CONGRESSMAN SOUDER MEETS WITH LOCAL VETERANS ACTIVIST GROUP

Thursday night, Congressman Mark Souder met with our small, grass-roots group, Veterans for Better Health Care. Our group was born back in August 2004 in response to then VA Secretary Principi’s announcement that he would follow a recommendation to close our inpatient beds here at out local VA Hospital.

About 10-12 men gathered to figure out a strategy to defeat the recommendation. The group’s chosen name was “Veterans for Better Health Care.” Although I am not a veteran, that was not a criteria to join the group, so I joined in November 2004 and found myself participating each month and getting to know the veterans who were members. We did have one overriding requirement - no matter what our political persuasion, we wanted to maintain bipartisanship and avoid political affiliations. Our issue was saving the VA Hospital inpatient beds: an issue that we felt should not be subject to our own political ideologies.

Getting ready for our meeting with Congressman Souder

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I became our Director in October of 2005 and am still in that position. I am extremely proud and honored to be involved with this group and to be its director.

Some of our first efforts at getting the message out to the public included writing letters to the editor and handing out flyers containing our message. In April 2005, we organized a rally which was held at the World War II Victory Museum in Auburn, Indiana. The Kruses allowed us to hold the rally without charging us, which was greatly appreciated since we were a new group and had no means of financial support other than passing around a “donation can.”

The Rally was a success and drew about 150 people. We had a number of guest speakers who emphasized the need to maintain our inpatient beds, and a newly returned veteran who had been injured in Iraq also spoke. We began to become more active in area events. One of our members had an old car that he decorated with various slogans and items. He placed a mannequin on the roof of the car dressed as an injured veteran. “Oscar” as we affectionately called him, always drew comments and cheers when we took the car to parades.

The Frankes also were good to us and allowed us to hand out our flyers at hockey games in February 2006 and February 2007. That venue gave us access to thousands of individuals as they left the arena. Although we might only gain a member or two from those events, every person who joined our group was greatly appreciated. We also began to identify ourselves by wearing caps with our name and slogan “Save Our VA Hospital” and donning t-shirts with the same slogan. We wore these items when we participated in parades and events.

Our focus in all of our efforts was to keep the inpatient issue in front of the public and to put pressure on our representatives. Our particular focus, however, was to pressure Congressman Souder on the issue. Thursday night was the culmination of our efforts.

Congressman Souder’s office had contacted me about a month ago to arrange a meeting between our group and the Congressman. Frankly, I was quite surprised to receive the call, but I was also excited to think that we would have an opportunity to talk to the Congressman about the recent flap over the redacted VA Study done by Booz, Allen & Hamilton (BAH).

I had been a participant in that Study - first in a private morning meeting with about 10 other veterans’ representatives and later attending the public town hall meeting held at the Memorial Coliseum. That day’s activities - November 29, 2006 - had been arranged by local veterans’ groups and BAH. We were told that the report would be done in about six months, which would have been a due date of May 2007. May came and went with no report. The spring turned into summer and summer into fall and still no report.

The call also represented a shift in how the Congressman viewed our group. In our earlier days, we were not exactly the most welcome sight at parades and events where both the Congressman and our group appeared. When we appeared at town hall meetings or smaller local question and answer sessions, we triggered increased tension. But with this contact, we felt the Congressman truly recognized our dedication and efforts over the 3 1/2 years since our organization. He was seeking our continuing help to fight for our VA Hospital inpatient beds.

Congressman Souder at Thursday night’s meeting

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The meeting went very well, and the Congressman spent about two hours talking to us in a small room at Post #82 - the location we chose because it was where our group began. The meeting started at 7:00 p.m., and, when I left at a little after 9:00, the Congressman was still talking to a few remaining individuals. Reports were shown on the local TV stations as well as provided in the local newspapers.

The bottom line to this is that our hospital inpatient beds are still not out of danger. The VA is doing a follow-up study on outpatient care and facilities. The delay may be beneficial, but we do not yet know that, so we cannot let down on our efforts. THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER.

As I drove home from the meeting, I kept thinking about my favorite Margaret Mead saying:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

We started as a small, grass-roots group with no funding.  But what we had was an overwhelming concern for our veterans - past, present, and future - and their care.  We put together a plan of action and kept fighting.  We still meet monthly, and we still make plans to participate in area events.  Now that the weather will be turning nicer, we will be able to get back out to parades and events.  We will not give up this fight, and we ask that you not give up either.

