. "So wheres the friggin truck sarge" "Shut up you want everything we're stuck here till tommarrow the roads out a few clicks to the north charlies got the bridge again" "Awe frig". NamNews 1-01 Page 48 11 Nov 1987 1600 hrs 14 Oct 1968 No money,no smokes,no chow the terminal a mass of confusion.GI's dinks and assorted animals that were to be someones dinner lived together in this dirty foul smelling room that was called an airport terminal. Evertime a truck went by huge clouds of red clay would swirl up and engulf everything. "Hell not even a nice place to visit". 2000 hrs 14 Oct 1968 Night had finally made its debut a spectacular burst of color that seemed oddly out of place in this sorbid armpit of a country. "Well time to sack out lets see the terminal no next best thing the shoulder of the road". 0500 hrs 15 Oct 1968 The road had been a bigger mistake than sleeping in the terminal. Covered with caked red clay from the trucks passing in the night and to make things worse it had rained in the night also. "Hell wheres the damn truck" "It'll be here at 1400 hrs give or take a few days". Someone had said that the seabees across the road had some chow left and if we hurried there might be some for us.It consisted of left overs from what may have been the first world war but what the hell we hadn't eatin in a day or so and it tasted better than all that red clay. 1400 hrs 15 Oct 1968 No truck. 1600 hrs 15 Oct 1968 One 5 ton dump truck all shot to hell the driver bleary eyed and the assistant wounded pulls up and someone shouts "Saddle up gentleman your taxy's here" 1800 HRS 15 Oct 1968 Two hours later and only twenty miles distance coverd we're finnally there. "Man i'm tired". "Wake up solder this is your bunker.oh by the way your on watch till 0600 tommarow"."Friggin a man"."Awe stop your bitchin you want everthing." This is edited from my personal diary and is a true account of just how messed up things were.True theres no blood and guts but for me there wasn't really much of that sort of thing,allthough there were moments when I really wasn't sure about it all. RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 49 11 Nov 1987 HOMECOMING III by G. Joseph Peck Silvery waters and a big yellow moon I'll be home friend, home very soon. I have seen the wars Watched other men die . . . Held their pain-wracked bodies Their existence - GONE in a sigh. A tear, a hug, a long last look "Hold my hand... read me the Book" ... and LIFE slips away. Who did they cry for with their last look at Earth? Who will miss them - and what's it worth? What's it worth when men fight and die, Never wanting to - never really knowing why? What's it worth when the bombs fall, Not killing one - but killing all: Newborn children, sisters and brothers Happy families - fathers and mothers? ... and LIFE slips away. So loudly that you, too must hear Those battlefield cries ring in my ear: "Rivers of white. Rivers of red. How hard we fought - how freely we bled! We gave 'em all that we had We fought for the good - not for the bad; So that children could grow to be old, Never going hungry - never being cold, For Tomorrow - America - promises that are true For Love - for Freedom - and especially YOU!!!" ... and LIFE slips away. An American Soldier From one battlefield I am free. I watch ... and remember: " Eternal Vigilance . . . " . . . the PRICE of Liberty!" ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 50 11 Nov 1987 ANATOMY OF A WARRIOR Printed without permission but with honorable intentions Written originally by Carole J. Lund 11-10-82 I hide secrets deep within me Of horrors I have seen I reflect the suffering I've witnessed And the deaths that shouldn't have been I sometimes burn with passion Or sparkle full of warmth and fun Or turn cold hard and full of hate As the barrel of a gun The pain I have is great indeed Yet I cannot shed a tear The terror I try to keep concealed Shows itself when I most fear I cannot be withheld from Revealing truths amidst the lies For I'm the window of his soul I'm the Vietnam Veteran's eyes. I am gifted and creative I have talents few have known I show love and understanding Though I have none of my own I function without Question Through good times and white hot rage I comfort and I terrify I clasp, then disengage I shake with anger and with tantrums And hang limp through resignation I've carried weapons through the jungles I've taken lives in other lands I've given comfort to a dying friend I'm the Vietnam Veteran's hands. Birds sing outside the window Cars pass along the lane But these sounds are drowned by echoes Of a useless war's refrain Rain falling down through waxen leaves A scared monkey's screaming song Men tramping through an alien world Where none of them belong Machine guns fire from up ahead Men falling in the mud The moaning of a soldier child Who lies dying in his blood NamNews 1-01 Page 51 11 Nov 1987 Jet engine's hum - returning home But still the war's so near The sounds will ever echo through me I'm the Vietnam Veteran's ears. I am tortured and tormented My pain is too severe For me to function as I once did Now I'm paralyzed with fear I'm haunted by the memory of My friend whose blood was spilled I cannot help but wonder why My heartbeat wasn't stilled I wish sometimes I could have been One of the boys who fell I pray to Godless Heavens For my release from Hell I'd like to climb down deep inside To be deaf and dumb and blind I came back mortally wounded I'm the Vietnam Veteran's mind. I know much pain I don't deserve Have pressures I don't need Have fears that were not there before I feel I should be freed I want to run away somewhere Where negativity can't find me To sprout wings and soar