From: jewell@MACE.CC.PURDUE.EDU (Larry Jewell)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: 'NamVet Newsletter, Vol.5, no.3 (3/6)
Date: 13 Sep 92 00:57:31 GMT


            Non-Veteran __;                    Relative of Veteran __;
     
     I understand that the opinions expressed on VETLink #1 are those
     of the individuals involved, and do not necessarily reflect those
     of Federal or State governments, the SYSOP or others who make use
     of this sytem.
     
     I  explicitly  acknowledge  that  all  information  obtained  from 
     VETLink  #1  is  provided "as is"  without warranty of  any  kind, 
     either  expressed or implied,  including,  but not limited to  the 
     implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular 
     purpose,  and  that I accept responsibility for any risks that may 
     arise  from  acting  on  information  obtained  from  VETLink  #1, 
     including  the entire costs of all necessary remedies,  and that I 
     absolve  all  other  users  and the SYSOP  of  VETLink  #1  and/or 
     Berkshire Veterans' Center, Inc. from any such responsibility.
     
     Comment(s): ____________________________________________________
     ________________________________________________________________
     ________________________________________________________________
     ________________________________________________________________
     ________________________________________________________________
     
     Signature_______________________________________________________
     
     Date____________________
     
































     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 30
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 1991



     =================================================================
                                 In-Touch
     =================================================================

     (Our Washington DC mole just managed to come up with a text-file 
     copy of some letters about our Frenchy that many of you will be 
     interested in.  <grin>)
     
                               (Letter One)
                                                    January 21, 1990
     Mr. Raymond J. Moreau
     Program Manager
     Navy Projects
     Electronic Data Systems Corp.
     XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX M/S A5S-C54
     Herndon, VA 22071
     
     Dear Mr. Moreau
     
     Federal Computer Week and National Trade Productions Inc. are 
     pleased to inform you that you are among FCW's second annual 
     Federal 100, the group of 100 executives from government, industry 
     and academia nominated by our readers and found by an independent 
     panel of judges to have had the greatest impact on the government 
     systems community in 1990.  You were selected from scores of 
     nominees for the difference you have made in the way agencies and 
     companies develop, acquire and manage information technology in 
     the federal world. A list of the 100 is enclosed.
     
     NTP, producers of FOSE, and FCW would like to recognize you for 
     your achievement in a special supplement to the February 25 issue 
     of the newspaper and at a reception and dinner to be held during 
     FOSE at the Capital Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, 
     March 5. Highlighting the evening will be the presentation of the 
     FOSE Award, given to the two officials among the 100 -- one from 
     government and one from industry -- who are judged by NTP and the 
     FOSE Advisory Council to deserve special recognition for their 
     influence on the federal government's effective use information 
     technology.
     
     In addition, we will be presenting you with a personalized award 
     at the dinner and would like know whether your name as it appears 
     on this letter is the way you would like it to appear on the 
     award.
     
     Finally, a member of FCW's editorial staff will contact you in the 
     next few days to conduct a brief interview for your profile in the 
     supplement.
     
     We look forward to seeing you on March 5. Until then, please 
     accept our congratulations for being among this year's Federal 
     100.
     
                               (Letter Two)
             (Our Frenchy is the 1991 FOSE Award Recipient!!!)
     
         "Dear Mr. Moreau:
     
                   It is with great pleasure that I am able to inform
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 31
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 1991

          you that you are one of the two recipients of the FOSE Award 
          for 1991.  The Award will be presented to you at the Federal
          100 Dinner on Tuesday, March 5, being held at the Capitol
          Hilton.
     
                   The recipient of the Award is selected by a large
          panel of judges, all of whom are involved in the information
          technology market.  The Award is presented to the vendor and
          government employee who have had the greatest impact on the
          federal government's effective use of information technology.
     
                   I am proud to announce that you have been chosen to
          receive this Award from a field of 100 designees.
          Congratulations!
     
