The VVA Veteran May/June 2010 : Page 5

LETTERS donating it all to Vietnam Veterans of America. Thank you, Pat.We love ya, bro. And Welcome Home. Nathan C. Sollish Salem, Oregon A WELCOME PLEDGE MOVING AHEAD IN VERMONT Representatives by a 142-0 vote. It now awaits passage by the Vermont Senate. The lawcalls for a check-off box to appear on next year’s tax form to allowtaxpayers to donate to a new Veterans Fund, which will be created by this law. It also will allowfor other types of funds, such as pro- ceeds from the state lottery, to go to the fund. Anew law that will help veterans has just passed the Vermont House of The following areas will be served by this fund: long-term care, homelessness, transportation, service programs, memori- als and monuments, and aVeterans Bonus. This money would be held by the state and distributed through grants. The Governor’s Veterans Advisory Council would select five of its members to form a subcommittee to approve the grants and oversee them. The lawalso directs theVermont Lottery to create special, instant scratch-off tick- ets, with proceeds also going into the new Veterans Fund. The three new games called for in the bill could bring in about $500,000 a year. I urge all Vermont VVA members to contact their state Senators and ask them to support the bill. I am very proud of the work that Rep. Mary Morrissey did on this. She introduced the bill and worked very hard to help get it passed by the House. John Miner Bennington,Vermont VVAVermont State Council President WHEEL OF FORTUNE Pat Sajak, host of Wheel of Fortune, for appearing as a celebrity guest contestant on Jeopardy, winning over $55,000, and Iam so proud of fellow Vietnam veteran Home Day. While the idea of aWelcome Home Day sounds wonderful, I question its purpose. As a Vietnam veteran, I have mixed feelings about trying to have a welcome home 37 years after the last Americans leftVietnam. This is like telling my30-year-old daughter that I amgoing to give her a 30th birthday party to make up for her 5th birthday, which I missed. I would rather see Californians and all Americans pledge that this country will never again treat military personnel return- ing from conflict—no matter how unpop- ular—as they treated those who returned from Vietnam. Welcome those who are now serving (and all of those who have served) with the respect and honor they deserve. There are 58,202 names on TheWall of On March 30, California celebrated those who died in country.Take a moment also to remember those tens of thousands who, although they returned home, had their fates sealed in Vietnam, either from wounds they received, by being exposed to chemicals such as Agent Orange, or from the psychological effects of that con- flict. Those names do not appear on The Wall; they appear on headstones all across the nation. Take a moment next March 30 to remember those who returned but ulti- mately lost their battle withVietnam. Don Schrader Marysville, California DOCUMENTING VIOLENCE April issue. The essay reminded me of the emotional roller-coaster ride many pho- tographers take while documenting vio- lence and conflict. It ranges from pure detachment to empathy. As a U.S. Navy photographer during Ienjoyed your article on John Olson, “It the waning months of theVietnamWar in 1975, Iwas awestruck by the efforts of our military and did my best then to capture on film their diligence and dedication.Yet I always felt I didn’t do the challenge jus- tice. Capturing those emotional moments isn’t so easy, especially when you’re still just a kid. continued on page 6 POLICY FOR LETTERS We welcome letters to the editor for publication in The VVA Veteran. We are interested in your criticism as well as your praise. Letters may be edited for purposes of clarity or space. Regrettably, because of the volume of mail we receive, we are unable to acknowledge or return unpublished material. Made Me Who I Am,” in the March/ the firstVietnamVeteransWelcome PRESIDENT’S REPORT Vietnam Veterans Day in NYC BY JOHN ROWAN four hundredVietnam veterans and their families and friends gathered at 55Water Street, adjacent to theVietnamVeterans Memorial that honors the 1,741 NewYork City men who died inVietnam. The memorial includes a series of stainless steel plates along a walkway that lists every KIA. Included on the list are three Medal of Honor recipients and two priests. The youngest was 16. On Saturday, March 27, NewYork City cele- At this event I had the privilege of presenting some remarks. I titled my talk “Canaries in the Coal Mine.” Here is what I said: Good afternoon, dignitaries, Vietnam vets, family, and friends. Vietnam vets are different from our predecessors. Some of us were greasers; some were hippies. All of us were Baby Boomers. Maybe it was the rock ’n’ roll. Maybe it was the pot. Whatever the reason, we were clearly rebels with a cause. Unlike our predecessors, wewanted to talk, we wanted to know what was going on with us. When our fathers and grandfathers came home, they wouldn’t talk about theirwars. This didn’t mean they did not have problems. They justwouldn’t talk about them. They didn’t talk about the vets who drank themselves to death at the Legion Hall bar. Itwas only when shewas terminally ill thatmyaunt toldmeaboutmygrand- father’s brother, a wounded vet from World War I, who five years after the war—and after insuring that his son was in college and on his way in life— walked into Riverside Park and hanged himself. These things were happening toVietnam vets, and we wanted to know why. We came together, we sat down, and we talked.With the help of profession- als we created rap groups, the precursor of theVet Centers and a whole newway of treating mental health. At the time they called it post-Vietnam syndrome, as if it was something peculiar toVietnam vets. We know it now as post-traumatic stress disorder, a normal human reaction. Thanks toVietnam vets, PTSD is out in the open and understood by the gen- eral public. The veterans coming home today can at least knowwhat it is that is bothering them. They still may not be getting the proper treatment, but it is not for a lack of information. For that,Vietnam veterans can be very proud. There is still some stigma attached to PTSD but, thankfully, that is starting to fade away. This can only happen when we all acknowledge reality. I commend HBO for its new series, The Pacific. Besides showing the horror of war and the physical injuries and death, they have shown the effects on the mental health of the Marines, especially after they returned home. The things our fathers never told us. Vietnam veterans are here to tell the new veterans that we are here for them. Vietnam vets are unique in another way. We were the “canaries in the coal mine” when it came to the effects of toxic exposure. For centuries, warriors faced physical danger and death, but they thought they were safe when they came home. No one ever thought that 20, 30, or even 40 years later they would suffer or even die from a horrible disease caused by their war from years before. Again, whenVietnam vets began to complain that their health was being affected, they told us it was all in our heads. Now, we know about the ravaging effects of Agent Orange and other toxic substances. This exposure has killed far more veterans than bombs or bullets ever did. When the GulfWar vets came home and met the same bureaucratic resist- ance from theVA,Vietnam vets fought to get them their benefits without wait- ing forty years.We are now vigilant with regard to the burn pits, depleted ura- nium, and other issues in Iraq and Afghanistan.We are also going to ensure that it is understood that there is no minor Traumatic Brain Injury. TBI’s long-term effects can be mitigated, if we give the veterans proper treatment now. All the veterans coming home today can be assured that as long as we are around, Vietnam Veterans of America will live up to our motto from our Founding Convention in 1983: “NeverAgainWill One Generation ofVeterans Abandon Another.” Welcome Home.Ω MAY/JUNE 2010 5 brated Vietnam Veterans Day. More than MICHAEL KEATING

