+---------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | NN NN AAAA MM MM VV VV EEEEEEE TTTTTTTT | | NNN NN AA AA MMM MMM VV VV EE TT | | NN N NN AA AA MM M M MM VV VV EE TT | | NN N NN AA AA MM M MM VV VV EE TT | | NN N NN AAAAAAAA MM MM VV VV EEEEE TT | | NN N NN AA AA MM MM VV VV EE TT | | NN NNN AA AA MM MM V V EE TT | | NN NN AA AA MM MM VVV EEEEEEE TT | | | | The International Newsletter for Vietnam Veterans | +---------------------------------------------------------------+ Editor in Chief: Todd Looney Assistant 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 in the U.S., Europe, and Canada. 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 veterans or anyone else wishing to express themselves about Viet Nam or related experiences are invited to submit their writings for publication to the Vietnam Veterans Valhalla (143/27), the VETlink #1 (321/203), 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. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the NAM VET, it's staff or volunteers. The newsletter is made up of articles and other newsletters as well as other sources. We are not responsible for the content of this information nor are any of the above mentioned parties. Duplication and/or distribution is permitted for noncommercial purposes only. For use in other circumstances, please contact Todd Looney at (408) 947-7668. NamNews 2-08 8 Aug 1988 Table of Contents 1. EDITORIALS ................................................ 1 The Duality of Man ....................................... 1 Bert is Back! ............................................ 2 2. VETERAN SERVICES ......................................... 7 Donators Beware .......................................... 7 Vietnam Veterans' Registry ............................... 10 Mini-Wall Schedule ....................................... 14 3. MEMORIES .................................................. 15 Sweet Dreams ............................................. 15 Forget Me Not, America ................................... 17 A Little Man Part IV, The Passing ........................ 20 4. GENERAL ARTICLES ........................................ 22 `Mid-Life Crisis' Cited in Agen Orange Case .............. 22 Senate Vet Affairs Committee Approves "2nd" G.I. Bill ..... 24 Researches Say Federal Agent Orange Study "DEAD WRONG" .... 25 Radiation-Exposed Veterans Compensation Act Now Law ....... 27 The Lady ... The First Woman War Casualty in Vietnam ...... 28 Serendipity ............................................... 30 "Hanoi Jane" Offers "Apology" to Vietnam Veterans ......... 31 Unacounted For U.S. Personnel ............................. 35 Veteran Employment, Training, Counselling ................. 36 Congress Passes Important Veteran Legislation ............. 37 Government Position on American Still Being Held Captive .. 40 Vietnam Veterans - "Prisoners of Prejudice" ............... 41 The Relaxation Responses .................................. 43 Women Vietnam Veterans Enlist Aid of Loretta Swit ......... 46 House Investigators Charge VA's Top Officials ............. 48 Problems with the VA ...................................... 50 Vietnam - Slowly but Steadily Relations with US Improve ... 51 Are You In Debt to the VA - Watch Out! .................... 54 5. International Vietnam Veterans EchoConference Nodelist .... 55 6. Free Wall Rubbings ........................................ 61 7. NAM VET Newsletter Subscription Service ................... 62 NamNews 2-08 Page 1 8 Aug 1988 ================================================================= EDITORIALS ================================================================= The Duality of Man Editorial-in-Brief from the Valhalla By Todd Looney Summer...what a *special* time of year! Hundred degree plus heat and enough humidity to make a man sweat clean outa his shorts! Sun blazin' down so damned hot I seen a man's brain *broil* inside his helmet. I ain't never wearin' one o' them steel buckets no more...boony hat's 'nuff for me, all I gotta do is keep the damn sun outa my brain! What the *hell* am I *doin'* here anyway! Oh, yeah, "...we're here to help the Vietnamese people, because inside every Vietnamese is an American tryin' to get out..." Right! Who the *hell* are you anyway, man? I mean, we're gettin' *killed* for these people....don't they appreciate that? Patrol after patrol after patrol..."Search and Destroy". No, man, you mean Clear and Sweep? Hell, all the same thing in the long run, bro. Sqaud movin' ricky tic though a thousand klicks of wait-a-minute bush and razor-sharp elephant grass. What the *hell* am I doin' here anyway?! "Don't take a drink outa that canteen 'lessn you gonna drink the whole thing down!" Right! I'm thirsty enough to drink a bathtub of water anyway! You call this stuff *water*? Thank God for kool-aid or I'd die o' thirst! "Tape that gear down, son...ya wanna wake every zipper for a mile around?" The duality of man. Makes you wonder, don't it? I mean, here's a guy who was an Alter Boy for ten years, for crisakes! Now he's a killin' machine for the damned U.S. government! Ain't that a crock? "Cover the enemy with lime, soldier. Keeps the stink down and 'side, we don't want the enemy knowing who was here!" Like who the hell they gonna think off'd 'em, man... the *tooth fairy*? Get outa my face! "Cover my ass, bro! I'm goin' in!" Cover *my* ass, bro! Yours'll just get in my way! My feet feel like nine kinds o' dead an' they look like one big blister. Smell like day old pork too! Hot LZ's, cold C-Rats, hundred-hour days, humpin' zillion-pound rucks up mile high mountains, jump *in* hot, STRABO *out* hot. Gimme a break! I thought war was, like, "There's the enemy...KILL HIM!" Damn! I can't even *see* the enemy! Where you comin' from, man? I *hear* 'em, I *feel* 'em kill'n my bro's...but I never *see* him, man! Gimme a break! "I wanted to see Vietnam, y'know? That beautiful jewel of Southeast Asia. I wanted to meet new people, people of a different culture, and...kill them". Who the hell *are* you anyway, man? I don't *even* know you any more! "Fire in the hole!" Damn! Can't a guy get some shut-eye around here? "In the wire! In the wire! Sappers' in the wire!" *You* shoot him, man. I'm tryin' to cop a little 'z here! Don't stick your head up like that! Pop! Oh, damn, man. I *tol'* ya not to do that, now you're bleedin' out all over my blouse an'... Remember that "last breath", stank didn't it? Ran chills up *my* spine! NamNews 2-08 Page 2 8 Aug 1988 Hard core? You *bet*! That or go dinky dau in that hell. Din't mean nuthin' anyway. Worry about it in the Real World. Problem is, ain't nobody in the Real World gave a horses patoot about you an' you're problems in the *first* place! Don't mean nuthin'! 'Sides, I'm short. Couple days and a wake-up. I'm history after that. "Yo *momma*!" *Yo* momma, fool! I'm gone! The comraderie, the life-long friendships built upon a foundation of trust. Remember? So do *I*, bro! So do *I*! If all that bums you out, or hits home a little *too* close to home...maybe you need to talk to somebody. Can't do nothin'about it 'till you open up and let some of it out friend. Remember the IVVEC! ----------------------------------------------------------------- G. Joseph Peck VETLink #1 Node 321/203 Remember some months back (Jan 88) when I wrote about "Bert" - the 35-inch-plus smallmouth bass that lurked in the pond by century-old farmhouse in which I used to live? I've had very recent occasion to see him again... Well, my world felt like it was crashing in. I had recently graduated from our local state college - but there came a problem with granting my basic math credits, even though I've been certified as an electronics instructor, a Master Technician, and about the whole gamut of anything electronic. My request for credit came back denied. According to the college administration, the "math" that I used in electronics was actually physics and electronics and had nothing to do with the concepts of mathematics . I quickly learned of another crack a disabled veteran can fall through: The VA allows a subsistence stipend for the time in which a veteran attends school. Upon completion of a Vocational Rehabilitation program (which I just did) there should be a two- month payment as help while the veteran acquires employment. To receive the two-months payment, the veteran must submit his/her diploma. The holdup in my basic math credits meant my diploma would not quickly be forthcoming and that I would not receive the monthly allowance the VA had paid me for the past five years. A quick trip to the unemployment department disclosed that I couldn't even obtain Unemployment Insurance. "You haven't been working - you've been going to school. There's no money to your credit. We'd really suggest you go to the welfare department..." Me... a Vietnam veteran, at 43 years of NamNews 2-08 Page 3 8 Aug 1988 age, finally received his BA in Sociology - and just got told to go to the welfare department to care for my family. Sugar!!! The noose grew a little tighter. Borrowed money kept the utilities on; words of explanation to my creditors kept 'em at bay and patient. But I was really beginning to have a problem with what I thought of myself... and I shared those problems, concerns with our editor, Todd... > I'm caught in like a "limbo", Todd... all the > applications I've filled out haven't as yet borne fruit TODD: "It takes time sometimes bro. That same thing has happened to me more than once and I always discovered that in the end, the wait was worth it. Just don't give up. Don't look back, that's behind you now and can only help if you apply what you learned for the future. Look ahead, there's a light at the end of that tunnel. Maybe you can't see it yet, and maybe it's another train coming your way, but all you need to do is step off the track and let it go by, the train you're looking for is heading the same direction you are and you just have to run a little before you can jump on." > What kept you going when you were POW? Did you NEED > structure, constructive things to do, worthwhile things > to do? What did you do when there were physical, > material things that you NEEDED or WANTED (i.e. Shaving > stuff; Cigarettes; other amenities?)? Would it have > been tougher if there were a family sorta dependin' on > you - in the there-and-then? What did you do, how did > you balance-the-scales with yourself when raised hopes > were dashed against the rocks? TODD: "That was the hardest time in all my life. I look back on it often, not to curse that I was put through that, or that GOD did that to me, but to reason out the WHY's and WHAT's that I learned. I know who I am. I know *exactly* what I am capable of and I know above all that when I let my guard down or feel sorry for myself that I will lose. When I was in camp I daydreamed a lot. I built a motorcycle in my head...from spokes to handlebars. When I came home I did it in real life. You are building that bike by working on the family and the VETLink etc. These things keep you going. What you cannot do is shut everything else out. You need to keep in touch with reality or you are a dead man. And when you die your family dies. Look ahead Joe. Dream about the things you want. Dreams are life. Through striving for our dreams we build life. Look ahead, there's something there waiting for you, you just haven't found it yet. It eludes you..tests your mettle. What gould would having it be if it came to easily. Only hard work and pain brings the best my little brother. Stay on the tracks, be looking for those lights. The right one is coming your way...in the direction you are travelling. It's *your* train Joe...can you hear it? "Woooooo Wooooooooooooo"" NamNews 2-08 Page 4 8 Aug 1988 Georgia, my wife, had just gotten home from work... David, my near-16-year old son, was quietin' down and studyin' his algebra... Rosie, my 11-year-old daughter, was spendin' the night at her friends... I HAD to walk away from things to try to regain my perspective. "Daddy, can I go with you?" a tiny voice from the corner asked. My 13-year old son, Georgie... my little fishin' buddy... We took the back roads... Down the old dirt roads; past the many farms, past the cornfields and streams; past the steep, sloping roofs I had installed antennas on when I was owner/operator of my own TV/Radio Sales & Service Store; past the farm where the widowed farmer lived, still alone - the wizened old man who'd turned his Shepherd and Husky dogs loose on me when I was trying to learn to ride a motorcycle on those same back roads years ago... down a little further to the old mansion with the big pond alongside. New tenants now... super-wealthy. Asked permission to fish the pond (like I always did when I lived there... Little girl ('bout 4) said that if we were gonna take the fish with us it wouldn't be too good an idea... said "Thank You"... drove out... and into town... Hadn't changed much... Drove to the old house where I used to live. Has a new coat of paint on it... Someone's remodeling inside, even though no one lives there. Another touch of sadness as I remembered the 17- month, without-an-attorney, ordeal as I battled "a matter of principle" and lost. Georgie and I got out, walked the mile or so down the somewhat busy highway to the pond. I remembered the "tough" times when, just after my new wife and her children came to live with me, and we had no money, I used to go over there and "catch" dinner... I remembered, too, a horrendous lightning storm that came up quickly one time when I was out there fishing - with lightning bolts that only missed me by fractions of an inch - KNOWING and TRUSTING that God knew **exactly** where I was - and how I confidently and trustingly walked home through the storm ). WHERE was my trust and knowledge now? Signs posted all over the place: No Trespassing, No Swimming, No Fishing... We walked back, got in the car, and drove to the owners to ask permission. Rancher, Clydesdale horse-trainer, farmer, caring and responsible landlord - he told us he didn't own it anymore. "Go talk to Tom... his property is on the edge of the pond... maybe he'll let you fish from his backyard." NamNews 2-08 Page 5 8 Aug 1988 How good it is, once in awhile, to go back home! Tom and his family remember me like I moved away only yesterday. I used to fix their TV's/Radio's - help 'em with their Antennas; was their daughters Sunday School teacher in the Town's only