Vietnam, Iraq Vets Recall War Experiences

American Forces Press Service ^ | Gerry J. Gilmore

[SandRat]

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12, 2009 – Generations of American servicemembers braved and survived the din, destruction and uncertainty of war to return home to enjoy the freedoms they helped to preserve for their fellow citizens.

Retired Navy Rear Adm. Robert H. Shumaker is a famous U.S. military veteran who coined the term “Hanoi Hilton” when he was a prisoner of war from 1965 to 1973 in North Vietnam. Any person –- civilian or military –- who thinks they may have emotional problems should seek professional help, he said. DoD photo by Gerry J. Gilmore  
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Yet, returning veterans also can experience troubling wartime memories after the shooting stops.

Robert H. Shumaker, a tall, erect 76-year-old retired Navy rear admiral with a shock of silver hair and bright blue eyes, is a famous U.S. military veteran who coined the term “Hanoi Hilton” when he was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam.

Shumaker was shot down Feb. 11, 1965, while flying his F-8 Crusader jet during a combat mission over North Vietnam. A faulty parachute caused him to break his back upon reaching the ground, and he was captured by the North Vietnamese.

Over the next eight years, Shumaker said, he and other captive American servicemembers were held in several prisoner of war facilities, where they experienced beatings and torture. He was released on Feb. 12, 1973, and retired from the Navy in 1988.

Shumaker was at George Washington University’s Marvin Center on Veterans Day yesterday, watching volunteers write letters to servicemembers and their families and assemble care packages for troops.

“It is really uplifting seeing the patriotism of people and the compassion of people to do this,” Shumaker said. The event was sponsored by military-support organization Blue Star Families and ServiceNation, a national campaign that encourages volunteer service, in partnership with Target and the Public Broadcasting Service.

Shumaker said he is participating in a PBS documentary series that looks at how people, including military members, deal with stress and depression to achieve resilience and happiness in their lives. Titled “This Emotional Life,” the PBS series is slated to premier at 9 p.m. Jan. 4-6. Check local listings, as the time may vary in different markets.

“I’m in the happiness and resiliency” portion of the documentary, Shumaker said, noting he appears in the last segment of the program.

Another of the human stories presented in the six-hour series, Shumaker said, involves the emotions experienced by a couple who lost their daughter in the April 16, 2007 shootings on the Virginia Tech campus.

Shumaker was asked how he was affected by his experiences in North Vietnamese prisons.

“It was pretty tough,” Shumaker said, noting that he and his fellow prisoners -- who at one time included U.S. Sen. John McCain -- “were tortured a lot.” He acknowledged he’d undergone counseling to deal with the psychological repercussions of his wartime imprisonment.

“I think professional people can assist that [healing] process and speed it up a lot,” Shumaker said. People with traumatic memories and injuries, he said, require “a lot of understanding by the people that surround them to bring them back into the fold.”
Any person –- civilian or military –- who thinks they may have emotional problems should seek professional help, he said.

“I think for too many years we’ve viewed psychiatric disturbances with aversion -- you know, as a kind of a scar you don’t want to reveal,” Shumaker said. “I think through the years, and particularly now, we’re starting to emerge” from that mindset.

At age 26, former Marine Sgt. Brian Friend considers himself “one the luckiest men alive,” having avoided death during two duty tours in Iraq. He served 20 months in Iraq during his four-year enlistment.

Friend now attends Portland State University in Portland, Ore., on the Post-9/11 GI Bill. He recounted his hair-raising Iraq experiences on Veterans Day to an audience at George Washington University during his monologue in “The Telling Project” performance that features military veterans and family members.

Since February 2008, The Telling Project has produced 10 performances across the Pacific Northwest. Friend said he became aware of the project through his school’s student veterans organization.

Friend came away with a concussion and a ruptured eardrum after experiencing 19 enemy improvised explosive device attacks during convoy duty over the last six months of his final deployment in Iraq in 2006 and 2007.

“I’m still alive. I’m still in one piece. And, for the most part, I am still me,” Friend told the audience.

Upon his military discharge in September 2007, Friend took a year off to assemble funding to complete his college degree. He also discovered that he carried psychological wounds from his Iraq service.

“During that time, I actually went through one-on-one counseling and group therapy for [post-traumatic stress disorder] for nightmares and stuff,” Friend said.

Participating in Telling Project performances, Friend said, has helped him to deal with his post-traumatic stress disorder. The monologues also educate people about what veterans can experience after they return from war, he added.

“It is like a weight off my shoulders,” Friend said, when he shares his war experiences with audiences. “It is very therapeutic.”

Related Sites:
ServiceNation
The Telling Project

[Dubya]

THE FINAL INSPECTION

The soldier stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.

‘Step forward now, you soldier,
How shall I deal with you ?
Have you always turned the other cheek ?
To My Church have you been true?’

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
‘No, Lord, I guess I ain’t.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can’t always be a saint.

I’ve had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I’ve been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,
That wasn’t mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I’ve wept unmanly tears.

I know I don’t deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.

If you’ve a place for me here, Lord,
It needn’t be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don’t, I’ll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

‘Step forward now, you soldier,
You’ve borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven’s streets,
You’ve done your time in Hell.’

Author Unknown~

It’s the Military, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the
Press. It’s the Military, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of
Speech. It’s the Military, not the politicians that ensures our right to
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. It’s the Military who salutes
The flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by
The flag.

[Dubya]

[GulfWar1Vet]

Remember those who didn’t come back from Desert Storm....and those who are still suffering from that conflict.

[tet68]

We who returned vowed never again to let our fellow
servicemen be treated as we were.
I thank you and your brothers for your service.
You have made us PROUD.
Tet68
USMC
Chu Lai RVN. 66-68.

[GulfWar1Vet]

Thank you Brother

[Dubya]