From: jewell@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Larry Jewell)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: 'NamVet Newsletter, Vol.5, no.12 (4/7)
Date: 15 Aug 92 23:46:11 GMT







     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 45
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991

                              QUIET AFTERNOON
                               - Anonymous -
     
     I stood tall shivering in the winter wind today.
     Standing taller than I had for over twenty years.
     My reflection on the Wall was unpleasant to see.
     The face older. The body wider. A lot softer.
     But I stood tall on that hazy, wintry day.
     
     I came many miles and years to spend this moment here.
     Somehow a stranger uncertain if I should even be here.
     Walking past these flowers, the signs, and the names.
     Oh, please, God! Too many names for my tired eyes to see.
     I stood tall shrouded in silence on that gloomy afternoon.
     
     The names were everywhere silently staring back to me
     Reminders of my generation (suddenly nineteen years old again)
     So many of us to die in sorrow, in loneliness, and pain
     Never to see parents, family, sweetheart, or friends again.
     
     I stood at attention. The numbing chill quite forgotten.
     Clouded eyes stared at memories of young soliders with
     Frightened faces groaning under the strain of exhaustion.
     Sergeants screaming and pushing them towards jungle death.
     I could hear their cries of loneliness as I stood still.
             
     I then found the names that I had traveled so far to see.
     Holding back the bitter tears was suddenly not easy for me.
     Could touching those letters really stop the searing pain?
     Could it be this wall really soothes and heals unseen wounds?
     As I briefly felt the outline of the names washed with tears
     I paused and snapped to attention. I was standing tall again.
             
     The name of a childhood friend now long past suddenly appeared.
     The image of this handsome, young man will never be forgotten.
     He was a true soldier--unafraid to give all in his brief life.
     Death came in the arms of friends. Now only names on the Wall.
     The sad news had left me with head bowed. With spirit sagging.
             
     Soon, this quiet afternoon will be only a lingering memory.
     Years of shame and tattered fatigues mercifully left behind.
     I sensed I stood on hallowed ground this frozen day in time.
     As the wind scattered memories of lost friends--the tears came.
     I stood tall, turned and saluted. I proudly saluted them all.
     














     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 46
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991

                         In-Touch.  What is it ???
     
                       Input by: Ray "Frenchy" Moreau
                      NAM VETs IN-TOUCH Section Editor
                Herndon Byte eXchange/VETLink #2 - Herndon, VA
                               (703) 471-8010
     =================================================================
     
     |+++++++++++++++++++++++++ IN TOUCH ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++|
     |  There are some 43 million people in the United States whose  |
     |  lives were directly and irrevocably touched by the Vietnam   |
     |  War.                                                         |
     |                                                               |
     |  Almost four million people served in Vietnam -- the longest, |
     |  and perhaps most difficult, war in our history.  More than a |
     |  quarter of a million were seriously wounded. 58,175 are dead |
     |  or missing.                                                  |
     |                                                               |
     |  Each of those who returned recognizes the true cost of war.  |
     |  But so too do the families and friends, wives and lovers of  |
     |  those listed on the Wall.  They too paid a tremendous price, |
     |  not always recognized... many still do.                      |
     |                                                               |
     |  Though twenty years have passed, it seems that is the period |
     |  people have needed to get the distance necessary to begin to |
     |  address the unresolved, deeply personal issues that have     |
     |  been haunting them since the war.  Perhaps that is a measure |
     |  of the pain.                                                 |
     |                                                               |
     |  But, the "healing of a nation" that was intended by the      |
     |  building of the Memorial, has begun.                         |
     |                                                               |
     |  In the office of the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans         |
     |  Memorial, we hear them on the other end of the phone on      |
     |  any given day, and far into the night, they call from all    |
     |  corners of the country.                                      |
     |                                                               |
     |  "If only I could find out..."                                |
     |  "I need to find his family so I can keep my promise..."      |
     |  "I just want to talk to someone who was with him... "        |
     |  "Please, can you help...?"                                   |
     |                                                               |
     |  At the Wall, we find them every day. Veterans who have not   |
     |  spoken of their experiences even to their most intimate      |
     |  family members are now beginning, tentatively, to seek a     |
     |  responsive ear.                                              |
     |                                                               |
     |  Brothers and sisters, parents and even wives who were simply |
     |  never allowed full expression of their grief because of the  |
     |  fierce pressures of the time, are now coming forward,        |
     |  looking for someone who can help with their healing.         |
     |                                                               |
     |  We hear from children, now 15 - 25 years old, who are        |
     |  searching for bits and pieces of information they can        |
     |  assemble to help fill that empty place in their lives that   |
     |  is the father they never knew well, if at all. And they want |
     |  to talk to each other, to share their special needs and the  |
     |  unique experience of growing up with a father on the Wall.   |
     |  They understand each other all too well.                     |
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 47
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991