church... Tom gave Georgie and I a boat to use... said "Enjoy yourself... it's really good to see ya! When you guys are done, just lay the oars atop the Bronco in the front yard." Little fishin' buddy caught a 13" Smallmouth Bass - it put up one HECK of a fight and he was just as pleased as can be. I caught a little feller - decided to just leave it hooked and use it for bait. Didn't take long before one huge mouth broke the surface of the water, little feller tucked nicely inside... BERT!!! Georgie and I tried to land him - but he's a smart cuss. Shook the hook (had a mouth that I coulda put both my feet into with room left over!!!) and swam away... "Aren't you upset, Daddy?" "No, Son... there's plenty more in here. I just feel good we're back home for a bit. LOOK at the pretty world God's created... Can ya SMELL the freedom?" We fished a bit more... With Georgie's help, I finally landed two more - a 14-1/2-incher and an about 12-incher. He had a fit, though, when we threw the 12-incher back... "That was BREAKFAST, Dad..." "Nah, Son... throw it back, let it grow, let it live..." Too soon it was dark and time for my little fishin' buddy and I to head in (too many bugs over the pond during a summer's night). We said our "Thank You's", heard our invitations to "Please come back soon" and soon we were on our way home. A couple of hours later, after the little fishin' buddy had proudly cooked our fish and we'd gobbled 'em up, he lay peacefully asleep on our couch - still a broad, happy smile all across his face. Reflections? Reminders? What REALLY matters in Life? Sure felt good to go back to our old home town and be so kindly remembered by all who we met, so welcomed... The good things we do in life, too, are remembered... a welcome "lookin' back...." Georgie... my little fishin' buddy... so trusting, so happy to be with his dad 'just fishin''... so asleep and peaceful... Todd... my friend... my younger-in-years but older-in- experiences brother... my friends in NAM VET and the IVVEC/IWVEC/VET-ORIENTED ECHO's... Darn... Ain't I rich?! Ah-h-h-h-h-h-h but it feels good to have walked down the good paths of yesterday... to have touched and felt and lived in what I was trying to avoid looking back and seeing... and to have walked in Today's paths... and to have NamNews 2-08 Page 6 8 Aug 1988 come home peaceful... Ah-h-h-h-h-h-h-hhhhhh but it feels good... and strengthening... and positive... and hopeful... and full of promise... Amplified and emphasized by the discussions, the problems, the different points of view we all share here... Thank you, big brother Todd... Thank you NAM VET readers... Thank you IVVEC/IWVEC.. I KNOW that there are lights along the tunnel of Life - as well as at the end... In case I forget, all I have to do is remember a smile on a child's face, or a fish jumpin' outta the water, or the friends I served with yesterday - and today... You know what REALLY matters, what's REALLY important? NOW!!! 'Til next month... Show a brother or sister veteran that YOU care... Ci'ao for Ni'ao -Joe- ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-08 Page 7 8 Aug 1988 ================================================================= VETERAN SERVICES ================================================================= Donators Beware By: Thom Patten San Jose Vet Center During the past few weeks, we've received numerous reports of organizations soliciting contributions and using some rather questionable techniques to do so. Among the most frequent inquiries have been in regards to an organization calling itself the Vietnam Veterans Network. The usual method of operations is to contact a potential contributor, ask for a monetary contr- ibution, and when the caller agrees to contribute, a courier is dispatched immediately to pick up the donation. It is only after the money has been collected that the contributor discovers that only 10% is actually earmarked for and I quote, "counseling, clothing, and feeding needy and homeless Vietnam Veterans and their families." There is also a receipt which very clearly states that, and again I quote, "THIS IS NOT FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES". I started doing some digging. The deeper you go the dirtier it gets. There is in fact an organization named Vietnam Veterans Network which is located down in southern California in Montclaire. They are a nonprofit, California Corporation, and the state incorporation number is 1428550. The presidents' name is Randy Costner and he can be reached at (714) 625-1595. Randy stated that his organization is currently soliciting funds in an attempt to build a hospice to help with the ongoing needs of the Loma Linda VA Hospital. He also told me that he has a contract with a telemarketing firm in southern California, but that no one has permission to solicit funds on his behalf up here (in the Bay Area). According to Randy, after our conversation he fired the telemarketing firm. Randy's organization further claims that some of the funds collected by the Network are also used for direct and indirect services for Vietnam veterans. I use the word `claims' because as of 6/9/88 the Registry of Charitable Trusts in Sacramento has no record of the Vet Network. "This could mean a couple of things", explained Duane Reule of the California Department of Justice, "first, it might just be in our backlog, or, second, that the Vet Network isn't registered with the Registry. They have six months from the time they start collecting money to file with us." As you can see, trying to verify the legitimacy of a charitable organization can be a time consuming and fruitless venture even if the organization is fully legal. And, even if an organization is compliant with the laws if California, there are still gaping legal loopholes that allow questionable organizations to exist and take advantage of an otherwise well-meaning public. According to Duane Reule, there is no law that states what per- centage of a donation actually has to make it to its' intended destination. In fact many mainline charities have resisted such NamNews 2-08 Page 8 8 Aug 1988 a move in the past because they too incur overhead expenses when an adequate volunteer staff cannot be maintained. The most the state can do is to force an organization which claims to be a public benefit corporation to register with the Registry of Charitable Trusts and to make those records available for public scrutiny. Then, even if you don't like what you see, often times it's already too late. What can be done? First, it seems obvious that some sort of legal guidelines have to be established in regards to that portion of a donation which is supposed to hit its' intended destination. This will be an uphill fight that will take much energy and probably many years. Contact your congressman and see what you can do to help. If you're good and angry at this situation, make a commitment to follow through no matter what it takes. That's how the system works. If you want to attempt to verify the legitimacy of a charitable organization you can call The Registry of Charitable Trusts most likely located in your states capitol, and provide whatever documentation you have. The more information you can provide, the more in depth the investigation/inquiry can go. In the meantime, we offer these tips for the good-of-heart: - Always ask what percentage of the donation will make it to where it's supposed to go- if they can't tell you - DON'T DONATE and if you don't like what you hear - DON'T DONATE - If you have any questions or doubt- DON'T DONATE One last word. Vietnam veterans have of late, finally started to receive the recognition they so richly deserve. It is no co- incidence that suddenly, there is an influx of organizations soliciting contributions to help out with the cause. Use caution. Many Vietnam vets still need help getting back home. Counseling at Vet Centers is free and effective. If you wish to donate time or money to Vietnam Vets, there are many well established service organizations which will gladly accept your contribution, but do your homework. Remember - Vietnam vets know what it's like getting ripped-off...don't let it happen to you. And thanks for your love. NamNews 2-08 Page 9 8 Aug 1988 Other Veteran-Related BBS Systems ======================================================= System Name Phone Number Baud Rate ------------------------------------------------------- Vietnam Veterans Valhalla 1-408-293-7894 2400 VETLINK #1 1-413-443-6313 2400 Survival Communications 1-707-545-0746 1200 New York Transfer 1-718-442-1056 2400 Canadian Vets Ottowa, Canada 1-615-875-4131 1200 Valhalla #3 BC, Canada 1-604-420-2641 2400 Shawn Ingram, Canada 1-614-878-1898 2400 Friends BBS 1-800-444-3227 2400 Armed Forces Reunion BBS 1-704-667-8021 2400 US Vets BBS 1-612-522-2026 1200 NCOA International BBS 1-512-653-0409 2400 Vietnam Vets BC, Canada 1-604-462-8753 2400 Jolly Green Giant 1-904-651-3875 2400 Landing Zone Birmingham 1-205-870-7770 2400 NamNews 2-08 Page 10 8 Aug 1988 VIETNAM VETERANS REGISTRY, INC. PO BOX 430 BRIDGTON, MAINE 04009 Dear Fellow Vietnam Veteran: The Vietnam Veterans Registry (computerized directory) is a non-profit corporation dedicated to: Assist Vietnam Veterans in locating friends made as a result of their service. Assist Vietnam veterans in locating fellow comrades in order to substantiate veterans claims. Assist Vietnam veterans in locating another veteran's next of kin. To promote solidarity among veterans and to ascertain their needs through surveys. To aid veterans in the creation of memorial funds. To assist veterans in organizing reunions. The registry is not affiliated with any veterans group or political party; it is an autonomous corporation. It is _not_ a veterans group; there is no membership and no annual dues. Access to the registry is limited strictly to those Vietnam veterans that have placed their names on file. The only information that will be released by the registry is a veteran's name and address. There is no fee for the registration, but a donation for as little as $5.00 will defray the cost of processing the registration. A donation of $10 or more will help to guarantee the success of the registry and pay the media exposure that is critical to its success. Please give generously. Registration is voluntary, but I urge all Vietnam veterans to complete the enclosed registration form even if you do not plan to use the services of the registry. If you know other Vietnam veterans, please let them know about the registry. Also, if you belong to any veterans group, please encourage them to publicize the registry. Please print clearly on the registration form; also, indicate if you belong to a veterans group. It is hoped that 100,000 Vietnam veterans will register over a five-year period. The first main project of the registry is a reunion for the NamNews 2-08 Page 11 8 Aug 1988 staff and patients of the 24th Evac. Hospital, Vietnam. Thank you for your interest in the registry. Sincerely, /s/ Larry Horn Director VIETNAM VETERANS REGISTRY, INC. PO Box 430 Bridgton ME 04009 1.Name_________________________________2._______________________ (Last) (First) (Initial) (Nickname) 3. Home Address ___________________________________Sex M__ F__ (Number) (Street) 5.________________________________6.____________7.__________ (City) (State) (Zip) (Apt.) 8. Registering for: Self [ ] Next of Kin [ ] Other [ ] Please explain:_______________________________________________ 9. Branch of Service: (Example: 9th Inf. Div., 9th Combat Bn., C Co.) a. Army______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ b. Navy______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ c. Marines __________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ d. Air Force ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ e. Coast Guard ______________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ 10. Service No. _____________________ 11. Rank ______________ 12. MOS _____________________________ 12. D/O/ _______________ NamNews 2-08 Page 12 8 Aug 1988 13. When were you in Viet Nam? (If you served more than one tour of duty, use a second piece of paper and label it 15 A and 15 B, etc.) Dates(s)___________________________________________________ Location(s)________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 16. What operations or battles did you participate in? a. Operation b. Operation Date Date c. Operation d. Operation Date Date e. Operation f. Operation Date Date 17. Were you wounded or injured? Give date and location. Was it the result of an offensive operation? Give stateside location if applicable. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 18. Were you a prisoner of war? Give dates, location. ________________________________________________________________ NamNews 2-08 Page 13 8 Aug 1988 ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 19. Do you wish an inquiry form when available? Yes [ ] No [ ] 20. Please sign release form. Registration will not be processed unless signed. Note from the Founder: Please forgive the legal jargon of this release statement. In order to protect your rights, the rights of other registered veterans and the integrity of the registry, this statement is an unavoidable necessity where computerized information is concerned. I hereby authorize the Vietnam Veterans Registry, Inc. to place my name and other related information in its directory. In consideration of the entry of my name on the foregoing directory and the benefits accruing to me as a result thereof, I hereby release, on behalf of myself, my heirs, legal representatives, successors and assigns, the Vietnam Veterans Registry, Inc., its successors and assigns, officers, directors and employees and their respective heirs, legal representatives, successors and assigns of and from any and all claims, causes of action, suits, damages and liabilities whatsoever which against the foregoing parties I now or may have as a result of any accidental or unintentional release of the foregoing information. Signed ______________________________ Date ___________________ NamNews 2-08 Page 14 8 Aug 1988 Mini-Wall Schedule Schedule "A", 1988 Aug 04-----10.....Louisville, Kentucky 15-----21.....Carlisle, Pennsylvania 26-Sep 01.....Dunkirk, New York Sep 08-----14.....Elmhurst, Illinois 24-Oct 01.....Sioux Falls, South Dakota Oct 07-----13.....Norfolk, Nebraska 17-----23.....Cleveland, Ohio 26-Nov 01.....Toledo, Ohio Nov 07-----13.....Jasper, Alabama Schedule "B", 1988 Aug 05-----11.....Des Moines, Iowa 14-----20.....Omaha, Nebraska 24-----30.....Loveland, Colorado Sep 03-----09.....Los Angeles, California 13-----19.....Porterville, California Oct 03-----09.....Salem, Oregon Nov 07-----13.....Riverside, California NamNews 2-08 Page 15 8 Aug 1988 ================================================================= MEMORIES ================================================================= SWEET DREAMS by Mike Dealey It was the same thing every night. I'm sitting there with these uncontrollable shivers, even though I'm almost completely covered up in equipment. I'm vaguely aware that my pucker-factor is so high that I'm probably damaging the webbing of the seat. My ears are filled with the deafening roar of twin blades going whomp...whomp...whomp.... I look around, but I can't identify any of the faces. They're all distorted by chin straps pulled tight. The people look bloated by chutes and drop-packs in their laps. It's like I'm surrounded by a bunch of Santa Clauses except they're all OD/shade-33. From the corner of my eye, I see a red light flicker on. The Jump Bastard walks in front of me, and I see the rear door of the Chinook start to trundle down. "Stand up!" "Hook up!" "Throw up," I think to myself. I check the hook. I check it again. I stare at the side gunner, and I can see the red light reflected in his visor. I see the red glow turn to green. The figure beside the open door starts screaming, "Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!" The line is moving. The rear-blade downwash creates a hurricane of cold wind inside the bird. Drop-pack under my arm...hand on the hook...the guy in back of me keeps kicking my boots. Suddenly I'm doing this exceedingly stupid thing, I'm jumping off the rear ramp of a Chinook into pitch black nothingness. Letting go the drop-pack...maneuvering to keep my feet below me...screaming Geronifriggingmo! ...one-thousand and two, I feel the static line pop the main and a shudder go thru my harness as the canopy unfurls. I look down for the first time. My eyes widen and a scream erupts from the depths of my soul. A thousand feet below the jungle has been defoliated, and the dinks have sharpened all the trees to make a massive carpet of giant punji stakes. Thousands of dinks are holding AKs with fixed bayonets and grinning up at me like sherbert-eating possums. I snap awake. Bolt upright in a cold sweat...again. I can't get my breath...hyperventilating...my one lung pounding like it's going to burst. There were other dreams--nightmares, of course. Some much worse in context than this one. But the others I could identify... I knew what they meant. But this one, this one was pure fantasy. What did it mean? I didn't understand, and it really bothered NamNews 2-08 Page 16 8 Aug 1988 me. I finally figured it out after talking it through in some rap sessions. It was basically my reflection of all my military service. The U.S. Army made me go thru a whole series of actions that I hated, detested, feared. Then they kept throwing me into ever more impossible situations. But I foxed 'em...somehow I kept surviving. But they'd just think up some even more hairy thing until finally they won...on "Hamburger Hill." The giveaway was how the dream always ended. The last thing I'd hear before I woke up was the Jump Master shouting down as I fell, "Beat THEM odds, Troop!" So now that I understand the dream, it won't be as frightening, right? Wrong! I still had to make that same drop and it was ever bit as bad as before, maybe even worse. I finally decided there's only one solution (since I couldn't keep a gun barrel inside my mouth for any length of time). I had to stop dreaming. And somehow I did. Now I never have dreams...ever... about anything. I don't know how I did it, sheer will power I suppose. I've had shrinks tell me it's impossible, you have no control over your dreams. I've had others say even if you could it's unhealthy not to dream. I say BS! It sure beats the alternative...believe me. Took me 5 years to get that part of my head straightened out. And it felt great. First time in 7 years I had been able to get a decent night's rest. I started gaining back some of my weight and working my way back into the real world again. Don't let the shrinks fake you out...dreams ain't all they're cracked up to be. So if you ever tell me, "Sweet dreams," be sure and note the silly little grin on my face as I flip you the bird. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-08 Page 17 8 Aug 1988 Forget Me Not, America ...as you flock by the thousands to pay tribute to a statue who represents your beloved ideals falling short of our ideals, have we settled for idle worship making pilgrimages to stone? No, she cannot remember, whom you have chosen to forget. Among the causalities of war are thousands who've gone uncounted names that will never be remembered belonging to the souls you never claimed. You remember your POWs with unfailing memory and undying efforts to bring them home how can you then choose chains for your own children and let them become prisoners of your own forgetfulness And who pays the price for the forgetfulness of humanity for a lapse of memory that has spanned three wars? How many times have you laid down your arms and left behind, a living breathing part of America a breath without human and civil rights a generation of children left unarmed to fight a battle that begins, when your wars end. You gave us the shape of your eyes the color of your hair the length of your limb these have only made us a curiosity for some an object of scorn by others the child of an American, always but without the freedom of one. My face is a constant reminder of war the masses did not want the child of an uninvited guest I am as welcome and as foreign as your were. In Asia, one's honor is only as good as their word you promised you would return... For the child who sits on the doorstep of fathers broken promise moments turn into lifetimes, and lifetimes into generations I have waited so }any seasons for you my father fought your battle and defended your honor when people asked, where is your father? I said you went to America to prepare a place for mother and me. NamNews 2-08 Page 18 8 Aug 1988 America. you fight for the first breath of the unborn loose the chains of your forgotten children who remain wealthy heirs to two countries yet without a home to call our own whose only claim is an unmapped destiny in a forgotten country called Amerasia. Susy So Schaller Copyright 1988 Susy So Schaller. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-08 Page 19 8 Aug 1988 Friends Show me who you run with and I'll tell you who you are "Corp. Romeo" NamNews 2-08 Page 20 8 Aug 1988 A Little Man Part IV by Lefty Frizzell RVN 1969-1972 They are all gone now. Just found the obituary in the paper. Mr Herring died 31 Oct 87. Glad my father saved it...If he had not then I would not have known. I was getting a bunch of Namvets together to go over to the hospital and give blood for him.... I guess that "Uncle Woody" is not going to need it now. "Uncle Woody", Hah! I remember how much Mrs. Herring hated us calling him that...but she always was jealous of the time that he spent with "his" kids. Mr Pogue, Mr Ellis, and Mr Herring were THE three main male models in my life....Mr Herring was the quiet dogged type and got everything done easily. He just knew how to do anything. I kept in touch with him a little better than I did the others.... he was always easy to reach....I saw him at Mr Ellis' funeral.... I knew that Uncle "Woody" did not have much more time left.... he felt sure that he was going to beat the cancer....and I was just as sure from the way that he looked that he was not. He, Ronnie, and I got the chance to spend about 45 minutes together after the funeral and about 15 minutes before....an hour is not much to spend with someone that had done so much for all of us but it was all the time that we had.....and it was enough. I called the Reverend Ronnie Pogue and left a message with his secretary about Mr Herring. He probably already knows... but then again, maybe not. And someone as important as Mr Herring should be remembered....even If I cannot be there. I am not going to this funeral. I cannot miss anymore school... and I really can't take any more of the misery. This is the end of a period of my life....it was gone a long time ago. I just did not know it...I do now. All things end....of all the boys that were in Scouting with me... I am the only one that came back to work as an adult...One of the nice things....and it might not count for much....I came back and was the Adult Advisor of Explorer Post 160....it was the post that I was in when I was a boy....it had been inactive for 10 years when I got it back....it lasted 2 years this time. My boys grew up and moved away. Scouting has changed so much that it cannot draw the type of boys that were in the Original Post 160... or the type of boys that helped reorganize it. Those type of kids are few and far between...it was my pleasure to have known the best. I found out that one of MY boys is now attending the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado... guess I'll have to salute him when he comes back... not bad, there guy. I used to be a pretty good leader... I might make a good follower now.... I think that sometime I am infected with the Peter Pan Syndrome... I wont grow up! Well, there comes a time when even Peter Pan must call it quits...When the Eway, Seeway, Neeway, NamNews 2-08 Page 21 8 Aug 1988 Weeway of the Order of the Arrow...the Indian dancing...the belt to butt for setting the main tent on fire...The kids... Allen Herring, Joe Manning, Andy Walker, Billy Odom, the Powell boys, Larry Burleson, Walter Ellis and myself....the times in New Braunfels... In San Antone... In the Astrodome... the Coliseum... Camp Strake....Camp Champion ....leading the campfires...the teaching of the younger scouts....the sounds and the smells of a childhood...all of it ends. That time is gone forever...and after tonite...will forever be nothing but memories...damn good memories..but the men who made them..and the boys who lived them are all gone... ...I think that Mr Herring knew the end was near. It hurt him to be at Mr Ellis' funeral...but he was there helping put away an old friend. He went out with style, with grace, and with flair... I don't think that any man could ask for a better end... So, Mr Herring, Mr Ellis, Mr Pogue, thanks from all of your boys... we never told you...but you guys were mighty important to us....we just did not know how to say it. You cant hear us...You cant read this...but I THOUGHT I heard.... "Gee, Uncle Woody, I didn't mean to break it, honest..... NamNews 2-08 Page 22 8 Aug 1988 ================================================================= GENERAL ARTICLES ================================================================= 'MID-LIFE CRISIS' CITED IN AGENT ORANGE CASES by Rick Maze, Times Staff Writer (Air Force Times, June 20, 1988) Washington - A senior Veterans administration official, who also is a decorated Vietnam veteran, has charged that veterans comp- laining about the health risks of Agent Orange are suffering from a "mid-life crisis." Thomas Harvey, VA deputy administrator, said no scientific link has been established between exposure to the herbicide widely used during the Vietnam War and illnesses and disease among Vietnam Veterans. Providing VA benefits for Agent Orange exposure without a clear link would "extend the myth of the Vietnam Veterans as a victim," he said. Harvey is an Army veteran who served two tours in Vietnam, one with the 173rd Airborne Brigade and another with a Vietnamese airborne division. He said he served in areas where the herbicide was used. But the VA official said charges that Agent Orange has caused cancer among veterans and birth defects in their children are emotionally based, a result of leftover guilt about the war. Veterans who make that charge are suffering from a "mid-life" crisis" and looking for something to pin their problems on, Harvey told a congressional panel. The remark drew a sharp response from Rep. Lane Evans, D-Ill., co-chairman of the Vietnam-era Veterans in Congress Caucus. "To come before the committee and talk about mid-life crisis...is a disservice" to Vietnam veterans, Evans said. "The government's conduct, in my opinion, has been inexcusable." The exchange came at a June 8 hearing of the subcommittee on hospitals and health care of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. The subject was draft legislation, opposed by the Veterans Administration, that would provide disability and death benefits to Vietnam veterans suffering from certain types of cancer. While scientific studies have not been able clearly to link Agent Orange exposure to cancers among veterans and birth defects in their children, several studies have shown higher rates of some types of cancer among Vietnam veterans, Evans said. NamNews 2-08 Page 23 8 Aug 1988 The cancer rates "are there for some reason. If it is not Agent Orange, we had better find out" the cause, Evans said. "Given the fact not a single Vietnam veteran has been compensated (for injuries from Agent Orange exposure), I don't think we have good faith here." Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II, D-Mass., told Harvey, "I am outraged at your attitude," particularly after Harvey made a point of reciting his own military service and that of other VA officials. "I don't know what that has to do with anything," Kennedy said. "Don't you think the Veterans Administration should be looking out for our veterans, rather than trying to get out of obligations?" he said. Harvey said the government has spent millions on Agent Orange research without finding any proof that exposure has caused illnesses among veterans. "We have been doing a great deal of work. We are not coming up with the answers a lot of veterans want to hear, but we are doing a lot of scientific work," Harvey said. NamNews 2-08 Page 24 8 Aug 1988 SENATE VETERANS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE APPROVES "2nd" GI BILL CHANCE FOR ACTIVE DUTY PEOPLE Submitted by the Armed Forces Reunion BBS Active duty people who turned down a chance to sign up for the Educational Benefits offered by the "Montgomery GI Bill" during basic training will get a second shot under legislation approved by the committee and sent to the full Senate. Under the plan those who came on active duty between 1 July 1985 and 1 July 1988 would have a 120 period to make a new decision regarding participation in the plan if they extended their active duty tour for two additional years. A $100.00 per month pay forfeiture for 12 months would be required in order to earn the $10,800.00 educational benefit. The proposal is included as part of S-2011, which is an omnibus veteran benefit bill and was approved by the committee on 26 June. The House Veterans Affairs Committee previously approved a similar measure with one important difference. The House bill only provides for a 60 day sign-up period but would not require the 2 year enlistment extension. Under the House bill the $1,200.00 contribution could be made by forfeiture or a lump sum payment. As an extension of enlistment is not required the bill carries the proviso that the money must be paid before the member left active duty. Both plans would only affect those active duty service members who did not enroll initially when they were eligible. Approximately 300,000 people, all in their first term of enlist- ment, turned down the opportunity to participate during their period of eligibility to enroll. Differences between the House and Senate versions will be sent to a joint conference committee to work out the differences before the measure can become law. DOD officials have expressed opposition to both bills but have said if forced to accept one that they would prefer the Senate version as it requires additional time on active duty in return for the benefits. July 1988 NamNews 2-08 Page 25 8 Aug 1988 RESEARCHERS SAY FEDERAL AGENT ORANGE STUDY "DEAD WRONG" CHICAGO, IL. A controversial federal study that concluded few Vietnam veterans were exposed to high levels of the defoliant Agent Orange was improperly designed and likely to be "dead wrong," researchers charged recently. Scientists from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., said they have identified and are testing ground troops most likely to have been contaminated by the spraying and would report their results this fall. Peter Kahn, an Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Rutgers, said he believed his study, dubbed "Project Pointman," will prove the federal Center for Disease Control (CDC) erred when it decided to halt testing of Vietnam veterans last summer. "I'm not going to say they screwed up exactly," Kahn said."But they made assumptions that weren't valid that I believe led them to the wrong conclusion." "I think they're dead wrong," said co-researcher Wayne Wilson,Executive Director of the New Jersey State Commission on Agent Orange. "We're going to take our results to the U.S. Congress and to the veterans' community, and I think they'll agree this problem has not been adequately studied." Last August, the Atlanta based CDC informed Congress it could not continue its study of the health risks associated with Agent Orange because it could not find a sufficient number of Vietnam veterans who had been exposed to the herbicide. In September, the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment agreed. The decision to halt the program sparked a fury of protests from veterans' groups, some of whom claimed the government was attempting to cover up health effects of Agent Orange in order to reduce its liability to affected soldiers. "The (CDC's) conclusions are based on assumptions that are patently absurd," said Mike Leaveck, a spokesman for the Vietnam Veterans of America. "It is good that Doctor Kahn is following this up, but neither he nor any state agency has the resources to do this right," Leaveck said. "There should be a large-scale study of this and it should be done by the federal government." Dr. Robert Worth, head of the CDC's Agent Orange project, defended the government's actions. "Anything we report that doesn't go along with popular theory is easily labeled as government propaganda," he said. Using the best methods possible, Worth said, the CDC "did a very large random survey. Our goal was to find out if this was a problem among the average ground troops, and we just found that it was not." Worth said that based on the CDC analysis, only about three out of every 1,000 ground troops would have received moderate to NamNews 2-08 Page 26 8 Aug 1988 high doses of Dioxin, the toxic chemical used in Agent Orange, and that there was no practical way of locating them. Based on military records of troop positions, they also found no association between blood levels of Dioxin and whether the soldiers were in the vicinity of an Agent Orange spraying. Kahn said the reason CDC researchers did not find exposed veterans is because "they were looking in the wrong place." He said military records of troop positions on any one day are "notoriously unreliable" and said a better measure of exposure would be to find soldiers who spent a lot of time in areas that may have been contaminated by repeated sprayings, regardless of whether they were there at the time of the spraying. "We know that anybody who lives in an industrial country carries a body burden of Dioxin, which they pick up from the environment, from the water, the food, the ground," Kahn said. "We see no reason why Vietnam soldiers should be any different." In order to determine which areas were most contaminated, Kahn and his colleagues obtained records of Agent Orange sprayings and laid them over a map of Vietnam. "Certain areas just blacked out," he said. Based on this map, several army divisions were identified as likely being highly exposed to Agent Orange. One-the 1st Cavalry Division, 2nd Battalion of the 8th Infantry-was chosen for further study. Kahn said testing will involve about 20 soldiers from the unit, which was stationed in Vietnam along the Cambodian border northwest of Saigon between 1968 and 1969. The area had been heavily contaminated by Agent Orange spraying dating back to 1964. Kahn and his colleagues reported in the most recent Journal of the American Medical Association that a blood test they have developed reliably measures exposure to Dioxin. The test is similar to one used by the CDC in its studies. (From The Armed Forces Reunion BBS - (704) 667-8021) NamNews 2-08 Page 27 8 Aug 1988 RADIATION-EXPOSED VETERANS COMPENSATION ACT NOW LAW Submitted by the Armed Forces Reunion BBS Although the Administration originally opposed the measure, the president has signed into law P.L. 100-321, the Radiation-Exposed Veterans Compensation Act of 1988. The legislation authorizes the Veterans Administration to pay compensation benefits to certain veterans who were exposed to ionizing radiation while in service. Under the provisions of the bill the following conditions would be presumed to be service-connected, thus compensable, for veterans who participated in atmospheric nuclear tests or in the occupations of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan: 1-Leukemia, other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia 2-Cancer of the: A-Breast B-Pharynx C-Esophagus D-Stomach E-Small intestine F-Pancreas G-Bile ducts H-Gall Bladder 3-Primary liver cancer (except if cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated) 4-Multiple myeloma 5-Lymphomas (except Hodgkin's disease) For the presumption to be applicable. the disease must have become manifest within 40 years (30 in the case of leukemia) of the last radiation-related activity in which the veteran participated. It is difficult for a veteran to establish that a disability he believes to be radiation-related originated during military service. There is a tremendous degree of uncertainty within the scientific and medical communities as to the long-term health effects of exposure to various levels of radiation. Moreover, the levels of radiation to which these veterans were exposed - officials familiar with the issue concede - may never accurately be determined. June 1988 NamNews 2-08 Page 28 8 Aug 1988 The Lady The following is from the AP and was found in the San Antonio Express News on 6-25-88 SUITLAND, Md.- The Vietnam War's messengers of death are inescapable at the National Archives. The daily journals, the annual history of the Da Nang mortuary, the certificates of death, the records of things left behind - a peace medal, a Bible, tape cassettes - are abundant in the 12 million pages of Army documents recently made public. Together, they chronicle the heavy toll paid by the 58,156 men and women who died in Vietnam. The Da Nang mortuary report tells of processing the remains of 5,377 Americans in 1969 and notes that the number of casualties was generally higher in March through May of each year because of regular North Vietnamese and Viet Cong offensives. The second entry in the daily staff journal of the 74th Medical Battalion at Chu Lai on June 8, 1969, brought the dreaded knock on the door back home in Canton Ohio, for Kay and John Lane. DETAILED REPORT "1. 0001 Journal opened. 2. 0550 Rocket attack 312th area. Resulted in the death of a nurse. 3. 0720 SFC Bailey called SP5 Ellafrits, 312th Evac on the casualty report on the death of 1LT Sharon A. Lane, N2337551, 238-38-3327, 312th Evac, as a result of attack at 0550 hrs..." While it was morning in Vietnam, it was the previous evening in the United States because Saigon time is 11 hours ahead. The Lanes heard sketchy details of the rocket attack on the evening news. "Right after that came a knock on the door and we saw this Army car sitting in the driveway" Kay Lane, now 64 recalled in a telephone interview. "When he (the Army Officer) came to the door, even before my husband got there, I asked 'Is she dead?` He said 'Yes`" A piece of steel from a rocket that landed between Ward 4A and Ward 4B of the 312th Evacuation Hospital had ripped through Sharon Lane's aorta. She bled to death less than a month before her 26th birthday, the NamNews 2-08 Page 29 8 Aug 1988 first woman killed by hostile fire in Vietnam. Among her last letters home, she wrote on June 4 1969, that her unit had just reached a milestone by treating its 10,000th patient since arriving in Vietnam the previous September. She added: "Start 'nights' tomorrow so don't have to get up early tomorrow. Nice thought. Still very quite around here. Haven't gotten mortared for a couple of weeks now..." Four days later, she was dead. She was awarded posthumously the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross. A memorial statue of the nurse stands in the courtyard of Aultman Hospital in Canton, where she went to nursing school. The hospital's Sharon Lane Women's Center is named in her honor. Just the same, her mother said, Sharon would approve of none of this. "She wasn't that kind of a person," Kay Lane said. "S;he just thought she was a nobody, you know, just an ordinary person, and everybody tries to make a hero out of her now." NamNews 2-08 Page 30 8 Aug 1988 SERENDIPITY Submitted by: Dale Malone At the wily Devil's silver tongued behest, We shyly bare our untouched virgin breast; As the glittering, sharp dagger plunges deep, Our soul grasps the nature of the company we keep; Too late! We desperately attempt our course to alter, No hope! The events of the past culminate, without falter. We are now ensnared, slave to our heedless fate, We cannot reverse the uncaring clock, too late; In perdition we writhe, and bemoan our sad tale, But all our warnings and recounted travail; Do naught, but increase the unheeded babble, No salvation, for unenlightened, carefree rabble. Many before us have chosen this dangerous trail, They left us markers, so we too do not have to fail; But the lesson of reason, the blinding clarity of light, Is ignored and passed up in the other entertainments of night; Our continuous, restless search for the effortless way, Sadly, insures that many more of us, will the Devil pay. Tamam NamNews 2-08 Page 31 8 Aug 1988 "HANOI JANE" OFFERS "APOLOGY" TO VIETNAM VETERANS In a seemingly staged media event, actress "Hanoi Jane" Fonda, wife of left wing California Assemblyman Tom Hayden, made an appearance on the June 17th airing of ABC's 20/20 program. While there has been some small support for her appearance on the program, especially from those who were active in the anti- Vietnam War movement of the 60's, it appears that her "apology" has been received with varying degrees of skepticism among those most effected by her actions. Louis Grizzard, a nationally syndicated columnist out of Atlanta, headlined a recent column "'Hanoi Jane' ought to make her apology at the Black Wall." Grizzard, known for his biting wit and irreverence toward most serious subjects, must have been moved to anger to write such a column. This writer, a fan of Grizzard's, was struck by the fact that never in his wildest dreams did he think he would ever see one of Grizzard's columns without at least some humor, no matter how ironic. Grizzard opens his column by quoting a woman who said "Jane Fonda was just doing what she believed was the right thing to do. The war was wrong and if it hadn't been for all the protestors it might have gone on longer and cost even more lives." The reply gets to the nub of her activities. "The protestors in the streets were one thing. Jane Fonda was another." The article continues, "she was hosted by our enemy. She was photographed in Hanoi sitting on an antiaircraft gun" with her eye glued to the gunsight. No doubt she was imagining that she had an American jet piloted by an American "War Criminal", to use her term for American Servicemen, in her cross-hairs. Her statement, reported widely in the press, as she climbed on to the AA gun that "I wish one of those murdering bastards would fly over right now" reminded an earlier generation of servicemen of the garbage they heard from the mouths of Axis Sally and Tokyo Rose during WWII. At least they admitted that they had joined the enemy side. She made broadcasts over the enemy's radio and it was on that media that she made the "War Criminal" charge in reference to American Servicemen serving in Vietnam. In one address to the North Vietnamese she claimed "We have understood that we have a common enemy - U.S. imperialism. In our country people are very unhappy. People have no reason for living. They are alienated from their work, from each other, and from history and culture. We hope that very soon, working together, we can remove the American cancer from your country." In her "apology" on 20/20 she never repudiated any of her statements quoted above. She only said that her actions were NamNews 2-08 Page 32 8 Aug 1988 "thoughtless and careless" and that she was sorry if it caused the service men and women in Vietnam hurt and pain. Fonda made it crystal clear that she was not repudiating her anti-war activities or feelings. She stated on 20/20 "I feel that those of us who opposed the war, including those who went to Hanoi and brought back documented information about what was going on that wasn't getting out, that we helped to end the war. I AM VERY PROUD OF MOST OF WHAT I DID." (Emphasis ours). The reaction to Fonda's "apology" was not long in coming. Orson Swindle, who is now an assistant secretary in the Department of Commerce in Washington, DC had the following comments after Fonda's telecast. "I have a lot of resentment towards her. She is despicable. When I was in prison I heard her activities and I heard her tapes. Her brainwashed comments were absurd and she continues to be repulsive to me. I think she apologized because she is trying to go into those communities that have protested against her, and they should protest. She should be an unwelcome person anywhere she goes." Swindle was a Marine pilot who was shot down and taken prisoner in November 1966. It was 4 years before Fonda's friends in Hanoi released information that Swindle was alive. Four years of torture for his family not knowing whether he was alive or dead. Swindle was finally released by the North Vietnamese in March of 1973, seven years and four months after his capture. As Grizzard said of Swindle, "Seven years. Think of it." Many people voiced the opinion that Fonda would have had more credibility if it had not come at a time of vigorous protests by veterans demonstrating against her filming of her new movie, Union Street, in their home town in New England. The Washington Times interviewed Gaetano Russo, the organizer of the Veterans Coalition Against Hanoi Jane. In the resulting article he was quoted as saying that her "apology" was "hogwash". "She has her public relations experts together. The fact that this is hurting her image is the only reason she's voicing these things now," Russo said. The Navy Times interviewed people attending a combined convention of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association and NAM-POW's Inc. and reported mostly negative reaction to Fonda even after viewing the program. Some questioned Fonda's sincerity. Of those interviewed only two supported Fonda. One was the widow of an Air Force Pilot murdered by the North Vietnamese while a prisoner in 1967 and the other was a Korean veteran who was an anti-war protestor during the Vietnam War. Marie Schmidt of Apple Valley, California is the widow of Air Force Colonel Norman Schmidt who, according to statements from his fellow prisoners was dragged from his cell never to be seen alive again. Mrs. Schmidt told the Navy Times that she was NamNews 2-08 Page 33 8 Aug 1988 willing to believe that Fonda was sorry. "I really felt for her," Schmidt said. "She really looked distraught. I suddenly felt she was sincere in what she was saying". Schmidt had watched the program with two of her daughters, now grown. "You could hear a pin drop in that room," she said. "Afterwards, my daughter turned to me and said, "Mom, she was awfully young at the time. She's mellowed out and so have we." Robert Dorr, who served as an enlisted member of the Air Force during the Korean War also supported Fonda. He stated that he also shared Fonda's opposition to the Vietnam War, although he "respects the heroism of those who fought the war". I really think she was sincere in what she said, even though it was commercially convenient for her to do so," Dorr added. Others were not so charitable. Air Force Colonel Bruce MacLennan, a Vietnam veteran who watched the Fonda interview was not impressed. "It was too little, too late. I was surprised she came out and admitted any culpability", he stated. The Colonel added that he felt that the "apology" was not forthright enough or complete enough. A very skeptical former POW said that the Fonda apology was either a ploy to win better public acceptance of her films or was an attempt to improve the political future of her husband, Tom Hayden, a California Assemblyman who, it is widely believed, has future political aspirations for higher office. "She was very clever and portrayed herself to the viewing public as a clean-cut American girl who was emotionally involved in the war and only regrets some of the things she has done", said the former POW, retired Air Force Colonel Harvey Stockman who was a captive between 1967 and 1973. Stockman is the President of NAM- POW's Inc., a fraternal group of former POW's in Vietnam. A very heart rendering exchange took place recently on an Electronic Bulletin Board System (BBS) in San Jose, California. A BBS is a computer driven program whereby computer owners can leave what is known as Electronic Mail. The BBS in San Jose is called the Vietnam Veterans Valhalla BBS. While primarily used by Nam vets, anyone with a computer may access it via the telephone. The System Operator (SysOp) of the BBS is Todd Looney who was a long time POW in Vietnam. A girl left him an E-Mail message in which she claimed he was fostering undeserved hatred of Fonda. This is his reply quoted verbatim. "Kathleen, I just want you to know where my feeling about Jane came from, and some others, and how it spread. I hear your message about fostering the hate, and maybe I've mellowed over the years and am certainly open, if not disappointed by her apology. She is an actress and when she stops mouthing the words and DOING something about it then maybe I'll listen a bit more. NamNews 2-08 Page 34 8 Aug 1988 When I first heard of Jane Fonda, I was sitting in a small bamboo cage..3' by 3' by 4'...and had been there for nearly a year already. We were going through a lot of "re-education" at the time. Learning to become, as Dai Wi said, "progressive Americans". Well, when Jane started her antics, the North Vietnamese used her like the fool she was and spread her words across every prison camp existing. We listened to her voice for 14 hours a day for months...over and over and over and over and over.......I really got sick just hearing her whine. But what really got me was that we would be punished for *not* listening. Some guys, friends of mine, worse than others, to the point of near death, because they were listening but not "hearing" her words. I was a medic, NOT the "criminal" she said I was. All she did by those words was to strengthen what the VC and the NVA had been shoving down our throats all along. "You see Lieutenant, *we* were right. Even your own countrywoman agrees with us. You came to our country as criminals". Bull... "Your own country is against you Lieutenant, listen to this woman and become as wise as she" again... Bull. So, if I have a little trouble with her, I'll deal with it on my own. I really don't need someone who has no concept of living in a cage being forced fed that witches' brew all of my waking hours trying to tell me I am harboring undeserved hatred. If I imprisoned you and fed you Captain Kirk for a year and a half, you'd hate him too. The point is the seed is deep Kathleen, in me and a lot of others, and it will take a long while of venting anger to scrape it to the surface. It's not just something one wakes up from one day and says "Oh gee, I shouldn't do that anymore" and it goes away. It takes talking about it, and after years of silence, Vietnam vets are just *now* talking about it. And the first talk is always the venting of penned up anger, it has to come out or the healing never begins. Never". Grizzard's column is one that really strikes at the heart of the Fonda controversy. "Who knows how much her appearance in Hanoi strengthened the will of the enemy, and how her appearance broke the will of our men? If Hanoi Jane wants to apologize to somebody, she ought to go the Wall in Washington and get down on her knees and beg forgiveness from the names engraved upon it. Only then might she have a speck of credibility," Grizzard concluded. To which this writer can only add "Amen." (July 1988) (From the Armed Forces Reunion BBS - (704) 667-8021) NamNews 2-08 Page 35 8 Aug 1988 Stats gathered by: Glenn Toothman NCOA BBS 387/800 UNACCOUNTED U.S. PERSONNEL ARMY 702 AIR FORCE 899 NAVY 480 MARINES 289 COAST GUARD 1 CIVILIANS 42 TOTAL 2,413 U.S. SERVICEMEN UNACCOUNTED FOR BY STATE ALABAMA-42 NEBRASKA-25 ALASKA-3 NEVADA-9 ARIZONA-24 NEW HAMPSHIRE-10 ARKANSAS-27 NEW JERSEY-63 CALIFORNIA-243 NEW MEXICO-17 COLORADO-41 NEW YORK- 153 CONNECTICUT-39 NORTH CAROLINA-61 DELEWARE-5 NORTH DAKOTA-16 DISTRICT OF COLUIMBIA-9 OHIO-126 FLORIDA-80 OKLAHOMA- 49 GEORGIA-46 OREGON-46 HAWAII-11 PENNSYLVANIA-117 IDAHO-12 RHODE ISLAND-10 ILLIONOIS-100 SOUTH CAROLINA-30 INDIANA-69 SOUTH DAKOTA-9 IWOA-39 TENNESSEE-44 KANSAS-39 TEXAS 156 KENTUCKY-22 UTAH-23 LOUISIANA-34 VERMONT-4 MAINE-17 VIRGINIA-59 MARYLAND-37 WASHINGTON-61 MASSACHUSETTS-59 WEST VIRGINIA-25 MICHIGAN-75 WISCONSIN-37 MINNESOTA-43 WYOMING-6 MISSISSIPPI-18 PUERTO RICO-6 MISSOURI-51 VIRGIN ISLANDS -1 MONTANA-21 OTHER 7 NOTE: DOES NOT INCLUDE 42 CIVILIANS NamNews 2-08 Page 36 8 Aug 1988 THE VETERANS' EMPLOYMENT, TRAINING AND COUNSELING AMENDMENTS OF 1988 (S.999) PUBLIC LAY 100-323 This law creates new programs and provides funding for veterans employment and training. In addition, it creates 10 new Veterans' Employment and Training Program regional administrators, one for each federal region. Other provisions of this new law include: . establishment of a National Veterans' Employment and Training Services Institute. The purpose of the institute is to better train the personnel who provide employment related services; . extends through Sept. 30, 1989, the deadline for veterans to apply for Veterans Job Training Assistance. In addition, it authorizes $120 million for FY 1989; . ensure adequate funding to support Local Veterans' Employment Representatives (LVERs) and Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program Specialists (DVOPs) nationwide, including a mandated level of at least 1600 LVERs; . requires that all LVERs hired after July 1, 1988, must be hired under the following preferences: (1) qualified service- connected disabled veterans, (2) qualified veterans, and (3) qualified eligible persons; . requires the Assistant Secretary for Veterans Employment and Training to conduct, every two years, a unemployment study of special disabled veterans and veterans who served in Vietnam. The first study is due in six months. NamNews 2-08 Page 37 8 Aug 1988 CONGRESS PASSES IMPORTANT VETERANS' LEGISLATION Veterans' Benefits and Services Act of 1988 (H.R. 26160) Public Law 100-322 Beneficiary Travel The VA Administrator has been given the authority to provide, at his discretion, beneficiary travel payments to the following categories of veterans: . receiving treatment for a service connected disability; . rated service-connected 30 percent or more; . in receipt of nonservice-connected pension; . whose annual income is not more than the maximum annual rate of pension; . who are unable to afford the cost of travel; . who require a special mode of transportation and can't afford it; . who are scheduled for compensation or pension exams, and, . any vet the Administrator may determine by regulation as required the benefit. If beneficiary travel is granted, a veteran will be reimbursed $.11 per mile, with a $3.00 deductible. The deductible can be waived if financial hardships exist. If medically required, special modes of transportation will be provided when authorized. In the case of an emergency, the VA may pay for the transportation, but may later bill the patient, if eligibility is not determined. Outpatient Treatment The VA clinics are now required to provide outpatient treatment to: . veterans for a service-connected disability; . service-connected disabled veterans rated 50 percent or more, for any disability, and . veterans disabled as a result of VA treatment or while pursuing vocational rehabilitation. In addition, outpatient care must be provided for the prevention of or in preparation for hospitalization to veterans with service-connected disability rated at 30 or 40 percent or those whose annual income does not exceed the maximum annual rate of pension payable. The above veterans have first priority in the clinics, but outpatient treatment may be provided to other veterans in the following priority: . service-connected disabled veterans rated less than 30 percent or undergoing compensation or pension exams; . former POWs or veterans claiming exposure to ionizing radiation or Agent Orange; . Mexican Border or World War I veterans and veterans in receipt of increased pension based on Aid and Attendance (A&A) or household benefits; NamNews 2-08 Page 38 8 Aug 1988 . veterans with incomes above the pension A&A level, but not above the category "A" income threshold. VA Nursing Staff This law contains a number of meaningful provisions relating to: recruitment of nurses and other scarce health care professionals; . Authorizes premium pay for registered nurses (RN) working on Saturday; . Allows recruitment tools such as incentive bonuses for RNs; . Expands the eligibility for the Health Professional Scholarship Program; . Authorizes a tuition reimbursement program for RNs; . Required the Chief of Nursing at each VA medical facility be included on policy making committees. Vet Centers This bill repeals the mandated transition dates and requirements for the relocation of Vet Centers to local VA medical centers. The VA Administrator is now required to formulate and submit to Congress a national plan for the operation of each Vet Center. Under the new law, the VA can take no action to relocate or close Vet Centers until 120 days after Congress has received the national plan. Other Provisions of P.L. 100-322 Other noteworthy provisions of P.L. 100-322 include: . fee basis medical care for service-connected veterans residing outside the U.S., such as Canadian citizens residing in Canada, but who served in and are veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces; . reduction of the internment period from six months to 90 days for POW's dental eligibility; . extends the Adult Health Day Care program until September 1, 1991; . authorizes a two-year pilot program for mobile health care