Congressman Souder’s office has scheduled a rally, and here are the particulars:

When: April 7, 2008 (Monday)

Where: World War II Victory Museum, Auburn, Indiana

Time: 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Please help us once again have a successful rally in support of our VA Hospital. Do not take anything for granted. We have many veterans returning from the Middle East who will need our help and support, both in the hospital surrounding and in the community surrounding.

Please make plans to attend this rally and let the VA know we have not forgotten this battle, and we will not give up.

16 MONTHS - A HALF MILLION DOLLARS - AND NO VA REPORT

Sylvia Smith has kindly uploaded the controversial redacted report about our VA Hospital. The report cost taxpayers $530,000 - over a half million dollars. And what does the public get? A 78-page report with three-fourths of it unreadable. Of the 78 pages, only 21 were released through an FOIA request by the Journal-Gazette. Of those 21 pages, about half were withheld in their entirety and others were subject to black lines through entire paragraphs.

The following is a refresher of what has happened over the past four years since the initial announcement that the inpatient beds would be closed:

• May 2004 - Anthony Principi, Secretary of the VA announces the inpatient beds at the local VA hospital will be closed pursuant to a recommendation by the Capital Asset and Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) Commission decision.
• August 2004 - Congressman Souder holds public meetings to address the issue of ending inpatient care at the Fort Wayne VA Hospital
• August 2004 - Veterans for Better Health Care (VBHC) is established as a grass-roots organization to combat the closing of inpatient care at the Fort Wayne VA Hospital
• August 2004 - November 2007 - VBHC participates in parades, writes letters, hands out thousands of flyers, and holds a rally at the World War II Museum in Auburn and is joined by the public in protesting the closing of the inpatient beds
• November 16, 2004 - Anthony Principi submits letter of resignation as VA Secretary and steps down from post
• February 1, 2005 - Jim Nicholson sworn in as new Secretary of the VA
• July 2005 - VA Secretary Nicholson promises new study of Fort Wayne VA Hospital
• June 2006 - Congressman Souder announces new study of Fort Wayne VA Hospital
• September 2006 - Congressman Souder announces his belief that Fort Wayne VA Hospital has a “great chance” of remaining open
• November 29, 2006 - BAH undertakes new study of VA Hospital and holds private meetings with various veterans groups in the morning and a public meeting in the evening -study to be completed and be on VA Secretary’s desk by May 2007
• May 2007 - no BAH Study released
• September 2007 - Final Report by BAH given to VA but withheld from release
• September 2007 - February 2008 - no information on study forthcoming to the public
• October 1, 2007 - VA Secretary Jim Nicholson officially steps down from position
• December 20, 2007 - James Peake sworn in as new VA Secretary
• February 2008 - VA announces another study of the Fort Wayne VA Hospital
• March 2008 - VA refuses to disclose original report findings, skirting the disclosure by redacting three-fourths of the report

The February 2008 announcement that the VA would now contract for a follow-up study of outpatient services caught us by surprise. Focusing on the outpatient resources could mean one of two things - either the VA will keep the inpatient beds and beef up the outpatient care in an effort to provide better services to the hospital’s clientele, or the VA will discontinue inpatient care and use the facilities for outpatient services only with inpatient care contracted out to area hospitals. I certainly hope it is the former and not the latter.

The National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2008, which extends the registration period for the guard and reserves, as well as the modification of the VA benefits booklet to include the guard and reserves, makes closing our inpatient beds fly in the face of logic. With the increase in National Guard and Reservists coming home to northeastern Indiana, we need increased care not diminished care.

Photo Credit: National Guard website

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THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT OF FISCAL YEAR 2008

As I noted, two factors should work in favor of keeping inpatient beds open and increasing outpatient care. First, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of Fiscal Year 2008 signed by President Bush on January 28, 2008, extends the period of enhanced enrollment opportunity for health care eligibility provided to veterans who served in a theater of combat operations after November 11, 1998 - commonly referred to as combat veterans or OEF/OIF veterans.

The enhanced enrollment minimum duty requirements are as follows:

• Currently enrolled combat veterans will have their enhanced enrollment period automatically extended to 5 years from their most recent date of discharge.

• New enrollees discharged from active duty on or after January 28, 2003 are eligible for this enhanced enrollment health benefit for 5 years after their date of their most recent discharge from active duty.

