Vietnam Veteran News with Mack Payne

Nurses play an important role in the medical healing process. This was especially true in Vietnam. With all the physical carnage that went on in that war there was a big need for nurses. If you ever needed medical treatment in Vietnam you are more than well aware of the vital importance of nurses. Doctors would do the heavy work of cutting you open, fixing your innards and then sewing you up. Then the nurses took over the job of helping you through the healing process. If you were hurting, the race, creed or social background of the nurse did not matter. All you cared about was getting well.

In the episode the story of Terrie Ross is featured. It comes from an article in The Canberra Times titled: Australian Vietnam War nurses tell compelling stories of compassion by Karen Hardy. Terrie Ross served as a nurse in the Australian Army. She was one of the first four army nurses to be deployed to Vietnam, where she was assigned to the 8th Field Ambulance unit in Vung Tau.

In 1965 she was working in the maternity ward of the Goulburn hospital when she met a woman who would change her life forever. The woman was a coworker named Nora Marmont who advised her to leave that place otherwise she would end up staying there, having five children and never seeing anything. Ross followed the advice of her more seasoned associate and left to join the Army and became a lieutenant in the nursing corps.

Looking back she described her time in Vietnam as filled with fond memories. Today at the age of 74 she resides in Jerrabomberra with Mick, her husband of 44 years. Listen to the podcast and you will enjoy Terrie Ross's story. She is to be commended for the job she did for her country in the Vietnam War.

Two great friends of all Vietnam Veterans will be featured in this episode. The First is Janna Hoehn, the relentless seeker of pictures of all the fallen heroes on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC. The other friend is U.S. Representative Chris Gibson of the great State of New York.

Janna Hoehn is now searching for pictures in Kansas. She is proceeding county by county and presently Reno County is in her cross hairs. A story in The Hutchinson News titled: Memorial volunteer searches for photos of Reno County soldiers killed in Vietnam by Ashley Booker of The Hutchinson News ([email protected]) describes her efforts there. Of the seventeen residents of Reno County killed in Vietnam only two remain without pictures in the collection. They are Ronnie E. Alvord (1947-1968) and Robert C. Greathouse (1949-1969). If you know of any connections to either of these fallen heroes that might lead to locating their photos please contact Janna Hoehn at [email protected] and she will help get them where they need to be at the Wall of Faces in Washington DC. You can determine if a name on the wall has a matching photo by going to vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces.

Representative Chris Gibson has introduced a proposed bill in the House of Representatives to help the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans achieve equity in VA health benefits for illnesses caused by exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. A story in The Post Star titled: Gibson continues to push Blue Water Vets legislation by Maury Thompson ([email protected]) mentions his efforts to get the bill passed. Through some quirk of bureaucrat machinations The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans were excluded by the VA from receiving Agent Orange benefits despite the fact they as a particular group of Vietnam Veterans are suffering more than any other veteran group from Agent Orange exposure.

All are urged to contact their Representative and Senators and ask them to support HR-969 in the House and S-681 in the Senate.

Lately there have been more and more events around the country honoring Vietnam Veterans for their service to their country in the Vietnam War. We often pause to remember the more than 58,000 Americans who died in that conflict. When one ponders on the tremendous cost in lives the country paid to wage that war, it is overwhelming. When each of those Vietnam Veterans entered the military they raised their hands and swore to protect the Constitution of this great land even if it required the ultimate sacrifice. For that very reason we should honor the memory of all those who fell in that war by insuring our Constitution is preserved and honored forever.

In this episode we are going to take a look a courageous action taken by a young Army officer to literally save the Constitution because apparently no one in our government is willing to step forward and do the right thing. The story is about Army Captain Nathan Michael Smith's lawsuit against President Obama's extra-Constitution actions in the war on ISIS. It comes from The World Socialist Web Site and is titled: Army captain’s lawsuit challenges legality of Obama’s war against ISIS by Tom Carter.

