Title: Walking wounded
Description: Title of Review: "A 23 Year Follow Up of 4 Vietnam Era Survivors!" written by Bernie Weisz Vietnam Historian e mail address:BernWei1@aol.com april 11, 2010 

Why is this book so expensive? Because it's so good? Or because it has a limited printing? Or both? Or is it because it is "intentionally supressed" governmentally because it's too politically explosive in the wake of the growingly unpopular war with Iraq? I went to great lengths to obtain this, e.g. a 6 month waiting list on "interlibrary loan" and finally I obtained a copy in Pembroke Pines, Florida on loan from the Albany Public Library, Albany, N.Y. (ironically, exactly where I did my undergraduate studies, i.e. S.U.N.Y Albany). IT WAS WELL WORTH my endeavors! The author, Steve Trimm, sets out to prove a point that even now is a misconception:that it was commonly believed during the Vietnam War that Vietnam Veterans and Peace activists hated one another, that they were natural antagonists. Trimm points out the differences. Most draftees were made up of working class and poor people age 18-22. Most people opposing the war was of the middle and upper class. The initial supposition of antagonism between the two groups made sense, as because since different social classes in the U.S. never thought well of one another, it's only logical to assume that mutual hostility would, especially with the stress of war thrown into the mix, make it more apparent. Trimm's premise, and the whole following story, shows that anything but the following is the truth. Trimm argues that both war resisters and combatants were one and the same. To prove this, Trimm shows that both groups were not anonymous to the other, they were both ordinary teenagers, they often went to the same high schools, lived in the same neighborhoods, and that most Vietnam Veterans didn't believe in the war!  It is common knowledge of this group identification even after the Tet Offensive of 1968 whereupon every single U.S. base, Vietnamese Province and City came under attack by both the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army-despite the false belief that the U.S. was winning the war!  Most G.I's unconsciously thought that while executing endless search and destroy missions against an elusive enemy, they didn't want to be the last G.I. to die in a war that the U.S.was looking to get out of! In the backdrop of Trimm's book, there is another book by James S. Olsen and Randy Roberts called "Where the Domino Fell" where these two authors really give a sense as to what the newly drafted 18 year old faced when he got off the airplane in Vietnam for the first time. It states:"The military faced epidemics of "fragging" and drug abuse. "Fragging" was a term used to describe the assassination of overzealous officers and noncommissioned officers by their own troops. It first appeared in the Mekong Delta (the southernmost part of South Vietnam) in 1967 when several American platoons were known for pooling their money to pay an individual for killing a hated officer or NCO, usually by throwing a fragmentation grenade into a tent, destroying the victim along with the weapon and leaving no evidence. To warn an officer who was too "gung ho", troops might leave an grenade pin on his pillow or throw a smoke grenade into his tent. If he persisted, one of his men would "frag" him. During the Vietnam War, the Army claimed that 1,011 officers and NCO's were killed or wounded at the hands of their own men. There were 96 documented cases in 1969, 209 in 1970, and 333 confirmed and another 158 suspected incidents in 1971. In 1970 and 1971 American combat deaths in South Vietnam totaled 5,602 people, and the number of confirmed fraggings was 542. After the battle of "Hamburger Hill" in 1969, one underground G.I. newspaper carried an ad offering a $10,000 reward for fragging the officers who ordered the men up the hill.  But fragging was not the only sign of an army in crisis. Drug abuse reached epidemic proportions. From the "Golden Triangle" of Laos, Burma and Thailand, a river of heroin, marijuana, and opium flowed into South Vietnam. A steady supply of amphetamines came from the U.S. and from makeshift labs in Saigon.  Drugs were everywhere, like candy and ice cream on the street. Inefficient and ineffective in war, South Vietnamese government officials proved to be efficient and effective drug suppliers. A heroin addiction requiring $150 a day on the South Side of Chicago could be maintained in Saigon for $2 a day. The Pentagon estimated at the end of 1969 that nearly 2 of every 3 American soldiers in S. Vietnam were using marijuana and an astonishing one out of every 3 had tried heroin. Tens of thousands of G.I.'s returned home with the "monkey on their backs"-a full blown heroin addiction.  