• Combat Veterans who never enrolled and were discharged from active duty between November 11, 1998 and January 27, 2003 may apply for this enhanced enrollment opportunity through January 27, 2011.

Second, the standard VA federal benefits booklet for veterans and their dependents has been updated to include those in the National Guard and Reservists, who previously had been excluded from receiving benefits based on past general eligibility requirements.

The 2007 Federal Benefits booklet limited general eligibility to discharge from active military service under other than dishonorable conditions. Active service meant full-time service, other than active duty for training. Under the 2007 guidelines, Guard and Reservists were not eligible for benefits.

However, the 2008 benefits booklet changed those requirements to read:

“A person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable may qualify for VA health care benefits. Reservists and National Guard members may also qualify for VA health care benefits if they were called to active duty (other than for training only) by a Federal order and completed the full period for which they were called or ordered to active duty.”

The newly included reservists and national guard will expand the number of veterans who need services in all areas of the country. Indiana has more national guard members on duty than any other state in the Union and that includes larger states such as Texas and California. Many of the 4,108 members - 3,200 - now on active duty are from the 76th Brigade Combat Team located in Warsaw, Indiana. Those 3,200 members will come home to this area and will need care and services just as many others from northeastern Indiana now receive.

Northeastern Indiana not only has the highest number of national guard members on active duty but also is home to the 122nd Fighter Wing of the Indiana Air National Guard based at Fort Wayne International Airport. The 122nd Fighter Wing - known as the Black Snakes - recently acquired land for an expansion needed to absorb fighter jets and crews from Terre Haute, Indiana, and Springfield, Illinois.

Logic dictates that we should keep our inpatient beds. Yet the actions of the VA in withholding the Booz, Allen & Hamilton study do not fill me with a sense of security. We have spent 16 months waiting on a $530,000 study funded by the taxpayers which has resolved nothing and has created a sense of, once again, being bamboozled by the government.

DISRESPECTFUL - DISGRACEFUL - DISINGENUOUS - DISHEARTENING

In May 2004, VA Secretary Anthony Principi accepted the decision of the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) Commission to close the inpatient beds at our VA Hospital.  The news triggered outrage and activism among area veterans and veterans’ groups.  Our group, Veterans for Better Health Care, was born of that outrage and activism, and we have now been together for almost four years. 

For almost four years, we have participated in parades, wrote letters, held a rally, and handed out thousands of flyers - all with the goal of keeping our inpatient beds open.  When a new study was announced based on updated and more accurate information, we had hope that our efforts were going to pay off. 

In November 2006, the firm of Booz, Allen & Hamilton came to Fort Wayne and held private hearings as well as a public hearing to gather our thoughts and input.  They returend to Washington, D.C. to prepare their report, and we breathed a sigh of relief.  We actually dared to hope that we had been taken seriously and that Booz, Allen & Hamilton would provide a fair report that would be presented to the new VA Secretary Jim Nicholson.

Photo Credit: Department of Veterans Affairs

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We were told that the report would be ready in about six months which would have been May 2007.  So we waited, and we waited.  May came and went.  Summer rolled into fall, and we received more discouraging news - Secretary Nicholson was leaving and a new secretary would be sought.  More delays.  Supposedly the report was ”on the desk.”  But if it was, it was buried under piles of bureacratic red tape.

The new secretary, James Peake, was nominated and confirmed by a unanimous vote of the Senate.  Still no report.  Then, out of the blue, an article appeared in the Journal-Gazette in February that another study would be done.  This one would be of the outpatient resources at our VA Hospital.   Another study?  The taxpayers already have footed the bill for $530,000 - half a million dollars - the price of the November 2006 study by Booz, Allen & Hamilton.

Something is wrong - very wrong.  The Journal-Gazette filed a Freedom of Information Act request to get to the study, but it has been met with a disingenous attempt to hide it by redacted - marking out - three-fourths of the document.  The table of contents was even marked out. 

Enough is enough.  The Bush administration and the Veterans Administration are playing fast and loose with the health and care of our veterans.   Perhaps this is simply a game to them.  Years have now gone by with no resolution of the inpatient bed issue at our VA Hospital.  Our area veterans need this hospital, and they have earned this hospital.

