Volume 2, Number 9 5 Sept 1988 +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | 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, Canada, and Australia. 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 2-09 5 Sep 1988 Table of Contents 1. EDITORIAL ................................................ 1 Here Goes Nothing ........................................ 1 Think about it ........................................... 2 2. VETERANS SERVICES ........................................ 5 Continuing Readjustment Problems Among Vietnam Veterans .. 5 Re-Evaluations ........................................... 15 GI Home Loan Pointers .................................... 16 3. MEMORIES .................................................. 21 Memories of a Warrior .................................... 21 4. GENERAL ARTICLES .......................................... 24 Communications and Feeling Good .......................... 24 Vets May Have to Start Paying For VA Care ................. 25 Laos Government Accounting ............................... 27 U.S. Personnel With Evidence of Captures ................. 29 Families of POWs Can Sue Government ...................... 33 Not On This Wall ......................................... 34 5. WANTED ................................................... 38 IVVEC Nodelist ............................................ 38 Free WALL Rubbings ........................................ 44 NamNews 2-09 Page 1 5 Sep 1988 ================================================================= EDITORIALS ================================================================= Here Goes Nothing By Todd Looney Vietnam Veterans' Valhalla 143/27 I'm afraid that life is so complicated for me at the moment - what with the new job and all - that I'm rather at a loss for what to do for this months' editorial. I thought of putting in another piece on Rocky Recondo, but Nancy thought that maybe the depictions about that nearing 40 year old Vietnam vet who still wears beerstained dago-T's, cooks TV dinners in a crusty old stove and shoots his parrot for pooping in his beer and thinks that is all there is to "life after Nam" was a little bit too much...and she was right. I thought maybe something about how I feel with respect to Nam Vet's sudden and unexpected lack of support - wondering why we have to *beg* to get some people to write an article when others never have to be asked - but that seemed to much like whining. So often I'm covetous of my brother Joe, who, without fail, perpetually complains around two days before the Nam Vet deadline that "I haven't even started my editorial bro", and whose unfailing chutzpah leads him to submit one praiseworthy piece of literature after another, always right under the line. Nancy and Joe both tell me I have nothing to be envious of, that I write quite well, but then, you just read the first two paragraphs; what do *you* think?? (grin). Maybe I'll write about how gratifying it is to watch the IVVEC and Nam Vet breath life month after month, regardless of the obstructions we constantly face. It's been more than two years since we started the IVVEC, and all the achievements we seen could not have been done without the encouragement and support we've received from so many of you. Every time the phone bill comes in, or one of the other dozen expenses needs to be paid off, I think about all of you and all of those who have just simply said, "Thanks" at times when I hurt the most, and it makes everything all worthwhile. I think of the countless names scrolling across my screen day after day who are, for the first time since Nam in most cases, just now coming to grips with their lives, or their role during the Vietnam war. I think about the numerous one lines like, "Wow, man." on the IVVEC and know that we've snagged another brother or sister who just realized they are not alone in this world, that there are thousands just like them. I think about the father who, at 45, started attending group therapy at his local Vietnam Vet Center after reading the Nam Vet Newsletter his 13 year old son downloaded from a local IVVEC affiliate BBS system. It's hard not to cry sometimes, and I don't stop the tears when they come. Yeah, I'll just write about how happy you all make me, and thank *you* for a change. Thanks you one and all for making my life what it is today. Thank you for making me realize that I have a lot to live for, and that when things look bad all I have NamNews 2-09 Page 2 5 Sep 1988 to do is look ahead and I'll see the light beaming down, illuminating my way; all I gotta do is take the steps and have faith. Thank you *all* for sharing your lives with me, and making mine better because of it. I love you all. Now write me a damned article, OK? ----------------------------------------------------------------- Think about it... by: G. Joseph Peck VETLink #1 "Helping those who served..." Fidonet 321/203 - Alternet 46/203 Many times I've toyed with the idea. Periodically working at a wide variety of jobs since a very early age (7 to be exact); caring, concerned, interested in other people and the things they do; concerned about what happens to them and in effecting positive changes in their lives, I have searched for that singular area in which I could best serve. TV-Radio repair wasn't it: THAT industry has been widely known to have taken unfair advantage of the trust and lack of technical knowledge of the average person. Politics wasn't it: THAT industry continuously requires that a person *compromise* more than stand on principle; make decisions, not in favor of the constituency responsible for placing one in office, but in favor of large manufacturers, corporations, or contributors who, in turn, could help the majority of the electorate. If one plays with coal it is difficult to maintain clean hands. However, if one chooses NOT to play with coal; NOT to compromise, and NOT to deviate from lifetime values, our electronic newsletter - NAM VET - the first of its kind in the world, is an excellent avenue to consider for self-fulfillment and service to our veteran community; an excellent avenue to consider when you want to hear or tell about the veterans who've made it, as well as those who still wait to come home. Many years ago there was a man who had handicaps that would put most disabled persons to shame and make them feel grateful for whatever good qualities they had. Short, fat, bald, deformed, *AND* ugly, he walked about the marketplace asking questions about what people did and why they did it. It made them uncomfortable and nervous to have someone so interested in them and what they were doing. After a time, because of his consistent questioning and probing, the people grew angry and finally decided to end it -- once and for all. Encircled by an angry and somewhat paranoid mob, before he even had half a chance to record some of his observations for NamNews 2-09 Page 3 5 Sep 1988 future generations that surely would follow, life slowly ebbed out of Socrates -- killed because he made people think, made them feel important (when they really didn't see themselves as amounting to much) -- killed -- by the very people he tried to help. His death, though, was not in vain for it was but the first step in assuring today's free press and today's NAM VET. This country had barely become a nation when James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton, writing under the pseudonym of Publius, published a series of essays that we now call THE FEDERALIST PAPERS, between October 1787 and May 1788 that were largely responsible for the December 15, 1791 ratification of America's Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Madison, who was later to become our 4th U.S. President (1809- 17), battled strongly within the confines of the First Amendment to assure that our democracy would work at its best and that there would always be a free and unfettered force contained within our society to watch over the government: the press - even though, at the time of ratification, there were in existence only eight daily newspapers, none of which was really good and all of whom had a reputation for scurrilous reporting. In later years, that "press" would end the political career of U.S. Senator Edmund G. Ross, the man who cast the Not Guilty vote that made impossible the impeachment of 17th U.S. President Andrew Johnson, citing, in a Kansas editorial, that Ross had "sold himself, and betrayed his constituents; stultified his own record, basely lied to his friends, shamefully violated his solemn pledge... and to the utmost of his poor ability signed the death warrant of his country's liberty" -- the Not Guilty vote that had "saved the country from ... a strain that would have wrecked any other form of government." Through painful firsthand experience, America has learned much since first it came into being, and "Freedom of the Press," since Ross' time, has become more responsible, more ethical. Though the First Amendment mandated that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..." there have been nine specific exemptions to it (such as the one that applies if you are an employee of the Government) proposed and enacted by Congress, most exemptions presumedly for the good of the government or the people. Lest we become enmeshed in quarrels over Law, or interpretations of the U.S. Constitution, let us attempt to look at the actual reasons for the existence of a free press, whose mission is not to sabotage our form of government or our individual bureaucracies and/or administrations but to report on them, to inform the public of their activities, cover the news. The press (and NAM VET) actually have no power; they cannot write NamNews 2-09 Page 4 5 Sep 1988 a parking ticket, cannot draft one into military service - or exempt one from it; cannot tax, and the best expose cannot correct even the most minor defect. It does, though, have the ability to influence its readers. It is akin to the flat tire changer who, when experiencing a flat tire, doesn't admire the good qualities of the unflat tires but attempts to repair the damaged one. Dishonest politicians and those who vote against veterans; deplorable conditions within Veterans Administration hospitals; too many cracks the trusting veteran can fall through... The press, the "flat-tire-changer," tries to fix what is wrong by calling our attention to it. Working with and contributing to "NAM VET" means working with a heritage -- a heritage of men like Socrates and Madison, Ross and J.F. Kennedy; *USING* the heritage we've all earned to preserve the balance within our Government, its responsibilities and promises to America's "toughest, most persistent and determined veterans in all her history"; to stand strong against any attempt to limit, change or compromise the benefits and care given our veterans or penalize them for exercising the freedom they helped maintain --- and it definitely means choosing NOT to play with coal; NOT to compromise, and NOT to deviate from lifetime values. Are you tired of "toying with an idea?" Want to really get involved? Be your community's NAM VET Veteran Reporter and let the rest of the world know what's happening where YOU live, what's going on in the VA hospitals and with your political represent- atives, what's happening with those 'Nam brothers and sisters that you know of who've done great things with the 'gift' Uncle Sam distributed so freely upon discharge. Think about it... write away ... 