Vietnam veterans help returning Iraq soldiers deal with shocks of war

Vietnam veterans help returning Iraq soldiers deal with shocks of war
Neil Kenny, decorated for his service in Vietnam, plays big brother to Jeremiah Workman, a medal winner in Iraq struggling with the psychological effects of combat.

By Jennifer Miller Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

from the January 30, 2008 edition
Washington - Marine Sgt. Jeremiah Workman wasn't born yet when his friend Neil Kenny received the Navy Commendation Medal for dragging dead and wounded soldiers out of combat in Vietnam. But he has a good idea what it must have been like.

In 2004, during the second battle of Fallujah in Iraq, Sergeant Workman pushed through exploding grenades and machine-gun fire to rescue 10 trapped marines. His bravery earned him the Navy Cross, the military's second-highest honor. Yet today Mr. Kenny and Workman share more than medals. They came home from war with severe psychological wounds – anxiety, anger, and depression. More than their Marine brotherhood and shared valor, it is the painful legacy of combat that has now forged a singular bond between them. "I can tell him everything," Workman says. "I don't trust anybody. He's one of the few people I can talk to."

Their relationship is symbolic of a grass-roots movement by Vietnam veterans to help soldiers returning from Iraq cope with the mental rigors of war and ease the transition to civilian life. Across the country, both groups of Vietnam veterans and individual former soldiers are pitching in to help console, counsel, or just be a voice on the other end of the phone to those who have served in the Middle East.

Throughout history, veterans of one war have always helped those of another. But rarely has the homecoming experience of two sets of veterans been so different, and the bonds between them so deep, as those from Vietnam and Iraq.

One reason is that many Vietnam-era soldiers understand the trauma that some of today's returning fighters are going through and want to help them in ways they feel they never were. Kenny is currently mentoring five Iraq war veterans. When he looks at today's young soldiers, he sees a mirror image of himself returning from Southeast Asia at 19. "That's where I was," he says. "I don't want to turn my back on them."
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http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0130/p20s01-usmi.html

This is one of the biggest reasons I did the video Hero After War. The Vietnam veterans have been doing it all along. Most of them have their own kids involved in the two occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Most of them are as divided on Iraq as the rest of then nation but the one common bond they all share is the brotherhood.

Vietnam veterans began so many different support groups it's nearly impossible to keep track of all of them. From Rolling Thunder, to Nam Knights motorcycle groups, to Vietnam Veterans of America. They have taken leadership positions in local government, business and state government. They have filled the seats of the House of Representatives and the Senate. They are still giving back at the same time so many are still paying for their service to this nation. They are among the finest people I've ever met and the above article is just one of the reasons I feel the way I do. My husband, naturally is the biggest reason of all.