Disheartening, disrespectful, disingenous, but most of all disgraceful.   Every citizen in this area - veteran or not - should be hopping mad that the government is treating us with disdain.  And one more “D” word - determined.  We are determined to keep this alive, and we are determined to hold the government to its promise to provide health care to those who served our country.  For us, that means keeping the inpatient beds at our local VA Hospital.

JOHN McCAIN - INSANITY AT ITS WORST

John McCain is really coming across as a war-monger. In a video caught, apparently, by a camera phone, he jokingly sings “Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Iran” to the tune of the old Beach Boys hit, “Barbara Ann.” Chuckling as he takes the microphone, he cheerfully converts the words of the Beach Boys’ hit to accommodate his future Middle East strategy.

How grown up, and just think, there are thousands of voters out there ready to throw their support behind him. If you want more war and more conflicts, then you want John McCain in the White House. Personally, I think he is insane. He may be a Vietnam veteran and hero, but he has certainly lost his grip on reality.

How can anyone who went through what he went through want to be a part of a continuing boondoggle in Iraq and then ramp it up to include Iran? And, if that isn’t convincing, he told a crowd in New Hampshire on January 4, 2008, that he is fine with staying in Iraq for 100 years.

So, all you McCainites out there, if you want war, war, war, and death, death, death, vote for John McCain; he doesn’t sound like he will let you down. Sort of reminds me of the Johnson - Goldwater contest back in 1964. The fear was that if Goldwater was elected, he would lead us into nuclear war. The famous ad below was one of the most effective ads ever in a campaign.

Either senility has surely set in or his advisers couldn’t get to him before he opened his mouth. If McCain gets elected, there will be no light at the end of the tunnel because he will never let a tunnel be built.

VETERANS DAY - NOVEMBER 11, 2007

TODAY IS VETERANS DAY - YESTERDAY WAS THE PARADE.

Despite being bombarded and blasted with sales of all types reminding the public of Veterans Day as well as some employers and employees receiving Monday off to honor our veterans, the turnout at the annual Fort Wayne Veterans Day parade along Parnell was dismal.

The weather was beautiful: a little nippy but with blue skies and a shining sun. So what’s the problem?

Fort Wayne is a community of about 250,000 people, yet the crowd was sparse. If I had to estimate attendance, I would say somewhere around 300 - 400 or so viewers. Most people gathered in groups of two or three; others stood by themselves. When I see so few people turn out for the parade, I have to wonder where all those “patriots” are who have slapped a magnetic sticker on their vehicles proclaiming “Support Our Troops.”

A HISTORY OF VETERANS DAY

World War I ended with the Treaty of Versailles signed on June 28, 1919. Fighting had ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

On May 13, 1938, a Congressional Act made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday: a day dedicated to the cause of world peace. Originally called Armistice Day to honor the veterans of World War I, the name was later changed. In 1954, after World War II and after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting in its place the word “Veterans.” With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11 a.m. Of course, in today’s 24-hour, non-stop world, the closing of big-box stores as well as many others won’t happen.

Today, many citizens simply see Veterans Day as another holiday for which they will get paid to stay home or shop or sleep or do whatever they deem necessary. The following is the Senate Resolution designating November 11 through November 17 as “National Veterans Awareness Week.”

110th CONGRESS

1stSession

S. RES. 357

Designating the week of November 11 through November 17, 2007, as “National Veterans Awareness Week” to emphasize the need to develop educational programs regarding the contributions of veterans to the country.

 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

October 26, 2007

Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mrs. LINCOLN, Mr. DORGAN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. BOND, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. BUNNING, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. INHOFE, Ms. SNOWE, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. CASEY, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. TESTER, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. ROCKEFELLER, Mr. FEINGOLD, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. HAGEL, Mr. VITTER, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. KERRY, Mr. GREGG, Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. DODD, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. STEVENS, Mr. THUNE, and Mr. BURR) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

