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Issue: January 9, 2000

LISTEN UP, TROOPS!
The Old drill Sgt. here, and this is part two of the VVAW saga. You did read Part One? If not go read part one and come back, so you can have more fun. I guess if things had not gone the way they did I would not have written this column, but people and history move in strange ways as you will see. First off, I bet that some of you are wondering why, if the situation with VVAW got so bad, why did I stay a member for 26 years. Well I'm stupid... No not really.... Just kidding...

After 1975 and the demise of VVAW on the west coast, the end of the war completely in the Nam, and the "Split", VVAW to me and many others became a state of mind; friendships had been developed and a sense of Alumni existed. It was easy to be a member, seeing how there wasn't much to do, nothing on the west coast at all, except stay in touch with friends. The National Office in Chicago would put out a paper now and then (I even wrote articles for the paper at times). And the N/O was run by the new and improved Berry Romo. He had the energy, and enjoyed the part of leader of the few that remained. There was a campout once a year in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the N/O would work on a VietNam Vet Stand-down in the Chicago area once or twice a year.

The concept of a Stand-down comes from the Vietnam War. When it was time for the troops of any given unit to come back to the base camp from the bush it was called a stand-down. Two or three days to resupply, get replacements, new equipment, and take a rest before going back into the fray. The Stand -downs that happen around the country now, ( check your local vets groups to see if there are any happening in your area), are to see if any help can be given to vets still out there wandering around. These stand-downs screen vets for job skills and employment help, V.A. claims and other related subjects. They are designed to help vets who would not otherwise seek or know where to go to get that help. Generally a lot of good comes from these stand-downs.

So you can see that being a member was easy, no meetings like the old days and no in your face attitude about the war, it was over, time to have a life. Jack Mc Closky and my self would, over the years, be the west coast coordinator, depending on who had the time to do the job. Again easy job, no chapters, no meetings. But once in a while we would meet a Nam vet who wanted to rejoin and we would sign them up. It was in my second tour as west coast coordinator, in `97, after Jack's death, that the trouble started. I will get to that time later in this column.

But first I would like to introduce you to Rod Benson, an old friend of mine. When I was preparing part one of this column I asked Rod to send me his thoughts on what was happening in Southern California in the early `70's. Rod was a member of VVAW in Riverside. It is strange, as you will see, that his experiences were so similar to what was going on in the north and yet we did not know each other at the time. The SF Bay Area and Riverside are separated by about 500 miles.

So here's Rod Benson and his thoughts on VVAW, 1970's:

Author's Preface 

I came back from Vietnam not knowing which way was up. I returned to my parent's farm in Indiana to ponder my future if there was one. Perhaps I would return to the University of Indiana. One poor bureaucrat from the Governor's office drove all the way from Indianapolis to see if there were any state services I needed. They did not have much to offer. I bought a used Volkswagen when I returned to Indiana, and to pass the time I would tinker with it. One beautiful fall afternoon I was under the VW tinkering. In a field across the way, there were some quail hunters. Yep, you guessed it, they started popping caps, and I skinned the shit out of my head getting out from under the car and belly flopping behind a pile of wood. I split for California a couple of days later. My intent was to go to Australia. I never made it to Australia.

I stopped traveling when I got to LA, and I got a girl friend and eventually a job. I exhausted a year's worth of unemployment benefits by laying around the beach at Malibu. The job I had was shit, and everybody I knew pretended that there was nothing going on in Vietnam. I met a couple of Vietnam Vets, but they did not particularly want to be identified as having served in Vietnam. "Viet-what. I was stationed in Germany." Every time I mentioned Vietnam to the very few people I knew on a first-name basis, they acted as if I had just cut a big old boiled-egg fart. I got tired of working, and I got tired of my girlfriend. I was slowly but surely coming apart at the seams, and I didn't know why. I got the bright idea that I could go to college on the GI bill. Kill some time and maybe have a few laughs. Possibly get laid. After all it was the 70's. I enrolled in UC Riverside principally because none of the other universities I applied to would take me. This is where the story begins. Riverside California, September 1973.

Chapter One - VVAW here I come.

I had no idea where I was going with the college thing. The GI college benefits did not pay enough to live on. I wasn't having a good time, and I wasn't getting laid. It was fall, it was chilly, so I wore my field jacket to class. Bad move. I was more or less ignored by most students and teachers. The Allende thing was going down in Chile and there was some kind of small demonstration going on on campus. UCR was quite conservative, but there were some vocal people on campus. 

