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Vets Hit Hard in 1979: Cuts, Benefits Lost, Problems Put Off

By VVAW

1979 has been a difficult year for Vietnam veterans. It's been a year when movies—"Coming Home," the "Deerhunter," and many others—and books and TV programs have attempted to deal with the situation of Vietnam vets. With Carter's proclaiming Vietnam Veterans Week, it's almost become respectable to be a Vietnam veteran; we no longer have to hide our backgrounds under the nearest table.

It's been a far cry from the situation in the past where vets have been ignored in the hope that Vietnam veterans—and the war which we fought—would somehow disappear. Whatever complaints Vietnam vets now have, being ignored is not one of them.

But we have to balance this attention with what has in fact been accomplished for vets during the year. On that score, the government has shut itself out at least from any programs that have been any help to veterans.

Take Agent Orange, for instance. Vietnam vets, poisoned by this herbicide sprayed on all of us in Vietnam are sick, dying, having deformed children. The best VA can do is say well, we'll put together a committee to study the problem.

On Memorial Day Carter hides his face during the ceremony at the beginning of Vietnam Vets Wee; but he cannot hide his treatment of veterans.

And even that's a step forward from their complete refusal to recognize that a problem exists. (For more information, see the article on page 2.)

Just to show that Vietnam vets don't get preferential treatment in terms of getting screwed by the VA, there's the as yet unnumbered affected by radiation tests in the '50's when vets served as guinea pigs for the military (see the article on page 5). When these veterans and others with health problems confront the VA, they may well be met with another VA tactic to squeeze out from under doing its job—the destruction of our files (see article on page 4).

It's been a year of big talk and no action. The GI Bill was not raised one cent through the cost of survival has sky-rocketed. There's an article about that attack on vets on page 7 of this paper.

The year is summed up in Vietnam Veterans Week where the President proclaimed a week to honor Vietnam vets. With all his talk, Carter's record is attack, attack, attack (see article on page 8). But vets are responding and fighting back. The balloons are being punctured, and the politicians hot air is exposed for all to see.