Presidents Report

John Rowan

On Saturday, March 27, New York City celebrated Vietnam Veterans Day. More than four hundred Vietnam veterans and their families and friends gathered at 55 Water Street, adjacent to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that honors the 1,741 New York City men who died in Vietnam. The memorial includes a series of stainless steel plates along a walkway that lists every KIA. Included on the list are three Medal of Honor recipients and two priests. The youngest was 16. At this event I had the privilege of presenting some remarks. I titled my talk “Canaries in the Coal Mine.” Here is what I said: Good afternoon, dignitaries, Vietnam vets, family, and friends. Vietnam vets are different from our predecessors. Some of us were greasers; some were hippies. All of us were Baby Boomers. Maybe it was the rock ’n’ roll. Maybe it was the pot. Whatever the reason, we were clearly rebels with a cause. Unlike our predecessors, we wanted to talk, we wanted to know what was going on with us. When our fathers and grandfathers came home, they wouldn’t talk about their wars. This didn’t mean they did not have problems. They just wouldn’t talk about them. They didn’t talk about the vets who drank themselves to death at the Legion Hall bar. Itwas only when shewas terminally ill that my aunt told me about my grandfather’s brother, a wounded vet from World War I, who five years after the war—and after insuring that his son was in college and on his way in life— walked into Riverside Park and hanged himself. These things were happening to Vietnam vets, and we wanted to know why. We came together, we sat down, and we talked.With the help of professionals we created rap groups, the precursor of the Vet Centers and a whole new way of treating mental health. At the time they called it post-Vietnam syndrome, as if it was something peculiar to Vietnam vets. We know it now as post-traumatic stress disorder, a normal human reaction. Thanks to Vietnam vets, PTSD is out in the open and understood by the general public. The veterans coming home today can at least know what it is that is bothering them. They still may not be getting the proper treatment, but it is not for a lack of information. For that, Vietnam veterans can be very proud. There is still some stigma attached to PTSD but, thankfully, that is starting to fade away. This can only happen when we all acknowledge reality. I commend HBO for its new series, The Pacific. Besides showing the horror of war and the physical injuries and death, they have shown the effects on the mental health of the Marines, especially after they returned home. The things our fathers never told us. Vietnam veterans are here to tell the new veterans that we are here for them. Vietnam vets are unique in another way. We were the “canaries in the coal mine” when it came to the effects of toxic exposure. For centuries, warriors faced physical danger and death, but they thought they were safe when they came home. No one ever thought that 20, 30, or even 40 years later they would suffer or even die from a horrible disease caused by their war from years before. Again, when Vietnam vets began to complain that their health was being affected, they told us it was all in our heads. Now, we know about the ravaging effects of Agent Orange and other toxic substances. This exposure has killed far more veterans than bombs or bullets ever did. When the Gulf War vets came home and met the same bureaucratic resistance from the VA, Vietnam vets fought to get them their benefits without waiting forty years.We are now vigilant with regard to the burn pits, depleted uranium, and other issues in Iraq and Afghanistan.We are also going to ensure that it is understood that there is no minor Traumatic Brain Injury. TBI’s long-term effects can be mitigated, if we give the veterans proper treatment now. All the veterans coming home today can be assured that as long as we are around, Vietnam Veterans of America will live up to our motto from our Founding Convention in 1983: “Never Again Will One Generation of Veterans Abandon Another.” Welcome Home