'til next month Show a brother/sister veteran ...that YOU care!!! Ci'ao for Ni'ao -Joe- NamNews 2-09 Page 5 5 Sep 1988 ================================================================= VETERAN SERVICES ================================================================= by Jim Goodwin, Psy.D. The Etiology of Combat-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders Part 1 of 2 Published by DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS National Headquarters P O Box 14301 Cincinnati, OH 45214 [Editors' Note: A lot of credit goes to Joe Peck for spending *hours* typing this into his computer so that we could have it for you in this issue. This is only half of it too, there's a sequel ready for next month's issue. Thank you Joe!] INTRODUCTION Most Vietnam veterans have adjusted well to life back in the United States, following their wartime experiences. That's a tribute to these veterans who faced a difficult homecoming to say the least. However, a very large number of veterans haven't made it all the way home from the war in Southeast Asia. By conservative estimates, at least half a million Vietnam veterans still lead lives plagued by serous, war-related readjustment problems. Such problems crop up in a number of ways, varying from veteran to veteran. Flashbacks to combat... feelings of alienation or anger... depression, loneliness and an inability to get close to others... sometimes drug or alcohol problems... perhaps even suicidal feelings. The litany goes on. In its efforts to help these veterans, the 700,000-member Disabled American Veterans (DAV) funding the FORGOTTEN WARRIOR PROJECT research on Vietnam veterans by John P. Wilson, Ph.D. at Cleveland State University. That research resulted in formation of the DAV Vietnam Veterans Outreach Program to provide counseling to these veterans in 1978. With 70 outreach offices across the United States, this DAV program served as a model for the Veterans Administration (VA) Operation Outreach program for Vietnam era veterans, which was established approximately a year later. Clinically, the readjustment problems these veterans suffer were designated as Post Traumatic Stress Disorders in the American Psychiatric Association's DIAGNOSTIC & STATISTICAL MANUAL III (DSM III). Counseling psychologists working with Vietnam veterans in the DAV and VA outreach programs emphasize that these disorders are not mental illnesses. Rather, they are delayed reactions to the stress these veterans--particularly combat veterans--underwent during the war in Southeast Asia. The nature of post-traumatic stress disorders among Vietnam veterans is described in this paper by Jim Goodwin, Psy.D. Himself a Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam combat, Dr. Goodwin worked as a volunteer counselor in the DAV Vietnam Veterans Outreach Program while doing graduate work at the University of Denver's School of Professional Psychology. Following these studies, Dr. Goodwin rejoined the Armed Forces and is now a NamNews 2-09 Page 6 5 Sep 1988 captain on active duty with the U.S. Army. The material presented here (and in next months edition of NAM VET) is a condensation of Dr. Goodwin's chapter in POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDERS OF THE VIETNAM VETERAN: OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF THE VETERAN AND HIS FAMILY. Edited by Tom Williams, Psy.D., this book was published by the nonprofit Disabled American Veterans as a guide to counseling professionals who are working with or interested in the problems of Vietnam veterans. Due to limited quantities, the complete book has been made available chiefly to psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health counseling professionals. It is hoped that Dr. Goodwin's paper will provide all of the information on post-traumatic stress disorders needed by veterans, their families, and the general public. A final note: Gerald R. Ford, when he was President of our country, asked the American public to put Vietnam behind them and forget it. I can think of no Presidential injunction that has been more effective. As a Vietnam War veteran, myself, I believe it's both healthful and necessary to put the bitterness and dissension of the war years behind us. But to forget the Vietnam War, its troubled veterans, and their families would be unforgivable. Sherman E. Roodzant National Commander Disabled American Veterans RECOLLECTIONS What price must the heart pay to live and love? Say you long hot days ahead without a kind word--days when fear will tear your insides apart - but one must go for duty calls... so very far away. My heart is numb, my brain reels--yet no tears. Another friend is laid to rest. God rest his soul this brave man. Keep him safe for we'll meet again--at another time, in another place. Hot sun, endless hours grant me some respite from loneliness. Sharp rattle, orange streaks across the black sky--a sensation of torn steel, woven with hot flesh and blood beside me. God! God whatever God you be, speed my soul on its way but not in endless eternity. Thoughts of home come to me--don't let me go; please no--I'm afraid! A cold refreshing wind penetrates my bones--what a strange place this be. I hear familiar voices that have long passed from existence--I see faces--faces of friends long since dead. I realize now what has happened and where I am, yet I am happy with those whose names are carved in stone amidst the grass of a place called Arlington. Please don't weep for me for I no longer worry about what tomorrow brings... for me it brings a much needed rest... a rest forever. by: George L. Skypeck Captain, U.S.A. 12/71 THE ETIOLOGY OF COMBAT-RELATED POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS-DISORDERS BY: Jim Goodwin, Psy.D. "My marriage is falling apart. We just don't talk any more. NamNews 2-09 Page 7 5 Sep 1988 Hell, I guess we've never really talked about anything, ever. I spend most of my time at home alone in the basement. She's upstairs and I'm downstairs. Sure we'll talk about the groceries and who will get gas for the car, but that's about it. She's tried to tell me she cares for me, but I get real uncomfortable talking about things like that, and I get up and leave. Sometimes I get real angry over the smallest thing. I used to hit her when this would happen, but lately I just punch out a hole in the wall, or leave and go for a long drive. Sometimes I spend more time on the road just driving aimlessly than I do at home. "I really don't have any friends and I'm pretty particular about who I want as a friend. The world is pretty much dog eat dog, and no one seems to care much for anyone else. As far as I'm concerned, I'm really not a part of this messed up society. What I'd really like to do is have a home in the mountains, somewhere far away from everyone. Sometimes I get so angry with the way things are being run. I think about placing a few blocks of C-4 (military explosive) under some of the sons-of-bitches. A couple of times a year, I get into fights at bars. I usually pick the biggest guy. I don't know why. I usually get creamed. There are times when I drive real crazily, screaming and yelling at other drivers. "I usually feel depressed. I've felt this way for years. There have been times I've been so depressed that I won't even leave the basement. I'll usually start drinking pretty heavily around these times. I've also thought about committing suicide when I've been depressed. I've got an old .38 that I snuck back from Nam. A couple of times I've sat with it loaded, once I even had the barrel in my mouth and the hammer pulled back. I couldn't do it. I see Smitty back in Nam with his brains smeared all over the bunker. Hell, I fought too hard then to make it back to the World (U.S.): I can't waste it now. How come I survived and he didn't? There has to be some reason. "Sometimes, my head starts to replay some of my experiences in Nam. Regardless of what I'd like to think about, it comes creeping in. It's so hard to push back out again. It's old friends, their faces, the ambush, the screams, their faces (tears)... You know, every time I hear a chopper (helicopter) or see a clear unobstructed green treeline, a chill goes down my back; I remember. When I go hiking now, I avoid green areas. I usually stay above timber line. When I walk down the street, I get real uncomfortable with people behind me that I can't see. When I sit, I always try to find a chair with something big and solid directly behind me. I feel most comfortable in the corner of a room, with walls on both sides of me. Loud noises irritate me and sudden movement or noise will make me jump. "Night is hardest for me. I go to sleep long after my wife has gone to bed. It seems like hours before I finally drop off. I think of so many of my Nam experiences at night. Sometimes my wife awakens me with a wild look in her eye. I'm all sweaty and tense. Sometimes I grab for her neck before I realize where I am. Sometimes I remember the dream; sometimes it's Nam, other times it's just people after me, and I can't run anymore. "I don't know, this has been going on for so long; it seems to be getting gradually worse. My wife is talking about leaving. I NamNews 2-09 Page 8 5 Sep 1988 guess it's no big deal. But I'm lonely. I really don't have anyone else. Why am I the only one like this? What the hell is wrong with me?" The above description of one Vietnam veteran's problematic lifestyle, more than ten years after the war in Southeast Asia, is unfortunately not an unusual phenomenon. THE EVOLUTION OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER It was not until World War I that specific clinical syndromes came to be associated with combat duty. In prior wars, it was assumed that such casualties were merely manifestations of poor discipline and cowardice. However, with the protracted artillery barrages commonplace during "The Great War," the concept evolved that the high air pressure of the exploding shells caused actual physiological damage, precipitating the numerous symptoms that were subsequently labeled "shell shock." By the end of the war, further evolution accounted for the syndrome being labeled a "war neurosis" (Glass, 1969). During the early years of World War II, psychiatric casualties had increased some 300 percent when compared with World War I, even though the preinduction psychiatric rejection rate was three to four times higher than World War I (Figley, 1978a). At one point in the war, the number of men being discharged from the service for psychiatric reasons exceeded the total number of men being newly drafted (Tiffany and Allerton, 1967). During the Korean War, the approach to combat stress became even more pragmatic. Due to the work of Albert Glass (1945), individual breakdowns in combat effectiveness were dealt with in a very situational manner. Clinicians provided immediate onsite treatment to affected individuals, always with the expectation that the combatant would return to duty as soon as possible. The results were gratifying. During World War II, 23 percent of the evacuations were for psychiatric reasons. But in Korea, psychiatric evacuations dropped to only six percent (Bourne, 1970). It finally became clear that the situational stresses of the combatant were the primary factors leading to psychological casualty. Surprisingly, with American involvement in the Vietnam War, psychological battlefield casualties evolved in a new direction. What was expected from past war experiences--and what was prepared for--did not materialize. Battlefield psychological breakdown was at an all-time low, 12 per one thousand (Bourne, 1970). It was decided that use of preventative measured learned in Korea and some added situational manipulation which will be discussed later had solved the age-old problem of