Captain Smith filed the lawsuit because he believes presidents since the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin resolution have been taking on dictatorial powers and taking the country to wars without proper Constitutional authorization. Tom Carter states in his article: "Each successive administration has adopted a more and more hostile attitude to the War Powers Resolution, reflecting the growing assertiveness of authoritarian tendencies within the American political establishment. With respect to the issue of war powers, the Obama administration’s rejection of basic constitutional principles goes further than any previous administration."

It appears both the Democratic and Republican parties are complicit in facilitating the assertion of dictatorial war powers by the president, and they have accommodated themselves to the “war on terror” and its assault on core democratic principles. Neither side will step forward and criticize the other in this regard and this has led Smith to take his action.

Captain Nathan Michael Smith we commend what you are doing and God help this country.

Many years have passed since the Vietnam Veterans came home to a less than friendly reception by the locals. The reception received by those veterans ranged from cool indifference to outright hostility by anti-war protestors who were venting their anger with the government incorrectly at the veterans. Time and events seem to change everything. Finally the Vietnam Veterans are finally beginning to get the respect and gratitude they deserve. Finally the country is beginning to recognize Vietnam Veterans as the heroes they truly are.

Recently an event was held in Fayetteville, North Carolina that confirmed that the healing process is taking place. The event was described in a story from The Fayetteville Observer titled: Inaugural Vietnam War Remembrance honors hundreds of veterans by Alicia Banks Staff writer and is featured in this podcast episode.  The event was held at The Airborne & Special Operations Museum. The Museum Foundation hosted the first Vietnam War Remembrance Ceremony on Saturday, May 7, 2016. Banks talked to Roscoe Killett, a Clinton, North Carolina native who served two tours in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He was greatly moved by the ceremony and appreciated the appreciation shown for the hundreds of Vietnam Veterans in attendance. Retired Gen. James Lindsay and retired Col. Kenneth Smith were guest speakers at the event and they presented the attendees with a war lapel pin that bears the image of an American Bald Eagle, surrounded by the blue color of the American flag, wreaths and stars representing the nation and its allies who fought in the war. An engraved message covered the pin's back: "A grateful nation honors and thanks you."

Leslie Hendricks another Vietnam Veteran at the ceremony said when we came home "We were told to dress in civilian clothes, and not let anyone know we served," he said. "I felt ashamed to see the protests. I felt my country deserted me, and I had returned with a sense of pride, liberating those under tyranny."

When America led the fight against the tide of Communism in Southeast Asia one of our most effective and loyal allies in that struggle were the Hmong people of Laos. They fought along with the CIA in the clandestine war conducted mostly in the Kingdom of Laos. When we signed the Paris Peace Accords in Paris in 1973 and pulled out of the conflict the faithful Hmong people were abandoned to the inevitable harsh retributions that would come when the Communists walked in and took over in the vacuum of power created by our departure.

Somehow tens of thousands of Hmong people managed to escape the landlocked country and make their way to this country. They have survived and prospered in this country. A big factor in their success is due to the leadership of General Vang Pao, a Hmong military leader in the Vietnam War. After the war, General Vang Pao came to the United States and met with President Nixon to campaign for veterans’ benefits for the Hmong people living in the U.S. He spent the rest of his life devoted to the 250,000 Hmong people living in the country, working to provide them with an education and acclimate his people to a new way of living.

An article found in the Lake County Record-Bee of Lakeport, California titled: Local sculptor creates monument for Hmong military leader submitted by  Jennifer Gruenke, [email protected], @rbjgruenke on Twitter tells and interesting story of how General Vang Pao is being honored. Paula Slater, a sculptor at Hidden Valley Lake was commissioned to create a monument dedicated to the General. She was given instructions on how the monument was to be fashioned and before she could get started on the project she had a dream that presented her with a specific theme that was different from what she was first given.

Originally the monument was supposed to show the General in his military uniform but the message from Slater's dream was for him to be in civilian attire as he helped his people adjust to life in their new country. Hope you enjoy the story on the podcast.