Late in 1970 CBS News brought the story home to the American people by broadcasting a "smoke-in" at a First Cavalry fire base, in which G.I's smoked marijuana through the barrel of a combat rifle. Fragging and drug abuse were so severe that Pentagon officials began to worry about the possibility of a military rebellion or collapse. Reports of field units bordering on mutiny in their refusal to carry out combat operations became increasingly frequent. The malaise completely infected the military, transforming it from the proud, confident institution of 1965 into the skeptical, alienated army of 1970. The killing machine was turning on itself. General Creighton Abrams (in charge of all armed forces in Vietnam, successor to Gen. William Westmoreland) could not believe what was happening:What the hell is going on (here in Vietnam)? I've got white shirts all over the place-psychologists, drug counselors, detox specialists, rehab people, social workers, and psychiatrists. Is this a goddamned army or a mental hospital? Officers are afraid to lead their men in battle, and the men won't follow. Jesus Christ! What happened"? This is the backdrop that Trimm's 2 friends found themselves Platoon Leaders in Vietnam when they arrived in 1970. Trimm stresses that many of the peace activists hated the Vietnam War, not the warriors (our troops). Therefore, the main premise, through the lives and a 23 year follow up (1966-1989) of 4 young men (2, as mentioned were combat marines in Vietnam, one, the author, was a Conscientious Objector, and the other was a Quaker, then later a war resister and a champion of Gay Rights (all initially friends in high school) attempts to prove the following:"This book proves testimony that, despite propaganda urging them to despise one another-Veterans and Peace Activists respected one another. They respected one another before, during, and after the war. The second contention Trimm makes is that psychologically and emotionally, both Vets and Peace Activists shared so much in common that they made up one group which he called "Vietnam Survivors" or as the title suggests, and as you will cull from each one of their stories over a 23 year period, that they were the "Walking Wounded". Trimm points out many truths. Vietnam Vets suffered badly while in Vietnam with "Rules of Engagement", which were frustrating limits of where and where not U.S. forces could pursue the enemy, the futility of militarily taking hills victoriously in battles and then giving them back to the enemy-thus disrespecting those American G.I's that lost their lives in the process (see "Hell On A Hilltop" by Gen Benjamin L.Harrison or "Ripcord" by Keith W. Nolan"), racial tensions, as already mentioned drug abuse and finally incompetent leadership-both American (Gen. William Westmoreland & Creighton Abrams) and with never ending unstable South Vietnamese leaders (Ngo Dinh Diem, Nguyen Van Thieu). A good reference of instability, corruption, constant coups and turmoil amongst South Vietnamese leadership can be read in Nguyen Cao Ky's (former Vice President and S. Vietnamese Air Force Marshal) book "How We Lost The Vietnam War". What happened to Vietnam Vets when they returned from the war? They were equally treated badly, with taunts of "baby-killer" (fall-out from the "My Lai Massacre" where on March 16, 1968, a battle-scarred American fighting unit entered the Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai and massacred in cold blood 400 unarmed women, children and old men-see Michael Bilton's book "Four Hours In My Lai"), and "loser" (people forgot that we also "lost" the war in Korea 1950-1953). In fact, most returning Vets quickly shed their uniforms upon arriving stateside to avoid these taunts. Conversely, those that opposed the war suffered badly as well, from being imprisoned as a consequence of avoiding the draft to fleeing this country to Sweden or Canada.Desertion: In the Time of Vietnam Clearly, Trimm proves that many of those who fought in Vietnam, and many of those who refused to fight were equally victimized. "Walking Wounded" means both groups were hurt by the Vietnam debacle and are, even today, in need of healing. Mr. Trimm truly provokes one's conscience by showing that society sends out confusing, mixed messages. On one hand, society says "To serve your country in the military is honorable and good". Yet, with the stigma of a lost war and the commission of genocide, not to mention far reaching consequences from the tragedy of the poisonous herbicide "Dioxin" (Agent Orange), most Veterans were "often condemned for having served in Vietnam, or were met by embarrassed silence when the subject of Vietnam was mentioned".Agent Orange on Trial: Mass Toxic Disasters in the Courts, Enlarged Edition Equally true, society also says "To follow your conscience and do what you believe is right, honorable and good". So what happened to those "Walking Wounded" American citizens who, believing the U.S. had no business being the "world's policeman" against Communism, refused to go to Vietnam and followed their consciences? Almost unilaterally, they were condemned as "anti-American" and cowards. Incredibly, Roger N. Williams wrote a book in 1970 about the fact that more Americans had fled to Canada because of the Vietnam War than had died there (over 100,000 exiled resisters were in Canada in 1970 alone, where