     |                                                               |
     |  Millions of Americans need to meet and talk because of the   |
     |  Wall, and only the Friends can help them.                    |
     |                                                               |
     |  Initial discussions with many other national organizations   |
     |  whose work brings them into contact with Vietnam veterans    |
     |  and their loved ones have attested to the need for IN TOUCH  |
     |  and their willingness to help.                               |
     |                                                               |
     |  Simply put, the Friends will draw on its special work at the |
     |  Memorial,  its acquired and available data bases and         |
     |  programs designed and integrated by Electronic Data Systems  |
     |  (EDS), and the commitment and concern of its volunteers to   |
     |  place people with a common association to a name on the Wall |
     |  to be in voluntary communication with each other.            |
     |                                                               |
     |  From there, we will let human nature take its good course.   |
     |  And let the healing begin.                                   |
     |                                                               |
     |  The starting point for the data base will be the more than   |
     |  twenty thousand names of people who have requested name      |
     |  rubbings from our volunteers in Washington. Each will be     |
     |  contacted and given the opportunity to participate by being  |
     |  listed in the IN TOUCH central data base file.               |
     |                                                               |
     |  Confidentiality is the keyword to cooperation and IN TOUCH   |
     |  will respect the integrity of all lists and records.  Lists  |
     |  will be unavailable for public use and will not be           |
     |  distributed for any commercial purpose.                      |
     |                                                               |
     |  By its nature, IN TOUCH must reach far beyond the veterans   |
     |  community in order to be successful. With professional       |
     |  guidance, the Friends will develop a program of on-going     |
     |  articles and other coverage in major media markets, high-    |
     |  lighting the personal experiences of people as they are put  |
     |  "in touch."  The International Vietnam Veterans Echo         |
     |  Conference via the Herndon Byte eXchange 1:109/316 node as   |
     |  the enter point for gathering and disseminating information  |
     |  will be used.  Aside from bringing the program  into public  |
     |  awareness, these articles and stories will serve as a val-   |
     |  uable tool for public education on a wealth of matters       |
     |  relating to the Vietnam era.                                 |
     |                                                               |
     |  As a preliminary test of the IN TOUCH project, the Friends   |
     |  has implemented a pilot project to test the design and       |
     |  demands of such a program.  Several hundred requests with    |
     |  full background information have been entered into a system  |
     |  designed to match requestor data with the existing Memorial  |
     |  data. Even with such a small sample, limited data and a      |
     |  fairly unsophisticated cross-indexing system, matches have   |
     |  been made and IN TOUCH has produced its first real           |
     |  connections.  The results have been as profoundly moving for |
     |  the participants as expected. And as gratifying for the      |
     |  Friends.                                                     |
     |                                                               |
     |  But it was clear that the information management system and  |
     |  the supporting hardware system would have to be more power-  |
     |  ful and more complex in order to handle thousands, perhaps   |
     |  hundreds of thousands, of requests.  Confidentiality of the  |
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 48
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991