                   I look forward to meeting you at the Federal 100
          dinner.
                                             Sincerely,
     
                                             Mark N. Sirangelo
                                             Executive Vice President"
     
     
     (Frenchy's Acceptance Speech - after all, what's a mole worth if 
     all the information cannot be provided <grin>)
     
       "I am extremely proud and deeply touched to be nominated and 
     to receive the '1991 FOSE Award'.
       I want to thank Federal Computer Week's readers and the 
     judges for this honor.
     
       My special thanks to the 58,175 brothers and sisters, Vietnam 
     Veterans. For these men and women 'In Touch" is theirs.  The Wall 
     is and now represents a living memorial - for we shall never 
     forget them.
     
          My deepest thanks to all our veterans of past wars and 
     especially to our men and women of Desert Storm - We are very 
     proud of all of you, "WELCOME HOME'.
     
          My thanks to the Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and 
     their heart warming and much needed volunteer service. They 
     provide the comfort and comradery to our Vietnam Veterans 
     searching and seeking to reach out.  The Friends provided the seed 
     for the development of the 'In Touch' tree of healing.
     
          One can never forget our teaming partners. Thank You Zenith 
     Data Systems, Philipe Kahn of Borland International, Bob Dennis of 
     FASTCOMM Communications, Terry Myers of Quarterdeck Office 
     Systems, Rod Coleman of Hewlett Packard and Fifth Generation 
     Systems for your generous donations to the Friends for this 
     project.
     
          My deepest thanks to EDS and its Public Affairs office for 
     their support - WE HAD A VISION THAT WENT BEYOND COMPUTERS, 
     HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE. Special thanks to those EDS eagles - Chuck 
     Pross and Chuck Funderbert - Programmers Extraordinaire, George 
     DeBourde and Hebert Henri for their support in documenting the 
     system. My heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the 70 EDS 
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 32
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 1991

     facilities and the countless EDS volunteers who have taken 'In 
     Touch' to their hearts to support our veterans by helping the 
     Friends.
     
          My deepest thanks to my wife Jane for her undying love, 
     constant understanding and support during the 'In Touch' 
     development.
     
          Thank you Lord for this beautiful, wonderful and courageous
     United States of America and its Allies.
     
          Thank You.
     
     Congratulations Frenchy!!!  From ALL of the NamVet staff - and 
     IVVEC participants.  Well done, bro' - WELL DONE!!!
     
                 (Our thanks, too, to the mole <sly grin>)
     









































     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 33
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 1991

                         In-Touch.  What is it ???
     
                       Input by: Ray "Frenchy" Moreau
                      NAM VETs IN-TOUCH Section Editor
                     Herndon Byte eXchange - 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 34
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 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 35
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 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 36
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 1991

                    IN-TOUCH Registration/Request Form
     
                       Input by: Ray "Frenchy" Moreau
                      NAM VETs IN-TOUCH Section Editor
                     Herndon Byte eXchange - Herndon, VA
                               (703) 471-8010
     
         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: ________________________________________________________
     
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 37
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 1991

                             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 
            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 38
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 1991



     =================================================================
                             The NamVet Chapel
     =================================================================

                       Laos - Rebuilding and Helping
                              By Mike Harris
                          A NamVet Guest Chaplain
                    SeaEast Exchange BBS - Kirkland, WA
                              (206) 822-4615
     
     Greetings All,
      
        Just  arrived home from another journey to Laos.   There was no  
     electrical power where we were so we listened to BBC and found out 
     about   the  Allied  victory in the Gulf as well as  a  successful 
     military coup in  Thailand.  We were not affected by the coup upon 
     returning to Thailand.   It was a non-violent one.
      
        I  was  privileged  once again to lead a team  from  Point  Man  
     International over to work in the war torn region of Sepone, Laos.  
     It  was deemed another success.   The medical team treated 1,200 - 
     1,300   patients in the villages.   Others worked on the wing of a 
     hospital    providing  needed  screening  for  protection  against 
     mosquitos.  (90%  malaria area)  
      
        We  arrived  back  tired as usual,  but our hearts  were  again 
     changed.   We arrived at 8:30am Pac. time.   My wife and I made it 
     until  about 10 pm  and hit the sack.   We just got up at 5:30 pm. 
     (19.5 hrs in bed)  The Ol'  Jet Lag.
      