psychological breakdown in combat. As the war continued for a number of years, some interesting additional trends were noted. Although the behavior of some combatants in Vietnam undermined fighting efficiency, the symptoms presented rare but very well documented phenomenon of World War II began to be reobserved. After the end of World War II, some men suffering from acute combat reaction, as well as some of their peers with no such symptoms at war's end, began to complain of common symptoms. These included intense anxiety, battle dreams, depression, explosive aggressive behavior and problems with interpersonal relationships, to name a few. These NamNews 2-09 Page 9 5 Sep 1988 were found in a five-year follow-up (Futterman and Pumpian- Mindlin, 1951) and in a 20-year follow-up (Archibald and Tuddenham, 1965). A similar trend was once more observed in Vietnam veterans as the war wore on. Both those who experienced acute combat reaction and many who did not begin to complain of the above symptoms long after their combatant role had ceased. What was so unusual was the large numbers of veterans being affected after Vietnam. The pattern of neuropsychiatric disorder for combatants of World War II and Korea was quite different than for Vietnam. For both World War II and the Korean War, the incidence of neuropsychiatric disorder among combatants increased as the intensity of the wars increased. As these wars wore down, there was a corresponding decrease in these disorders until the incidence closely resembled the particular prewar periods. The prolonged or delayed symptoms noticed during the postwar periods were noted to be somewhat obscure and few in numbers; therefore, no great significance was attached to them. However, the Vietnam experience proved different. As the war in Vietnam progressed in intensity, there was no corresponding increase in neuropsychiatric casualties among combatants. It was not until the early 1970s, when the war was winding down, that neuropsychiatric disorders began to increase. With the end of direct American troop involvement in Vietnam in 1973, the number of veterans presenting neuropsychiatric disorders began to increase tremendously (President Commission on Mental Health 1978). During the same period in the 1970s, many other people were experiencing varying traumatic episodes other than combat. There were large numbers of plane crashes, natural disasters, fires, acts of terrorism on civilian populations and other catastrophic events. The picture presented to many mental health professionals working with victims of these events, helping them adjust after traumatic experiences, was quite similar to the phenomenon of the troubled Vietnam veteran. The symptoms were almost identical. Finally, after much research (Figley, 1978a) by various veterans' task forces and recommendations by those involved in treatment of civilian post-trauma clients, the DSM III (1980) was published with a new category: post-traumatic stress disorder, acute, chronic and/or delayed. NamNews 2-09 Page 10 5 Sep 1988 HOW THE VIETNAM EXPERIENCE DIFFERED FROM PREVIOUS WARS AND SUBSEQUENTLY PREDISPOSED THE COMBATANT TO THE POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: DELAYED AND/OR CHRONIC TYPE When direct American troop involvement in Vietnam became a reality, military planners looked to previous war experiences to help alleviate the problem of psychological disorder in combat. By then it was an understood fact that those combatants with the most combat exposure suffered the highest incidence of breakdown. In Korea this knowledge resulted in use, to some extent, of a "point system." After accumulating so many points, an individual was rotated home, regardless of the progress of the war. This was further refined in Vietnam, the outcome being the DEROS (date of expected return from overseas) system. Every individual serving in Vietnam, except general officers, knew before leaving the United States when he or she was scheduled to return. The tour lasted 12 months for everyone except the Marines who, known for their one-upmanship, did a 13-month tour. DEROS promised the combatant a way out of the war other than as a physical or psychological casualty (Kormos, 1978). The advantages were clear: there would not be an endless period of protracted combat with the prospect of becoming a psychological casualty as the only hope for return to the United States without wounds. Rather, if a combatant could just hold together for the 12 or 13 months, he would be rotated to the United States; and, once home, he would leave the war far behind. The disadvantages to DEROS were not as clear, and some time elapsed before they were noticed. DEROS was a very personal thing; each individual was rotated on his own with his own specific date. This meant that tours in Vietnam were solitary, individual episodes. It was rare, after the first few years of the war, that whole units were sent to the war zone simultaneously. Bourne said it best: "The war becomes a highly individualized and encapsulated event for each man. His war begins the day he arrives in the country, and ends the day he leaves" (p. 12, 1970). Bourne further states, "He feels no continuity with those who precede or follow him: He even feels apart from those who are with him but rotating on a different schedule" (p. 42, 1970). Because of this very individual aspect of the war, unit morale, unit cohesion and unit identification suffered tremendously (Kormos, 1978). Many studies from past wars (Grinker and Spiegel, 1945) point to the concept of how unit integrity acts as a buffer for the individual against the overwhelming stresses of combat. Many of the veterans of World War II spent weeks or months with their units returning on ships from all over the world. During the long trip home, these men had the closeness and emotional support of one another to rework the especially traumatic episodes they had experienced together. The epitaph for the Vietnam veteran, however, was a solitary plane ride home with complete strangers and a head full of grief, conflict, confusion and joy. For every Vietnam combatant, the DEROS date became a fantasy that on a specific day all problems would cease as he flew swiftly back to the United States. The combatants believed that neither they as individuals nor the United States as a society had changed in their absence. Hundreds of thousands of men lived NamNews 2-09 Page 11 5 Sep 1988 this fantasy from day to day. The universal popularity of short- timer calendars is evidence of this. A short-timer was a GI who was finishing his tour overseas. The calendars intricately marked off the days remaining of his overseas tour in all manner of designs with 365 spaces to fill in to complete the final design and mark that final day. The GIs overtly displayed these calendars to one another. Those with the shortest time left in the country were praised by others and would lead their peers on a fantasy excursion of how wonderful and carefree life would be as soon as they returned home. For many, this became an almost daily ritual. For those who may have been struggling with a psychological breakdown due to the stresses of combat, the DEROS fantasy served as a major prophylactic to actual overt symptoms of acute combat reaction. For these veterans, it was a hard- fought struggle to hold on until their time came due. The vast majority of veterans did hold on as evidenced by the low neuropsychiatric casualty rates during the war (The President's Commission on Mental Health, 1978). Rates of acute combat reaction or acute post-traumatic stress disorder were significantly lowered relative to the two previous wars. As a result, many combatants, who in previous wars might have become psychological statistics, held on somewhat tenuously until the end of their tours in Vietnam. The struggle for most was an uphill battle. Those motivators that keep the combatant fighting -- unit ESPIRIT DE CORPS, small group solidarity and an ideological belief that this was the good fight (Moskos, 1975) -- were not present in Vietnam. Unit ESPIRIT was effectively slashed by the DEROS system. Complete strangers, often GIs who were strangers even to a specific unit's specialty, were transferred into units whenever individual rotations were completed. Veterans who had finally reached a level of proficiency had also reached their DEROS date and were rotated. Green troops or "fucking new guys" with almost no experience in combat were thrown into their places. These FNGs were essentially avoided by the unit, at least until after a few months of experience; "short timers" did not want to get themselves killed by relying on inexperienced replacements. Needles to say, the unit culture or ESPRIT was often lost in the lack of communication with the endless leavings and arrivals. There were other unique aspects of group dynamics in Vietnam. Seasoned troops would stick together, often forming very close small groups for short periods, a normal combat experience noted in previous wars (Grinker and Spiegel, 1945). Some groups formed along racial lines due to lack of unit cohesion within combat outfits. As a seasoned veteran got down to his last two months in Vietnam, he was struck by a strange malady known as the "short timer's syndrome." He would be withdrawn from the field and, if logistically possible, would be settled into a comparatively safe setting for the rest of his tour. His buddies would be left behind in the field without his skills, and he would be left with mixed feelings of joy and guilt. Interestingly, it was rare that a veteran ever wrote to his buddies still in Vietnam once he returned home (Howard, 1975). It has been an even rarer experience for two or more to get together following the war. This is a strong contrast to the endless reunions of World War II veterans. Feelings of guilt about leaving one's buddies to NamNews 2-09 Page 12 5 Sep 1988 whatever unknown fate in Vietnam apparently proved so strong that many veterans were often too frightened to attempt to find out what happened to those left behind. Another factor unique to the Vietnam War was that the ideological basis for the war was very difficult to grasp. In World War II, the United States was very clearly threatened by a uniformed and easily recognizable foe. In Vietnam, it was quite the opposite. It appeared that the whole country was hostile to American forces. The enemy was rarely uniformed, and American troops were often forced to kill women and children combatants. There were no real lines of demarcation, and just about any area was subject to attack. Most American forces had been trained to fight in conventional warfare, in which other human beings are confronted and a block of land is either acquired or lost in the fray. However, in Vietnam, surprise firing devices such as booby traps accounted for a large number of casualties with the human foe rarely sighted. A block of land might be secured but not held. A unit would pull out to another conflict in the vicinity; and, if it wished to return to the same block of land, it would once again have to fight to take that land. It was an endless war with rarely seen foes and no ground gains, just a constant flow of troops in and out of the country. The only observable outcome was an interminable production of maimed, crippled bodies and countless corpses. Some were so disfigured it was hard to tell if they were Vietnamese or American, but they were all dead. The rage that such conditions generated was widespread among American troops. It manifested itself in violence and mistrust toward the Vietnamese (DeFazio, 1978), toward the