     |  system and information must be paramount.                    |
     |                                                               |
     |  With well over 2,000 Vietnam veterans, Electronic Data       |
     |  Systems (EDS) became involved and has been generous in its   |
     |  assistance with designing the data management systems which  |
     |  will be critical to a successful program.  The Friends have  |
     |  reached a three-year working agreement with EDS which        |
     |  promises continuity and maximum potential for success in     |
     |  building an information bank that can truly help people in   |
     |  their search for others who knew a loved one.                |
     |                                                               |
     |  The Friends are delighted that Bob Hope has agreed to make   |
     |  a public service announcement which we can use on radio and  |
     |  television to help get the word out to the public on the     |
     |  availability of the service.                                 |
     |                                                               |
     |  The Friends are also pleased to note that Hewlett Packard,   |
     |  Zenith Data Systems, Borland International, FASTCOMM         |
     |  Communications Corporation and the First National Bank of    |
     |  Chicago have all contributed computer equipment, computer    |
     |  software, and office equipment to the project, so they are   |
     |  beginning to feel fully functional.                          |
     |                                                               |
     |  The Friends hear from people who have long been living with  |
     |  the pain of loss and looking for a way to heal.  For         |
     |  instance, the Friends recently received a letter from a      |
     |  woman who wrote:                                             |
     |                                                               |
     |       Dear Friends:                                           | 
     |           For quite some time I have been searching for a     |
     |       way to know my brother.  It seems hopeless at times.    |
     |       I was 12 when he was killed...  I had waited for the    |
     |       day he would come back to us.  He never did.  A part    |
     |       of me will always be 12 and continue to wait.           |
     |           Thank you for giving me hope that there may be      |
     |       a way to find him and bring him home to my heart..."    |
     |                                                               |
     |                          +   +   +                            |
     |                                                               |
     |           The Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial        |
     |                     Electronic Data Systems                   |
     |           Herndon Byte eXchange TCOMMnet BBS 1:109/316        |
     |                                                               |        
     |+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++|
     














     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 49
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991

                    IN-TOUCH Registration/Request Form
     
         THIS FORM REQUIRES SIGNATURE FOR CONFIDENTIALITY RELEASE 
                             PLEASE READ BELOW
     ------------------------------------------------------------------
     I wish to be IN TOUCH with (Please circle and/or comment) Family, 
     Friends and/or Fellow Veterans of the following: 
     __________________________________________________________________
     __________________________________________________________________
     
     ----------- PERSON WHO DID NOT COME BACK FROM VIETNAM ------------
     
     First Name_____________ Middle Name___________ Last Name__________
     Relationship to You and/or Reason for Request 
     (Answer as fully as possible)_____________________________________
     __________________________________________________________________
     
     ==================================================================
     
     -------- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT HIM/HER - IF KNOWN ---------
     
     Rank_______ Birth Date ______________ Soc. Sec. # ________________
     Tour Date of Birth _______________ Where Buried __________________
     Branch of Service:  AR__   NA__    AF__   MC__  CG__  RC__   CIV__
     (Fill in his/her equivalent unit designations in the spaces below)
     Division ____________ Brigade ___________ Battalion ______________
     Regiment ____________ Company ___________ Ship ___________________
     Battles:__________________________________________________________
     Locations:________________________________________________________
     Nicknames:________________________________________________________
     Hometown (while in Nam): ____________________ Home State: ________
     
     ==================================================================
     
     ---------------------- INFORMATION ABOUT YOU ---------------------
     Title___  First Name ____________ Middle/Maiden Name _____________
     Last Name ____________________
     Address___________________________________________________________
     City __________________________________ State ____ Zip: _____-____
     Your Home Phone (   ) ____________  Work Phone: (   ) ____________
     
     ---------------- IF YOU ARE A VIETNAM-ERA VETERAN ----------------
     
     Tour date _______________________________  Rank __________________
     Branch of Service: AR__  NA __  AF __  MC __  CG __  RC __  CIV __
          Fill in your equivalent unit designations in the spaces below
     Division: __________  Brigade: ___________  Battalion: ___________
     Regiment: __________  Company: ___________  Ship: ________________
     Battles: _________________________________________________________
     Locations: _______________________________________________________
     Nicknames: _______________________________________________________
     Hometown (when in VN) _______________________ Home State: ________
     Comments: ________________________________________________________
     
                             CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT
     _____  I give permission to the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans 
            Memorial to release my name, address, phone number and 
            relationship to other participants in the IN TOUCH project 
            seeking information on the individual above (strike out 
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 50
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991

            phone number if you do not want it released).
                                    OR
     
     _____  I would like to have the names, addresses, and phone 
            numbers of persons who knew my friend or relative, but 
            prefer NOT to have my name, address, and phone number 
            released.
     
     I hereby release the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 
     any and all liability that may arise from the operation of the IN 
     TOUCH project.
     