I saw a guy wearing a field jacket just like mine. We spoke. He was from LA and he was with Vietnam Veterans Against the War. His name was Tom Something-or-the-other. We talked about the Nam. We talked political issues, and we agreed on most of them. At last, someone I could really talk to. I got the glory. I had never been involved in grassroots politics before. I didn't know shit from Shinola (figuratively speaking).  

Tom gave me some VVAW literature, and a few days later, I set up a little table by the student union. I was going to start a VVAW chapter at UCR and I didn't have the vaguest idea how I was going to do it. Little did I know that there had been a rather active VVAW chapter in Riverside a few years prior, but it disbanded. The old-timers were out there somewhere, but they wouldn't come near me. FNG syndrome, I guess. 

I personed (PC you know) my table by the student union twice a week. The rest of the time I went to class, went home, got drunk. I liked cheap wine in those days.

Chapter Two-The Lawton Trial

The Gary Lawton trial was a very complex issue, so here goes my simple description. Two policemen had been ambushed in Riverside a year or so earlier. Lawton and three others were accused and put on trial. After trial one, which ended in a hung jury, charges were dropped on one of the accused. After trial two, which ended in a hung jury, charges were dropped another defendant. That left Lawton as the only defendant in the third trial. The DA said Lawton was the trigger man. He had been in the Marines (too early for the Nam) and therefore he was quite capable of killing someone. He was also an activist in the black community. What grabbed my attention was the DA's description of Lawton running from the murder scene. According to the DA, Lawton stumbled and fell, dropped the shotgun he was carrying, and got up and kept on going without the shotgun. I knew from experience that no one trained by Uncle Sammy's military apparatus does something like that. I dropped my weapon once in basic training, and I got a serious talking to (translation, about a zillion pushups, lots of verbal abuse, and a good smack on the back of the head). I never ever ever dropped my weapon again even in combat(especially in combat come to think of it). So I knew in my heart that Lawton was being railroaded. Lawton had a defense committee, and now VVAW, on a national level, was adopting the Lawton trial as a pet project. I, as a founder of a VVAW chapter at UCR, was a total failure.

Chapter Three-Send in the Clowns

VVAW national office sent in one of their experienced guys as coordinator for the trial. He was from Riverside, and had years of experience with VVAW. His name was Barry Romo. Romo had been an officer in Vietnam and had sort of a take charge attitude. We started having VVAW meetings at his house. Things were picking up. Romo was also involved with another group called Revolutionary Union. The RU had a strong Stalinist-Maoist leaning(Romo had a dog named Che). According to Romo, it was a natural evolution for someone to start by protesting the Vietnam War and eventually end up as a communist. If you think of it long enough, the real reason for the Vietnam War was US imperialism and its backer, capitalism. We didn't attract very many new members to our VVAW chapter. We got a Marxist study group going, and we did a few "less-than-ten people" demonstrations but none of them concerned with Vietnam. Around 5 in the morning, one very cold winter morning we handed out leaflets at the main gate of Kaiser Steel in Fontana. Some of the masses there wanted to kick our butts. Hmm. The revolution probably won't get off the ground for a few more weeks.

There were three other people aside from myself who regularly attended the VVAW meetings. Romo pretty much ran the meetings. It was a Marxist style (if there is such a thing) meeting. We even had a criticism-self criticism session at the end of the meetings. That was when each of us got the opportunity to snivel at everybody present, including ourselves. At the same time, the RU was in the process of becoming a full fledged political party. Romo called it party building. On several occasions, Romo would dash out of a VVAW meeting to make a call on a local pay phone. That was so the FBI and the CIA couldn't listen on the conversation.

I attended my first regional meeting in the winter of '73. It seemed that most of the old-timers were communists of one color or the other. It's funny that all the communist organizations represented by VVAW membership hated each other. There was the CPUSA, the October League, RU which became the Revolutionary Communist Party, Kim-Il-Sung study group, the Enver Hojia (president of Albania) study group and so on ad nauseum. VVAW was in the midst of an upheaval. One group (principally the Marxists) wanted a well defined anti-imperialist base and focus. The main concern of the other group was that the US was still napalming babies in good old RVN. They wanted it stopped. The base and focus people finally got their way. Those who were not concerned with smashing imperialism drifted away from the organization. Lawton was acquitted during the early spring of '75(not real sure about that) and the US puppet government of South Vietnam fell in May of '75(real sure about that). I, in general was going nuts. I wasn't sure what was real anymore. I had enjoyed writing fiction about Vietnam in some of my classes at UCR. I thought I want to continue with that, but not at UCR. I had heard a teacher from Sonoma State University read one of works in progress at a little English Majors' Club at UCR. He was so cool. He seemed to really know about Vietnam, and he wasn't afraid to say so. He could teach me things.