authorities, and toward the society that sent these men to Vietnam and then would not support them. Rather than a war with a just ideological basis, Vietnam became a private war of survival for every American individual involved. What was especially problematic was that this was America's first teenage war (Williams, 1979). The age of the average combatant was close to 20 (Wilson, 1979). According to Wilson (1978), this period for most adolescents involves a psychosocial moratorium (Erickson, 1968), during which the individual takes some time to establish a more stable and enduring personality structure and sense of self. Unfortunately for the adolescents who fought the war, the role of combatant versus survivor, as well as the many ambiguous and conflicting values associated with these roles, let to a clear disruption of this moratorium and to the many subsequent problems that followed for the young veterans. Many men, who had either used drugs to deal with the overwhelming stresses of combat or developed other behavioral symptoms of similar stress-related etiology, were not recognized as struggling with acute combat reaction or post-traumatic stress disorder, acute subtype. Rather, their immediate behavior had proven to be problematic to the military, and they were offered an immediate resolution in the form of administrative discharges, often with diagnoses of character disorders (Kormos, 1978). The administrative discharge proved to be another method to temporarily repress any further overt symptoms. It provided yet another means of ending the stress without becoming an actual physical or psychological casualty. It, therefore, served to NamNews 2-09 Page 13 5 Sep 1988 lower the actual incidence of psychological breakdown, as did the DEROS. Eventually, this widely used practice came to be questioned, and it was recognized that it had been used as a convenient way to eliminate many individuals who had major psychological problems dating from their combat service (Kormos, 1978). When the veteran finally returned home, his fantasy about his DEROS date was replaced by a rather harsh reality. As previously stated, World War II vets took weeks, sometimes months, to return home with their buddies. Vietnam vets returned home alone. Many made the transition from rice paddy to Southern California in less than 36 hours. The civilian population of the World War II era had been treated to movies about the struggles of readjustment for veterans (i.e. The Man In The Grey Flannel Suit, The Best Years of Our Lives, Pride of The Marines) to prepare them to help the veteran (DeFazio, 1978). The civilian population of the Vietnam era was treated to the horrors of the war on the six o'clock news. They were tired and numb to the whole experience. Some were even fighting mad, and many veterans came home to witness this fact. Some World War II veterans came home to victory parades. Vietnam veterans returned in defeat and witnessed antiwar marches and protests. For World War II veterans, resort hotels were taken over and made into redistribution stations to which veterans could bring their wives and devote two weeks to the initial homecoming (Boros, 1973). For Vietnam veterans, there were screaming antiwar crowds and locked military bases where they were processed back into civilian life in two or three days. Those veterans who were struggling to make it back home finally did. However, they had drastically changed, and their world would never seem the same. Their fantasies were just that: fantasy. What they had experienced in Vietnam and on their return to their homes in the United States would leave an indelible mark that many may never erase. THE CATALYSTS OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDERS FOR VIETNAM COMBAT VETERANS More than 8.5 million individuals served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam era, 1964-1973. Approximately 2.8 million served in Southeast Asia. Of the latter number, almost one million saw active combat or were exposed to hostile, life- threatening situations (President's Commission on Mental Health, 1978). It is this writer's opinion that the vast majority of Vietnam era veterans have had a much more problematic readjustment to civilian life than did their World War II and Korean War counterparts. This was due to the issues already discussed in this chapter, as well as to the state of the economy and the inadequacy of the GI Bill in the early 1970s. In addition, the combat veterans of Vietnam, many of whom immediately tried to become assimilated back into the peacetime culture, discovered that their outlook and feelings about their relationships and future life experiences had changed immensely. According to the fantasy, all was to be well again when they returned from Vietnam. The reality for many was quite different. A number of studies point out that those veterans subjected to more extensive combat show more problematic symptoms during the NamNews 2-09 Page 14 5 Sep 1988 period of readjustment (Wilson, 1978; Strayer & Ellenhorn, 1975; Kormos, 1978; Shatan, 1978; Figley, 1978b). The usual pattern has been that of a combat veteran in Vietnam who held on until his DEROS date. He was largely asymptomatic at the point of his rotation back to the U.S. for the reasons previously discussed; on his return home, the joy of surviving continued to suppress any problematic symptoms. However, after a year or more, the veteran would begin to notice some changes in his outlook (Shatan, 1978). But, because there was a time limit of one year after which the Veterans Administration would not recognize neuropsychiatric problems as service-connected, the veteran was unable to get service-connected disability compensation. Treatment from the VA was very difficult to obtain. The veteran began to feel depressed, mistrustful, cynical and restless. He experienced problems with sleep and with his temper. Strangely, he became somewhat obsessed with his combat experiences in Vietnam. He would also begin to question why he survived when others did not. For approximately 500,000 veterans (Wilson, 1978) of the combat in Southeast Asia, this problematic outlook has become a chronic lifestyle affecting not only the veterans but countless millions of persons who are in contact with these veterans. The symptoms described below are experienced by all Vietnam combat veterans to varying degrees. However, for some with the most extensive combat histories and other variables which have yet to be enumerated, Vietnam-related problems have persisted in disrupting all areas of life experience. According to Wilson (1978), the number of veterans experiencing these symptoms will climb until 1985, based on his belief of Erickson's psychosocial developmental stages and how far along in these stages most combat veterans will be by 1985. Furthermore, without any intervention, what was once a reaction to a traumatic episode may for many become an almost unchangeable personality characteristic. (Continued in next months NAM VET...) NamNews 2-09 Page 15 5 Sep 1988 Re-Evaluations By Todd Looney Vietnam Veterans Valhalla, 143/27 Many of you have had previous problems with the VA Hospital system concerning injuries and severe headaches that started while on tour in South East Asia during the Vietnam era. If you are like most people, when you start having problems you just shine it off. "Ain't no big thing", or "Don't mean nothin'" are heard all too often today; a throwback from your tour in Vietnam. What many of you don't realize is that you have the right to a re-evaluation from time to time. If your injuries or problems are service connected and you have been denied, and you denied less than one year ago, it may still be possible to appeal that decision to the Board of Veterans Appeals. Contact VVA Legal Services, ATTN: Intake, 2001 S St. N.W. Room 710, Washington, DC 20009: 202-686-2599 if you want to explore that. If your condition has gotten worse, contact the nearest VA Regional Office and reopen your claim and ask for increased rating. NamNews 2-09 Page 16 5 Sep 1988 GI Home Loan Pointers By Todd Looney Vietnam Veterans Valhalla, 143/27 Taken from the VA Pamphlet 26-5, "Veterans' and Homestead Exemptions - Prepayments - Repairs and Improvements" In some States there is a veterans' exemption or a "Homestead Exemption" which may mean that the real estate taxes on your property may be reduced considerably by filing a proper notice at a certain time. Be sure to check with your lender to find out whether these exemptions are in effect in your area, and if so, what you must do to get the benefit of them. PREPAYMENTS Some mortgages contain terms which do not allow the borrower to pay off or reduce the loan in advance of the regular schedule or which require the borrower to pay a penalty for the privilege of making one or more payments before they are due. GI loans, however, may be paid off or reduced at any time prior to the due date without any fee, extra charge, or penalty. But your lender is not required to accept, before it is due, any prepayment less than a full installment or $100 if the installment is larger than that. In other words, you may not prepay less than one full installment if that installment is under $100. Since you are paying interest on the full amount of the money owed, there are of course certain advantages in paying off your loan as rapidly as you can. Many veterans have taken advantage of this prepayment privilege and have used VA insurance dividends, and other money which they have received unexpectedly to reduce their mortgage debt. Any particular questions you may have about prepayments, how your account is credited, or how a prepayment may shorten the term of your mortgage should be taken up with your lender. REPAIRS AND IMPROVEMENTS Some homeowners, as a result of their past experience with tools and knowledge of materials, plus a natural talent for "making things" are able to take care of many of the necessary repairs to their homes and make various improvements to their properties. If you are one of this group (you are extremely lucky because every time I pick up a hammer it bites me), you can probably do many things yourself which will not only improve the appearance of your home but also add to the convenience and pleasure of living there. At the same time, you will be able to enjoy the savings gained by your own labors. Of course, it would be most unwise for you to experiment with faulty heating, plumbing or electrical systems unless you know what you are doing. These important systems in your home were undoubtedly installed by experienced or licensed workmen. If you try to repair or improve on these things when they go wrong, you may find the cost of correcting your errors to be greater than the NamNews 2-09 Page 17 5 Sep 1988 amount which you had hoped to save by doing it yourself. Furthermore, tampering with a modern heating system or with your electrical wiring may later result in excessive damage to the system, fire, or personal injury. This bit of caution is not intended to suggest that you employ professional help to take care of every minor item of repair or improvement to your home. On the contrary, there are many things you can do or can learn to do, which will add to the appearance of your home and certainly increase your pride of ownership. Most manufacturers or suppliers of lumber, building materials, tools, gadgets, and home improvement equipment offer quite complete info and instructions concerning their products. Be sure to keep in one convenient place all the guarantees, service agreements, and instructions that came with your appliances. Read