     Signature ____________________________________ Date _____________
     
     NOTE: Do not electronically transmit this form, instead mail to:
           Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
           1350 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Suite 300
           Washington, DC 20036
     -----------------------------------------------------------------
     







































     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 51
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991

                  Friends of Vietnam Vets Needs Your Help
                           By: Ray "Frenchy" Moreau
                      NAM VETs IN-TOUCH Section Editor
               Herndon Byte eXchange/VETLink #2 - Herndon, VA
                               (703) 471-8010
     
     Dear Fellow IVVECNet Sysop, User and NamVet Reader: 
       I  am  writing  to you on behalf of the Friends of  the  Vietnam 
     Veterans Memorial concerning a matter of great urgency.
       You may have visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington 
     in which case you know firsthand what an important place it is. 
       You  probably saw on the faces of the visitors there,  the  pain 
     and  the very real need to resolve  personal issues resulting from 
     the war in Vietnam.  
       You  may  have also seen one of the Friends volunteers or  staff 
     helping  the  National Park Service rangers by assisting  visitors 
     with questions, helping them find names and make rubbings, or even 
     giving  a gentle hug and an understanding ear where needed to ease 
     the painful tears and help begin the healing.  
       The  Friends began as a small volunteer effort at the Wall,  for 
     just these purposes, but it has quickly grown to embrace the needs 
     of  people far beyond those who are able to come to Washington  to 
     touch a name on the Wall. 
     
       For instance:
          Over  20,000 people have asked for and received a rubbing  of 
          the  name of a very special person listed on the Wall.   Each 
          rubbing was done and sent with the same care and respect that
          one would use when folding and presenting the flag, for these
          rubbings are family heirlooms, treasured beyond words.
            Every  Fathers Day at sunrise,  Friends volunteers line the 
          Wall  with  roses and to each is attached a special  personal 
          message sent in by a family member or friend.
            A program called "In Touch", developed with the cooperation 
          of  Electronic  data Systems,  Zenith Data  Systems,  Borland 
          International,  FastComm,   Quarterdeck  Office  Systems  and 
          Hewlett-Packard,  allows  people who knew the same person  on 
          the  Wall  to  find  each  other and  to  give  long  overdue 
          recognition and to pass on important information or mementos.  
          For  the family members of those men and women listed on  the 
          Wall, as well as for veterans, this is an extremely important 
          experience. 
     
       All  of  these services and more are offered free of  charge  to 
     anyone who needs them.   But the Friends can only operate with the 
     help of many people, like you and I, who understand the importance 
     of the Memorial and the work that the friends do. 
       And it is very important work indeed.  There are a lot of people 
     who  would  like  to say that the war was long ago and  no  longer 
     affects peoples lives.   But the sad fact is that if we now wanted 
     to  build  a Wall of names for those veterans who  have  committed 
     suicide since returning home, it would have to be even larger than 
     the Memorial in Washington, for there are more names.  
       All of us have been shaken,  in one way or another,  by that war 
     and  the saddest part is that we have not been able to talk  about 
     it or address it, so the healing never begins.
       But the Friends give people a chance.  And in the process,  they 
     see that the Memorial is cared for to the best possible degree.
       However,  they  need our help and support.   I have gladly given 
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 52
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991

     mine and now I want to ask you to do the same.  
       In  return,  the Friends will recognize your concern for Vietnam 
     veterans, their families and loved ones,  and all the other people 
     whose lives are listed between the lines of names on the Memorial.
       For your contribution of $100 or more,  you (or your firm)  will 
     be  proudly listed in the Roll of Honor maintained by the  Friends 
     at their information site at the Memorial which is visited by over 
     three million people a year.
       In  addition,  you will receive a Certificate of Honor from  the 
     Friends,  suitable  for  framing and display at home or  at  work, 
     attesting  to  your support of the Memorial and those who work  in 
     its service. 
       You  will  also  be  recognized in  their  newsletter  which  is 
     distributed  to  their entire membership and to many thousands  of 
     visitors at the Wall, free of charge.  Your contribution is, of
     course, fully tax-deductible.
       For a more modest contribution of $20 or more,  you can become a 
     member  of  the  Friends and receive not only the  newsletter  and 
     other  member  benefits,  but a beautiful gold lapel  pin  proudly 
     identifying you as someone who still cares deeply.
       It is very important that you do this as soon as possible (today 
     would  be  best)  so  the Friends can continue to  serve  so  many 
     deserving Americans and to honor so many who served when they were 
     asked. 
       Send your check today to:
     
                 Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial
                              1224 M St., NW
                           Washington, DC  20005
     
     I appreciate your support and your understanding.
                      Yours in faith, most sincerely,
     
                    Ray "Frenchy" Moreau USN (Retired) 
               ...but not from life, the Wall won't let me.
     