Letters

MOVING AHEAD IN VERMONT Anew law that will help veterans has just passed the Vermont House of Representatives by a 142-0 vote. It now awaits passage by the Vermont Senate. The law calls for a check-off box to appear on next year’s tax form to allow taxpayers to donate to a new Veterans Fund, which will be created by this law. It also will allow for other types of funds, such as proceeds from the state lottery, to go to the fund. The following areas will be served by this fund: long-term care, homelessness, transportation, service programs, memorials and monuments, and a Veterans Bonus. This money would be held by the state and distributed through grants. The Governor’s Veterans Advisory Council would select five of its members to form a subcommittee to approve the grants and oversee them. The law also directs the Vermont Lottery to create special, instant scratch-off tickets, with proceeds also going into the new Veterans Fund. The three new games called for in the bill could bring in about $500,000 a year. I urge all Vermont VVA members to contact their state Senators and ask them to support the bill. I am very proud of the work that Rep. Mary Morrissey did on this. She introduced the bill and worked very hard to help get it passed by the House. John Miner Bennington, Vermont VVA Vermont State Council President WHEEL OF FORTUNE I am so proud of fellow Vietnam veteran Pat Sajak, host of Wheel of Fortune, for appearing as a celebrity guest contestant on Jeopardy, winning over $55,000, and donating it all to Vietnam Veterans of America. Thank you, Pat. We love ya, bro. And Welcome Home. Nathan C. Sollish Salem, Oregon A WELCOME PLEDGE On March 30, California celebrated the first Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home Day. While the idea of a Welcome Home Day sounds wonderful, I question its purpose. As a Vietnam veteran, I have mixed feelings about trying to have a welcome home 37 years after the last Americans left Vietnam. This is like telling my 30-year-old daughter that I am going to give her a 30th birthday party to make up for her 5th birthday, which I missed. I would rather see Californians and all Americans pledge that this country will never again treat military personnel returning from conflict—no matter how unpopular— as they treated those who returned from Vietnam. Welcome those who are now serving (and all of those who have served) with the respect and honor they deserve. There are 58,202 names on The Wall of those who died in country. Take a moment also to remember those tens of thousands who, although they returned home, had their fates sealed in Vietnam, either from wounds they received, by being exposed to chemicals such as Agent Orange, or from the psychological effects of that conflict. Those names do not appear on The Wall; they appear on headstones all across the nation. Take a moment next March 30 to remember those who returned but ultimately lost their battle with Vietnam. Don Schrader Marysville, California DOCUMENTING VIOLENCE Ienjoyed your article on John Olson, “It Made Me Who I Am,” in the March/ April issue. The essay reminded me of the emotional roller-coaster ride many photographers take while documenting violence and conflict. It ranges from pure detachment to empathy. As a U.S. Navy photographer during the waning months of the Vietnam War in 1975, I was awestruck by the efforts of our military and did my best then to capture on film their diligence and dedication.Yet I always felt I didn’t do the challenge justice. Capturing those emotional moments isn’t so easy, especially when you’re still just a kid.

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