Epilogue - Happiness is seeing Riverside in your rear view mirror.

A few of us split off from Romo and started to have our own VVAW meetings. Most of us thought Romo was trying to turn us into Chinese peasants. The real turnoff was that the RCP viewed the Vietnam Vets as those that would physically fight the capitalists. We would be cannon fodder again. Yea, piss in my canteen cup why don't you? And besides the other side has nukes.

I left Riverside in December of '75. I think I attended my last VVAW meeting in the late summer of '75. Life didn't get better for me until several years later. In '81 those arrogant bastards in the American Psychiatric Association said that there actually was some validity to our claims that being in combat in Vietnam had some lasting ill effects.

No Duh. A lot of Vietnam Vets pulled the plug between '70 and '81. No body paid much attention to that, but research has finally shown ... and so on. In that light, the smash-the-state dogma of those mentioned above seems silly. At one time I was proud of my country, but I was a little kid then and didn't know any better.

Thanks Rod, now how's that for like experiences...

Oh, lest I forget, Rod was also with the 101st Airborne Division.

Aren't Paratroopers just cute and cuddly critters...

I ran into Mr. Peabody at the gas station, he and his boy Sherman were filling the tank and headed out of town for the weekend. How's it going I asked, as I took the gas cap off my bike's gas tank. I was also headed out of town for the weekend before starting Part two. Fine, he said, and you? Me, I'm doing fine and going on a relaxing weekend before starting part two of the VVAW column. Mr. Peabody looked me straight in the eye and said, Ya know Drill Sgt., when you asked to use the wayback for your next column, and when I asked if it was going to give you a headache, I thought I was going to enjoy watching you suffer for awhile. But after seeing what you vets in VVAW went through, ya all seriously got messed with. I can honestly say I did not enjoy seeing what you were writing about. It gave me a headache to boot. Me too, said Sherman, don't you ever write about happy history? Hey kid this ain't the land of Oz, and shit happens. Everyone, including myself learned a great deal from their involvement in the early `70's. As the old Airborne saying goes, "Put your head down and drive on!!!" Right you are, he smiled, but do you have to keep running into a wall all the time. Thanks a lot Mr. Peabody, I said, I love you too. You're not going to need the wayback for part two, are you? Mr. Peabody asked, somewhat squinting through his thick glasses. Sherman had that weird look on his face again. No, I said, it is all stored in what grey matter I have left. Good, then we're out of here. I watched as they left the station, got on my bike and headed in the other direction.

As 1975 drew to a close, myself and others had a feeling of relief and exhaustion. Wow, what a rush the last 8 years had been. Time for a break, and that's just what many of us did. At the same time people around the country were assessing the damage done from the war, to vets and the home front. Kind of like assessing bomb damage after an air strike. And the collateral damage was staggering. That damage would continue for some years; it took a long time for the dust to settle.

From late `75 to`79 things in VVAW were quiet. Well, quiet is a relative term I guess. The faction of the RCP left and formed their own little group of nut cases. They became VVAW/AI (VietNam Veterans Against the War/ Anti- Imperialists). With many of the members not even Nam vets. A few were and that was the excuse to continue the madness. At the same time there were conferences and symposiums held around the country by VietNam vets and different organizations. These gatherings were held to address the different situations that the vets were now dealing with, seeing how the VA (Veterans Administration), and the US Government weren't. Employment, drug and alcohol abuse, education, family problems, agent orange, stress and the list goes on and on. The homeless problem had not come to light yet. Also the question of how much should veterans respond to the different and continuing military operations the US was involved in. When it came to the issue of "Militarism" the VVAW/AI people were very vocal about how evil the US was and the revolution had to happen and the people needed Marx and vets were guilty of crimes against humanity and blah, blah, blah. VVAW/AI was so disruptive, that many conferences and workshops were ended in screaming matches. At times, because the age of conflict resolution had not dawned yet, some of us vets would deal with VVAW/AI in our own simple way. That means we would stomp them (VVAW/AI) into the floor, sidewalk, gutter, depending on where this type of political persuasion was needed. I know it's the `90's and we are mellow and all grown up now. Well it was the late `70's and mellow was not something many of us comprehended; not that we were overly violent, but most of us had what one might call a "short fuse" when it came to bullshit.