     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 53
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991

                            I
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                XIII  III       III  IIIX      (8 8 8 88 88 88 8 888)
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      The Vietnam Veteran XII          IIXXXXXXXXXXXXX         XXXXXXX
       has relatives in the  III        IIIXXXXXXXXXXXX         XXXXXX
       Old and New Testaments   III        IIIXXXXXXXXXX         XXXXX
       who also experienced loss   II         IIXXXXXXXXX          XXX
       and grief, guilt and shame,   II         IIXXXXXXXXX         XX
       rejection and betrayal,         I          IXXXXXXXXX
       alienation and estrangement,    I          IXXXX  XX
       isolation and withdrawal.        II          IIXXXX
                                          II          IIX
      Adam and Eve tried to hide from God; II          II
      Moses, born Hebrew and raised Egyptian IIII        IIII
       searched long and hard for his real self; II          II
      Job, losing his children and all he owned,   II          II
       became sorely diseased;                       IIII        III
      Biblical Joseph was rejected by his brothers,      II         II
       lied about and imprisoned;                          I
      Peter denied Jesus.                                    II
                                                                I
      "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age"
                           Matthew 28:20
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 54
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991



     ==================================================================
                           Don't drink the water!
     ==================================================================

            Background on Agent Orange Class Assistance Program
                   Agent Orange Class Assistance Program
                           Post Office Box 27413
                       Washington, D.C.  20038-7413
                              (202) 289-6173
     
                          Input by G. Joseph Peck
                         NamVet's Managing Editor
                        VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA
                              (413) 443-6313
     
                               Backgrounder
     
                 THE AGENT ORANGE CLASS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
     
       
       The  Agent  Orange Class Assistance Program was  established  to 
     distribute  a portion of the fund created by the settlement of the 
     class  action  lawsuit  by  Vietnam veterans  and  their  families 
     against seven chemical companies which supplied herbicides used in 
     the U.S.  war effort in Vietnam.   The Assistance Program provides 
     funding  for programs and services of benefit to Vietnam  veterans 
     and their families.
     
     THE LAWSUIT
       The Agent Orange litigation began in 1977 when a Vietnam veteran 
     filed  a  lawsuit against the Federal government and a  number  of 
     companies  that  manufactured a herbicide known as  Agent  Orange, 
     which was used as a defoliant during the war in Vietnam.  The suit 
     alleged  that troops were exposed to Agent Orange while serving in 
     Vietnam  and  that after their return,  many Vietnam veterans  had 
     suffered  disabling  injuries  or  had died as a  result  of  this 
     exposure.   In  addition,  the  suit  alleged that  the  veterans' 
     exposure  to  Agent Orange caused miscarriages among  spouses  and 
     birth defects in their children.
       The suit was consolidated as a class action in the U.S. District 
     Court  for the Eastern District of New York,  with the class being 
     defined  as  all  persons who served in the Armed  Forces  of  the 
     United States, New Zealand and Australia between 1961 and 1972 who 
     were injured by exposure to Agent Orange while in or near Vietnam.  
     The class also included parents,  spouses and children of all such 
     Vietnam veterans.
     
     THE SETTLEMENT
       On May 7,  1984,  just as the trial was scheduled to begin,  the 
     veterans' attorneys and the defendant chemical companies agreed to 
     settle the case for $180 million.   The Federal government did not 
     participate   in  the  settlement  and  all  claims  against   the 
     government were later dismissed.  The chemical companies deposited 
     the money with the Court, but distribution of the fund was delayed 
     by  a number of appeals,  some of which reached the  U.S.  Supreme 
     Court.   On June 30,  1988,  the U.S.  Supreme Court dismissed the 
     final  appeals  and cleared the way for distribution of the  fund, 
     which by that time had grown to approximately $240 million.
     