the instructions carefully before you operate any appliance. You should, of course, follow the instructions you get concerning guarantees and warranties, particularly those which call for notifications to be sent to the manufacturers. If something goes wrong with an appliance and you don't know how to fix it, call the local utility company or the servicing agent. Don't start something that you are not reasonably sure you can finish unless you are able to pay for the services of a mechanic or expert to do certain special or difficult parts of the job. As a further word of warning, you should remember that the terms of your mortgage forbid any "waste or impairment" to your home. Also you should remember that substantial alterations or improvements to your home, or even the building of a garage , may require a permit and approval of local authority. Therefore, before starting such improvements or additions to your home, be sure that your lender approves. The lender may advise you, if necessary, how to go about getting the proposed improvement cleared with proper local authorities. NamNews 2-09 Page 18 5 Sep 1988 VIETNAM VET'S VOICE by Laura Palmer in the PHILIP MORRIS MAGAZINE/Summer 1988 "Combat nurse Mary Stout knew the hell of war. Now she's fighting for a better life for Vietnam veterans." One question stopped her dead in her tracks. "What do you do to relax?" Long pause Longer pause. "Relax, you know, to have fun... What do you do to unwind?" "That's a terrible question!" Truth of the matter is that Mary Stout loves to work and finds being the first woman to serve as president of the 35,000-member Vietnam Veterans of America in Washington, D.C., a natural high. Work makes her happy; the more she works, the happier she gets. When she is not working (which is rarely), she enjoys playing "Hearts" with her teenage daughters, watching old movies, or puttering around in her yard in suburban Virginia. It's a short list. "I guess the most amazing thing about Mary is her caring," says a friend. "She is an extraordinarily caring woman." Compassion and strength are what set this woman apart. It's there in her name -- Mary: gentle; Stout: strong. This steel madonna began her career in Vietnam as a 22-year-old Army nurse devoted to saving lives. The VVA was born in 1978. It helped provide crucial emotional support for veterans through rap centers, and it became an advocate for veterans' issues and, over the years, a symbol of the positive image Vietnam vets both earned and deserved. Mary Stout got in on the ground floor and was instrumental in building and shaping the organization into the force it is today. She rose up through the ranks, serving as membership director, then national secretary, before becoming president in 1987. Caring and service to others have been themes in Mary Stout's life since she was a girl. While other teenage chums were pasting pictures of Elvis in their scrapbooks, Mary spent her spare time with the Dominican Sisters of the Sick Poor. These nuns were nurses who cared for those too sick, too feeble, and too poor to find help elsewhere. So when John Kennedy asked a generation what they could do to help their country, Mary had an answer. Lured by the prospect of travel to interesting places, Mary decided to become an Army nurse. As she was finishing basic training, she fell in love with a handsome, newly-minted officer, Carl Stout. He was on his way to Vietnam, and she volunteered to go too. NamNews 2-09 Page 19 5 Sep 1988 The year was 1966 and the war was steadily escalating. Mary spent her tour with the Second Surgical Hospital, first in the Central Highlands and then in Chu Lai, closer to Danang. There, she worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week as an intensive care nurse, treating the bloodied and mangled bodies of boys her own age or younger. She had to learn to get numb to survive. When one of her favorite patients died and an unfeeling doctor told her she could have done more for the boy, the unfounded remark was like a grenade lobbed into her soul. The Mary who speaks now is still tender and teary-eyed. As she lights a cigarette and sighs, pain gives weight to her words. "Everybody has one person who is the epitome of the tragedy. If you can resolve the issues of that one death, then you've gone a long way towards resolving all of it." The turning point came in 1980, when her husband was stationed in Korea for a year. Mary returned with her daughters to her home town of Columbus, Ohio. She became hyperactive and couldn't concentrate; she avoided going to bed. The genie was out of the bottle. Mary knew that "there was something definitely wrong, and it was hooked up with Vietnam." It hit her the day she walked into the Vietnam Veterans of America chapter in Columbus on other business. "What a breakthrough! To walk in and see maps of Vietnam on the wall. They all had tee-shirts that said, 'Vietnam Veterans--A Right To Be Proud.' That just blew me away." That was the beginning. Mary became increasingly involved with the VVA and, through the organization, found the key to unlock her Vietnam past. She found a focus for her incredible energy and drive. She met supportive people, including another Vietnam nurse, who were able to understand her experience. "You can't change what happened yesterday. I can't change what happened in Vietnam. I can't bring back one life. All I can do is what I have to do today." As a woman, she is an important symbol to other women veterans. A high priority for Mary was the passage of legislation that authorized construction of a small statue of a nurse near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. At peace with her past, Mary Stout is now free to agitate on behalf of Vietnam vets for their future. She wants increased compensation for Agent Orange victims, and she wants the Veterans Administration to be more responsive to vets' needs. She is committed to keeping open the Vet Centers, where vets can go for counseling, and is lobbying to win vets the right to appeal if their cases are turned down by the VA. MariGrace Stout is 18 years old and looks up to her mom. "She went out and did something she believed in, and she worked hard NamNews 2-09 Page 20 5 Sep 1988 to achieve her goal. She got where she wanted to be. Mom taught me to face up to things and work them through and to keep your values. She says your values are what will always be with you." Values, commitment, leadership, and compassion are what Mary Stout is all about. Her patients, her children, and now Vietnam vets know that she is there for them--determined to make a difference in their lives because she cares deeply, passionately, and unwaveringly. For Mary, there is no choice. This is the only way she knows how to be. NamNews 2-09 Page 21 5 Sep 1988 ================================================================= MEMORIES ================================================================= MEMORIES OF A WARRIOR Mike Dacus NASW BBS, Las Cruces, NM The race of warriors is a small and diverse group. They come in all sizes, shapes and colors. You may not recognize a warrior as he greets you or as he walks down the street. He may not stand out at all in a crowd. But he stands out as if he were 20 feet tall when the muskets rattle and the bombs burst. The warrior I remember today is one that you would not recognize as a warrior if you would meet him today. His name, if my faulty memory is functional over 20 years, was Dien. Dien stood about 4 feet 11 inches in combat boots. He weighed in at about 95 pounds soaking wet with a rock in each pocket. His skin was about the same color as mine when I had been living out in the sun for almost a year. He always had a smile on his face for me and everyone else around. He was a Cham, one of the 5 major racial/ethnic groups in Viet Nam that the lowland Vietnamese thought were inferior to themselves. Most of the Chams I met were Moslem. Dien never told me if he was Moslem, Bhudist, or what. Dien was a sergeant in the 44th ARVN regiment. I first met Dien when he was assigned as my jeep driver/body guard. I let Dien drive my jeep once or twice, and decided that I had no further desire to commit vehicular suicide. I always did my own driving but Dien cleaned and maintained the jeep. My jeep was always the best looking and best running jeep in the regiment. Dien took a lot of pride in everything he did (I suppose he would have been a better driver if he hadn't considered the jeep another offensive weapon, and all other vehicles on the road the enemy). When we were out of the woods and using the jeep, Dien always went with us, left rear seat, M- 16 locked and loaded. Often, he had the only weapon in the jeep. Given Dien's driving prowess, I was curious as to why he had been assigned as my driver. One night when my counterpart was in an expansive mood, I broached the subject. The story was told in a rather round-about fashion. Just before I arrived, our regiment had received their first modern weapons. Before that, they had been armed with WW II vintage weapons, M-1's, M1919A4's and A-6's, carbines, and BAR's. Dien had been a Browning Automatic Rifleman (now remember, a BAR with a full magazine weighs 22 pounds, almost a quarter of Dien's weight). The Dai Uy told me that he had assigned Dien to me because he had been wounded too many times. Oh great! The last thing I needed sitting in the back seat of my jeep was a bullet magnet. I asked Dai Uy Swan to explain how and why he got wounded so many times. "He was very aggressive. Every time his company met VC, he would wade in and cut them down firing from the hip with his BAR. He is a good soldier, and I want him to stay alive so I gave him to NamNews 2-09 Page 22 5 Sep 1988 you." I was determined not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I couldn't say that I had the highest regard for tales of unseen valor. I sure hoped that Dai Uy Swan was leveling with me. If it were true, it was great. If not, .... My association and friendship with Dien progressed rather slowly at first. We spent most of our time in the woods, and Dien spent most of his time in the rear with the jeep. On those occasions that Dien thought he could speak to me without being totally out of place he would usually say "Dai Uy, next time you go operation, you take Dien?". I would tell him that I had a radio operator assigned from battalion, and Dai Uy Swan wouldn't let me take him. The only chances I had to see him in action were the times our base camp was under ground attack. The advisors team house was over 500 meters from Dien's assigned sleeping area. The first night we had a multi-battalion ground attack on our base camp, I made it out to the bunker through the mortar barrage, cleared the M-60, and got ready to start firing into the wire. I heard or felt something behind me. Then, in a small calm voice, I heard "Dai Uy, toi Dien". I started firing at sounds and flashes in and beyond the tangle-foot. In a few minutes, Dien touched the back of my leg and said "Dai Uy, VC. I be back soon. I whistle." He disappeared. Less than a minute later, I heard the bark of an AK and a burst of 20 from an M-16 right by the left rear corner of the bunker. Just as I was about to pull the gun and go find out what was going on, I heard a whistle and "Dien back, Dai Uy. Three Sapper sneak through wire on other side of team house. Have satchel charge." Sure enough. At first light, there were three bodies cut in half just behind the bunker. One was carrying a satchel charge. With Dien, I never had to watch my back again during a ground attack. He was always there. I don't, to this day, know how he