This is a good place to shift gears a bit. As much as I like talking about the political bumblings of the radical American left, there were other things happening in the VietNam Vets community. Because of the attitudes directed at the returning Nam vet by the government, VA, and American public at large, with a lot of help from the media, there was a sense of us and them in the Vets community. The only ones that were going to help us were us, plain and simple. From this came many groups and organizations that were there to help vets where needed. After VVAW went down in San Francisco in `75, Jack McClosky and other members started "Twice Born Men", a self help group. The Vet Centers had not been organized yet and there was a need to address the things the Vietnam vet was going through. From this group came "Swords To Ploughshares", an advocate organization, that would help vets deal with the VA, and other life needs. Started in 1976, "Swords" is still at it today, and has been a vast help to many Vets over the years. They have worked with VietNam vets and Gulf War vets, on all issues that relate to that group of vets. Swords has a housing project that helps vets in need get off the streets and put their lives back together. They also have legal personnel that do advocate work for vets who are fighting a claim with the VA. In 1974 "Flower of the Dragon" was started in Santa Rosa, Ca. This group was designed to do the type of work that "Swords" was doing. "Flower" is gone now, but from it came VietNam Vets of California. VVA (VietNam Vets of America) was formed in about 1980. VVA was a direct result of the attitudes Nam Vets received from the traditional Vets groups, (VFW & American Legion). VVAW was not the only one that got crap from these organizations, Nam vets in general were looked down on, the war was lost and America had to blame someone.

In 1989 I joined the VFW, at the request of a friend I knew in Santa Cruz, Ca. I was down there with my partner Helen and our daughter Joleen. Helen was doing her graduate, and Ph.D. work in Sociology, at the University of Santa Cruz. My friend Tom McGoulf, a Nam vet from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, asked me to join the post he was in then. I met Tom years before when I worked with VietNam Combat Vets LTD., of Santa Cruz. This group would later become the Bill Motto VFW Post of Santa Cruz. These guys would go on to cause a real stir in the VFW when the Contra war started in Nicaragua (see my column on "Secret Wars"). The Bill Motto post of the VFW sent out a press release, now get this, on VFW letter head, stating their opposition to our involvement in the region. And asking for an immediate withdrawal of all aid to the Contras. The big boys in the VFW went nuts, they were, after all, totally behind Reagan's little war. Slapped the Bill Motto post on the ass and told them to go stand in the corner till they were good, then kicked them out of the VFW altogether. A court order reinstated the post and they went on to annoy and give headaches to the VFW for many years. When I joined the other post in Santa Cruz I started to receive the standard line from the old members. You Nam vets don't work, you are all lazy and do drugs. This one WWII vet started on me one day with this crap and I told him that this is the same shit I received 20 years prior and I didn't take it then and I wasn't going to take now. Took my VFW membership card out of my wallet and threw it on the table and left. I was with my family and working and did not need this bullshit in my life. The phone was ringing before I got home. Come back, it won't happen again, blah, blah, blah. When I returned I informed the members that I was an Infantry Paratrooper, and former Drill Sgt. and that if I got wanged on again they could stick the VFW where the sun don't shine! I am now a member of a VFW post here on the Russian River formed by Nam vets with members from all eras. There are none of the aforementioned insults in this post, that would not be tolerated.

All around the country groups were formed to help Vets, each taking on what they felt was needed to be done. A good friend of mine, in the mid west, works on Vets in business. Others work on many different issues pertaining to Veterans. The one simple driving force: the only ones that are going to help us , are ourselves.