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RESOLUTION Designating the week of November 11 through November 17, 2007, as “National Veterans Awareness Week” to emphasize the need to develop educational programs regarding the contributions of veterans to the country.Whereas tens of millions of Americans have served in the Armed Forces of the United States during the past century;Whereas hundreds of thousands of Americans have given their lives while serving in the Armed Forces during the past century;Whereas the contributions and sacrifices of the men and women who served in the Armed Forces have been vital in maintaining the freedoms and way of life enjoyed by the people of the United States;Whereas the advent of the all-volunteer Armed Forces has resulted in a sharp decline in the number of individuals and families who have had any personal connection with the Armed Forces;Whereas this reduction in familiarity with the Armed Forces has resulted in a marked decrease in the awareness by young people of the nature and importance of the accomplishments of those who have served in the Armed Forces, despite the current educational efforts of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the veterans service organizations;Whereas the system of civilian control of the Armed Forces makes it essential that the future leaders of the Nation understand the history of military action and the contributions and sacrifices of those who conduct such actions; andWhereas in each of the years 2000 through 2006 the Senate has recognized the need to increase the understanding of the contributions of veterans among school-aged children by approving a resolution recognizing the week containing Veterans Day as “National Veterans Awareness Week”: Now, therefore, be itResolved, That the Senate —(1) designates the week of November 11 through November 17, 2007, as “National Veterans Awareness Week” for the purpose of emphasizing educational efforts directed at elementary and secondary school students concerning the contributions and sacrifices of veterans; and(2) encourages the people of the United States to observe National Veterans Awareness Week with appropriate educational activities.

Take a moment today or sometime this week to thank a veteran for his or her service to our country. We, as a Nation, will not always agree on the correct path or what is the right course of action, but what we cannot deny to our veterans is that they are the very reason that we have the rights that we so often take for granted.

THE GREAT DECEIVER TO TRY AGAIN

George W. Bush - the Great Deceiver - will try again to turn fantasy into, well, more fantasy. With General Petraeus plugging the success of Bush’s “surge”, we seem to have forgotten that Bush’s rationales for going to war in the first place have shifted like the sands of the Indiana Dunes.

Stripped of all his gobbledy-gook rhetoric, let me remind you of his reasons for marching into a nation which had not harmed us. His reasons can be boiled down to three main objectives:

(1) to eliminate Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD);

(2) to diminish the threat of international terrorism; and

(3) to promote democracy in Iraq and surrounding areas.

The first reason? Despite early attempts to classify anything that even remotely looked like it might be a weapon of mass destruction, none was found. Today, that reason is seen as a joke. But it is no joke that 3700+ American lives have been snuffed out and thousands of psychologically, emotionally, and physically scarred veterans who will need life-long care are returning to try to put their lives back together. Add to that the thousands of Iraqi lives destroyed and maimed, and you have an absolute unjustifiable situation based on a lie.

The second reason? What better way to diminish the threat of terrorism than to create an area so unstable that, if terrorists didn’t call Iraq home before, they surely have made it their living quarters now. If Bush had kept his mind on Osama bin Laden instead of pursuing his vendetta against Saddam Hussein, perhaps terrorists would not be springing up like field daisies in Iraq. And, we wouldn’t be discussing the insane idea of attacking Iran.

The third reason? Bush’s ethnocentric view of the world guided this one. Naturally, he had to think of something high-minded and idealistic after the first two based in reality didn’t pan out. Gosh, and how appealing is it to argue that democracy should be spread to the four corners of the globe. Why no self-respecting and patriotic American would dare disagree with that reason.

But the bottom line is that not one of his reasons held water and not one of his reasons justified invading and occupying Iraq. No weapons of mass destruction, no protection for the region against terrorism, and no flourishing of democracy. What Bush seems to ignore is that the Islamic religion and its people are not going to conveniently step out of his way to make his life easier.

The world has 6.5 billion people (more or less). Of those 6.5 billion people on this Earth, more than half are concentrated in two major religions: Christianity and Islam. Christianity is the largest religion in the world with 2.1 billion followers and a growth rate of 1.38%, and, not too far behind is Islam with 1.5 billion followers and a growth rate of 1.84%. Convincing an entire religious population that democracy is best is a pretty tough sell.

And now, after four years of fighting and a troop surge of almost 30,000 personnel, President Bush will supposedly tell the nation Thursday evening that he plans to reduce the American troop presence in Iraq by as many as 30,000 by next summer but will condition those and further cuts on continued progress.

Now here is where I feel like the Aflac duck in the commercial with Yogi Berra in the barber shop. After listening to some nonsensical statements by Yogi, the Aflac duck teeters out of the barber shop shaking his head, dizzy from listening to Yogi’s inane mutterings. Why do I feel that way? Here’s why. Bush sent about 30,000 soldiers to Iraq to implement the surge. Now he boasts that he will “draw down” the troops by 30,000. Isn’t this leaving us where we were to begin with?