The use of Agent Orange in The Vietnam War has left a sad and shameful legacy. In this episode we will take a look at a story from Iowa Public Radio titled: New Generations Fear Agent Orange submitted by Rick Fredericksen. The story is about an Agent Orange symposium which was a fact-finding conference sponsored by Vietnam Veterans of America and it was held in Des Moines, Iowa. A number of speakers shared scary stories about lives being ravaged by the effects of diseases and illnesses caused by exposure to Agent Orange. The speakers were not limited to Vietnam Veterans. There were descendants of Vietnam Veterans who spoke of suffering from diseases they believe were passed on from a Vietnam Veteran parent who was exposed.

It would be very easy to be a "Monday Morning Quarterback" and say it was a big mistake to use Agent Orange in The Vietnam War. The decision makers who opted to use the herbicide made a tremendous error in judgment. Even though we were all told it was harmless there were findings available that indicated it contained an element known as tetraclorodibenzodioxin which is carcinogenic. That means its causes cancer to humans and animals. It is the writer's opinion the decision makers weighed  the benefits of its use against its hazards and decided the benefits outnumbered the perils of its use and decided to go with its use.

22 million gallons of sprayed Agent Orange later we are now stuck with the facts that tens of thousands of Vietnam Veterans have died premature and painful deaths, many are still sick with Agent Orange diseases to this day and many of their down lines suspiciously suffer from diseases on the VA's list of presumptive diseases caused by exposure.

As a nation we must continue to take care of Vietnam Veterans who suffer from Agent Orange diseases and we must continue research into the effects of Agent Orange on the descendants of Vietnam Veterans.

In this episode number 600 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast we will celebrate that milestone of broadcasting by featuring the story of Kevin Byrnes. It comes from an article in The Redstone Rocket titled: Retired lieutenant general saw Soldiers give their all submitted by Skip Vaughn, the Rocket editor. It was easy to ascertain Kevin Byrnes was an outstanding Army officer because he served in the Field Artillery, the king of battle.

Vaughn's article follows Byrnes career beginning with his entrance into the US Army in 1968. He had just graduated from high school and followed through on the advice of a fellow worker at the gas station where he was employed at the time. He was encouraged to get into the Field Artillery branch of the Army. He did so were on his aptitude tests he was able to go to officer candidate school and become an office in the Field Artillery. He went to Vietnam in 1969 and served as an artillery forward observer, aerial observer and Fire Direction Center Officer in one of the hottest areas in Vietnam, only a mile or so from the DMZ. He went on to serve in the Army for 37 years and rose to the rank of Lieutenant General, no small feat. Today he works for Raytheon Huntsville as vice president and center executive.

He said this about the Vietnam War “It’s been documented we had some issues (in Vietnam) and many bad decisions were made by elected officials and senior military leaders. We should always remember that the impact of those decisions is always carried on the back of young Soldiers and the young NCOs." That statement among other things shows the high regard he had for the NCO corps in the Army. That fits into my conclusion after many years of Army service, the officer corps is the conscience of the Army, the NCOs are the backbone of the Army and the enlisted personnel are the muscle of the Army.

Hope you listen to and enjoy the episode about another tremendous representative of the Great Vietnam Veteran Generation.

In past episodes the topic of the problems facing the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans has been featured. Of the three military populations of interest to the VA (ground forces, brown water and blue water sailors) only the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans have been excluded by the VA from receiving benefits for illnesses and diseases caused by exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. This action is puzzling because an Institute of Medicine committee recommended that veterans of the Blue Water Navy not be excluded from the presumption of Agent Orange exposure and consequently receive benefits.

The VA has been unresponsive to repeated requests from the Blue Water Navy for equity of benefits for Agent Orange afflictions among all three Vietnam Era military populations of interest. As a result, actions have been taken in both the judicial and legislative arenas of our government to correct the inequity of Agent Orange Benefits.