clinics to serve veterans at least 100 miles from the nearest VA medical facility; . provides for the confidentiality of AIDS patient's records; non-discriminating admission policies for the treatment of AIDS; AIDS information and training for all VA employees and veterans; and prohibits mandatory AIDS testing, while allowing voluntary tests; . increases the per diem rate for state veterans' homes and authorizes increases on an annual basis; . adds mental illness as a specific VA research mission; . requires the conversion of 500 care acute care hospital beds in urban areas to beds for homeless vets; . requires an improvement in health care quality assurance programs; . establishes a revolving fund for monies from the sale of VA-owned properties for the purpose of building or renovating VA nursing homes; . directs the Department of Treasury to return funds taken NamNews 2-08 Page 39 8 Aug 1988 under the Gramm/Rudman/Hollings bill; . prohibits selling certain VA properties at West Los Angeles and Sepulveda, Calif., VA medical centers; . increases tow specially adapted housing assistance program allowances $35,000 to $38,000, and $6,000 to $6,500; . increases the amount of automobile assistance from $5,000 to $5,500; . increases the service-connected burial allowance from $1,100 to $1,500; . expands the VA's authority to recognize as POWs veterans who were interned by other than enemy governments during World War II. . provides POWs a presumption of service-connection for peripheral neuropathy, irritable bowel syndrome and peptic ulcers; . establishes a presumption of service-connection for systemic lupus erythematosus, and, . authorizes the VA, nor private insurance companies, to provide Mortgage Protection Life Insurance to service- connected disabled veterans in receipt of specially adapted housing assistance. NamNews 2-08 Page 40 8 Aug 1988 U.S. GOVERNMENT POSITION ON AMERICANS STILL BEING HELD CAPTIVE IN INDOCHINA by: Glenn Toothman NCOA BBS 387/800 Since the fall of Saigon in 1975, the United States Government has acquired more than 6,000 reports bearing on the POW/MIA problem. Of the total reported, 965 are firsthand live-sighting reports with 624 resolved through a determination that they correlate with individuals since accounted for. Additionally, 205 of the reports are known or suspected to be fabrications by the source, while 136 are as yet unverified and under continuing investigation in an attempt to confirm the information. The remaining reports pertain to hearsay sightings and to crash site and grave site information. Given the above circumstance, it would be irresponsible to rule out the possibility that live americans are being held. Thus, the U.S. Government's position since 1982 is: ALTHOUGH WE HAVE THUS FAR BEEN UNABLE TO PROVE THAT AMERICANS ARE STILL DETAINED AGAINST THEIR WILL, THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO US PRECLUDES RULING OUT THAT POSSIBILITY. ACTIONS TO INVESTIGATE LIVE-SIGHTING REPORTS RECEIVE AND WILL CONTINUE TO RECEIVE NECESSARY PRIORITY AND RESOURCES BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT AT LEAST SOME AMERICANS ARE STILL HELD CAPTIVE. SHOULD ANY REPORT PROVE TRUE, WE WILL TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION TO ENSURE THE RETURN OF THOSE INVOLVED. All statistics as of 1 July 87/from POW-MIA FACTBOOK DoD JULY 87 NamNews 2-08 Page 41 8 Aug 1988 From the December 1982 edition of Soldier of Fortune Editorial: Viet Vets: Prisoners of Prejudice by Dave McPeak Dave McPeak was attached to an artillery unit with the 12th Marines in Vietnam from 1967-68. When he returned to the United States he was a 20-year-old veteran, and he still didn't have the right to vote. After Vietnam, McPeak worked and went to school, receiving a B.A., then an M.A. in counseling from the University of West Virginia. Since January 1980 he has been a counselor at the Pittsburgh Veterans Center, leading groups for Vietnam combat veterans. McPeak was inspired to write this editorial by an article by FIELDS OF FIRE author James Webb ("What the Vietnam Vet Needs" Soldier of Fortune May 1980). Ten Common Misconceptions about Vietnam Veterans: 1. THAT WE WERE DRAGGED INTO MILITARY SERVICE: Two-thirds of the men and women who served in Vietnam volunteered for duty. In contrast, two-thirds of the people who served in World War II were drafted. 2. THAT VIETNAM WAS SOMEHOW SOMETHING LESS THAN A REAL WAR: Why then were there more total combat casualties for the Marine Corps in Vietnam than in WWII? Why then, according to the Department of Defense, were the chances of being killed in combat in Vietnam 85 in 1,000? In WWII, by comparison, the number was 12 in 1,000. Why then did Vietnam produce eight times as many paralyzed men as WWII, three times as many totally disabled and 35 percent more amputees? Why then out of the 300,000 wounded Vietnam War veterans are 12.4 percent totally disabled? 3. THAT WE WERE SOMEHOW NOT AS BRAVE OR DID NOT SACRIFICE AS MUCH AS OUR FATHERS DID IN PREVIOUS WARS: The American public, unfortunately, forgot the countless acts of incredible courage at Dak-To, Khe Sahn, Ia Drang Valley, Hue City and a thousand other unknown or too-soon forgotten places. 4. THAT THESE SOLDIERS DID NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR COMRADES: Nothing could be further from the truth. We cared deeply then and still remember them every day and in our nightmares. 5. THAT VIETNAM TROOPS WERE HABITUAL USERS OF DANGEROUS DRUGS: In fact, hard drugs never emerged on any scale until the final years of the Vietnam War. 6. THAT WE FACED AN INFERIOR ENEMY FORCE: Again, untrue. We faced two enemy forces. First were the elusive, courageous NamNews 2-08 Page 42 8 Aug 1988 Viet Cong who were fighting in their own back yard and were geniuses in camouflage and underground concealment and experts in improvising ambushes and booby traps. The second enemy was less well known by the American public, but probably a more formidable foe -- the North Vietnamese Army. This well-trained, large army was equipped with artillery and 122mm Russian-made rockets. Most importantly, both groups carried the AK-47 assault rifles, high velocity automatic weapons the likes of which were never faced by any previous American force. Furthermore, the Vietnamese now have the world's fourth largest army. 7. THAT WE WERE MASS KILLERS OF CIVILIANS: False. More civilians were killed in the four years of the Korean War than in eight years of the Vietnam War. 8. THAT THE VIETNAM TROOPS WERE NOT AS EFFICIENT AS PREVIOUS AMERICAN SOLDIERS: We were the youngest, best-educated, best-trained, best-equipped and most-decorated troops America has ever seen. And we never lost a major battle during our involvement. 9. THAT WE ARE TROUBLED: For many of us this is true. Although, considering the unique and tragic circumstances of our war, we are a remarkable group. We were sent to war alone and joined a unit of complete strangers. We experienced the trauma of total, absolute warfare and, if not severely wounded, we returned to a country which would not or could not welcome us, mourn our dead with us or recognize our sacrifices and courage. It is not by accident that the freed hostages from Iran were returned slowly to this country and will continue to have reunions of their group. Our government learned to reduce the frequency and intensity of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome from the mistakes it made when we returned and from the observation of the work done by Vietnam-veteran therapists at the Vet Centers. 10. THAT THE VIETNAM VETERAN IS UNGRATEFUL AND DEMANDS TO BE SEEN AS A HERO: False. We are not ungrateful; we are honest. We received very little. A graphic example: In 1945 a GI's educational benefits included tuition, books, room and board, and a monthly stipend of $54. In contrast, a Vietnam veteran returning from the war in 1968 received only a monthly stipend of $130 and no tuition, room, board or other benefits. Furthermore, two weeks after their return, groundbreaking for a memorial to the Iran hostages was completed. Tragically, 10 years after the end of our war no memorial yet stands anywhere to console the hearts of the mothers who lost their sons fighting in Vietnam. [VETLink #1 Sysop Note: Remember this was written in 1982] Finally, we do not wish to be seen as heroes because OUR heroes died in Vietnam. NamNews 2-08 Page 43 8 Aug 1988 Submitted by: Jerry Gluck, Ph.D. The Relaxation Response By: Herbert Benson, M.D. The case for the use of the Relaxation Response (RR) by healthy but harassed individuals is straightforward. It can act as a built-in method of counteracting the stresses of everyday living which bring forth the fight or flight response. We have also shown how the RR may be used as a new approach to aid in the treatment and perhaps prevention of diseases such as hypertension. In this chapter we will review the components necessary to evoke the RR and present a specific technique that we have developed at Harvard's Thorndike Memorial Laboratory and Boston's Beth Israel Hospital. We again emphasize that, for those who may suffer from any disease state, the potential therapeutic use of the RR should be practiced only under the care and supervision of a physician. HOW TO BRING FORTH THE RELAXATION RESPONSE From age-old techniques we have extracted four basic components necessary to bring forth the RR: 1. A QUIET ENVIRONMENT Ideally, you should choose a quiet, calm environment with as few distractions as possible. A quiet room is suitable, as is a place of worship. The quiet environment contributes to the effectiveness of the repeated word or phrase by making it easier to eliminate distracting thoughts. 2. A MENTAL DEVICE To shift the mind from logical, externally oriented thought, there should be a constant stimulus: a sound, word, or phrase repeated silently or aloud; or fixed gazing at an object. Since one of the major difficulties in the elicitation of the RR is "mind wandering" the repetition of the word or phrase is a way to help break the train of distracting thoughts. Your eyes are usually closed if you are using a repeated sound or word; of course, your eyes are open if you are gazing. ATtention to the normal rhythm of breathing is also useful and enhances the repetition of the sound or the word. 3. A PASSIVE ATTITUDE When distracting thoughts occur, they are to be disregarded and attention redirected to the repetition or gazing; YOU SHOULD NOT WORRY ABOUT HOW ELL YOU ARE PERFORMING THE TECHNIQUE, because this may well prevent the RR from occurring. Adopt a "let it happen" attitude. THE PASSIVE ATTITUDE IS PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN ELICITING THE RR. DISTRACTING THOUGHTS WILL OCCUR. DON NOT WORRY ABOUT THEM. WHEN THESE THOUGHTS DO PRESENT THEMSELVES AND YOU BECOME AWARE OF THEM, SIMPLY RETURN TO THE REPETITION OF THE MENTAL DEVICE. THESE OTHER THOUGHTS DO NOT MEAN YOU ARE PERFORMING THE TECHNIQUE INCORRECTLY. THEY ARE TO BE EXPECTED. THEY ARE PART OF RELEASING THE TENSION. NamNews 2-08 Page 44 8 Aug 1988 4. A COMFORTABLE POSITION A comfortable posture is important so that there is no undue muscular tension. Some methods call for a sitting position. A few practitioners use the cross-legged "lotus" position of the Yogi. If you are lying down, there is a tendency to fall asleep. As we have noted previously, the various postures of kneeling, swaying, or sitting in a cross legged position are believed to have evolved to prevent falling asleep. You should be comfortable and relaxed. You might find a reclining comfortable chair the best for you. TESTS AT THE THORNDIKE MEMORIAL LABORATORY OF HARVARD HAVE SHOWN THAT A SIMILAR TECHNIQUE USED WITH ANY SOUND OR PHRASE OR PRAYER OR MANTRA BRINGS FORTH THE SAME PHYSIOLOGIC CHANGES NOTED DURING TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION. PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES TO BE EXPECTED *Decreased oxygen consumption *Decreased carbon dioxide elimination *Decreased rate of breathing *Lowered blood pressure and heart rate INSTRUCTIONS 1. Sit quietly in a comfortable position. 2. Close your eyes. 3. Deeply relax all your muscles, beginning at your feet and progressing up to your face. Keep them relaxed. 4. Breathe through your nose. Become aware of your breathing. As you breathe out, say the word "ONE", silently to yourself. For example, breathe IN....OUT, "ONE"; IN....OUT, "ONE"; etc. Breathe easily and naturally. 5. Continue for 10 to 20 minutes. You may open your eyes to check the time, but do not use an alarm. When you finish, sit quietly for several minutes, at first with your eyes closed and later with your eyes opened. Do not stand up for a few minutes. 6. Do not worry about whether you are successful in achieving a deep level of relaxation. Maintain a passive attitude and permit relaxation to occur at its own pace. When distracting thoughts occur, try to ignore them by not dwelling upon them and focusing on and returning to repeating "ONE". With practice, the response should come with little effort. Practice the technique once or twice daily, but not within two hours after any meal, since the digestive processes seem to interfere with the elicitation of the RR. New York: Avon, 1975. ************************************** In practice do not worry about falling asleep. If you do fall asleep it is because you are tired. You will reawaken shortly. Further, it is not necessary to keep time or look at the time as NamNews 2-08 Page 45 8 Aug 1988 you will find that you will naturally come out of the RR when sufficient relaxation has been achieved. Time in this writer's experience has varied from 10 minutes to 40 minutes, depending on the depth of relaxation and the need. Many people find one session properly done is equivalent to the rest obtained by about five hours of sleep. This technique is not a religious or cultist tool. It actually elicits a response from some deep brain centers which have a very beneficial effect on the body. Use of hallucinogenic drugs and this technique should also be avoided, e.g. marihuana. One way to enhance the effect further is to relax your eyes and permit them to gently rest toward the upward and back position. NamNews 2-08 Page 46 8 Aug 1988 Contact: Jacqueline Hanson Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhardt 612/371-5503 WOMEN VIETNAM VETERANS ENLIST AID OF LORETTA SWIT AND FIGHT FOR MEMORIAL WASHINGTON, D.C.