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 55
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991

     THE DISTRIBUTION PLAN
       On July 5,  1988,  The Court issued an opinion setting forth the 
     final plan for the distribution of the settlement fund.  The Court 
     created  two separate programs to distribute the funds,  the Agent 
     Orange   Veteran  Payment  Program  and  the  Agent  Orange  Class 
     Assistance Program.
       The   AGENT   ORANGE  VETERAN  PAYMENT  PROGRAM   is   currently 
     distributing  cash  payments to totally disabled Vietnam  veterans 
     and  to the spouses or children of deceased Vietnam veterans.   To 
     be  eligible  for  a payment,  the applicant must  show  that  the 
     veteran  meets  a Court-approved test of exposure to Agent  Orange 
     and  that  the  disability or death was not caused  by  traumatic, 
     accidental  or  self-inflicted injury.   The Court allocated  $170 
     million  of  the  settlement fund to the  Payment  Program.   (For 
     information  on  this program,  contact the Agent  Orange  Veteran 
     Payment Program, P.O. Box 110, Hartford, CT 06104.  Telephone:  1-
     800-225-4712.)
       The  AGENT  ORANGE  CLASS  ASSISTANCE  PROGRAM  will  distribute 
     approximately  $52  million to support social services which  will 
     benefit  the  plaintiff  class  --   Vietnam  veterans  and  their 
     families.   The  remaining  funds  were allocated  to  plaintiffs' 
     attorneys'  fees  ($13 million)  and a distribution to programs in 
     Australia and New Zealand ($5 million) to serve the needs of their 
     Vietnam veterans.
     
     THE AGENT ORANGE CLASS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
       On December 22,  1988,  the Court announced that it had selected 
     Mr. Dennis Rhoades, 44, of Burke, Virginia, a Vietnam veteran with 
     broad  and  extensive experience in Vietnam veteran  programs,  to 
     serve  as Executive Director of the Agent Orange Class  Assistance 
     Program.    While   the   Court  retains  ultimate   control   and 
     jurisdiction over the grant-making process, the Executive Director 
     assists the Court in the administration of the program and advises 
     the  Court  in  grant  selections.    The  Assistance  Program  is 
     supported  in  its planning and determination of priorities  by  a 
     Court-appointed  group  of nine advisors from around the  country, 
     eight of whom are themselves Vietnam veterans.   They periodically 
     consult  with  the Court and Mr.  rhoades on the  grant  selection 
     process and overall policy issues.
       The broad mandate of the Assistance Program is to make grants to 
     support  programs  and organizations which address the  needs  and 
     concerns  expressed by Vietnam veterans and their  families.   The 
     Court has directed that the Assistance Program place a priority on 
     responding  to  the  concerns  which gave  rise  to  the  original 
     lawsuit,  providing services which are not currently available and 
     bringing services to Vietnam veterans and their families who,  for 
     a variety of reasons, are not receiving needed assistance.
       The  Assistance  Program does not seek to duplicate  or  replace 
     existing  services,  especially  those provided by the federal  or 
     state  governments,  but  rather to augment those services and  to 
     work  in  partnership  with organizations dedicated  to  assisting 
     members  of  the  Class.   Furthermore,   the  Assistance  Program 
     focuses,  for  the most part,  on projects and organizations  with 
     proven  records of success.   Through careful funding of  selected 
     projects,  the  Assistance  Program  hopes  to  stimulate  greater 
     interest  among  service  providers in addressing  the  needs  and 
     concerns of the Vietnam veteran community on an ongoing basis.
       The Assistance Program began with a rather diffuse mission.   In 
     establishing  the  Assistance Program,  the Court recognized  that 
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 56
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991