        We  want to thank all of you for thinking of us and praying for 
     us.    When  in  such a remote area of the world,  you  know  when 
     others are pulling  for you!
      
        If  anyone  has any questions about our journey,  I'd  love  to 
     answer  them.  
     
      
                               In His Name,
      
                                   MIKE
     

















     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 39
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 1991

                            I
                            I
                          IIIII
                            I
                            I                         88888
                          ITTTI                    o88888888
                          I   I                 o888888888888o 8888
                          I   I              888888888888888888888888
                          I   I             88888888888888888 8888 888
                         xI   Ix             8888888888888888 88888888
                         T III T              88888888888888 888888 88
                         I III I             8888888888888888 88888888
                        xI III Ix             888  888    88888888888'
                        T I   I T                           88888888
                        I I   I I                             8888
                       xI IIIII Ix
                       TI       IT
                       II       II
                       II       II                The Quiet Place
                      IT    |    TI
                     II   --|--   II
                    XIII    |    IIIX                 oooo    o
                   II I           I II             o88 888) (888)
                  II  I    IIII   I  II         o88  88888888 8888)
                 XII  I  II   II  I  IIX       (88      8 88 888888)
                XIII  III       III  IIIX      (8 8 8 88 88 88 8 888)
               XIIII  I           I  IIIIX      (88 8  8  8 88888888)
              II  II  I  xIIIIIx  I  II  II     ( 8 88     888 88888)
                  II  I  T  T  T  I  II        (8888 88 8 8 8888888)
                  II  I  I  I  I  I  II         (8 88888 888 88 88)
                  II  I  I  I  I  I  II          (8888)888 88888)
                  II  I  I II II  I  II            (8) (I8I8I) 8
       oo8888888o II  I  I  I  I  I  II                 IIIII        X
      8888888 888BII  I  I  I  I  I  IIXX                III      X XX
       88 88 88  BII  I  TIIIIIT  I  IIXXX               III     XXXXX
      888888   88BII  I    ....   I  IIXXXXXX            III    XXgXXX
     888 888888888XXXXXII    ...   IIXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX        XXXXXXjXX
                         II    ..    IIXXXXXXXXXXXXXX         XXXXXXpX
      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 40
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 1991



     =================================================================
                           Of National Interest
     =================================================================

                  Soldiers' and Sailors' Relief Act
                     Submitted by Charlie Revie
                  Desert Dolphin BBS - Las Cruces, NM
                            (505) 523-2811
     
     Item paraphrased from Assn US Army News, Mar 91--
         The  House  cleared  legislation to aid members of  the  Armed 
     Services  called to active duty in the Persian Gulf War.   By vote 
     of 414 to  0, the 50-year old Soldiers' and Sailors'  Civil Relief 
     Act was amended  to update many of its vital protections.
         AUSA  urged adoption of several of the approved amendments  in  
     testimony  before  a  joint  hearing  the  the  House  and  Senate 
     Veterans'   Affairs  Committees  last fall.   We expect  that  the 
     Senate will act  on this very soon.
         Major provisions include:
         *  Increases  from  $150 to $1200 the monthly  rent  threshold 
            protection against eviction.
         *  Provides  for  reinstatement  of employer  provided  health 
            insurance immediately upon return to civilian life.
         *  Delays  until  July  1,  1991,  any civil  actions  against 
            members.
         *  Suspends   medical   malpractice  insurance  premiums   for 
            physicians  called  to  active  duty.   Also  provides  for 
            reinstatement  of  coverage  upon their return to  civilian 
            practice.
         *  Clarifies   existing  reemployment  rights  for  reservists 
            called to active duty for periods of 90 days or longer.
     
