Yesterday at the White River Junction, Vermont VA

[democrank]

My long-time companion, a Vietnam Veteran with terminal brain and lung cancer, receives treatment at the VA in White River Junction, Vermont....wonderful, considerate treatment. Whenever we`re there we make a point of reaching out to as many vets and their family members and friends as we can. I wanted to share a couple of yesterday`s experiences.

One very quiet Vietnam Vet had great difficulty using the new electronic sign-in system as many of our older vets do. After unsuccessfully swiping his ID card many times, he simply walked away. He seemed agitated, frustrated. I let things calm down a bit then approached him with an offer to help. Our offer of help unleashed an angry response which included a dozen reasons why he`d never ask for help from the government. The angry look on his face didn`t change and neither did his pacing, but I just listened. He told me how he sat on a hillside in Vietnam and watched Agent Orange being sprayed. He told me how he was happy his father died. He handed his Vietnam Marine cap to me and asked me to read the words on the patch out loud. I did. In the hour and a half I spent with him, he never once sat down, just stood on the edge of the full waiting room. When I handed his hat back to him, I used one hand to touch his hand in a gesture I hoped he would see as comforting. He immediately left the room and I went to an empty room to collect my thoughts. An hour later he walked in, took off his hat and said, "I`ve been looking for you. I wanted you to meet my wife." I stood to shake hands, but he turned and left with her in a nanosecond. About five minutes later, he returned and said with a smile, "Have a nice day." I don`t think I`ll ever forget this vet and I`ll always remember what he said about being young and carefree one minute and sitting in the middle of a war the next. "I didn`t even know where Vietnam was."

From a chair on the sidelines, I noticed a sickly, frail Vietnam veteran struggling with the paper bag he was trying to put his meds in. I`d seen him several times before, all 110 pounds of him: ponytail, Harley patches, several wonderfully artistic silver rings. I got the sense it took everything he had to stand erect and hold his head up. I nodded and smiled, he did the same.
A Vietnam Vet Harley Davidson man probably on his last leg but holding on to every speck of pride he had left. An old tough guy dealing with what he brought home from the war. As he shuffled out of the room, another Vietnam Vet approached him on a dead run. The other vet grabbed onto the Harley vet and told him he was so glad to see him. The Harley vet put his head on the other guy`s shoulder and they stood quietly like that for at least a whole minute. It was one of the most touching things I`ve seen at the VA.

Another vet that had two legs last month only has one this month. A young, female vet from the Iraq War learned yesterday that she has cancer.

Yesterday, the hundreds of cars in the VA parking lot, the filled waiting rooms and the numerous hallway dramas were all reminders of who actually pays for our wars.

Please, please, please support our veterans.

~PEACE~

[In_The_Wind]

1. DU Rec

[oldandhappy]

2. Yea

This need to be on the front page of every paper in the country. Thanks.

[upaloopa]

3. Thanks for that post. As a Vietnam vet I am lucky

to not need the VA hospitals yet. I hope I never do. I remember seeing the C123's flying over my head in a triangle formation spraying agent orange on us.
I have seen some vets who have been effected by it. I may be effected and don't know it. I shun doctors but I may go for a check up soon. I am retiring soon and you give me an idea about volunteering at the VA.

[eggplant]

4. Thank you for your service. n/t

[japple]

5. Thank you so much for your post. Both of my parents were WWII veterans and Dad served in Korea.

Dad was in very intense combat in Northern Italy & Southern France in WWII (w/First Special Service Force). In later years, he talked about those days, especially after he started attending reunions and reconnected with others from the Force. He never, ever talked about Korea, though he was deployed for 2 years. I know that he had some terrible memories, including the capture and execution of one of his hometown buddies (also with the Force) by the Germans, and the carnage on beaches at Anzio, freezing in the foxholes, etc., but Dad never lost his sweet, kind, compassionate nature. He was revered by his family, friends and community.

All of my uncles served in WWII and one in Viet Nam. All are now gone. My favorite cousin served in Viet Nam and has severe hearing loss, also PSTD.

I am so grateful to know that there are people like you who listen to and share the stories of those veterans who are still going through the VA every single day. I took Dad to many appointments at VA in Atlanta, GA, and the waiting rooms were always full. Audiology was cramped, but I am happy to note that the staff were ALWAYS caring, compassionate, and very competent.