The address will stake out a conciliatory tone toward Congress. In his speech, the president will say he understands Americans’ deep concerns about U.S. involvement in Iraq and their desire to bring the troops home. Bush will say that, after hearing from Petraeus and Crocker, he has decided on a way forward on a way to patronize the American people by telling them that he will reduce the U.S. military presence but not abandon Iraq to chaos.

His deception is priceless. He increased troop strength for the surge, then removes only the surge force calling it a “draw” down and selling it as a “bringing home of the troops.”

By next summer the 30,000 surge force will be back home, and we will be left sitting right where we were before the surge. When are those troops coming home?

Bush will place more conditions on reductions than his general did, insisting that conditions on the ground must warrant cuts and that now-unforeseen events could change the plan. Right back to square one - benchmarks that are never met and no more troop cuts.

And, again, I am left shaking my head - not at the mutterings of Yogi Berra in a paid commercial - but at the inane logic of George W. Bush in his role as the Great Deceiver.

THE VIETNAM WALL

Last weekend I spent a number of hours volunteering at the Wall, which was set up at the Highland Park Cemetery. The Wall, whether visited in person in Washington, D.C., or paying tribute at the traveling version, leaves one with a sense of tremendous loss. The weekend was emotional yet peaceful.

During the three days the Wall was here, we read all 58,178 names engraved in the shining black granite and helped hundreds of people locate their loved ones and friends on the Wall. Reading the names at times was difficult - page after page of names in a book the thickness of a telephone directory. The sheer magnitude of the number of lives lost cannot be put in words.

The cornerstone of U.S. policy in Vietnam was the Domino Theory. The Domino Theory posited that if South Vietnam fell to communist forces, then all of South East Asia would follow. Popularized by the Eisenhower administration, some argued that if communism spread unchecked, it would follow them home by first reaching Hawaii and follow to the West Coast of the United States. It was better, therefore, to fight communism in Asia, rather than on American soil. Thus, the Domino Theory provided a powerful motive for the American creation of a client state in southern Vietnam.

The theory underpinned American policy in Vietnam for five presidencies. The U.S. deployed large numbers of troops to South Vietnam between the end of the First Indochina War in 1954, and 1973. U.S. military advisers first became involved in Vietnam in 1950, assisting French colonial forces, and, in 1956, these advisers assumed full responsibility for training the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. President John F. Kennedy increased America’s troop numbers from 500 to 16,000. Large numbers of combat troops were dispatched by President Lyndon Johnson beginning in 1965. Almost all U.S. military personnel departed after the Paris Peace Accords of 1973. The last American troops left the country on April 30, 1975.

I worked Saturday morning and Sunday morning from 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning was terribly humid, and, as I took the above picture, I thought there was something wrong with my camera. I finally realized it was the fog; the above picture does not begin to capture the stillness and calm that the early morning hours brought.

Another early morning picture - the Wall was covered with humidity which made it have the appearance of silver instead of black.

Some of my fellow co-workers during the day shifts (Me in the blue t-shirt).

Preparing for closing ceremonies.

In September, I will again be traveling to Washington, D.C. to lobby on behalf of American Rivers. I will again visit the Vietnam Wall and, this time, I will take a small token of some kind to lay beneath the names of those I knew from South Whitley who died in Vietnam.

58,178 - THE TRAVELING VIETNAM WALL

My first topic for my very first local access show was the Traveling Vietnam Wall. I was somewhat nervous at first, when the camera was on me alone. But once we got started, I really had a good time. My guests were Larry Melton of Klaehn, Fall, and Melton Funeral Homes; Tom Pehlke of Lindenwood Cemetery; and Larry Thiele, a Vietnam veteran who is also American Legion 4th District Etiquette chairman. All three were great, and they made the time go quickly.

Mr. Melton and Mr. Pehlke are affiliated with Dignity Memorial, the sponsor of the Traveling Wall. Mr. Thiele is a Vietnam veteran who served two tours of duty in country from 1966 - 1969. The Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall will be here this August 10 through August 12 at the Highland Park Cemetery located at 2403 E. Wallen Road. The Wall was last here in 2001 at the same location.

The Traveling Wall is a way that those who are unable to travel to Washington, D. C. to see the Wall can share in a powerful experience. The replica is a 240-foot, 3/4-scale of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in D.C. inscribed with the thousands of names of those who gave their lives in the Vietnam War.