so high above That no earthly force can bind me I find now that I doubt myself Where before no doubt existed I succumb to forces I can't see Things that used to be resisted I know the pain, I've met the fear Which seems to dominate my life But it seems I have no power now I'm the Vietnam Veteran's Wife. (c) Copyright 1982 (All rights reserved) Carole J. Lund ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 52 11 Nov 1987 ================================================================= GENERAL ================================================================= 143/27 (Opus) 408-293-7894 300/1200/2400 Bauds by Todd Looney - Sysop I know not many of you have heard of the Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla in San Jose, but a couple Canadian BBS systems carry the International Vietnam Veterans' EchoConference. The sysops of this bulletin board are both Vietnam Combat Veterans; I fought during the war as a Medical Field Surgeon in the service of my country, and spent more than my fair share of time in a VC/NVA prison camp across the border in Laos, and Nancy my wife, who is a veteran of a different sort, having fought HER war years after I had returned to the United States, battling the problems I brought back from that little country tucked thousands of miles away in Southeast Asia. We have, for the most part, conquered all of the problems of that traumatic past through years of hard work! But many of the men and women who returned from that war continue to carry it's memories and nightmares with them today. For some, every day is a bitter struggle to survive, trying to find some way to either escape the horrible memories, or to come to terms with themselves so they and their families can begin to live a normal life!! Nancy and I feel it is our responsibility as caring and empathetic individuals to share as much of ourselves as possible with those Vietnam Combat Veterans of both kinds; the ex-military soldier-at-arms, and their wives, friends and lovers. We do this with the hope that somehow the knowledge and understanding we gained from the years encompassing our own struggle might be of some help to those who are still fighting their war!!! If you haven't called our system in a before you're in for quite a surprise. We've over a dozen veteran-related message areas and plan to add a few more as soon as we can make the right resource contacts. You might have noticed the "Inc." tacked onto the end of our name at the header of this article, well that's another thing that's happened to us. We are in the process of getting a non-profit organization from the Internal Revenue Service (probably the only thing they've ever given to ANYbody!), and are working out the details of an application for funding which we will use to try to get working capital so that we can get a lot MORE done. Currently we are helping vets get their discharges upgraded, get the medals they were awarded but never got, the pensions they didn't know they had coming, and, well...anything in general that the veterans who call us for help need. We work very closely with veterans' crisis centers across the country, and if you haven't noticed the NamNews 1-01 Page 53 11 Nov 1987 Fido Newsletter lately, we have finally syndicated the International Vietnam Veterans' EchoConference into 50 BBS systems blanketing the entire continent. That may not mean much to the coordinators of the larger national and international echo's, but it sure means a lot to us! At least once a month we help a veteran get over a major crisis in his or her life, and those two words, thank you, make all the bitter struggles with the Veterans' Administration and all those other government bureaucrats more than worth it! Soon we'll be able to afford to purchase equipment we can use to set Vet Centers up with so their psychologists and counselors can participate on-line instead of through personal meetings. Soon we'll be able to have money to provide emergency financial assistance for needy veterans and their families. Soon, soon....... I do that a lot, I know. Money doesn't grow on trees and "Rome wasn't built in a day", and all that. Well, things are happening...slowly but steadily on. Well, I guess I've rambled enough. Nancy and I hope to hear from you all, even if it's just to browse around the Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla! See ya there! Respectfully, Todd C. Looney President, Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla, Inc. 28 Cecil Avenue San JOse, Ca. 95128 (408) 947-7668 ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 54 11 Nov 1987 G. Joseph Peck VETLink # 1 Pittsfield, MA Node 321/203 ... Doing what he had to do, not what he liked or wanted, he searched the steaming jungle and nearby quagmire of a swamp for any sign of movement - ready in an instant to kill or be killed. A slight, unnatural motion on the pathway caught his attention. Crouching low in the bug-infested underbrush he drew closer to investigate. At the edge of the overgrowth he came upon her: barefooted, cascading waist-length hair accenting every featureof her perfect body, the sun majestically creating a halo-like glow about her. He felt his anger, terror and frustration subside. Indeed - even the rest of the world began to disappear! Their eyes met - the depths of each wordlessly beckoning, committing, calling, crying out. Time stopped. They knew. There was no past - no future - only now. Throughout the Asian continent in desolate barrenness and crowded city, in ways as myriad as the shapes of a kaleidoscope, the above-captured moment happened again and again with countless American men and Asian women. I, an Amerasian child, and many more like me, are the