Our country will never reach its full potential until it learns how to deal peacefully with other nations. We should never send our young, strong capable men and women into situations where they will be used for cannon fodder and, especially, as is our current policy, neglect them when they return our shores wounded, maimed, and without hope.

[sarge43]

6. Thank you, democrank. nt

[nolabear]

7. My father died of Agent Orange exposure.

We really don't know what happened. After our mother died (we were kids) in '68 he volunteered to go to Thailand to support the war. We have no idea how he was exposed, or even knew that he was until the cancers started, first bladder, then lungs, then spine and brain. The government let my stepmother know after his death in 2002 that she would be getting an extra benefit as a result of a settlement for Agent Orange victims.

God knows what that stuff did to how many people. We should have known then that killing our own people in pursuit of a goal wasn't really a problem for the war machine.

Your account is moving, and human, and humane. You treated these people as valuable, as citizens and as soldiers. I hate war, but we need to take care of our people in all ways. Thank you for that.

[Bigmack]

8. And on it goes.... and on... and on....

The depleted uranium.... the old chem weapons we blew in place....

The next round of vets may be cheaper to deal with.... they're gonna die faster. Save some bucks right there! The deficit hawks will cheer.

We GOTTA stop making so damn many veterans!

http://truth-out.org/news/item/26703-iraqi-doctors-call-depleted-uranium-use-genocide

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/14/world/middleeast/us-casualties-of-iraq-chemical-weapons.html?emc=edit_na_20141014&nlid=14016960&_r=0

[Enthusiast]

9. A friend died of exposure to agent orange.

I really liked that guy.

[Beaverhausen]

10. A Vietnam Vet I know is recording a CD of songs based on his experiences

He is finally, after all these years, letting it out. He hopes the music will help vets heal.

I had the honor of singing harmonies on a few of the songs.

While we were in the studio one night he told us the story of when he was wounded. I hadn't actually heard it before and it was terrifying and heartbreaking.

These vets were shit on when they got back. We need to do all we can to help them.

[KingCharlemagne]

19. It's something of an urban legend that vets were 'shit on' when they got back. Certainly, they

were not 'shit on' by the anti-war movement which, despite the right-wing stab-in-the-back mythos, welcomed Vietnam vets back and attempted to give them ways to reintegrate into society through the network of coffee houses, veterans' groups like VVAW and so on.

There has not been one documented case of a returning vet being 'spat upon.' Not one. There have been many claims but none have been authenticated.

That said, Bernie Sanders put it best (paraphrasing from memory): "if you're not going to care for your vets, then don't send them to war in the first place."

[whopis01]

25. They absolutely were shit on when they came back

In the same way current vets are.

No one here is saying that anti-war protesters spit on them or any similar BS. Any reasonably intelligent and aware person knows that isn't true.

But they were shit on. The government that sent them to war failed to provide care for their injuries - physical and mental - when they came back.

[KingCharlemagne]

29. Got you. Agree 100% that government treated vets mighty shabbily

upon their returns.

Just wanted to be sure anti-war movement(s) and their members were not tarred with same brush.

[Beaverhausen]

30. I didn't mean literally. But they were taunted and called baby killers

fuck you, from my friend. You have no idea what he went through. you are an asshole.

To the jury= please don't delete my post. This jerk deserves it.

If any of you were in the room when my friend told the story you would be in tears. As we were.

[KingCharlemagne]

31. Really? Would your friend or you be receptive to academic studies that

document what I've said about how the 'spitting on' and taunting of returning Vietnam vets did not happen, save in the minds of right-wing douches determined to propagate the stab-in-the-back mythos?

If so, you and he might wish to consult The Spitting Image:

The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory and the Legacy of Vietnam is a 1998 book by sociologist Jerry Lembcke. The book argues that the common claim that American soldiers were spat upon and insulted by anti-war protesters upon returning home from the Vietnam War is an urban legend intended to discredit the anti-war movement. Lembcke writes that this discrediting of the anti-war movement was foreshadowed by Hermann Göring's fostering of the stab in the back myth, after Germany's defeat in Europe in 1918

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spitting_Image

[Beaverhausen]

32. IT HAPPENED TO HIM!!!

what is your fucking problem???