The schedule for the ceremonies and the visiting are as follows:

August 7 - Tuesday - Motorcycle Escort at 1:00 p.m. forming at the WWII Victory Museum in Auburn, IN (The escort and the Wall will arrive at Highland Park Cemetery at 2:00 p.m.)

August 8 - Wednesday - Placing of Purple Heart (private ceremony) - installation of Wall

August 9 - Thursday - Landscaping and finishing touches

August 10 - Friday - Opening ceremonies at 6:15 p.m. hosted by Keith Edwards of WPTA. The ceremonies will include a flyover by Fort Wayne Air National Guard, Fort Wayne City Police Honor Guard Ceremonies, and a Mayoral Proclamatiom.

August 11 - Saturday - POW/MIA Ceremony at 9:00 a.m. The POW/MIA Ceremony with balloon release will be held as well as a Native American Veterans Ceremony.

August 12 - Sunday - Closing Ceremony at 4:00 p.m. Linda Bloom, County Commissioner, will speak.

The Wall will be open 24 hours a day to accommodate any and all who want to visit and share. Volunteers will provide assistance to those searching for names. Volunteers are still needed, so if you would like to be a part of this memorable and moving experience, please call : 260-432-3914.  Readers will take turns reading all 58,178 names during the three days.

The picture above is from my first trip to the Wall last September.

 

 

BERRY STREET BEACON - THE TV SHOW

Tomorrow night, August 1, I will host my first local access TV show. I had done a show last fall with Brenda Tremoulet, who has produced her own show called “Parent Care” for 10 years. The show we presented last October focused on veterans’ issues and getting information out to those returning veterans who may be struggling with the adjustment of returning home.

My guests were George Jarboe, the Allen County veterans’ officer; Quincy White, a WorkOne veterans’ representative; Harrison Reeder, a supervisor at the Marion Campus of the Northern Indiana VA system; and Matt Schomburg, the trustee at that time. We felt the show was a success, and I decided I would see what I needed to do to produce my own show.

In June I took the producer training at the new Allen County Library’s local access department. I originally was going to call my monthly show “Veterans Voice”; however, since I am also interested in a number of other issues, I decided to use “Berry Street Beacon.” The majority of my 30-minute shows will be about veterans issues; however, I will also include shows on environmental issues and other humanitarian issues.

The topic for my first show is the traveling Vietnam Wall, which will be at the Highland Park Cemetery from August 10 through August 12. My guests for my first show will be two individuals who are involved in bringing the wall to Fort Wayne and a guest who served two tours in Vietnam.

The traveling Wall is a three-quarter sized faux-granite replica of the actual Wall which is located in Washington, D.C. Each year the replica crisscrosses the country, allowing millions of visitors to see and touch its black, mirror-like surface inscribed with the names of more than 58,000 Americans who died or are missing in Vietnam. Every exhibition is sponsored by a local Dignity Memorial provider, with the help and support of area veterans groups and civic organizations.

I chose the Wall as my first topic because I grew up in the middle of the Vietnam War era, and those days changed us forever. Those were the days of the draft and the days of exemptions for those who could afford college or who could slot themselves into any number of classifications which provided an out. The average age of men killed in Vietnam was 20 years old - young men who had not had time to experience life. Many had no accumulated material possessions and no major stake in society. Their adult lives were over before they began.

The War occupied my high school years - from 1963 to 1966, when I graduated. I remember our high school Valedictorian gave a speech extolling the virtues of our involvement in Vietnam to a thunderous round of applause. After all, it was 1966, and the War was still popular and supported by the public. And in a small, rural, conservative community, opposing the War was simply not acceptable. But I and two or three of my friends did oppose the War, just as I now oppose this War.

So I have chosen the traveling Wall as the subject of my first TV show, to remember my fellow classmates and those in the years before me and after me who went to Vietnam and didn’t return - and for those who did return scarred and maimed for life, never to be the same again. It is a time which will forever be a part of me and from which I will never be able to completely separate.

My monthly show is meant, in some small way, to give back a little to help in ensuring that our veterans of today’s conflicts have as much support and help as possible as they transition back into the society that sent them to war.

 

 

HOPE REMAINS ALIVE - VA HOSPITAL INPATIENT CARE

The issue of inpatient care at the local VA Hospital has been a hotly debated topic for over three years now. The debate was triggered by the conclusion in May of 2004 of a system-wide process begun in 1998 with a pilot Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) draft analysis. The purpose of the CARES Commission report was to prepare the Veterans Administration (VA) to meet the current and future health care needs of veterans in modern health care facilities.