On through the `80's and early `90's the political garbage raged. The Contra war came and went, Granada, Panama, Somalia, El Salvador, and the Persian Gulf. With each one the resistance banner went up and people would rally to work against the current military moves of the US. As each ended people would go back to their lives and wait for the next time. Which meant they did not have to wait long. Been quiet lately, which is a relative term I guess. There's been a lot going on but it is so confusing that the left can't seem to find something to sink its teeth into. It's not to say there aren't issues to deal with. But a good old fashioned protracted, high cost, high casualty war really gets the protest blood going. With the collapse of the Evil Empire, (not ours silly, the Russians), we are now stuck in the Balkans, with everybody scratching their heads trying to figure out who's the bad guy and who isn't. A lot of young American troops in harm's way and not sure why. Sound familiar?

All through this, Berry Romo, dictator for life of VVAW Inc., led on. The Inc. came after VVAW fought and won a court battle with VVAW/AI over the logo. VVAW/AI was using the same logo, and was confusing people as to which VVAW was the real revolutionary movement. So off to court they went and VVAW Inc. won, which again is a relative term. VVAW/AI could not use the logo any more, so there. VVAW/AI, being good revolutionaries, branded VVAW Inc. counter-revolutionaries and used the logo anyway, so there nah, nah , nah, nah, nah. Most of us thought this was real funny, and went about our lives. What's the point? Neither VVAW was large enough to make any difference. And contrary to popular belief in the minds of Berry Romo and crew and VVAW/AI, the revolution was not going to start tomorrow. So the leadership of both VVAW's have this here hissy fit and pissing contest, with most of us trying to figure out who is the bigger meathead. Guess what? They're both equal. VVAW/AI is in Seattle, and VVAW Inc is in Chicago, with nothing else to show for it around the country.

Around late `92, early `93 VVAWInc, in Chicago lost their non- profit status in Ill. A screw up of one thing or another. But the nonprofit status was done. It was not until "The Mess", as it was called in `98, that the members found out through a total fluke. Five years of no nonprofit status and Berry Romo and crew told no one and continued to raise money. I knew nothing of this and Doc Upton found out when "The Mess" hit a rolling boil. We were both regional coordinators at the time. Next up: "The Mess".

"The Mess", and into the abyss

Oct. 31, 1997, I was back in Chicago for the yearly meeting. A good time to see old friends. Totally unaware of the building storm. VVAW was moving again. All the aforementioned dogma and jargon gone to time and age. Now it was just what's going on in the world. This is, after all, an anti-war group of people, so let's not get confused here. The one thing to come out of this meeting was the fact that VVAW Inc. was on line, (Internet). I thought, "Cool, guess it's time to get a computer". Now one must remember that I left a computer center in 1970 and had not had use or paid attention to computers since. So when I got home I got one and settled down to drive myself nuts figuring out how to use one. Little did I know just what this new means of commo would do and my chagrin as to what would transpire.

Feb.`98, and the N/O of VVAW Inc. was contacted by Brian Wilson. He (Wilson) wanted VVAW to endorse a new project of his. Money not withstanding. For those of you who do not know of Brian Wilson, he is a Nam Vet. who got his legs cut off by an ammo train at the Navy's weapons station in Concord Ca., mid 1980's, protesting all the US aid to the Contras under Reagan's auspices. A tragic situation that should not have happened, but shit happens and that's the way it is. Brian was, and is, involved in opposing US Militarism around the world. Now in 1998, he had a new goal. He wanted VVAW to endorse, you're going to love this, a fact finding mission of unarmed VietNam Vets to Chiapas, Mexico to see if the US military was involved with support to the Mexican army, in fighting the latest uprising. A group of people in southern Mexico had risen up against the Mexican Gov. for very bad treatment of indigenous people. Zapatistas, as they were called, named after Emilio Zapata of the Mexican Revolution of the early 1900's. Kind of neat, wouldn't you say!

Also in Feb. `98, a new reformed chapter of VVAW was started in northern California. This was made up of old members from the `60's&`70's with the intent of being an alumni, fraternal organization. You know, Friday night poker games and picnics and campouts during good weather. Most of us were in our 50's and the revolution was for the younger generation. There had been a 22 year period of no VVAW activity or chapters on the west coast. The response to this new chapter from the N/O I will cover soon.