could cover 500 meters through the indirect fire, get inside the advisors perimeter, and be where I needed him so fast. I really think he must have strung his hammock outside my room. Some of the other advisors didn't like the idea of having a Vietnamese inside the perimeter during a firefight. I told them that I'd take Dien over one of them to man the bunker. I did finally take Dien on a field operation. My houseboy/RTO finally got to me on the operation previous to the one I took Dien. We were up and down mountains all day. He was tired, and to take comfort, my RTO spent the entire time smoking a joint. I got to the point that I was almost high just walking next to him. So, next trip out, I took Dien. It was a great operation. We never had any contact. Dien was an excellent field trooper. He usually had my hole half dug before I got a chance to dig in. The day I'll never forget with Dien was supposed to be an enjoyable one. Our battalion had stood down for two weeks for training/palace guard detail. I had made a scrounge run to Phan Rang and Cam Ranh, and had plenty of medical supplies and candy, the makings of a real good MEDCAP. I rounded up Bac Si and we loaded up the jeep. We had picked a hamlet about 5 KM from our base camp. We hadn't been there in a couple of months, and they probably needed some attention. As was the usual case on MEDCAPs, neither Bac Si or I were carrying weapons. Dien was the only one armed. We apparently drove in the front gate of the NamNews 2-09 Page 23 5 Sep 1988 hamlet just as a three man Agit-Prop (VC agitation-propaganda team) team walked in the back gate of the hamlet. The hamlet was friendly enough, and we had all been there before. We weren't expecting anything. I stopped the jeep and picked up a big box of supplies to carry into the house we used as a dispensary. As I turned the corner of the building, I came face-to-face with a guy in black pajamas carrying an AK. He had me dead to rights. From behind me, Dien jumped in front of me, took the bullet aimed at my guts, and cut the AK gunner down. We were lucky. The other two Agit-Prop members Di Di'ed out the back gate. Dien took the round in the upper right arm and had only a fractured humorous and a nice little hole in his arm to show for his bravery. The thought that came to me then and still sticks with me to this day comes from John 15:13 - "Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends". I love you too, Dien, as a brother and as a comrade in arms, and I salute you as a warrior among warriors. I hope Dien made it back to his "Mamma San in Bao Lac", and lives to tell warrior tales to his grandkids. [ EDITOR'S NOTE: I would like to apologize for not getting this fine piece of work into the NAM VET several months ago when I first received it from Mike. The only thing I can figure is that I lost it or accidentally deleted it from my system. Mike was kind enough not to have my house fragged, and re-submitted the file. Better late than never, and I am sorry Mike ... Todd Looney, Editor ] NamNews 2-09 Page 24 5 Sep 1988 ================================================================= GENERAL ARTICLES ================================================================= Communications and Feeling Good by Todd Looney Vietnam Veterans Valhalla, 143/27 Some of have a formidable task just keeping up with our feelings since leaving Vietnam. If you're like me, you have no problems thinking in terms of battle; what are the escape routes, where can I hide, who's at my back, etc. But, many of us are not very realistic when it comes to thinking about a civilized (but not completely civilized...grin) society. Even though the thought processes we learned in basic training for war ring exceedingly true with our more primitive instincts for survival and battle, we understand that we are no longer in battle so we store that kind of thinking away, hopefully never to be dredged up again. But, we're too smart for that and we realize from time to time that such patterns emerge, and most often at the most inopportune times. With a lot of us, our bodies and minds just won't let us forget the odious memories of that time in our life when we were tested in Vietnam. Thus, we form"symptoms", such as anxiety, depression, drug and alchohal abuse, etc. One of the most alarming and delicate symptoms we encounter is marital stress. Every single one of the distortions I listed above results in poor communication. We crawl inside ourselves because we think people won't understand, or it's just "our" problem and they can't help, or because we are afraid and don't know how to deal with it. Good communications is essential for any intimate relationship. The results of bad communications - marital stress and often divorce. It's important for us to learn how to deal with our problems and to learn to communicate, not only to our loved ones, but to all of those around us. If you want to learn more about this, contact your local Vietnam-era Vet Center, or go to the library or bookstore and get the following book: Feeling Good, a Guide to Rational Living by A. Ellis I just read this book and even after all the therapy I've undergone in the last few years, it was a great help to me. I highly recommend it. NamNews 2-09 Page 25 5 Sep 1988 Vets May Have to Start Paying For VA Care By NORMAN BLACK AP Military Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some military dependents and retirees will have to begin paying for outpatient medical care at military hospitals next year, and Pentagon officials say they don't like it any more than the patients will. The charges are part of a test program ordered by the White House Office of Management and Budget to reduce what a spokesman for the OMB said might be called the "frivolous" use of free government hospitals and to save taxpayers' money. It would not apply to personnel on active-duty. "This is rather obscurely buried in the budget and the word is only now starting to seep out," said one top Pentagon official who spoke Monday only on condition of anonymity. "But it's already sending people up the walls. The general public might view this as reasonable. But it's an incredibly emotional thing to the military. Rational people get unrational on this," he said. Ed Dale, spokesman for OMB, acknowledged "there was some back-and-forth" internally between his agency and the Pentagon over the idea. "But its purpose is fairly obvious," he said. "As with other user fees, its purpose is to reduce marginal -- some might say frivolous -- utilization of health care facilities." "You can understand the genesis of it," one Pentagon official said, also speaking on condition he not be identified. "But," the official added, "the military has certain obligations to its people. For example, the sailor goes off to sea, leaving behind a teen-age wife and new baby. The wife doesn't know how to take the baby's temperature so she brings him to a clinic. It happens. So how are you going to charge her for that?" "We're very concerned about this," agreed Chapman Cox, the Pentagon's top official for personnel issues. Military authorities are worried that the test could lead to a permanent system of outpatient fees, reducing a key military benefit, undermining morale and damaging recruiting and retention efforts. The size and location of the experiment have yet to be determined. Pentagon officials say they will, however, keep it small and have proceeds from fees plowed back to military personnel as contributions to the morale and recreation fund or use it for improvement of medical facilities. All told, 7 million retirees and military dependents are eligible to use military hospitals and clinics without charge if space is available. Active-duty personnel are guaranteed free medical care at all times. Military medical facilities handle some 50 million outpatient visits every year. One official said OMB originally demanded in December that the Defense Department implement fees -- averaging $10 per visit -- without any test. The Pentagon reacted angrily, responding in a memo that such fees "would be an erosion of military personnel benefits and would have an adverse impact on troop morale." "Until studied, it is not at all clear that the clinics are currently unnecessarily burdened with patients not needing treatment or that a small fee would in any way change the health NamNews 2-09 Page 26 5 Sep 1988 care patterns of our beneficiaries," the memo concluded. The in-fighting finally ended with OMB dropping its demand for immediate implementation, but insisting the Pentagon at least perform a test. NamNews 2-09 Page 27 5 Sep 1988 Laos Government Accounting By HENRY GOTTLIEB Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Laotian government has agreed to account for three Americans who failed to emerge from captivity after the Indochina War, sources familiar with recent negotiations say. The Laotians also appear to be willing to survey one of a number of sites where U.S. aircraft crashed during the war, to check for remains of some of the 549 Americans still listed as missing in Laos, the sources said. The two governments announced after an Aug. 10-11 meeting in Vientiane that Laos agreed to resume cooperation with the United States on the issue of the missing Americans, but the announcement did not include specifics. Laos, which traditionally has taken its cues from Vietnam on whether to help the United States resolve missing serviceman cases, had for the previous 18 months joined Vietnam in refusing to follow through on previous promises to be helpful. The latest meeting, following one earlier in the month in Hanoi that led to similar promises, has created cautious optimism that help from Laos will resume, perhaps even at a higher level than before. The sources, discussing the issue Wednesday on condition of anonymity, said Laos indicated a willingness to help resolve the three cases the United States believes to be the most easily solved. They involve: --David Hrdlicka, an Air Force colonel shot down over northern Laos on May 18, 1965. The United States is certain the Laotians know what happened to Hrdlicka because his photograph appeared in Soviet newspapers after his capture and a broadcast he made in 1966 was monitored by American authorities. --Eugene H. DeBruin, an American civilian on a U.S. flight downed over Laos on Sept. 5, 1963. He too was photographed in captivity by anti-U.S. forces in Laos. --Charles Shelton, an Air Force colonel whose capture in April 1965 was documented by Lao villagers. Shelton is the only one of 2,413 Americans missing from the war who is still officially listed on Pentagon rolls as a prisoner of war - a symbolic step taken by Air Force Secretary Verne Orr in 1982 to dramatize the plight of the missing. U.S. officials say there is no evidence the three men or any of the others are still alive, but that even so, Laos owes the families an accounting of how the men died and the return of any remains that are found. The sources acknowledged that Laos has promised before to provide written information about the three men and failed to do so. "We don't want to create false hopes among the families," one source said. "The proof of their willingness to be helpful will come when they provide the help." In recent years, Laos has agreed to permit American experts to excavate sites where American aircraft crashed during the war, resulting in the identification of the remains of 19 missing Americans. U.S. participants left the most recent meeting with the NamNews 2-09 Page 28 5 Sep 1988 impression that Laos would undertake a survey of a third site, a procedure that could lead to another