To the Editors:
Your Essay regarding Viet Nam [June 1] and its veterans was probably the most powerful and thoughtful piece I have read on the subject. If we fail to learn from the lesson of Viet Nam, we will have salvaged nothing from our debacle. We will have gained no wisdom from our pain and allowed our fear and ignorance to pave the way for future tragedies.
Igor Bobrowsky, Editor
Newsletter of Viet Nam Veterans
of America
New York
In 1971 I served in Viet Nam. Ten years later, I am finally coming to grips with my participation in that war. One of my fantasies is to walk down the street, have a total stranger ask if I'm a Viet vet, and have him say, "Welcome home."
David Sajdak Chicago
When I returned home, a young woman, upon learning I was a Viet Nam veteran, spit at me in disgust. Two weeks before, deep in the jungles of Viet Nam, I had lived like an animal trained to kill at the first provocation. Yet all I could do was stare at this woman in shock.
Edward F. Avila Auburn, Calif.
If the image and morale of Viet vets is ever to improve, we should hear less from veterans mired in needless self-hatred. Despite its failure, the Viet Nam War was probably the most idealistic campaign ever conducted. As an infantry vet, I believe the examples of civilians mistreated by soldiers were outnumbered 100 to 1 by examples of helpfulness and self-sacrifice.
John B. Donovan Larchmont, N. Y.
Thanks to the hostage crisis, something dark and evil was brought back to me—something I thought I'd forgotten and left behind me: hate. Try hating your country and see how you handle it.
Gary J. Stafford Wausau, Wis.
I opposed the war in Viet Nam. I demonstrated, was teargassed, organized in the precincts, wrote letters and wore buttons. In the past decade I have felt only an increasing sense of comradeship with Viet Nam veterans.
Mary Peterson York, Me.
I am one of the doves who did not go and now am faced with guilt. Like the hostages, the Viet Nam vet took our place. Unlike the hostages, the veteran still hasn't been released.
Bruce McAllister Redlands, Calif.
When Folk Singer Harry Chapin sings, "Does anybody care? Is anybody there?" I say, we are here and listening. The House will accept our subcommittee's recommendation to extend readjustment counseling as well as medical and job-training benefits for Viet Nam vets. In war there are no unwounded soldiers.
Bob Edgar, Chairman
House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee
on Education
Washington, D.C.
I can speak for most Nam vets: we don't want to be thanked for doing as our nation asked. We want to stop being hassled for having been there.
Harvey Gobin Alachua, Fla.
As a veteran of the Viet Nam conflict, I was not traumatized by my experiences in the war. I was traumatized by the utter indifference of Americans to those who returned.
John A. O'Gavaghan Jamesville, N. Y.
I spent three tours in Viet Nam as an adviser to the South Vietnamese. Our troops didn't "lose" the war. Washington never allowed us to win it!
Michael K. Button Hartford, Conn.
Broken Heart