The cry of, "Aiee Caramba, there's Marxists among us", was heard from Mexico City to Washington DC. What was happening was that the people were tired of the treatment they were receiving from the Mexican Gov. and landed gentry. Picked up the gun and took matters into their own hands. With live ammo deciding the outcome and both sides losing and the innocent and the defenseless in the middle. Kind of makes you feel sad to call your self human, now don't it. What Mr. Wilson's plan was, was to take unarmed Vets into the region and have a fact finding mission, to prove that the US military was involved in helping the Mexican Gov. deal with the problem. You know what a fact finding mission is don't you? No? Well that's where you send people out to look at and report on something everyone else already knows about, even if they only read half the paper on any given Thursday. Spend a lot of money, have a media blitz and say profound things like, "unjust", and "beyond human understanding", etc.. MacNamara's report on Vietnam comes to mind.

So let's take a look at the U.S. involvement in Mexico & Mexican politics. In 1846 the U.S. Gov. went to war with Mexico and invaded. We encouraged the Texas rebellion,(you remember John Wayne and the Alamo), then Texas became a state. Same thing in California, gold found in 1848, then rebellion and statehood in 1850, neat, sweet and petite. Can't forget Arizona, and New Mexico. All through the rest of the 19th century there were strained borders with both countries. General Pershing chasing Poncho Villa around northern Mexico in 1915-16, Woodrow Wilson sending in the troops to Vera Cruz in 1916, and on , and on it goes. The U.S. was, and had been, and would continue to be involved in Mexico. Newsweek and the San Francisco Chronicle both had articles on U.S. military assistance to the Mexican Army at this time. What was the need for unarmed people walking around a war zone to find out if we were there. All you have to do is read your history and the paper to know, Yes Dorothy, we are in Mexico, now take you and your dirty little dog back to Kansas. I conveyed this to the N/O with shocking results.

When I asked why I had not been contacted about the endorsement, I was, after all, the West Coast regional coordinator. Wilson was in Santa Cruz, 150 miles away, and I knew the people he was working with. I might have some insight into what he was up to. I was told that the info on the project had been on the VVAW Net and everyone had agreed to endorse. (What I found out later was that the issue had been on the VVAW Net for 24 hours and there was no time to wait. Only 5 people decided to back Wilson's plan). I had just come on line and did not hear of the endorsement for 3 days. When I protested the endorsement and said that Wilson was nuts and was going to get someone killed for the cause, I also asked for a withdrawal of the endorsement and to put as much distance from Wilson as VVAW could. I was told that I was just a regional coordinator and that I should not get involved with National Office policy. Well what the hell am I doing as a regional coordinator, I asked. Up until this time there had not been much happening and it was the first time I felt compelled to ask the question. This time we were dealing with unarmed people in a war zone. Just before this all came down, 46 people in a village in Chiapas had been sent to God by paramilitary personnel of the area. To me it made no sense to send down a bunch of Gringos to muddy the waters, and get themselves killed to boot. I was severely reprimanded and told to stay out of things I did not understand. You can imagine how that went over with yours truly.

Also about this time, Doc Upton, Navy Corpsman with the Marines Recon in VietNam, and Midwest regional Coordinator came on line. He also expressed his concerns about the Wilson project, and proposed a list of guidelines that would prevent this type of mix-up from happening again. One thing he proposed was that the National Office in the future take the time and wait for feedback from all regional coordinators on decisions and endorsements. With the Internet it would not take long once everyone knew what was on the table. He was told that the VVAW net was not for that, and to bring complaints to the yearly meeting. In the mean time you, Doc., are just a regional coordinator and the real decisions would be made by the National Office, period, no discussion, end of statement. This also did not go well with Doc You might say it, "Bade an evil wind".

What became clear was that anyone outside the N/O run by Romo and crew would not have any input. Now in an organization that wasn't doing much this would not mean a thing. But given the severity of endorsing a project that put people in harm's way and possible death and injury, there had to be a full discussion on anything like that. The answer to this was, No, we (the N/O) make the decisions, you (regional coordinators) get new members and stay out of the way. I informed the N/O that the only way I would endorse such a project, was if I was the first one off the plane. And I was not going into a combat zone ever again. Been there, done that! Bad for your complexion and leaves your nerves all screwed up, a bad attitude and a lousy taste in your mouth. Doc Upton concurred. The blanket answer was, Hey, we (VVAW) weren't giving Wilson any money and none of our people are going, so what's the big thing. Can you believe that? I couldn't, and let the N/O know how I felt about such a stupid statement. Doc also landed on them. Just because your organization was not giving money or sending your people on a certain project, it was all right to endorse. Even if you, as head of that organization, know that there is a good likelihood of someone being killed or injured.