excavation and the identification of more remains. Although Vietnam and Laos often take parallel positions on the issue, U.S. relations are better with Laos than with Vietnam. The United States recognizes Laos, has a permanent diplomatic mission there and occasionally has granted humanitarian assistance: 5,000 tons of rice during a food crisis in 1984 and aid to combat dengue fever in 1985. Laos and Vietnam have said for years they would be helpful on the issue of the missing if the United States would grant assistance, but the Reagan administration has refused to trade aid for information. One of the sources said, however, that in the case of Laos, the United States might be willing during future crash site evacuations to set up field hospitals for local villagers as a humanitarian gesture that would not be considered direct assistance. Laos did not say when it would make good on its pledges to help, but the United States will have an opportunity to follow up this month's meeting in September or October if Soubanh Srithirath, the vice foreign minister, goes through with tentative plans to visit the United States for a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. The U.S. delegation to the talks was headed by Richard Childress, a member of the National Security Council staff, and included Shepard Lowman, director of the State Department's Indochina desk, and Ann Mills Griffiths, executive director of the League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia. NamNews 2-09 Page 29 5 Sep 1988 U.S. Personnel With Evidence of Captures Compiled and Edited by Todd Looney Vietnam Veterans Valhalla, 143/27 The following list provides examples of U.S. personnel on whom the Indochinese governments should have information. The individuals mentioned herein are those on whom there is "hard evidence" (e.g. post-capture photography, U.S. or indigenous eyewitnesses to capture or detention, intelligence reports) that they were captured and detained by communist forces. These cases represent only a sampling of those individuals for which the Indochinese should be able to provide an accounting but have not done so. ROBERT ANDERSON, USAF, NORTH VIETNAM COL Anderson went down over North Vietnam on October 6, 1972. He and his back seater both parachuted and talked with rescue planes. Anderson said, "I have a good parachute, am in good shape and can see no enemy forces on the ground." His back-seater was captured immediately. Radio Hanoi reported that a number of U.S. pilots were captured the same day, however, Anderson's plane was the only one lost that day. The back seater was repatriated in 1973. RICHARD L. BOWERS, USA, SOUTH VIETNAM CAPT Bowers and SFC Arroyo-Baez were captured together. Our Vietnamese captured with them escaped the same day and reported their capture. Another Vietnamese also was captured with them, escaped later and reported that Arroyo-Baez was alive but that Bowers had been shot the same day of capture. The Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG) indicated that Arroyo-Baez died in captivity, but it has never provided information on Bowers. BARTON CREED, USN, LAOS LCDR Creed was shot down along the Ho Chi Minh trail in southern Laos on March 13, 1971. After ejecting from his plane he radioed from the ground to the rescue craft that he had a broken leg and arm. His last message was, "Pick me up now. Pick me up now. They are here." Rescue planes made four different attempts in the next 24 hours to rescue him, but failed. One rescue pilot reported that Creed was "most certainly alive" when U.S. rescue forces tried to pick him up. CHARLES DEAN, CIVILIAN, LAOS Charles Dean and his Australian companion Neil Sharman were aboard a boat enroute to Thakhek, Laos, in early September 1974 when they were captured by the Pathet Lao at Ban Pak Hin Boun. Numerous reports indicated that they were alive in that area as of February 1975. Diplomatic efforts to obtain information from the Pathet Lao about the two delegates have been unsuccessful. Although Dean was captured after the cessation of hostilities in Laos, his name is included on this list because he is an individual on whom the Pathet Lao should have information. EUGENE H. DEBRUIN, CIVILIAN, LAOS NamNews 2-09 Page 30 5 Sep 1988 A photo of Eugene DeBruin and his surviving crew members in captivity was obtained from a Pathet Lao publication. LTJG Dieter Dengler, USN and one of the Thai nationals who was a member of the DeBruin crew and held with DeBruin successfully escaped from the Pathet Lao and provided information on DeBruin. The Lao Government recently indicated that he was killed in an escape attempt but provided no further information or clarification. BENNIE L. DEXTER, USAF, SOUTH VIETNAM Vietnamese eyewitnessed capture. Other intelligence reports confirm TSGT Dexter's capture and detention. Not identified on any lists furnished by PRG. JACK ERSKINE, CIVILIAN, SOUTH VIETNAM A Filipino with Jack Erskine escaped from the VC ambush and reported Erskine's capture. Three months later a VC rallier who had participated in Mr. Erskine's capture reported on the incident. About one year later sketches showing Erskine in captivity were captured. Not identified on any lists furnished by PRG. SEAN FLYNN, CIVILIAN, KAMPUCHEA Sean Flynn, a photographer for TIME Magazine, accompanied by Dana Stone, a cameraman for CBS, rented Honda motorbikes and left Phnom Penh on April 6, 1970, traveling southeast on Route One. According to reports at that time, villagers in the area said that two Westerners on motor scooters were captured by combined Viet Cong/North Vietnamese forces in Svay Rieng Province. Later reports (received after January 1973) indicate Flynn and Stone were shot to death in mid-1971 in Kampong Cham Province. RANDOLPH FORD, USN, NORTH VIETNAM LCDR Ford was downed in an A7A on June 11, 1968, while on a night reconnaissance mission. Ford maintained voice contact until morning and stated that he had a broken arm. On June 15, 1968, Ford arrived at a temporary detention area in which a U.S. returnee was being held. The returnee stated that Ford, who had a broken arm and severe abdominal pains, was given medicine to relieve his problem. Shortly after taking the pill, Ford became delirious. An hour later, Ford was taken out of camp on a stretcher and never seen again. The returnee felt that Ford may have been dead when Ford was taken from the area. SOLOMON GODWIN, USMC, SOUTH VIETNAM A U.S. trained Vietnamese intelligence agent who was held with WO Godwin escaped three weeks after capture and reported on Godwin's status. U.S. returnees confirmed Godwin's capture and reported his death in captivity. Not on any lists furnished by PRG. JOHN GRAF, USN, SOUTH VIETNAM Seen ejecting safely. Intelligence reporting confirmed capture status. A U.S. returnee held with LCDR Graf reported Graf escaped several months after capture. Intelligence NamNews 2-09 Page 31 5 Sep 1988 indicated Graf drowned in his escape attempt. The PRG has not furnished any information on Graf. WELLES HANGEN, CIVILIAN, KAMPUCHEA Welles Hangen, an NBC news correspondent, was in a group of NBC and CBS newsmen when they were ambushed by communist forces in Kampot Province. According to Mr. Hangen's Kampuchean driver (who escaped and returned to Phnom Penh), Hangen and two foreign journalists in the same car were taken alive to a house about three miles from the site of the attack. Based on information provided by a Khmer Rouge rallier, and substantiated by reports from villagers, Hangen and three others were held in the house for three days before being taken out and executed. DAVID HRDLICKA, USAF, LAOS COL Hrdlicka's chute was observed opening and he was seen on the ground. One flight member believed he saw Hrdlicka being supported or led away by natives. A helicopter pilot landed at a nearby village and was told Hrdlicka had been picked up by the Pathet Lao. Rallier reports indicated he was a prisoner. A post capture photo of Hrdlicka was obtained from several sources. A recording allegedly made by him was broadcast in May 1966 and the text appeared in Foreign Broadcast Information Service documents. RICHARD REHE, USA, SOUTH VIETNAM An American who was released prior to Operation Homecoming stated that SSGT Rehe and SSGT Derri Sykes were captured together. A later U.S. returnee stated that both men died in captivity (DIC). Neither were on the PRG DIC list. EDWARD REILLY, USA, SOUTH VIETNAM SFC Reilly's interrogation papers were captured. The PRG has never furnished any information on Reilly. TERRY REYNOLDS, CIVILIAN, KAMPUCHEA Terry Reynolds, a UPI reporter, and Alan Hirons, an Australian UPI photographer, were reported missing on April 26, 1972. The automobile in which they were driving was found at the site of an enemy road block on Route 1 in Prey Veng Province, Kampuchea. Their photo equipment was found in the abandoned car. According to villagers in the area, both journalists were captured and led away by communist forces. In early May 1972, a Viet Cong rallier reportedly observed two Caucasians, equating to Reynolds and Hirons, who had recently been captured. Another report equating to Reynolds indicated that he was being held in Sampan Loeu Hamlet, about 40 kilometers southeast of Phnom Penh in June 1972. CHARLES SHELTON, USA, LAOS Voice contact was made with COL Shelton on the ground and he indicated he was in good condition. A villager witnessed the crash and observed the capture and arrest of Shelton by Pathet Lao forces. Rallier reports indicated he was a prisoner. DONALD SPARKS, USA, SOUTH VIETNAM Letters written by CWO Sparks while a POW were captured. NamNews 2-09 Page 32 5 Sep 1988 Subsequent intelligence indicated Sparks possibly died. The PRG has not furnished information on Sparks. PHILIP TERRILL, USA, SOUTH VIETNAM There is a high degree of correlation between VC and Hanoi radio broadcasts describing capture of two Americans and the circumstances surrounding the loss of SP5 Terrill and MSGT J. Salley. Also, several slighting reports correlated well to the two men. Capture status confirmed by U.S. returnees who said both men died after capture. Salley was on the PRG DIC list, but Terrill was not. MILTON VESCELIUS, USN, NORTH VIETNAM CAPT Vescelius was shot down over Vietnam on September 21, 1967. Other pilots in the area saw him eject and reported that when he reached the ground he was surrounded by Vietnamese. Additionally, a Radio Hanoi broadcast on the following day described the incident and stated that the pilot was captured. Remember, this is not a complete list. There are many other examples of men who were known to have been captured but no further information has ever been made available on their whereabouts. NamNews 2-09 Page 33 5 Sep 1988 Families of POWs Can Sue Government FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- Families of servicemen still listed as missing in Vietnam have the right to sue the federal government, a judge ruled in a decision a former congressmen called a "positive development for our POWs." U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle refused a government request to throw out a lawsuit by nearly two dozen relatives of missing servicemen who want the government to do more to find the men. Former Rep. Bill Hendon of North Carolina, an advocate of missing servicemen while he was in Congress, said Boyle's ruling "is a very positive development for our POWs. This will help get them home." "I do believe this ruling will have a lot of people here in Washington who have sat on this issue for the past 15 years heading for the tall grass," Hendon added. "There's no question there are