     there  was  a  broad  constellation of needs  within  the  Vietnam 
     veteran  community.   Since  the  class  certified  by  the  Court 
     included  not only Vietnam veterans,  but their children,  spouses 
     and  parents,  the potential areas in which the Assistance Program 
     could provide aid were even greater.  In August of 1988, the first 
     Request  for  Proposal (RFP)  was sent out on behalf of the  Class 
     Assistance  Program  to over 1,000 prospective  service  providers 
     across  the country.   This first RFP solicited proposals in  four 
     broad areas: assistance for Vietnam veterans'  children with birth 
     defects  and  other  special needs and for the families  of  those 
     children; counseling and support for families of Vietnam veterans; 
     assistance  for Vietnam veterans in obtaining government and other 
     benefits;  and  services  for  disadvantages or  homeless  Vietnam 
     veterans,  including  psychological counseling for  post-traumatic 
     stress  disorder,   treatment  for  substance  abuse,   employment 
     placement  and transitional housing.   The first projects selected 
     from   the   resulting   proposal   pool   were   well-distributed 
     geographically.   A  similar  pattern  of funding  priorities  was 
     followed  in  subsequent grants from these first  proposals,  with 
     funding  awarded  for large scale regional and  national  projects 
     providing services to disabled children of Vietnam veterans, legal 
     support  services  to  Vietnam veterans,  and  local  projects  to 
     provide  counseling services to Vietnam veterans and  transitional 
     housing and other services for homeless Vietnam veterans and their 
     families.
       Two  subsequent  RFPs  were  issued in  September  of  1989  and 
     February,  1991 in order to solicit additional viable proposals to 
     provide  services  to children of Vietnam veterans who have  needs 
     relating to developmental or other chronic disabilities.  The 1991 
     RFP  continued  the priority on services to children along with  a 
     broad range of additional services to Vietnam veterans'  families.  
     Proposals  resulting from this most recent RFP will continue to be 
     selected   for  funding  over  the  next  year,   concurrent  with 
     development   and  funding  of  some  remaining  viable  proposals 
     received as a result of the 1988 and 1989 RFPs.
     
     CURRENT ACTIVITIES OF THE CLASS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
       Although  program achievements cannot be measured in dollars and 
     data  alone,  it is worthwhile to note some of the milestones  met 
     during  the  1990-91 AOCAP program year.   Total funds awarded  in 
     AOCAP Program Year 90-91 (July 1, `90 to June 30, `91) equaled the 
     amount awarded in the first one and a half years of operation.  As 
     the  program year ended,  a network of sixty-six programs  serving 
     Vietnam  veterans  and  their families were operating  with  AOCAP 
     funding  across  the  U.S.    More  importantly,   46,000  Vietnam 
     veterans,  children  and  other family members were provided  some 
     services to address a myriad of needs since the program began.
       At  the  same  time  as the Class Assistance  Program  has  been 
     building  up  to an optimum level of grant award and  disbursement 
     activity, a great deal has been learned about the needs of Vietnam 
     veterans  and  their  families and the role which  the  Assistance 
     Program  might  most effectively play in addressing  those  needs.  
     Public  policy has long viewed the needs of returning veterans  as 
     specific  to  the individual.   Members of the  veteran's  family, 
     characterized as "dependents," are recognized as having needs,  in 
     general,  only if the veteran is disabled or deceased.   The Agent 
     Orange  plaintiff  class  includes the members  of  the  veteran's 
     family  as  equal partners,  and AOCAP programs must  address  the 
     needs of the family as a totality.
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 57
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991

       The project development work accomplished over the first two and 
     a  half years of its existence has created a distinctive character 
     in  the  Assistance  Program's current network of  active  grants.  
     Eighty  percent of these involve,  at least in part,  services  to 
     developmentally  disabled children,  and over sixty percent render 
     services  to  families  as a primary thrust.   Together  with  the 
     ground-breaking  work  of  the National  Veterans  Legal  Services 
     Project  in  improving  access to existing veterans  benefits  and 
     services,  it  has  become increasingly clear that the  Assistance 
     Program is filling some vital gaps in the veterans service system.
       The   Agent   Orange  Class  Assistance  Program  is   currently 
     developing  and  forwarding  grants to the Court on  a  continuous 
     basis, and as of October 31,  1991,  the program had generated 145 
     grant  awards totalling over $26 million.   Projects funded by the 
     Class  Assistance  Program currently operate in forty-four  states 
     plus  the  District of Columbia and Puerto  Rico.   Current  plans 
     project  approximately 75-80 grants being awarded annually,  in  a 
     combination  of  new grant awards and renewal grants  for  ongoing 
     successful   programs.    It  is  anticipated  that  through   its 
     approximately  five  to seven year duration,  over 120  individual 
     programs providing services to Vietnam veterans and their families 
     will  be funded through the Class Assistance Program.   Plans have 
     been developed to implement a nation-wide outreach effort over the 
     next  four years to contact and provide services through the AOCAP 
     network  to large numbers of Vietnam veterans and their  families, 
     including  many  of  the original claimants in  the  Agent  Orange 
     Settlement.
     11/91
     






























     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 58
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991

          
          
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     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 59
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991

                   THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, RVN STYLE
                            L/Cpl W.C. Roberts
                       Mike Co. 3rd Btn. 9th Marines
                            December 24th, 1965
                             Da Nang, Vietnam
     
     'Twas the night before Christmas, and all thru the bunker,
     I was on watch, the rest were in slumber,
     but visions of sugar plums don't dance thru my head,
     I wear a steel pot so I won't end up dead.
     