--(June 10, 1988)-- The Vietnam Women's Memorial Project (VWMP) is one step closer to adding a statue of a woman at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with House hearings confirmed for June 21, 1988. The House Subcommittee on Libraries and Memorials will hear testimony from Project supporters including Loretta Swit. House bill 3628 will authorize the statue to be added to the memorial in Washington, D.C. The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Sam Gejdenson, Conn., currently has 2029 House cosponsors. "We are very pleased that Loretta will speak in support of the bill," says Diane Carlson Evans, founder of the VWMP, the grassroots organization which originally proposed the statue. "Though Loretta did not serve in Vietnam, we know that she has deep-felt empathy for those people who did." Swit, famous for portraying Hot Lips Houlahan on the television series M*A*S*H*, has previously said that she was only the symbol for the women who devoted themselves selflessly, dangerously and with great emotional price, to saving the lives, bodies and spirits of those in war. Others testifying before the subcommittee in support of the bill include Vietnam veterans, Diane Carlson Evans; and Linda Schwartz, who was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the VWMP. Others who have been invited to testify on behalf of the memorial include Senators Dave Durenburger, Minn., and Alan Cranston, Calif., who jointly introduced the similar Senate bill, S. 2042; Representative Gejdenson; and Representative Sonny Montgomery, Miss., chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. The Subcommittee on Libraries and Memorials is chaired by Representative Mary Rose Oakar, Ohio. The bill when passed would authorize a site for the statue within the 2.2 acres of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The Senate bill, similar to the House bill, has been passed by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and is expected to be approved by the full Senate any day. After final congressional action by both houses, the President must then sign the bill into law. After presidential approval, the design and plans for the statue must still be approved by the Secretary of the Interior, the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capitol Planning Commission. The VWMP first began campaigning in 1984 for female representation on the site of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial which was set aside by the federal government to honor the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States who served in the Vietnam War. NamNews 2-08 Page 47 8 Aug 1988 "The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is on federal land so the voices of the American people should be heard," states Evans. More than 10 million Americans, represented by 35 national endorsing organizations, have expressed their support that a women be depicted at the memorial. The Vietnam Women's Memorial Project is a nonprofit organization established in 1984 whose three-part goal is to recognize and honor female Vietnam-era veterans by locating the women who served, making the American people aware of their contributions and completing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial with a statue of a woman. To receive information or to make a contribution, contact the Vietnam Women's Memorial Project, 511 11th Ave. S., Box 14, Minneapolis, Minn., 55415 NamNews 2-08 Page 48 8 Aug 1988 HOUSE INVESTIGATORS CHARGE VA's TOP OFFICIALS ARE OVERESTIMATING AVAILABLE HOSPITAL BEDS [Excerpt from July 1988 DAV Magazine] Recent visits to 16 VA medical centers by House Veterans' Affairs Committee staff members has revealed that more than 1,700 hospital beds --or almost 14 percent of all beds--were counted as "operating beds" when they were not available for the medical care of veterans due to shortages of staff. The discovery counters the continuing reassurances of VA senior staff, who have told the committee that the VA has adequate bed capacity to permit continued delivery of medical care to veterans. Those same VA staffers have also suggested an actual excess of beds in light of occupancy rates. As a result of staff investigations, Chairman G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery (D-Miss.) and Ranking Minority Member Gerald B.H.Solomon (R-N.Y.) want to know why these beds were unofficially shut down, apparently in violation of Congressionally mandated bed levels. In a letter to VA Administrator Thomas K. Turnage, the two members of Congress also asked for an explanation of VA official statements that are inconsistent with the findings of the committee's investigators, as well as recent media reports and letters from veterans. "It is very clear that most of the medical centers are presently operating in a serious deficit position for this fiscal year. Without clear talk and extraordinarily rigorous efforts on your part to obtain relief from this unsatisfactory situation in the form of an urgent supplemental appropriation, the amount of health care and its quality provided to veterans will be seriously degraded by the fourth quarter of this fiscal year," Montgomery and Solomon wrote. The two members of Congress concluded the shortage has resulted in spite of Congressional efforts to provide full funding for VA health care because of a variety of factors. First, with fewer operating beds caused by staff shortages, reduced patient levels result. Fewer patients mean less resources are being provided VA hospitals as determined by their accounting procedures. Second, although Congress has provided VA budgets to support salaries for 194,140 VA health care employees, an increasing share of those funds has gone to pay personnel costs in order to attract and retain skilled medical staff. Third, funds earmarked for the operation of individual medical centers have been diverted to other Departments of Medicine and Surgery funding accounts. These diversions have come as a result of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) "mandating an NamNews 2-08 Page 49 8 Aug 1988 arbitrary and burdensome 1-percent 'productivity improvement' levy and requiring absorption of a substantial portion of the annual cost-of-living adjustment pay raise for employees," the two congressmen wrote. "The cumulative effect of such use of other accounts has been to leave the hospitals with no further resources on which to draw and can only presage further difficulties in recruitment and retention, further bed closures and reductions in the ability of the VA to deliver medical care. Yet, we have heard none of this from VA high-level managers. NamNews 2-08 Page 50 8 Aug 1988 Problems with the VA SEATTLE (AP) -- A Veterans Administration claims examiner has been removed from his post after co-workers discovered more than 1,000 unanswered veterans' letters dating back to 1981 stuffed in the man's desk. The director of the VA's regional office in Seattle, Richard F. Murphy, confirmed that the pieces of mail were discovered during the first week of July when Dean A. Dakers was home sick. The day after he returned to work in the Seattle Federal Building, he was removed from his position pending an investigation by the local office, Murphy said. Murphy also said investigators from the VA inspector general's office may enter the case. Dakers, 36, of Seattle, refused to comment Thursday. He has worked in the local office for 11 years and has an annual salary of about $24,000. He already has been told what disciplinary action may be taken against him, including that he could be fired, Murphy said. Murphy refused to say what action has been recommended. As one of 25 claims examiners in Seattle, Dakers was responsible for processing claims for disability benefits, pensions and education from veterans in Washington or their beneficiaries. "We're making a priority case out of this," said Murphy. "We've had a review of everything done by the supervisor. We're working on any case that needs some action." Murphy said Dakers has provided no explanation for the letter backlog. NamNews 2-08 Page 51 8 Aug 1988 VIETNAM: SLOWLY BUT STEADILY, RELATIONS WITH U.S. IMPROVE by Sudha Kamath WASHINGTON, July 21 (IPS) -- The capture of Saigon 13 years ago by the North Vietnamese forces marked both the end of the war and a more formal beginning to a long, deep chill in U.S.- Vietnamese relations. But recent attempts at cooperation on the part of Vietnam suggest that, despite considerable reluctance on the part of the United States, the distance between Hanoi and Washington may be narrowing. As part of its bid to improve relations, Hanoi is returning the bodies of U.S. soldiers still missing from the Vietnam conflict, and is allowing large numbers of Vietnamese who served under the former U.S.-backed government to emigrate to the United States. Vietnam's most recent overture to Washington came today, when Foreign Minister Nguyen Co Thach said he would attempt to resolve 70 cases of missing U.S. servicemen by the end of the year. "The Vietnamese offer is an encouraging development," State Department spokeswoman Phyllis Oakley said here today. "We look forward to greatly expanded cooperation in the coming months." The two governments have agreed to hold planning meetings in Hanoi July 25-28 to discuss technical aspects of implementing Vietnam's pledge, she said. In addition, Vietnam rescued three U.S. Navy fliers who had abandoned their disabled plane in the South China Sea last week. After being promptly returned to the United States, the three fliers commended the Vietnamese, saying they were treated cordially. Previously, the United States had accused Hanoi of mistreating and unnecessarily detaining U.S. servicemen in similar circumstances. Although welcoming these steps, the Reagan Administration insists it will not consider resuming diplomatic relations with Vietnam until its estimated 100,000 troops leave Cambodia. Hanoi has pledged to withdraw 50,000 troops by January 1989, and the remainder by 1990. Progress on the issue of returning remains of missing U.S. soldiers dates to an August 1987 agreement between Thach and retired U.S. Gen. John Vessey, a special presidential envoy. In that accord, Vietnam agreed to accelerate the search for the remains of missing U.S. soldiers. NamNews 2-08 Page 52 8 Aug 1988 Hanoi's softening of its stance is evident in a number of other actions as well. On July 16, Vietnam said it would allow more than 50,000 people -- including many former employees of the U.S.-backed Saigon government who spent time in re-education camps after the 1975 North Vietnamese victory -- to emigrate to the United States. In April, Vietnam returned 27 bodies of U.S. servicemen to the United States. It was the largest single number of remains handed over since the end of the war. These actions come as Vietnam -- which is one of the world's ten poorest countries, due in no small part to the tremendous devastation wreaked by the war -- is facing serious malnutrition problems as a result of decreasing food production and increasing population. From 1978-85, annual grain production rose from under 13 million to more than 18 million tons, but has been decreasing ever since due to drought and plagues. Meanwhile, Vietnam's population grew at a rate of 2.6 percent -- or more than one million people per year -- between 1980-86, according to the World Bank's 1988 "World Development Report." Vietnam's population was 63 million in 1986, and the report estimated it would reach 88 million by the year 2000. In hopes of averting a major crisis, government officials have asked international organizations and foreign countries for aid, maintaining that help is needed or more than three million people will starve. As part of that effort, Thach asked Washington to consider offering food to areas where rural Vietnamese have helped in the search for the remains of U.S. servicemen. Although the U.S. State Department claimed in April that it is "sensitive to the suffering of the Vietnamese people," Oakley also said at that time: "We are outraged at any suggestion of linking food assistance with the return of remains. The United States does not provide aid to Vietnam and does not plan to do so." On the current main point of contention between Washington and Hanoi -- Cambodia -- Vietnam continues to reduce its presence there, fueling speculation that it will honor its commitment to complete withdrawal by 1990. About 13,000 Vietnamese soldiers have already left Cambodia this year, and on June 30 Vietnam withdrew its military command staff. In an unprecedented acknowledgement of the war's high cost, Hanoi announced on June 30 that 55,000 of its soldiers have died in NamNews 2-08 Page 53 8 Aug 1988 fighting with Cambodian forces. Hanoi invaded Cambodia in 1978 to oust the brutal Khmer Rouge government of Pol Pot, whose army now leads the three-group coalition fighting the Vietnamese-backed Phnom Penh government. "When the question of Cambodia is resolved, we will talk," State Department spokesman Alex Almasov told IPS today. "Right now, Vietnam's presence in Cambodia appears to be the only obstacle to establishment of diplomatic relations," he said. "Once it has pulled out, then establishment of relations would be prompt." Despite the White House's resistance to the reestablishment of diplomatic ties, some conservative U.S. legislators are urging Reagan to permit the opening of interest sections in the two nations. "Thirteen years after the fall of Saigon, the time has come for increased efforts to resolve the legacies of the Vietnam war," ruling Republican Party Senator John McCain wrote in a "Washington Post" editorial in March. Establishing interest sections would "catalyze a resolution of outstanding political and humanitarian issues," he argued. McCain, who as a U.S. soldier spent five-and-a-half years as a prisoner of war during the United States' intervention in Vietnam, said that the establishment of an interest section does not imply diplomatic recognition or approval of a nation's policies. "We refuse to recognize (Cuban President) Fidel Castro's government, for instance, but our interest section in Cuba has helped to solve various humanitarian issues over the last 11 years," he noted. But McCain's arguments do not move the administration. "We simply oppose any proposals to establish any diplomatic relations with Vietnam, at least until the question of Cambodia is resolved," Almasov said today. If current vice president and certain Republican nominee George Bush wins the presidential election Nov. 8, U.S. policy towards Vietnam is not likely to change. Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis has not indicated whether he would alter Washington's policy, although his wife Kitty Dukakis spends a great deal of time on behalf of Indo-Chinese refugees, particularly in reuniting families split by war. SOURCE: IPS/USA InterPress news Service NamNews 2-08 Page 54 8 Aug 1988 Submitted by the Armed Forces Reunion BBS ARE YOU IN DEBT TO THE VA - WATCH OUT If you are in debt to the Veterans Administration by way of G.I. Education, Home Guarantee, or any overpayment, and have been turned down for a waiver by the Board at the VA Regional Office, you can now expect a letter from the VA indicating that they are out to collect from your VA benefits, or from your Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or USPHS pay, active duty and/or retired. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has told the VA that they must start collecting these debts after the first waiver refusal and not wait until you have gone through the whole appeal process from the VA Regional Office to the Board of Veterans Appeals in Washington. If you win the appeal process, any amount you paid will be refunded. (Unless you died of starvation in the interim, of course, in which case your estate would receive it). July 1988 NamNews 2-08 Page 55 8 Aug 1988 ================================================================= INTERNATIONAL VIETNAM VETERANS' ECHOCONFERENCE NODELIST ================================================================= As of 3 June 88 these are the net/nodes that are currently listed as receiving the International Vietnam Veterans Echo. If your local BBS is not listed, please send a message to Joe Peck 321/203 (1-413-443-6313) or leave a message in the IVVEC/IWVEC. NET/ MAX NODE BBS NAME City/State/Country Phone BAUD ================================================================ 632/350 Yarra Valley BBS Melbourne Austr AU 61-3-848-331 1200 114/113 Corwin's Keep Tempe AZ 1-602-894-1470 2400 114/13 Corwin's Keep Tempe AZ 1-602-894-1470 2400 153/123 DAETECH Burnaby BC 1-604-420-2641 9600 153/135 DAETECH 2 Burnaby BC 1-604-420-9485 2400 153/501 Valley Hub Clearbrook BC 1-604-850-0021 2400 153/133 Hot Line Data Network Langley BC 1-604-533-0421 2400 220/20 Old Frog's Almanac Nanaimo BC 1-604-758-3072 2400 103/507 Philosopher's Log Anaheim CA 1-714-535-1258 9600 200/100 The Board Room Belmont Shores CA 1-213-498-6425 2400 161/502 Wildcat Benicia CA 1-707-746-5820 2400 161/66 Generic BBS Citrus Heights CA 1-916-722-3659 2400 203/66 Generic BBS Citrus Heights CA 1-916-722-3659 2400 161/1 Nerd's Nook Concord CA 1-415-672-2504 9600 202/401 jabberWOCky Escondido CA 1-619-743-9935 2400 161/34 Now and Zen OPUS Fair Oaks CA 1-916-962-1952 9600 161/56 Nat'l Family Forum Freemont, CA 1-415-651-4147 2400 161/7 Mover Mouse BBS Fremont, CA 1-415-883-1644 2400 200/200 CSULB Long Beach, CA 1-213-494-8737 1200 NamNews 2-08 Page 56 8 Aug 1988 161/39 Nightline Mather AFB, CA 1-916-362-1755 2400 161/509 Enterprize Pinole, CA 1-415-758-1650 2400 161/11 The Byte Boutique Sacramento CA 1-916-483-8032 2400 161/5 River City II OPUS Sacramento, CA 1-916-646-9678 9600 161/943 Eagle's Nest Sacramento, CA 1-916-334-2822 9600 10/215 Silver BBS San Diego, CA 1-619-226-4502 2400 125/31 Echo Coord San Francisco CA 1-415-621-5206 9600 143/22 P-CAD's Board San Jose, CA 1-408-279-4908 2400 143/27 Vietnam Veterans Valhalla San Jose CA 1-408-293-7894 2400 143/86 Cat's Tail BBS S T O P San Mateo CA 1-415-349-8245 2400 125/78 Living Sober BBS San Mateo, CA 1-415-342-2859 2400 125/12 The Grape Vine Santa Rosa, CA 1-707-546-4938 2400 125/7 Survival Forum Santa Rosa, CA 1-707-545-0746 2400 103/501 Mount Silverthorn Tustin, CA 1-714-544-3369 2400 104/28 Pinecliff BBS Boulder, CO 1-303-444-7073 2400 128/13 COSUG-Colorado's User Clrdo Spg CO 1-404-548-0726 2400 128/16 Firenet Leader Colorado Spring CO 1-303-591-9600 2400 104/739 The Phoenix Parker, CO 1-303-841-9570 2400 104/51 P2 B2 South Denver, CO 1-303-329-3337 2400 141/488 Alice's Restaurant Branford CT 1-203-488-1115 2400 141/250 Wilton Woods Wilton, CT 1-203=762-8481 9600 135/27 Bitsy's Place Miami Beach FL 1-305-865-0495 1200 135/35 The Way Out BBS Miami, FL 1-305-665-3283 1200 363/9 Wit's End Orlanda, FL 1-305-894-0807 1200 363/10 Midas Touch Orlando, FL 1-305-648-1133 1200 366/38 Jolly Green Giant Shalimar, FL 1-904-651-3875 9600 18/43 Athens Echo Athens, GA 1-404-546-7857 9600 NamNews 2-08 Page 57 8 Aug 1988 370/10 OnLine OPUS Athens, GA 1-404-548-0726 2400 370/5 Athens Forum Athens, GA 1-404-546-7857 9600 12/7 HPCUA Honolulu HI 1-808-422-8406 9600 12/1 Aura Net Honolulu, HI 1-808-533-0190 2400 115/761 ICS/TRIX 1 OPUS Chicago, IL 1-312-761-7887 2400 115/529 Elk Grove Repeater Elk Grove Vlg IL 1-312-529-1586 2400 115/20 North Shore BBS Evanston, IL 1-312-491-2611 2400 115/429 Chicago Business Evanston, IL 1-312-491-2611 2400 11/109 Peoria OPUS Net Peoria, IL 1-309-691-5416 2400 11/202 The SouthSide BBS Indianapolis, IN 1-317-882-9330 1200 227/1 Michiana TechLine Mishawaka, IN 1-219-258-0286 9600 227/150 The SX Project Whiting IN 1-219-659-2711 2400 108/90 DATANET Information Syste Erlanger KY 1-606-727-3638 2400 108/50 The ZOO BBS Independence, KY 1-606-283-2040 2400 321/109 Pioneer Valley PCUG-1 Amherst, MA 1-413-256-1037 9600 321/201 Mountain Top Dalton, MA 1-413-684-2886 2400 321/202 Jones' Nose Great Barringto MA 1-413-243-0034 9600 321/203 VETLink #1 Pittsfield, MA 1-413-443-6313 2400 109/722 Ronnie's Roadies BBS Camp Springs MD 1-301-736-0135 1200 109/648 Falcon's Rock College Park, MD 1-301-345-7459 2400 13/29 Berkshire Board Essex, MD 1-301-574-1984 9600 13/33 Avi-Technic Lutherville, MD 1-301-252-0717 9600 13/30 The Futurists BBS Perry Hall, MD 1-301-529-0716 9600 261/628 Liberty Hall Reisterstown, MD 1-301-833-8933 2400 ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-08 Page 58 8 Aug 1988 261/628.1 Systemhouse Link Reisterstown, MD 1-301-833-8933 2400 109/717 The Tin Badge BBS Silver Spring, MD 1-301-589-2016 1200 1/214 Region 14 Echo Coor Minneapolis, MN 1-612-377-3398 2400 1/314 Software Dist Minneapolis, MN 1-612-377-3469 2400 282/1 Midwest Echo Star Minneapolis, MN 1-612-377-3469 9600 151/20 Metro Link Charlotte, NC 1-704-541-8626 2400 151/60 VMC-BBS Lewisville, NC 1-919-945-4850 2400 151/100 NC Central Raleigh, NC 1-919-851-8460 9600 151/1000 REDCON Raleigh, NC 1-919-859-3353 2400 143/99 Friend's BBS Omaha, NE 1-402-896-2669 2400 132/101 BBS Source Archive Nashua, NH 1-603-888-8179 2400 150/803 Jersey Vertex Moorestown, NJ 1-609-869-0139 2400 15/4 NASW New Mexico Las Cruces, NM 1-505-646-2868 2400 381/401 Border Connection Santa Fe NM 1-505-678-1318 2400 107/105 NY Transfer Staten Island, NY 1-718-442-1056 2400 108/105 Global Time Systems Cincinnati, OH 1-606-341-7910 2400 157/1 Auer Register Cleveland, OH 1-216-883-0578 2400 110/20 EDS Data Dayton, OH 1-513-455-2431 2400 157/501 The PC-Key BBS Girard OH 1-216-545-9205 2400 385/4 Info-Net Lawton, OK 1-405-357-6181 2400 385/6 Bink's Barn Lawton, OK 1-405-357-2473 2400 147/14 Dark Star TBBS Oklahoma City, OK 1-405-691-0863 9600 148/120 Genetic Research Vat Toronto ON 1-416-480-0551 2400 11/700 FCAU IBM Net Toronto, ON 1-416-427-0682 9600 221/156 Waterloo CBCS PUBLIC Waterloo, ON 1-519-746-5020 9600 221/157 Waterloo CBCS Echomail Waterloo, ON Unpublished 9600 105/16 Net 105 EchoMail Hub Portland, OR 1-503-761-3003 2400 NamNews 2-08 Page 59 8 Aug 1988 105/61 Shotgun OPUS Portland, OR 1-503-760-4521 2400 157/506 Beacon Hill OPUS Transfer, PA 1-412-962-9514 2400 362/1 The Mines of Moria Chattanooga, TN 1-615-344-9601 2400 362/501 Coconut Telegraph Chattanooga, TN 1-615-698-4858 2400 18/7 Flash Port Memphis TN 1-901-525-2710 2400 18/6 (48/6 AltNet) The Burnout Board Memphis, TN 1-901-353-4563 9600 130/5 CUSSNET UTA Arlington, TX 1-817-273-3966 2400 136/200 The Chai Way II Austin, TX 1-214-358-3738 2400 124/210 Hardwired Dallas TX 1-214-437-4075 9600 124/214 *CHRYSALIS* Dallas TX 1-214-895-9054 2400 124/106 CHAI Way II Dallas, TX 1-214-250-3323 9600 124/110 Flying Dutchman Dallas, TX 1-214-642-3436 9600 124/117 NCC-1701 Node 1 Dallas, TX 1-214-240-8821 2400 124/117 NCC-1701 Dallas, TX 1-214-240-8821 2400 124/14 Chrysalis Dallas, TX 1-214-985-9054 2400 124/200 Dallas Outbound Dallas, TX 1-214-437-4075 2400 124/201 Hardweird Dallas, TX 1-204-931-2987 2400 19/5 Micro Application El Paso TX 1-915-594-9738 2400 106/386 Information Center Exchan Houston TX 1-713-872-4429 2400 106/108 Stormy Weather I Houston, TX 1-713-644-4345 9600 106/111 Shutterbug's OPUS Houston, TX 1-713-880-4329 2400 106/113 The Opus Network Houston, TX 1-713-780-4153 2400 106/114 The Fireside Houston, TX 1-713-496-6319 2400 106/357 TMBBS Houston, TX 1-713-497-5433 2400 106/666 Anything Goes OPUS Houston, TX 1-713-997-2624 2400 NamNews 2-08 Page 60 8 Aug 1988 106/132 Fast BBS OPUS Katy, TX 1-713-392-0093 2400 382/1 Crystal Palace Lake Travis, TX 1-512-339-8037 2400 382/14 Corona Del Mar Rockport, TX 1-512-729-7026 9600 381/201 Pro Link San Angelo, TX 1-915-944-2952 2400 387/401 Comp-U-Gen II San Antonio TX 1-512-496-9373 2400 387/601 NCOA International BBS San Antonio TX 1-512-653-0409 2400 387/800 NCOA International BBS San Antonio TX 1-800-365-6262 2400 109/604 ShanErin Alexandria, VA 1-703-941-8291 2400 109/639 The RENEX BBS Woodbridge, VA 1-703-494-8331 2400 343/111 Lessor Puget TB Edmonds, WA 1-206-742-8067 2400 343/9 Everett OPUS Everett, WA 1-206-355-1295 1200 138/4 PTC Net Mount Vernon, WA 1-206-757-5248 2400 1/217 Region 17 Echo Coord Puyallup, WA 1-206-848-5317 2400 138/101 Story Board Puyallup, WA 1-206-848-5317 9600 138/3 Puget Sound Gateway Puyallup, WA 1-206-848-9232 2400 138/49 The Cohort Puyallup, WA 1-206-848-2646 9600 138/35 US HDS Human Service Seattle, WA 1-206-442-8127 2400 138/52 Burrell's Ballpark Tacoma, WA 1-206-752-4672 2400 139/640 Fox Valley Tech Appleton, WI 1-414-735-2513 2400 154/200 PC-Express Greenfield, WI 1-414-327-5300 2400 NamNews 2-08 Page 61 8 Aug 1988 By: Alex Humphrey If you would like a rubbing taken of the name of a relative, friend or loved one from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, you can get it done by writing: Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Inc. 4200 Wisconsin Avenue NW Suite 106-108 Washington DC 20016 Attention: Name Rubbing NamNews 2-08 Page 62 8 Aug 1988 NAM VET NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION FORM The Nam Vet Newsletter is a nonprofit publication available free of charge to anyone wishing to have a copy. It can be obtained in electronic computer format by anyone having access to a computer and modem by dialing up any of the IVVEC hosting bulletin board systems listed in this issue of the Nam Vet. It can also be mailed to you in printed format if you are willing to pay the $1.67 cost for postage and the mailing envelope. If you desire to have the Nam Vet mailed to you in printed format, please complete the subscription form below, clip it out, and mail it to: Nam Vet Newsletter Vietnam Veterans Valhalla 28 Cecil Avenue San Jose, California 95128 If you send your payment in check or money order, please make it payable to Todd Looney. NAME_____________________________________________________________ STREET ADDRESS __________________________________________________ CITY/STATE/ZIP __________________________________________________ AMOUNT ENCLOSED ($1.67 per month desired) _______________________ If this subscription is for someone else, to whom shall we credit the gift? ______________________________________ apr88 ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-08 Page 63 8 Aug 1988 O O SOME GAVE ALL ... ! pow mia pow mia - BRING THEM HOME NOW! - pow mia pow mia ! ! O O ! ! ~~~~~ ~ ~ O~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~ O ~~ ~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~ ! ! ~~~~ ~ ~~ O ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~O~~~ ~~~ ~ ~~~~ ~~ ! ! ~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ O~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~ O ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~ ! ! ~~~ ~~ ~~ ~ O ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~ O ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~ ~ ! ! ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~ O ~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ O ~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~ ! ! ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~ O ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~ O ~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ! ! ~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~ O ~_~_~_~_~_ ~ O ~ ~~~~ ~ ~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ! ! ~~~ ~ ~ ~~~ ~~ ~ O ) O ~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ! ! ~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ /(O) / O \ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~ ~ ! ! ~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~ / / O \~~~~ ~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~ ! ! ~~ ~ ~ ~~ ~~ / PRISONER / \~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~ ~~~~~~ ! ! ~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~ / / MISSING \~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~ ~~ ! ! ~~~ ~ ~~ ~~ / OF /\ \~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~~ ~ ! ! ~ ~~~~ ~~ ~ / / \ IN \~ ~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ! ! ~~~ ~~~ ~ / WAR / ~~ \ \ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ! ! ~ ~~ ~~ ~ (_________ / ~ ~~ \ ACTION / ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ! ! ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ \ / ~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ! ! ~~~~~ ~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~ ~~~ \ / ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ! ! ~~ ~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~~~~ ! ! ~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~ ~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ! ! ~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ! ! ~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~ SOME STILL GIVE ! ~ ~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ! ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ! ! mia pow mia pow - BRING THEM HOME NOW! - mia pow mia pow !