[MADem]

37. I remember those days pretty well. They were crapped on, and then they weren't.

It was a very bifurcated attitude.

There were people who thought that if you were drafted, you should go. Suck it up, you dad did it, we've never lost a war, blah, blah blah. Anything else is traitorous.

There were "draft DODGERS." Some just burned their draft cards, some just tucked the thing in their wallet and ... disappeared. Moved from place to place, no fixed address for too long. Can't find me, can't call me to get a physical...that was the attitude.

Some went over the border to Canada, fewer went to little pockets in Europe or elsewhere. Some were driven by their mothers to Canada!

There was a "baby killer" theme that took hold briefly--the Calley trial didn't help that.

The VVAW and the very articulate John Kerry's testimony helped to turn the tide, and started the process of more people understanding the whole "Good guys, bad war" big picture. As more service personnel came home, the more they populated the relentless demonstrations, large and small, that could be found on streets and college campuses most weekends.

Then, of course, Hollywood weighed in, with everything from the dramatization of Born on the 4th of July to Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now. Those cemented images of vets that weren't necessarily appropriate for all or even most vets.

Some people still like to hew to the image of the wild eyed, hair trigger, Will Go Nutzo if You Look At Him The Wrong Way, Rambo caricature/stereotype when talking about vets with SE Asian experience. It's a convenient cartoon. While anyone is fully expected to be traumatized when encountering violence, that doesn't mean they'll manifest behavior straight out of (bad) central casting.

[KingCharlemagne]

38. Pentagon Papers leaker and now fervent antiwar activist Daniel Ellsberg says

we won't have fully put Vietnam to rest until a memorial to the antiwar protesters is erected on the National Mall in proximity to the official Vietnam Veterans' Memorial. Although I doubt I will ever live to see that monument, it's one that I think should be erected.

Obviously, judging from the anger and vituperation my comment triggered, we're not over Vietnam yet in any meaningful sense, George H.W. Bush's boastful preening (after Operation Desert Storm) notwithstanding.

[MADem]

39. I wish we'd stop putting shit on the mall, myself.

That WW2 memorial looks like Germany won the war.

And the MLK statue? All they need to do is knock off his moustache, adjust his hairline, shave down his suitcoat, and you've got ... MAO.

I don't know why we have this idea that bigger is better, and more matters. Small and thoughtful, a garden, a bench or several to sit and contemplate, that's a better way to do it.

[ffr]

11. In war, peace and when they're injured

I have nothing but respect for our service men and women. And unlike some people, I don't have a graduated scale for them based on gender or race or mental/physical state. We need to rid congress of their war hawkish ways.

Which is why I'd support an legislation that would make it more of a requirement for congress/POTUS to send men/women to war without also have a family member, son or daughter who also serves and would be sent to war.

[cry baby]

12. Oh dear, I have something in my eye...

Thank you for the reminder!

(((hugs)))

[CaptainTruth]

13. Thank you. For those of us at home, the battle ends. For many brave souls ...

... their battle never ends.

May we never, never forget.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

14. Incredibly moving, democrank

These heroic souls and their families need so much more support than they've gotten. Here in L.A., we have a brand new VA home that has sit half empty for years because a full kitchen was not factored into the design. It will be another year before people on the waiting list start getting in. Meanwhile....waiting rooms like you described should remain full - of good, decent people like you who reach out and make someone's day.

[marble falls]

15. VA takes really takes good care of me.

[ladyVet]

16. I support the vets (I'm one myself, though I went through nothing like some have).

The best thing we could do in their honor is to stop these wars for profit. And pay a fair price for the sacrifices they make.

[calimary]

17. Seems to me the best thing we can do for our veterans is not to make more of them.

Hell, we can barely take decent care of the legions of veterans we already have.

[mountain grammy]

18. Thank you, Democrank. You make the world a better place.

My Vietnam Vet husband thanks you too.

[elleng]

20. I love that part of Vermont.

I think my uncle used that facility.