         Other  legislation  strongly  supported by AUSA is on  a  fast 
     track.  Congress  sent to the President for signature a bill  that 
     broadens  an  earlier  order by President Bush  granting  military 
     personnel  in  the Persian Gulf an extension for filing and paying 
     their income taxes.  The House passed the bill on Jan 23 by 413 to 
     0.   The  Senate acted  the very next day voting approval 99 to 0.  
     The President is expected  to sign the measure.
         An  earlier Presidential executive order designated Iraq,  the 
     entire  Arabian Peninsula and surrounding waters as a combat zone.  
     This meant  troops serving in the Desert Storm operation would not 
     have to file  their 1990 tax returns or pay any balance owed until 
     180 days after  returning from the combat zone.
         Congressionally   approved   legislation   goes   beyond   the 
     President's   order  in several respects.   First,  it applies  to 
     personnel  who have  served in the Persian Gulf any time after Aug 
     2,  rather  than  only  those on duty after Jan  16,  when  combat 
     started.
         Additionally, interest on income tax refunds would accrue from  
     Apr 15, even if the military taxpayers have not filed their income  
     tax returns by then.  Notably,  the measure also grants tax relief  
     up  to five years to soldiers who are hospitalized as a result  of 
     wounds  received in the gulf.
         The  President's  order  also triggered an existing  law  that 
     exempts   enlisted  personnel  from income taxes on  pay  received 
     while  serving  in a combat zone.   Commissioned officers must pay 
     taxes  on pay in  excess of $500 per month,  the level established 
     in 1966 for those  serving in Vietnam.  Lawmakers stated budgetary 
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 41
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 1991

     constraints  precluded  raising the exemption to $2000 per  month, 
     the  level that would be needed to  compensate for inflation since 
     then.   A  Joint  Tax  Committee estimate  puts the  cost  of  the 
     approved bill at $10 million per year.
     






















































     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 42
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 1991

     
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                       " Bring them home --- NOW !!! "
     












     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 43
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 1991



     =================================================================
                              Hearts n' Minds
     =================================================================

                          A Short History of PTSD
                          From Thermopylae to Hue
          "Soldiers have always had a disturbing reaction to War"
                              By Steve Bentley 
                             1/91 VVA Veteran
                          Input by G. Joseph Peck
                         NamVet's Managing Editor
                        VETLink #1 - Pittsfield, MA
                              (413) 443-6313
     
       Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is defined by the American 
     Psychiatric  Association as an anxiety (emotional)  disorder which 
     stems from a particular incident evoking significant stress.  PTSD 
     can  be found among survivors of the holocaust,  of car accidents, 
     of  sexual  assaults,  and of other traumatic experiences such  as 
     combat.   The fact is,  PTSD is a new name for an old story -  war 
     has  always  had  a  severe  psychological  impact  on  people  in 
     immediate  and  lasting  ways.   PTSD  has a history  that  is  as 
     significant  as  the  malady itself.   It's been with us  now  for 
     thousands of years, as incidents in history prove beyond a doubt.
       Three thousand years ago,  an Egyptian combat veteran named Hori 
     wrote  about the feelings he experienced before going into battle: 
     "You determine to go forward....  Shuddering seizes you,  the hair 
     on your head stands on end, your soul lies in your hand."
       History tells us that among the Egyptians,  Romans,  and Greeks, 
     men  broke and ran in combat circumstances -  in other words,  the 
     soldiers of antiquity were no less afraid of dying.
       For instance,  the Greek historian Herodotus,  in writing of the 
     battle of Marathon in 490 B.C., reports of an Athenian warrior who 
     went  permanently blind when the soldier standing next to him  was 
     killed,  although  the blinded soldier "was wounded in no part  of 
     his body."  So, too,  blindness,  deafness,  and paralysis,  among 
     other  conditions,  are  common  forms of  "conversion  reactions" 
     experienced and well-documented among soldiers today.
       Herodotus also writes of the Spartan commander Leonidas, who, at 
     the battle of Thermopylae Pass in 480 B.C., dismissed his men from 
     joining  the  combat  because  he  clearly  recognized  they  were 
     psychologically  spent from previous battles.   "They had no heart 
     for  the  fight  and  were unwilling to take their  share  of  the 
     danger."   ()Herodotus  tells of another Spartan named Aristodemus 
     who was so shaken by battle he was nicknamed "the Trembler"  -  he 
     later hung himself in shame.)
       One thousand years later,  things had changed very little at the 
     front.   The  ANGLO SAXON CHRONICLE recounts a battle in 1003 A.D. 
     between  the English and the Danes in which the English  commander 
     Alfred  reportedly become so violently ill that he began to  vomit 
     and was not able to lead his men.
       We  also  know PTSD doesn't confine itself strictly to  the  war 
     experience.   Samuel  Pepys was an Englishman who lived in  London 
     during  the  1600s.   His  surviving diary provides  an  excellent 
     record  of the development of PTSD.   In writing of the Great Fire 
     of London in 1666,  Pepys recounts people's terror and frustration 
     at being unable to protect their property or stop the fire.  Pepys 
     writes:  "A most horrid,  malicious,  blood fire....  So great was 
     our fear.... It was enough to put us out of our wits."
     