approximately 60,000 young American lost their lives in the Vietnam War). An exellent account of this can be found in William's book entitled "The New Exiles". Thomas L. Hayes also wrote a fascinating book in 1971 about a second group of deserters called "American Deserters" in Sweden". Clearly, both Veterans and Resisters followed society's paths that were proper, and both were punished. Trimm's book centers on 4 young men, George Swiers, Victor Anson, Stanley Bennett, and the author, Steve Trimm, who all lived in the same small town in upstate New york and graduated from the same high school together in 1966. This book documents their struggle to come of age, to be respected for their choices by both themselves and others. George and Vic, as mentioned, go to Nam, while Stan (who would go to jail for his beliefs) and Steve (the author who would fake his sucicide and flee to Canada until after the war where he would be granted a "Presidential Pardon" to return) became leaders of local peace organizations. All the names (except for Vic's) and stories were true. Particularly gruesome were Vic's and George's stories of senseless death and destruction that they witnessed in Vietnam. I will quote, upon George's initial 3 months in Vietnam, his feelings and observations. He reported:"I see violent death. I see young people killed by gunshot and fragmentation wounds, with body parts flying, horrible holes torn through human flesh by missiles traveling at thousands of feet per second. I hear people screaming, see them die agonizing deaths". Then, after 6 months out in "the bush" (the South Vietnamese jungle) George changed. He had this to say:"I am lying in a treeline at night, guarding my buddies who are wounded, dying, and dead. Something has happened to me. I have crossed over a line. In one very violent, extreme instant I have been traumatized, but I am able to say to myself"this is crazy, human beings are not supposed to do this kind of thing to one another". This firefight was not over in a few seconds or a few minutes. It went on all day. Close friends were killed beside me. A grenade bounced off my chest and didn't go off. It was close-level combat. My enemies could see me and I could see them. They were firing at me with automatic weapons that could throw out hundreds of rounds a minute. People were killed on my immediate right;people were killed on my immediate left. I had a hundred near misses this day. Grenades went off all around me;rockets slammed into trees next to me. People were killed occupying a piece of ground I was on a millisecond before. I instantly come to terms with how crazy this is, but I still have to survive the rest of the day. It is extremely difficult for me to pull a trigger now-but I do. I try to rationalize that it's OK, more than ever OK, because I am one of the last lines of defense for my friends who are down. I am protecting them. When the fight ends I am a zombie". Steve is definitely a "Walking Wounded". The author, Steve Trimm, spends time in Albany County Jail (Albany,N.Y.) awaiting sentencing and makes bail. As bail was being arranged, Trimm wrote:"If their foolish enough to let me out, they'll never get me inside a cage again. Deception is a way of survival. That's what I'm taught. I'm a convicted felon at age 20. The voting age is 21, the draft age is 18. Richard M. Nixon was inaugurated President of the U.S. today, his speech piped through the cellblocks. This is a nightmare. If I lie to get out of it, I'll lie". Trimm jumps bail, fakes his suicide to throw off the pursuing F.B.I. and documents his flight to the sanctuary of Canada. It's interesting to note, that before Trimm evaded the draft (1970), he saw the handwriting on the wall and predicted this 3 years earlier. He wrote:"I'm in Philadelphia, attending a rock concert (1967). I'm surrounded by people doing drugs. I don't dislike such people, but I don't trust them either. I feel sorry for many of them. I've seen some antiwar activists fall into the drug scene and begin to be consumed by it. I understand why they have retreated into drugs. The government is trying to destroy the peace movement. Phones are tapped, peace groups infiltrated by the FBI; agent provocateurs are disrupting and discrediting antiwar organizations. Activists are being framed and imprisoned, and incredible lies are being told about the "Movement" by some of the country's leading politicians. Many of them are saying that people like me are evil. it appears that the Government is capable of doing just about anything, that being a "Peace activist" might cost you your freedom, or ultimately, your life. Given this atmosphere, it isn't surprising that fear and paranoia are spreading and that some in the Movement can't take the stress. They are retreating from a very sinister American Reality into a synthetic but safe-feeling "reality" created by drugs. A time will come when many in my generation will claim that sex. drugs and rock and roll were an affirmation, a way of celebrating life in the face of America's mad love of death. I won't see it that