people (in southeast Asia) who can be brought back." Two former Special Forces soldiers in Fayetteville brought the suit against the government in September 1985. They were later dropped from the suit, but it was joined by family members of some missing servicemen. Hendon and the families contend that there is evidence some men are still being held in Vietnam as prisoners of war. But government officials contend that there is no proof any servicemen are still alive in Vietnam and that they are doing everything they can to get the Vietnamese government to find the men's remains. In February 1986, government representatives argued before Boyle that the lawsuit should be thrown out because foreign policy is not under the court's jurisdiction and because the case could involve classified information. After Boyle ruled that part of the suit had legal merit, government attorneys last August asked him to reconsider. In the order filed Tuesday in federal court in Fayetteville, Boyle ruled that after reviewing all arguments and factual materials, he concluded the courts have jurisdiction. Boyle also said that if American prisoners of war do exist, they and their families have recourse under the U.S. Hostage Act, which requires the president to do all possible to get such people returned home. The judge also ruled that the executive branch was claiming too much power under its constitutional authority in determining the POW issue. NamNews 2-09 Page 34 5 Sep 1988 NOT ON THIS WALL By: Joan Renne, Sysop 14/662 Walking toward the Moving Wall, my heart began to pound and I was afraid my emotions would overwhelm me. Afraid that I'd fall apart if someone would ask me if I knew someone whose name was there. I could say yes, and that would be true, but there are other names missing that ought to be there. How could I hide my tears, my memories and pain from others? The 101st Airborne was in town for their reunion and came to pay tribute to fallen friends and comrades; share their memories and experience with each other and those of us who came to visit the names on the Moving Wall. Seeing old friends suddenly recognize each other and shout for joy and relief at the knowledge they had survived Vietnam. Twenty or more years of wondering, and at last they knew! You could feel the electricity surrounding them when they yelled, "Welcome home, buddy! Damn, I'm glad you made it!" The first questions were, "Have you seen the guy we called Captain Midnight, or the dude we called Clearasil?" The names bounced back and forth as other men joined them for yet another round of names. It felt good to see them, and to share a moment of their lives and laughter. But I remembered the two whose names were not on the Moving Wall - or on any other than that of my heart. One, killed in 1959 in an unnamed country in southeast Asia - with no medals or recognition; the other, a 100% disabled Vietnam Veteran who killed himself in 1978. He had medals and recognition until he took his own life. It's so hard to keep back the tears for the two not on the wall. I watched and listened to the curious people as they passed the Moving Wall, and I heard them turn to each other with tears and sometimes shock as the realization of how many men, sons, fathers and daughters died in the Vietnam war. Seeing all those names seemed to strike them as a bayonet in the middle of their quiet comfortable lives. I heard many comment, "So many names, I didn't know . . . " or, "It was such a long time ago. I didn't remember that so many died . . ." A sad and mournful remark repeated over and over: "This is one hell of a statement! I don't think I can forget this." ... I know I'll never forget. There were others struggling with emotions and I wanted to reach out to them and hug them and let them know they weren't alone. But sometimes it's just too painful to share or burden others with my loss and pain. I back away when my throat begins to hurt as I try to stop the sobs and tears. I want to run away from the Moving Wall, but it's the only place where I might find some peace, at least for this day. But then, as she gently touched a name on The Moving Wall, I heard a woman say, "I remember your laughter when you were such NamNews 2-09 Page 35 5 Sep 1988 a little boy." - and an old man pointing to a name and saying, "There! You see that name? That's my son." I watched a young woman lean against the Wall and whisper, "Oh, Dad! I miss you so much. I wish the war in Vietnam had never happened. I was so little. I can barely remember you." A tall young man, finding the name he wanted, quipped, "Well, how about that! I had a real dad after all!" I watched his mother sigh as she wiped her tears and listened to her say, "I never lied to you, I don't know why you thought that way." A little girl and her mother left a tiny picture tucked at the base of the Moving Wall and I heard the words, "Hey there, big brother, look at us! We're all grown up now and here's a snapshot of us the way we look today." ... I'm not alone. One man asked another, "Why wouldn't they let our boys win that war?" His friend answered, "Who knows? I lost my dad in Korea, and we didn't win that one either." ... I remember Korea and men no longer living. A woman, young man by her side, ducks her head and takes a deep breath. I can hear her sigh and feel the words not spoken as they look at the matching bracelets of their MIA/POW. The young man hugs her and I hear him say, "Maybe at this reunion we'll find someone who knows about dad..." My tears overflow as I reach out to them. They ask me if I have a MIA/POW. "No - only two whose names are *Missing* - from this Wall. The visitors talked with each other of memories of those years - the 50s, 60s and the 70s - all those years of pain, anger, remorse; hope followed by frustration, fear, and finally the loss. They spoke about other feelings deep inside--the ones that dont have names--and just can't be described. ... I'm not alone. They spoke of the anti-war movement, the demonstrations and the riots, of Jane Fonda and Hippies; Haight-Ashbury, drugs, flower power, Timothy Leary, the bombings, Joan Baez and folk music, the counter-culture and "old what's his name, Fonda's husband?" All this and more about Nixon and students staging sit-ins, draft card burning and of course, the SDS and Abbie Hoffman. ... it seemed like traveling back in time, to when America lost her innocence. They spoke of Kent State and how sad it made them feel - then and now. They remembered things about JFK, LBJ, Ho Chi Minh, NamNews 2-09 Page 36 5 Sep 1988 Bobby and Martin; the trouble in the cities and the National Guard. One woman told of her anger at a perfume company for naming a fragrance "Charlie." ... do I dare remember how I felt then? I listened closely as they talked about Duty, Honor, Country. They talked about freedom and how we must defend that freedom for ourselves and our children; the importance of knowing and understanding the Constitution of the United States with all of its Amendments. They reminded each other of the responsibilities that go with being a free citizen of this great land. ... It was good to hear these topics again. A World War II veteran spoke of his anger and rage when he saw the American Flag burned and otherwise abused during the era of Vietnam. How hard it was for him to forget and forgive those ill-advised youths. He was still angry about the boys who ran to Canada, but he was proud of those who chose the Peace Corps. "Service to one's country is important," he said, "and no one should shirk that duty. Freedom extracts a heavy price sometimes, but you need to hold your head up and walk like a first class citizen with honor, pride and respect for your country." He paused and looked at the Moving Wall and spoke once again. "Freedom doesn't come cheap." ... I remembered two not on this wall. A little boy with his father and great grandfather came to visit the Wall. They spoke of the family tradition of serving their country whenever, wherever they were needed - the pride they had in a family name for the ancestors who had fought during the Crusades and in the French Revolution - and now the name of one generation whose name is on the Wall and how proud they were of him for serving the USA. They remembered his younger days of the sports he played and his academic achievements in high school, college, and as a Marine. ... I remembered two not on this wall. A stillness fell when the freckled faced great grandson asked, "If I go to war and get killed will my name be by grandpa's?" The father and great grandfather glanced at each other and quickly away. They both began to speak, but the old man took his great grandson by the hand and said, "We hope you won't have to go to war, but if you're called to serve your country, we know you will. But remember, just because you go to war, it doesn't mean you'll die." "But if I do, will my name be on that wall?" NamNews 2-09 Page 37 5 Sep 1988 "No, son. No, not on this Wall." ... I sat by the Moving Wall, and wondered about the names of the dead men long forgotten and of the wars lost and won. I thought about the lessons learned and put aside by those who would revise history, and I heard myself say, "There! There they are! All those names on the wall! Those are the names we cannot - we must not forget! Etched in stone, those names will be the visible proof for generations yet unborn of the cost of war in human terms. We should have more Walls that Move us and remind us - of the lives lost - and of our tears and memories." The Great Grandfather looked at me and said with the voice of conviction and great wisdom, "There is a difference in wars fought for freedom and the wars fought for the sake of war." ... I remembered two not on this wall. NamNews 2-09 Page 38 5 Sep 1988 ================================================================= WANTED ================================================================= 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 2-09 Page 39 5 Sep 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 143/27 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 2-09 Page 40 5 Sep 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 2-09 Page 41 5 Sep 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 105/16 Net 105 EchoMail Hub Portland, OR 1-503-761-3003 2400 NamNews 2-09 Page 42 5 Sep 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 The Burnout Board Memphis, TN 1-901-353-4563 2400 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 124/200 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 2-09 Page 43 5 Sep 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 2-09 Page 44 5 Sep 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 2-09 Page 45 5 Sep 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? ______________________________________ aug88 ----------------------------------------------------------------- NamNews 2-09 Page 46 5 Sep 1988 Amerasian Registry DID YOU KNOW........ That of the Amerasian children, believed in number close to 20,000, fathered by U.S. Servicemen during the war in Vietnam, there are still approximately 12,000 living in Vietnam? Any U.S. veteran who have children in Vietnam and whose addresses are presently known, or who want to find their child in Vietnam, please contact: The Amerasian Registry Bruce W. Burns, Attorney at Law 95 South Market Street Suite 300 San Jose, California 95113 408-292-6683 Donations to help bring these children home may be sent to the above address. NamNews 2-09 Page 47 5 Sep 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 ! -----------------------------------------------------------------