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Letters To VVAW

By VVAW

VVAW and The Veteran welcome your letters and other contributions to the paper. We believe that vets of all eras share the need to fight for a decent life, and look forward to your comments.

To the Veteran:

I am a 28-year old Vietnam veteran. I served in Vietnam in 68-69 where I received multiple fragment wounds to the neck and head. This left me with a loss of strength in my left side and a seizure disorder. For this I receive 50% disability.

Employment is very hard to find. I had a job at International Harvester Co. They were aware that I was a disabled vet. One day I had a seizure at work, the first I had had in 8 months working there. The company doctor told me to take off a while. When I returned to work, the company official, Harry Beive, Al Robertson and Lou Ellis called me in and told me I was terminated because on my application I didn't say I was receiving money for disability from the VA. They also refused to rehire me, saying they had no position I could fill due to my health problem. Even though there had been no complaints about my performance during the 8 months I had worked there.

To me it is pretty clear that the reason for my termination was because of my disability. I am just as capable of doing the job as anyone. As long as I'm regularly taking my medication I don't have any problem with seizures. In my opinion I'm being discriminated against. I feel that I should be given my job back with full back pay or be granted total disability from the VA.

I do plan to expose this company to the public. They were a major contributor to the Vietnam War, but they don't want to honor the vet. They have no disabled vets working there even though they are under contract with the government to hire a certain percentage. They are not living up to their promise and I don't plan to sit back and let this type of action go by without bringing public notice to it.

As far as I'm concerned this is just one incident in many where the Vietnam veteran is being pushed a side and ignored. I think that it is time to unite and fight back once again for our rights that were once promised to us.

William K. Curry
Baltimore, MD

Dear Comrades,

Enclosed please find a $6 money order for your paper, The Veteran. I wish I could send $6 million as I believe you could use every cent of it to carry on your good work, as it looks like another war will take place in a year or two. But I can's as I am on a small old-age pension, but I'll do whatever I can. At 79 years of age I'll never see a world without war but you young people may at least hope so. Wish everyone a happy New Year, if possible.

Yours truly,

E.R. Coleman
Los Angeles