The Blue Water Navy is a term applied to all the personnel who served on the ships off shore from Vietnam participating in the conflict. In this episode the story of Patrick Mackin, a member of the Blue Water Navy will be featured to illustrate the valuable service that "military population" provided to our efforts in the Vietnam War. Mackin's story is told in an article found in The Globe Gazette of Mason, Kansas titled: They Served With Honor: Patrick Mackin, Osage by Courtney Fiorini [email protected]. It tells about his service aboard the U.S.S. Long Beach, a nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser as a nuclear propulsion specialist. He served on three deployments on the ship in the Gulf of Tonkin.

All are encouraged to contact your Congressperson and Senators and urge them to support bill HR-969 in the House of Representatives and bill S-681 in the Senate. All you have to do is Google the name and contact information of the individual in Congress and contact their Washington office.

For years the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans have been fighting with the VA, Congress and the judicial system to obtain fairness in how the VA dispenses  medical assistance and compensation to Vietnam Veterans for Agent Orange caused illnesses and diseases. For your information the term Blue Water Navy refers to all the personnel who served on the ships offshore of Vietnam during that war. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has reported that it was not possible to make quantitative exposure comparisons among the three military populations of interest to the VA (ground forces, brown water and blue water sailors). Instead they found that there were plausible pathways of exposure. Another IOM committee recommend that veterans of the Blue Water Navy not be excluded from the presumption of Agent Orange exposure.

With this in mind, for some unexplained reason the VA in 2002 decreed that henceforth from that date forward the only Vietnam Veterans who could receive benefits and compensation for illnesses and diseases caused by exposure to the dioxins in Agent Orange were those with boots on the ground. With a stroke of a pen the blue and brown water navy personnel were excluded from receiving benefits. The VA relented on the Brown Water Navy personnel after much complaining and authorized assistance but they remain steadfast in its refusal to offer benefits to the Blue Water Navy.

Currently there is pending legislation before both Houses of Congress that if passed will bring equity of care to all the members of the three military populations of Vietnam Veterans suffering from the ravages of exposure to Agent Orange. The House bill is HR-969 and the Senate bill is S-681. You are encouraged for the sake of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans to contact your Representative and Senators and ask them to support this important legislation.

Listen to the podcast to get an update from John B. Wells.

This episode is a continuation of the story about the Hall County, Nebraska Hero Flight for Vietnam Veterans. The initial article was about the program itself, how it got started and how it was funded. A writer for the Grand Island Independent newspaper, Pete Letheby, has been interviewing a few of the 79 Vietnam Veterans who are on the first Hall County Hero Flight. His first story titled: Seim, Zebert experienced Vietnam’s definitive moments is featured on this episode.

He interview two of the veterans who were members of the first flight, Grand Island’s Jim Seim and Dale Zebert. Seim served as a member of the Navy Seabees but never saw the Navy after basic training. He spent his entire time with the Marines in the dangerous I Corps region of South Vietnam near the DMZ at such places like Camp Carroll and Khe Sanh. Seim spent three 9-month tours in Vietnam in 1967-69. The Seabees were in Vietnam for nine months, then rotated back home to train others for three months and then back to the war zone.

Dale Zebert volunteered for the draft and ended up in the Army’s First Cavalry Division where he spent most of his time in the Central Highlands lugging a machine gun on search and destroy missions. Toward the end of his tour he was sent up north with his unit to participate in Operation Pegasus that supported the Marines at the Siege of Khe Sanh.

Both Zebert and Seim made it home safely and settled back into civilian life in Nebraska. They both are excited about going to DC, visiting with other Hall County Vietnam Veterans and the welcome home ceremonies planned for them upon their return to Grand Island. Hope you enjoy their stories.

If you would like to make a contribution to the Hall County Hero Flights go to the website. The donate button is under construction but if you contact Don Shuda, the chairman of the association he will help you out.

Contact the Association at:

Hall County Hero Flight Association      

131 South Locust, Grand Island, NE 68801      

Phone 308-385-5065