result. I am real!! Today most of the American men are gone. Some of our mothers have died. The villagers call me "Bui Doi" - Child of the Dust - and seem to think that by helping me they're helping America. Some are very afraid. Life is very cheap here and our new Government doesn't measure success or failure of its' Communistic plans by body counts. I do not get ration cards nor medical care or housing and I'm not allowed to go to school. I manage to live by selling candy, peanuts and other things and doing what other people want me to. I have learned distrust and do things I do not like to do just that I might live one more day in the hope my dream of America might come true. Senators Mark Hatfield and Jeremiah Denton, House Rep. Stewart McKinney and many others worked long and hard to get a Joint Resolution of Congress passed to give me "preferential status" that I might find as easy a way home through all the "legalistic" bureaucracies of my Government as the French-Asian children of the past did with theirs. The bill (rumored to have been passed in the middle of the night) did not have an Emergency Preamble - which would have allowed me to come home in 1983 - was signed October 22, 1982. On Jan. 22, 1983 my goal of seeing the day when I didn't have to pick bugs out of my meals, being inside when it rains, and having real people to love as my parents and family was the clearest in sight I've ever seen it. I still wait... and nobody comes. NamNews 1-01 Page 55 11 Nov 1987 YOU can help - maybe adopt or sponsor me and perhaps I can finally come home to the peace, security and beauty I haven't yet known. Please write your local Senator or Congressman. MY dream was spend a Holiday Season with my dad and - maybe - my new family, to be home in my America in 1983.. 1984.. 1985.. 1986.. 198... Like my unknown father, I do what I have to do, not what I want or like. Wherever you are, my new family, I love and miss you - very much. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 56 11 Nov 1987 HAMBURGER HILL - The Movie The latest in the recent "tell it like is is" breed of war films about Vietnam called "Hamburger Hill" opened August 28th in theatres around the country. The title, of course, comes from the well known battle which began May 10, 1969, when elements of the 101st Airborne Division encountered enemy at the base of hil 937. Ten days and eleven bloody assaults later, the men who fought there called it Hamburger Hill. While I haven't seen the film yet, interviews with vets who have previewed the film suggest that it is a pretty good oiece, which, if you can believe it, packs an even bigger punch than Platoon. The realism and technical accuracy apparently are faultless. Retired Col. Joseph P. Conmy, Jr., Brigade Commander of the Battle of Hamburger Hill and military advisor to Paramount Pictures, comments, "When I saw some of the film, I was impressed by how close some of the battle scenes were to actuality. I became so choked up I couldn't talk. Witnessing the suffering of the infantry on the screen, I had the gut feeling that I was back in battle." Gosh...good thing for those tubs of popcorn and the big Pepsi. Or maybe there is redeeming value in simply describing a reality which few have actually witnessed. Certainly the act of sharing an experience, especially when done in an atmosphere of caring, has power and redemtive value. Let's hope that's what this is. Everybody already knows what a nightmare looks and feels like, but they seldom produce growth. Maybe this film, by its willingness to explore and look at war, will have a positive outcome for those who see it. From my initial information, this film almost certainly will be in the news in the coming weeks. Everybody already knows what a nightmare looks and feels like, but they seldom produce growth. Maybe this film, by its willingness to explore and look at war, will have a positive outcome for those who see it. From my initial information, this film almost certainly will be in the news in the coming weeks. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 1-01 Page 57 11 Nov 1987 ================================================================= WANTED ================================================================= National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia 1608 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. In 1971, an MIA wife, toying with the need for a symbol to represent the POW/MIAs, came across an article in the Jacksonville TIMES-UNION which prompted the idea for a POW/MIA flag. The article quoted Norman Rivkees, Vice President of Annin & Company, who had been requested to make a banner for the newest member of the United Nations, the People's Republic of China. While Annin and company did not normally manufacture flags for communist countries, they agreed to provide one for the People's Republic of China as a part of their policy to provide flags to all UN members. After the article appeared, Mr. Rivkees was contacted and found to be very sympathetic toward the POW/MIA issue. Mr. Rivkees, along with Annin's advertising agency, designed a flag to represent our missing men. With League approval, the flags were then manufactured for distribution. Concern groups and individuals have altered the original POW/MIA flag many times. The logo has been changed and the colors switched: from black with white to red, white and blue, to white with black. POW/MIA has at times been revised to MIA/POW. Such changes, however, are insignificant. What is important is that there continues to be a symbol in the public eye as a constant reminder of the plight of our men. -----------------------------------------------------------------