Letters

DISASTER RELIEF

Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas with winds and flooding. No one expected the devastation we received. Many had no flood insurance.  

I have been involved with AVVA and my chapter since 1986. I grew up being taught to give to those who needed a hand. I never thought it would be Dave and me needing that hand up. This has been hard on us, as we are better at giving than receiving.  

As a recipient of funds donated to Texas to help those of us affected by the storm, “thank you” seems so little. The unforeseen expenses when disaster happens are unreal, including replacing personal belongings such as furniture, appliances, clothing, and toiletries, as well as vehicles damaged, and trying to find somewhere to stay. To see our “stuff”—our memories—on the side of the road for trash pickup is heartbreaking. The loss of photos and family treasures is the worst.

The road to recovery will be long for many of us. If you donated to the recovery assistance, you made a difference in our lives. Please continue to pray for all of us—not just Texas but for those in other areas affected by hurricanes and wildfires.

Much appreciation and thanks to everyone who has donated or prayed for us. We greatly appreciate your kindness and will again be paying it forward.

Sandra Womack
By Email

VIETNAM COUNTRY CLUB

Thanks to Marc Leepson for critiquing the underrepresentation of support units and their lack of seeing action in Ken Burns’ book. Brief mention of support units was also given in the Burns/Novick documentary, and the statement that the men in these units “never heard a shot fired in anger” was repeated in a short presentation in the Special Features. Long Binh Post was used as an example, with video clips of a country club environment.

True, the innards of Long Binh had many amenities. There was, however, quite a difference in surrounding support units. I was a REMF with the 3rd Ord. Bn. (Ammo), which managed the Long Binh ammo dump and camped nearby in a rubber plantation. We had to earn our combat pay by manning the bunkers on the perimeter, pulling security on night patrols outside the perimeter, and such. Our unit took casualties from rocket and mortar attacks; our ammo convoys were ambushed.

No air conditioning. Hey, we did have infrequent cold showers whenever a water truck drove up. It wasn’t a country club by far. I understand the resentment of grunts who were up to their eyeballs in shit out in the bush, and knew many of them. But “beer in the rear” wasn’t our only experience of the war.

Wally Woolfenden
By Email

RIVERSIDE MEMORIAL

The American Indian Alaska Native Veterans Memorial Committee is raising funds for a memorial to honor American Indian and Alaskan Native Veterans on the grounds of the Riverside National Cemetery. The memorial is a large undertaking. It will include approximately two acres (including a small lake); it will contain thirteen separate bronze statues, an entry plaza with an inlaid relief map of the entire United States, marked with the twelve regions of the country that identify all sovereign Indian Nations within each region, and a walkway that will stretch from the plaza around the lake. Along the walkway will be twelve different statues of eagles; the base of each statue will list the names of the tribes within the region—all 567 of them. The centerpiece, entitled The Gift, will be a 12-foot bronze Indian figure with a 1776 Betsy Ross flag draped over his shoulders.

The memorial will provide a place where indigenous veterans, their families, and guests to the cemetery can honor American Indian veterans. In addition, they can learn about the long history of sacrifice and strength that our indigenous service men and women have provided to maintain our freedoms.

For more information, go to www.AIANveteransMemorial.com

Sharron Savage
AIANVMC Chair

WANNABE AWARD

Naming Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) VVA Legislator of the Year is a slap in the face to those of us who served in Vietnam. How soon we forget his claim that he was a Vietnam veteran. When the truth came out (he never served in Vietnam), he apologized for misleading statements.

Makes me sick.

Alan M. Smith, Sr.
By Email

KEEP VA CARE

I have major concerns with the letter in the last issue, “Better Served,” which recommends that the private sector take over VA health care. Perhaps the VA still needs fixing in some areas, but in Wisconsin at the Milwaukee and Green Bay clinics, it’s working great.

I always get treated warmly and with full respect. I always get the full attention of the health care people, including the doctors. If at the end of any appointment I have additional concerns, I get the extra time needed, even if it means calling in a higher-level doctor.

In comparison, the private sector is managed for profit first, and management is always looking for ways to cut costs and increase profits, including forcing doctors to limit their time with patients. Prior to entering the VA system I would get in to see a private doctor, get a quick once-over by an assistant, and then be left to sit too long in the exam room until the doctor finally came in, spent only few minutes with me, after which I saw a rather large bill.

It seems that the biggest problems uncovered in the VA system have more to do with who gets in and approved for treatment and who does not, rather than with the quality of treatment. That will not necessarily change under a private care system in which the VA still is at the forefront. Let’s keep our VA care system and instead just try to fix whatever you think is broken.

David Dvorachek
Cato, Wisconsin

RECONSIDERING LIFE

I feel compelled to respond to Mr. Yezzo’s last column on Veterans Incarcerated and in the Justice System. Pennsylvania, along with two other states, does not have parole eligibility for those with life sentences. Therefore, Pennsylvania has veterans who have been incarcerated for thirty-five, forty, or even more years without an avenue for release. Many of these veterans suffer from PTSD, TBI, and other psychological issues, but cannot claim them as mitigating circumstances because they cannot get back into the courts.

Many, many veterans of the Vietnam era have died in the Pennsylvania prison system from Agent Orange-related diseases as well as other service-connected problems that were improperly treated because of their incarceration and their life sentences. This is a problem unknown in most states. Veterans from the Vietnam era were probably given longer sentences than their civilian counterparts, or released on parole, because their state had a minimum year for a life sentence. I have no doubt that a lot of these prisoners in other states with life sentences were released on their minimum date because of their veteran status as well as their PTSD suffering. More than likely this all came about because of the way our country started looking at veterans and PTSD. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans painted a picture for this country that Vietnam veterans, who are incarcerated, have been trying to paint for years.

Graterford, Pennsylvania, VVA Chapter 446 has been fighting intensely for incarcerated Vietnam-era veterans to get the same chances our brother-soldiers are getting, and our Vietnam-era veteran brothers are getting in other states. We need VVA chapters all over the country, both incarcerated and civilian, to come together and help us fight for this right to be released.

My plea to all organizations is to help us complete our battle and let’s leave no veteran behind, even those in this state of Pennsylvania.

Commer Glass
President, Chapter 446

HIGH-FALUTIN’ POET

While reading the most recent Letters section, one letter especially piqued my interest. Darrol Brown wrote that he has a desire to see a new VVA poet laureate step up. I have read and been moved by the work of Steve Mason and did not realize that he was no longer our Poet Laureate. I don’t know about the laureate side of it—that sounds a little high-falutin’ for an old country boy—but I am a poet and songwriter. I am a life member of VVA Chapter 788 in Southwest Montana. A few of my poems and song lyrics are posted on our chapter website at vva788.org I am also editing a 239-page manuscript of my poems, lyrics, and musings. 

I served with the 11th Brigade of the Americal Division in Vietnam in 1969. I write my material mostly under the nom de plume “shed kennedy.” 

Sheridan D. Kennedy
By Email

Several members have responded to Brown’s suggestion. A selection process will have to be developed.