     Yet the night's not a waste, we do have a goal,
     They're sending my squad out on patrol.
     We'll have a big party when we get to the sticks,
     If we can get past the sentry at gate number six.
     
     We'll find us a bamboo tree, and decorate it up,
     With hand grenades, and trip flares, and other fancy stuff.
     Then we'll make Christmas dinner from little green cans,
     With turkey load C-rations, then eat with our hands.
     
     But up in the sky, what's that I see?
     Jolly St. Nick in a Huey 1-B.
     He's banking in now, he's rolling in hot,
     It looks like our Christmas no longer is shot.
     
     But next to his skids, what's that I see?
     My God, it's M-60s, he thinks we're VC!
     Crawling from cover, I roll on my back,
     Now I know why Mama-san dyed my utilities black!
     




























     NAM VET Newsletter                                         Page 60
     Volume  5, Number 12                            December 17, 1991



     ==================================================================
                             Questions answered!
     ==================================================================

                        Nam's most famous saying???
                              By Jim Hildwine
                 NamVet's Federal Benefits Section Editor
                        VETLink #4 - Shady Side, MD
                              (301) 261-5644
     
         I asked a question on the net on what was the most famous 
     saying in Nam.  Well I would say "It Don't Mean Nothing" or 
     "B.F.D", but for the most-used word... I'd agree with " S H O R T"
         The short-timer in Nam was indeed a funny breed.  During his 
     last 30, he was a real trip.  The short-timer in an Infantry 
     outfit was, by all practical purposes, offline by his last 30, and 
     running some sort of job, ie supply, mess hall, etc.  
         The last 30 days, you could bet with any reassurance that he 
     would let you know down to the minute, hours, and seconds on what 
     time his "Freedom" bird was outbound.
        Some of the things I noticed in two tours were as follows (I 
     did some of em too):
     
     1.  The short-timer seemed to gain a great disrespect for anything 
         above his rank.
     2.  He tended to sleep in, and was a real trip to get up in the 
         morning. (Lotta party the night before)
     3.  The only thing that would motivate him was the threat of 
         putting him back "On Line"  'Yea, Sarge Go Ahead, try it...'
     4.  He would duck a detail faster than Chicken Man could make up a 
         story for Ms. Hellfinger.
     5.  The short-timer during "Incoming" was "ALWAYS" the first one 
         into the bunker with no exceptions.  None!
     6.  All the short-timer did was talk about what he was gonna do 
         when he hit the "World"... He never shut up, "I'm gonna this, 
         I'm gonna that, I'm gonna.."  That's all you heard.
     7.  He would do anything to get out of traveling on the roads. No 
         way was he going to step foot out of the compound. No way!  He 
         has figured out every possible place or way he can get killed, 
         and he avoids every thing and every body.
     8.  The short-timer was always letting the FNG's know how many 
         hours, days and minutes he had left.
     9.  He could be counted on being stoned or drunk just about the 
         entire last thirty days.
     10. The short-timer became obsessed with making out of Nam in one 
         piece.
     11. He starts buying and ordering everything in the Pacex catalog.
     12. He starts giving away everything he has gathered during his 
         tour 365.
     13. He starts to hit sick call every other day to make sure he's 
         clean as whistle when going home. (Note: In  Nam there were 
-- 
#Larry W. Jewell (ex-USN)     WWII-L Listowner    jewell@mace.cc.purdue.edu # 
#"Sunday's horoscope is noteworthy because of its strange, sudden and wholly#
#unpredictable and inexplicable occurrences, affecting all phases of life." #
#--"Your Horoscope," L.A. Evening Herald Express, Saturday, Dec. 6, 1941.   #