     NAM VET Newsletter                                        Page 44
     Volume  5, Number  3                               March 14, 1991

       Although  his home was untouched,  Pepys was unable to sleep for 
     days after the fire.  He scrawls:  "Both sleeping and waking,  and 
     such  fear  of fire in my heart,  that I took little  rest."   Two 
     weeks  later,  Pepys  writes:  "[M]uch  terrified  in  the  nights 
     nowadays,  with  dreams of fire and falling down of houses."   The 
     diary  reports  general feelings of anger and discontent over  the 
     next four months.   Pepys then records that news of a chimney fire 
     some distance away "put me into much fear and trouble."
       It  appears  Swiss  military physicians in 1678 were  among  the 
     first  to  identify and name that constellation of behaviors  that 
     make up the acute combat reaction or PTSD.  Nostalgia was the term 
     they  used  to  define a condition  characterized  by  melancholy, 
     incessant thinking of home, disturbed sleep or insomnia, weakness, 
     loss  of appetite,  anxiety,  cardiac  palpitations,  stupor,  and 
     fever.
       German doctors diagnosed the problem among their troops at about 
     the  same  time as the Swiss.   They referred to the condition  as 
     HEIMWEH (homesickness).   Obviously,  it was strongly believes the 
     symptoms came about from the soldiers longing to return home.   In 
     time, French doctors termed the same symptoms MALADIE DU PAYS, and 
     the  Spanish,  confronted  with  the same  reactions  among  their 
     soldier, called it ESTAR ROTO (literally, "to be broken").
       During the siege of Gibraltar in 1727, a soldier who was part of 
     the defense of the city kept a diary.  In it,  there is mention of 
     incidents in which soldiers killed or wounded themselves.  He also 
     describes  a  state of extreme physical fatigue which  had  caused 
     soldiers  to lose their ability to understand or process even  the 
     simplest instructions.   In this state,  the soldiers would refuse 
     to eat, drink, work, or fight in defense of the city,  even though 
     they would be repeatedly whipped for not doing so.
       The  French surgeon Larrey described the disorder -  what we now 
     call  PTSD  -  as  having three different stages.   The  first  is 
     heightened  excitement and imagination;  the second is a period of 
     fever and prominent gastrointestinal symptoms;  the final stage is 
     one of frustration and depression.
       During  the  American Civil War,  military physicians  diagnosed 
     many  cases  of  functional disability as the result  of  fear  of 
     battle  and the stresses of military life.   This included a  wide 
     range of illnesses now known to be caused by emotional turbulence, 
     including   paralysis,   war   tremors,   self-inflicted   wounds, 
     nostalgia, and severe palpitations - also called "soldier's heart" 
     and "exhausted heart."  It was reportedly surprising to some Civil 
     War  physicians that soldiers on normal leave often collapsed with 
     emotional illness at home, even when they had shown no symptoms of 
     mental debilitation before they had left the fighting.
     
       Many consider the Civil War the first step on the road to modern 
     warfare.   Civil War soldiers made the first frontal assaults into 
     repeating  rifles  and  pistols,  as well as the Gatling  gun  and 
     delayed-time artillery rounds that allowed air bursts.   Civil War 
     technology  also included telescopic sights and rifles with spiral 
     barrels that greatly increased the accuracy and destructiveness of 
     battle.
       The  immediate result was that psychological symptoms became  so 
     common,  field  commanders as well as medical doctors pleaded with