The CARES report addressed the appropriate clinical role of small facilities, vacant spaces, the potential for enhanced use leases and the consolidation of services and campuses. It was considered the most comprehensive analysis of VA’s health care infrastructure that had ever been conducted. But there was a major problem - the data was flawed. The report worked with data gathered from 1998 to 2003 - prior to significant military losses, injuries, and needs assessment of returning physically and psychologically wounded veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq.

The May 2004 Decision Document identified 18 sites for additional analysis and studies - Fort Wayne was not one of those additional sites fortunate enough to survive the cut. Relying on a flawed report, Anthony Principi, the then VA Secretary, chose to accept the CARES Commission recommendation to close inpatient care at the local VA Hospital. The decision touched off a firestorm of protests and activities within the region served by the Fort Wayne VA Hospital.

The nearest hospitals in our Veterans Integrated Services Network 11 (VISN 11) were Ann Arbor, Michigan (150 miles) and Indianapolis, Indiana (124 miles). The two sites range anywhere from 2 hours to 2 1/2 hours drive. After three years of fighting to keep the inpatient care option available to area veterans, a new study was ordered by the new Secretary of the Veterans Administration, Jim Nicholson. Last November, Booz, Allen & Hamilton(BAH), a global strategy and technology consulting firm, undertook the new study.

BAH was to reassess the needs of the Fort Wayne area veterans based on new data and to prepare a list of recommendations from which Secretary Nicholson would select one. BAH interviewed representatives from various veterans’ groups during the day and held an open public meeting in the evening. As Director of Veterans for Better Health Care, I was fortunate to be involved in the private meetings with BAH as well as the public meeting held on November 29, 2006.

The BAH members were prepared and even drove the route to Indianapolis and back to get a sense of the distance issue so often raised. They agreed that the drive was lengthy and tiring and would be especially so for a sick veteran who was being transported by a family member. The additional concern was the support needed by family members: the more distant the location of the hospital, the more hardship imposed on family members who want and need to be with their veteran family member. At the conclusion of the visit, we were given an expected report date of May of 2007 - six months after the visit.

The six months came and went as we anxiously waited for some news about our VA Hospital. That update finally came this past Monday, July 2nd. A meeting was scheduled by Congressman Souder’s office to be held at the Memorial Coliseum from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. to update area veterans not only on the VA Hospital study but also on veteran-related legislation in the 110th Congress and a new Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in Elkhart County.

The Study with its recommendations is anticipated to be released in August. The options that Secretary Nicholson will likely be provided by BAH are the following:

1. End inpatient care as originally planned
2. Keep inpatient care open and possibly expand, adding beds to the local hospital
3. Dedicate one wing at a local hospital to veterans’ care
4. Send veterans to any hospital in the area

Of all four proposals, the one that, of course, is foremost in the minds of area veterans is keeping the inpatient care at the local VA Hospital and increasing not only beds but also services. Ending patient care as orignally planned deprives veterans in the area served by the Fort Wayne Hospital of a close, quality facility in which to receive care and to which access for the veteran and family members is reasonable.

The VA Hospital is “home” to veterans whose psychological health is just as important as physical well being. I have visited the local VA Hospital on a number of occasions, and, as soon as entering, I have sensed a feeling of comraderie among the veterans that would not be present in an area hospital. The veterans and the staff understand each other. This aspect of veterans’ health care is just as critical sometimes as the type of care received.

Providing veterans the option of going to any area hospital sounds good in theory, but the issue becomes payment for services received by the veteran. Area hospitals are none to thrilled to deal with the VA’s process of reimbursement which entails waiting on payment, often for an extensive period of time. The dedicated wing at an area hospital would, more than likely, create some of the same issues of payment responsibility raised by sending veterans to their choice of area hospitals such as Parkview, Lutheran, or St. Joe.

At the end of the meeting, I felt hopeful. Fort Wayne is the second largest city in Indiana, and the Fort Wayne VA hospital serves not only northeastern Indiana but also northwestern Ohio. When it comes to our veterans, I think of a saying, “Keep Alive the Light of Justice.” Justice for our veterans requires keeping not only inpatient care available at our VA Hospital but also increasing services to our veterans - past, present, and future.