Veterans Incarcerated Program.

In keeping with the reports on what happens to some of our veterans, this article is brings it all to life. Some of them turned to drugs and alcohol. While some of them are in fact addicted to the components of these substances, most of them used them to cope. When you think about a veteran in jail the next time, maybe after reading this you will think of them differently.

Program Helps Incarcerated War Veterans

Vets in the Veterans Incarcerated Program at Sierra Conservation Center hope the camaraderie they've found behind bars will help keep them out once they are released
by Alisha Wyman, The Union Democrat


Jerome Lesesne, 41, fought for the Marine Corps during Operation Desert Storm.

Alex Flores, 48, was in the Army National Guard for 21 years.

Howard Wright, 52, is an Army veteran who served in the states during the Vietnam War.

James Poole, 61, was in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.



When Poole opens his high school yearbook, it's a reminder that many of the faces smiling back at him went to Vietnam but never came back with him.



In years following his return, there was a stigma attached to Vietnam veterans, he said. They were called "baby killers" and scorned for their service rather than revered.

The loss of his first wife to an auto accident and the subsequent failure of his second marriage only fueled feelings of loss and rejection.

It's that feeling that headed him down the path to the crime.

Tears still come to his eyes when he talks about the war, but he's working with others to start over.

"It's emotional ties to the past, but it's helping us look toward the future," Poole said.


"A lot of us got our apprenticeship in drugs and alcohol there in the service," said Mendiola, an outside volunteer.

Wright began using cocaine starting in the military. The habit only grew after he left the service, until he was arrested for selling the drug.

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http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2776