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Letters to VVAW

By VVAW

THE VETERAN welcomes letters, comments, and criticisms. Please write. Also, send along any poetry, drawings, photos or stories you would like to see in the paper.

P.O. Box 202184
Chicago, ILL. 60620
[312] 651-1583

Pyongyang
Democratic Republic of Korea

Dear Sir,

Somedays ago, we, through our friends came to know about your organization which had fought to end the Vietnam War.

Today, U.S. imperialism defeated in Vietnam, is creating bigger dangers of war in our country, therefore there still remains great obstacles before out people for the country's reunification.

Being a single nation with the same culture and one language through time-honored history, our nation can never live separated into two.

The cause of our country's reunification of our people which is enjoying support and encouragement of fighters who love peace and justice throughout the world will surely be achieved.

Believing that you are paying attention to our people's struggle for the country's reunification, we hope to establish close contact with you.

We shall be much obliged if we receive your positive reply together with a concrete information about you and your organization.

Sincerely yours,
Korean Society for Cultural
Relations with Foreign Countries

BOOTS, JUNGLE/O.D.
TWO EACH

They tell you to get a haircut, trim your mustache, give you a few medals, and read a perfunctory thank-you note. Forty hours later you get your shower, ETS pay, steak dinner, and a fresh set of dress greens. "Thank you, goodbye, we're proud of you."

Then what? Maybe you take your boots home with you. More than anything else they tell your story--where you've been, what you have seen, how much there is to forget.

Before you left your buddies asked, "How ya gonna act?" Maybe you get a job, go to school, drink or smoke too much, or just leave your room. Everything's normal again. Right? You're back in the world. A lot of people think you were a fool, some want to buy you a beer, but most of all, they're uneasy around you.

For a year you don't say anything. But every time you open your closet, your boots are staring at you and asking, "How ya gonna act?" You're alone. Oh, you're back on the job, or in school, you've got friends, you are making some money, but you're alone. The newsmen, the politicians, the kids with all the answers, they don't know. They weren't there. Well, at least your country is proud of you. You've got his mimeographed letter that says so.

Then you hear that some guys are going down to Washington. Not students or carryovers from the civil rights days, but guys just like you. You wonder what the angle is. There isn't any. Just a lot of guys who are alone, going to school, working, drinking, or smoking to much, or locked into their wheelchairs.

A year ago you put the boots, jungle fatigues, and boony cap away. Since then you've been a stranger, a part of nothing. Now once again you get your gear together. You put those boots on. They're part of you. They're what you know, what you've become....

You're home now and Washington was a long time ago. A thing most Americans want to forget. For a while you were part of something. You were with people who knew. But what good was it? The 101st is back in the Ashau, and guys are still coming home in rubber bags. You're a young man, but for a moment you feel like this was your last hurrah.

Then you think of the guys. The ones with wheelchairs and steel arms, the ones with purple hears, bronze and silver stars, they guys who "hacked it." Their hair is longer, some have beards, but it won't hide who they are. No, this is one time, America, you can't write them off because of long hair and beards. You've known these guys for a lifetime. You clenched a fist and the history of that year and the time after "thank you, goodbye, we're proud of you" was said. It's time you listened, America. There are thousands of us walking and hobbling around. You can't avoid us because we're no longer faceless-we're different. You see, we've got those boots in our closets.

Mac Harness
Battle Creek, Michigan

(For readers who may have forgotten or may never have known, some of the terms in the above essay are translated as--

• ETS--Estimated time of separation or when you get out; ETS pay was your final check from the military.
• Going down to Washington--Operation Dewey Canyon III when vets went to DC and threw away their medals to demand the end of the war.
• Ashau--The Ashau Valley, a long jungled valley stretching between Vietnam and Laos; numerous U.S. attempts to pour in troops as well as artillery and helicopters and airstrikes over a period of years never succeeding in loosening the grip of the NLF on this vital terrain.)

VVAW:

Just a line to let you know that things are progressing well and that I may be off parole sooner than I think.

I particularly was interested in the article on "Agent Orange" and strangely enough I have been experiencing numbness in my hands for the past 12 months or so and shrugged it off as poor circulation. However, not that I think about it, poor circulation would have appeared much sooner and would have been more consistent than the numbness that I have been experiencing. I saw a doctor at the VA Hospital and the bitch tried to pawn it off as, of all things, writers' cramps! At any rate, the purpose of that particular visit was to have it on my records although I mentioned nothing about "Agent Orange." I am sure there was exposure but to what degree I am uncertain. At this point, it is necessary for me to consult a private physician.

Enclosed you will find a money order for $20 to cover the purchase of 5 patches, and the remainder to be put to whatever use deemed necessary to help keep our organization alive.

I understand that there is no established chapter in this specific area but I would like you to forward 10 or so membership forms and I will begin working on expanding our organization in this area. Hopefully, we can stimulate interest in this area enabling us to cultivate some type of action.

Well, good brothers, will close for now and hope to hear from you soon. Keep struggling and know that ours is truly, ONE STRUGGLE.

In Solidarity,
Paul
Lansing, Mich