Note: I asked Sarah Chandler (demeter58), a Vietnam War veteran, to tell of her experiences working with veterans as both a non-commissioned officer and civilian social worker with the VA.
I am a Vietnam-era vet, Sergeant, honorably discharged, served 1970-1973 stateside at 1100th Airborne Wing, Bolling AFB, Washington DC, a satellite base of Headquarters USAF, Andrews AFB.
In Spring of '73 several of the first POW's released from extended North Vietnam imprisonment came through Bolling AFB for medical/dental treatment. I was a Dental Tech and worked with several POW's. One officer had been repeatedly tortured by having a glass ball placed inside his mouth and then interrogated. If he didn't give it up, the glass ball was shattered, completely shredding the inside of his mouth. When he was in our dental chair and opened his mouth for the first time, I involuntarily screamed. He grabbed my hands and held them against my visibly pregnant stomach and said, "Seeing you makes it all worthwhile." We sat there, the two of us, and quietly wept. From the outside, he looked fine,
but when you looked inside.....
And that's the metaphor for getting fucked up in a war.
You're walking wounded, and it often doesn't show on the outside,
but when you look inside.....
I went to college on the GI Bill and supplemented my income with VA work-study program. I ran the veterans office on campus for four years and served as president of the campus veterans association for three years. When I graduated, I went to work a field service officer for the Veterans Affairs. I assisted vets by educating and processingt their benefits. I visited every VA hospital and clinic in my state. None of the facilities were geared for handling emotional issues specifically relating to returning VietNam vets. Many of the Viet vets I worked with were seriously messed up; drug and alcohol addiction, PTSD, couldn't hold a job, wife beaters, crime, losing custody of their kids, Agent Orange-related health problems...most desperately wanting help, any help, but there were virtually no resources in place. At that time (late '70's, early '80's) PTSD in vets had not been recognized; it literally took an act of Congress in '83 to even get the disorder officially recognized as a disability. It was really disheartening work.
I became a Social Worker at the VA Outpatient Clinic and my caseload was almost entirely Viet vets. I thought that here I could possibly help; I was the next rung up, was actually what was then considered a viable resource, but in reality was a placebo. Disclosed internal VA memos of that time reveal there was an active effort to minimize war-related stress symptoms. Self-medicating was about the only solution to their terrible suffering and they came to the Clinic for narcotics because that's all the doctors knew to do at the time. I got so burnt out by then; the relentless tide of vet problems was so overwhelming that it became impossible to effect any good result. That still weighs on me.
It's been nearly 30 years since I was on the frontline of assisting returning vets. I want to believe our nation has the moral courage and conviction to do better for our veterans.
I haven't given up hope.
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Let me start off by apologizing, when I read this I had one of those cynical, screwed over veteran laughing bouts. One of the biggest moron moments in US history, they sent VietNam era draft dodgers to work in VA hospitals to care for wounded war veterans (to guilt trip them) and couldn't figure out why our veterans were being mistreated. The things you said about the poor treatment at VA facilities and them being ill or totally unequipped to deal with Vietnam War veterans triggered that memory.
Thank you Sarah for writing this piece about your work with Vietnam War vets and the frustration of trying to help without the tools or support. No wonder you burned out.
I just can't believe what people will do to each other -- the torture you witnessed the results of; and how difficult it has been to even diagnose and define PTSD. I admire your efforts and thank you.
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