[Dustlawyer]

21. I worked for many years on we lawyers called the "Dust Docket," which was usually made up

of elderly men who worked with and around asbestos. This was how I picked my screen name. Many were in the Navy in WW II and Korea, a few from Vietnam. The diseases take 20-40 years to appear which is why they were older. I have heard some of the most amazing, terrifying, heroic, and sad tales of war, all told under oath, recorded by a Court Reporter, all in great detail. To be honest, most did not want to talk about it, one almost quit his case when I told him they would be asking about his time in the service. He later told a story so filled with bravery and pain it was almost unbelievable. He survived a land mine explosion, being bayoneted in the gut, and being shot with a 50 caliber in the arm. He for his troubles he received a Silver Star and a handful of Purple Hearts.
Battle of the Bulge, Omaha Beach, Iwo Jima, Battan Death March, Pearl Harbor..., were brought to life even though they were mainly about death. The names from history books now mean something real to me. These personal stories now gather dust in mini-storage buildings, warehouses, and office buildings, the men who testified to what happened in WW II are all dead.
The horror of war I witnessed through their eyes was enough that now when I see Dick Cheney, John McCain, and Lindsey Graham spouting off about attacking this country or that, with obviously no thought or concern to the actual human cost, the ruined lives, the fatherless children, the young widows and widowers, and the parents who have to bury their child, I just want to puke!
This brings us to now, to the last insult. After starting two wars for oil, (it was always about the damn oil), they cut VA budgets and blame Obama for the VA's problems! If we had a real, functional media and actual journalism, Cheney would be turned over for war crimes, McCain and Graham would never be re-elected in a million years, and soldiers would never, ever vote Republican again!

R.I.P. The Best of the Best!

[pinboy3niner]

22. Love and Peace to you and your companion

Thanks for sharing your story with such compassion and eloquence.

[No Vested Interest]

23. Thank hou for being there for those vets.

I honestly wouldn't care that they are vets.

You are there giving comfort to the persons they are, human being in need if comfort and caring.
Recognizing their humanity.
You can't do anything better with your time.

[Silver Gaia]

24. Thank you for this post, demorank. My husband is a disabled Vietnam veteran.

He has recently gone through a prolonged (successful!) bout of chemo and radiation treatments for throat cancer. I went with him to every treatment, as I have always done with his other medical appointments at the VA. (He also has service-connected skin cancer, so there have been many, many visits.) I, too, have seen these men (and women), and have listened to their stories. Like you, I do what I can to help, whenever or wherever I can, whether it's helping them manage the new technology, or just listening. It is always humbling, and they touch my heart in so many ways. I feel grateful for the opportunity to give something back to them, however small the gesture may be, for their service and their sacrifice.

Recently, my husband's medical visits have taken us to a large military hospital at a local Air Force base, where I have met many young, active duty service men and women, and I have been impressed by these young people as well. They go out of their way to help the older veterans in their midst politely and respectfully, whether it's just to help navigate the base or the hospital, or to lend a needed hand with something. We never even needed to ask for help. Someone was always there asking if we needed help, even before we knew we needed it. I am grateful to them as well.

Thank you, again, for your post, for sharing your stories with us. It meant a lot to both me and my husband. We thank you.

[intaglio]

26. K&R n/t

[DFW]

27. Never was in VN, but our friend's brother was, and died from Agent Orange

It was particularly hard for her dad, as he was the one who ordered it used, after Monsanto kept secret the long term effects of it. When he found out, he was devastated, and tried to do for vets what he could. Nixon hated his guts, and ordered the Secretary of Defense to fire him the night before he left office in disgrace. Jim Schlesinger, the SecDef at the time, refused and Nixon had to slink off to San Clemente with our friend's dad still at his post.

[demigoddess]

33. I am a military brat

My father fought in WWII and Korea, and died from a cancer probably from the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. My stepfather fought in Korea and when I was young we would drive around and visit guys he knew from Korea and I could see even as a young kid that these guys were deeply affected by the war experience and that was before Agent Orange, and depleted uranium. I have a handicapped child and have seen that there were clusters of handicapped children born after the wars. Vietnam and the Gulf Storm war under Bush I. I have heard that there are children being born with problems after guys have returned from this war since 2003. Not to even mention the ones who have come back essentially so brain damaged they have to have their parents be their legal guardians. I am adamantly anti war except to defend our country.

[dhill926]

34. kicking….

powerful…..

[glinda]

35. Thank you for your post. Our Serviceman suffer during and after wars. The physical and mental

devastation is maddening. Having just buried my father, a WWII Vet, we must not forget. Ever. And we must do everything we can to stop wars, environmental and persons chems exposures as well.

[WillyT]

36. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!