way. I will see sex, drugs and rock & roll as proof that death is triumphing. One other thing is clear by the end of 1967:what our government is doing to the Vietnamese is not being done out of stupidity or ignorance. It really and truly is being done out of wickedness. After all, the Government is going after us, it's own people. It can't plead ignorance about us. It has investigated and infiltrated us enough to know that we aren't pro-communist/ It knows we are sincerely for peace. And it wants us broken. There is viciousness in what the Government is doing to us. We are amazed and terrified. We never expected our Fathers to hurt us like this. And if the Government will do evil things to it's own children, of course it will inflict evil on foreigners". As you can see from the aforementioned, Steve Trimm accurately predicted such future events as the "Psychedelic Revolution", the occurrences of massacres of student protesters at "Kent and Jackson State Universities", and the evilness exposed at the Watergate hearings of the Nixon Administration's evilness.The Politics of Ecstasy (Leary, Timothy) Very prophetic! Stan, admitting his homosexuality, isn't so lucky. He tells a sad story of repressed homosexuality amongst prison walls doing time for a crime he felt indignant for. Finally, Vic's story, similar to George's, is one of vicious and savage combat in Vietnam, his consequent return to "the world" plagued with drug abuse, numbed feelings, multiple divorces, job changes, isolation and especially "survivor guilt". When Vic's wife read the manuscript of this book at the time of printing, she threatened him with divorce if he used his real name. Vic, another "Walking Wounded", wrote:"My Wife reads Steve's manuscript and strongly objects to my story being in the book. I can see some good arguments in favor of my being in the book, but none is good enough when I think about the disharmony and upheaval it would create at home. Suzi has been through enough on my account. I can't see putting her through any more. She says my story can be used on one condition:that she and I be given complete anonymity. I hate to disappoint Steve, I hate to make conditions, but I have to. We'll see what happens". Vic (a pseudonym) ended his last entry right at the outbreak of the 1st Gulf War. Sadly, he ended by saying:"Another reason I'm reluctant to go along with the book is that I don't think anyone wants to hear what any of us has to say. At the start of this month Iraq invaded Kuwait and overnight America is on the brink of a real war. I see the TV interviews with all the young soldiers. These guys are eager. They want to fight. They're gung-ho, and they're sure they can win easily. I've seen this naive enthusiasm before, and I've seen how qucikly it can change when there are real casualties, when there are dead and wounded. It's like nobody has learned anything from the Vietnam experience. Well, maybe our government knows how to make it's causes look more like international efforts, but as far as ordinary soldiers go, it's the same old story. Young guys trying to prove their manhood by being warriors, having no concept of the cost. As fear of war in the Persian Gulf increases, I can feel the curtain coming down on my discussions about the Vietnam War and the Vietnam Experience. There will be no more interest in the subject, so why talk about it? With the Persian Gulf, the "Vietnam Era" ends." Finally, this book is an important, albeit sad story that reads as flowing as a spectacular novel about desperate people during desperate times during a dark and recent period of American history. Vic was right-those that do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. Were the lessons of Vietnam learned? With the body count of Americans coming back from Iraq at this writing exceeding 4,500 in the prime of their lives, how many Americans this time around will come back from the Middle East also "Walking Wounded"? It really makes you think, with movies out like "Stop Loss", what would you do if the situation in the Gulf escalated, and the draft was reinstated and you were called to arms. Would you go? Has the events of 911, the U.S. Embassy attacks in Africa, the U.S.S Cole. etc. been sufficiently avenged? This book should be required reading in every high school classroom in America, and whether or not you went through this turbulent time in America, if you have any curiosity of history -this is a book you cannot afford not to read!
Subjects: A story over 23 years of 4 high school friends faced with vietnam!, Case studies, Draft resisters, Mental health, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Psychological aspects, Psychological aspects of Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975, Social aspects of Post-traumatic stress disorder, Veterans, Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975, Vietnam War, 1961-1975, Vietnam war, 1961-1975, psychological aspects, Men, psychology, Social aspects
Places: Albany N.Y., Canada, United States, Vietnam
People: Steve Trimm
Time periods: Late 1960's to early 1980's!