That troops, is just politically STUPID!! Sounds a lot like the U.S. foreign policy in VietNam in the early `60's.

This was not the first time Wilson had come to VVAW with one of his hair brain schemes. When the first elections in El Salvador were to be held, this was after their long and bloody civil war. You don't have to ask, yes the U.S. military was involved. Brian got the idea of sending folks down El Salvador way to be unarmed accompaniment for leftist candidates in the general election. A man from Chicago and one from San Francisco were chosen and with little or no training on just what unarmed accompaniment was, were sent to El Salvador to escort major leftist candidates. Both had been connected to VVAW at one time or another and were given completely wrong info as to their job description. When things got sticky a man from Ca. that was close to Wilson got in touch with Romo, while in Chicago, to see if VVAW had any lobby contacts in D.C. that could help in getting the man from S.F. out of El Salvador. I knew of this stupid project and had told the man from S.F. not to go. I was unaware of someone contacting VVAW national office for help. The man from S.F. got home safely, and when vets from the San Francisco bay area confronted Wilson and crew about how stupid the whole thing was, we were told that it was the man's fault and he over reacted to the situation, blah, blah, blah. Bullshit! What had happened was that that man was handed a handgun one night and told to get ready, the death squads were in the area. The man said that was not in his job description and bailed out of El Salvador. Wilson and crew told the El Salvadorians they were getting security personnel, and told those going, that they were unarmed accompaniment. Real cute, bullshit info to all concerned, with the chance of someone getting to the pearly gates early. I got a very sinking feeling in my stomach about Brian Wilson from that point on. VPAT (Veterans Peace Action Team), Brian Wilson's organization, even took out a full page add in a San Salvador, El Salvador newspaper, stating that veterans of North America supported the FMLN peace proposal, and that the FMLN proposal should be implemented. It was signed by vets from N. America and Wilson's name was at the top of the advisory committee. Now you are taking sides in someone else's business.

When confronted with this, it was denied by VPAT. But at a meeting about the botched accompaniment trip, I produced the paper and article that was brought back by a friend who had served for a year as part of an international medical team in the El Salvadorian refugee camps on the Honduran border. I asked, showing the paper to those at the meeting, " Well what's this, chopped liver?" We were told that the people that got the article had changed it and Wilson was not involved. Come on, his (Wilson's) name is at the top of the advisory committee, also anyone with any experience with the media knows that anything you say or give them in writing can and will be twisted, distorted, and delivered in a way to make you look like an idiot, period. The silence was deafening.

Here is a side bar to this. For many years there had been organizations in Central America that had been doing unarmed accompaniment. Witness for Peace had been in the region for years. These people went through weeks of training and were not just dropped in somewhere with bad info. A good friend of mine's brother spent 3 years in Nicaragua working with Witness for Peace. He told me of his training and that when he first went out into the countryside, he went with others who had been there for some time. Kind of like being a newbie in an infantry platoon in Nam. You just walk along and learn from the old timers. Good way to stay alive. There were other well trained, long term groups working in the area, such as Doctors and Nurses Without Borders. There was also a group made up of people from all over the world working in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, who did unarmed accompaniment. These people were trained before entering the area, and one of the prerequisites was to be able to speak the language. Gee, what a novel idea, be able to talk to the people you are with. What won't they think of next. Neither of the men sent by Wilson had a working knowledge of the language of the region. And that's not on the two men sent by Wilson; they were given bogus info from the start. That was on VPAT and Wilson. There is one more thing here; with Wilson's, "I do it my way", type of thinking, he and VPAT could have jeopardized the work by others that had been in place for some time. But when you are a real take charge kind of guy like Wilson, why check around and see what others are doing. Just reinvent the wheel, with possible deadly results. Lest I forget, the manner in which you conduct yourself in someone else's area, will have serious repercussions on the people who live there, after you have gone home to deliver your report. Para-militaries don't have a sense of humor and don't like outside agitators.

With this new Wilson project, I knew, as if it were written in stone, that Wilson wanted a martyr for the cause. Sorry, that's how I feel, I'm an old Drill Sgt. and too many good people have gone down around stupid, hair brained ideas of showing how bad it is out there. The N/O of VVAW knew of Wilson, that he was a loose canon, and yet they were going to endorse one of his projects.

Now the shit really hit the fan. Doc and I were landed on by the N/O like a raging bull elephant gone berserk and stomping on a defenseless village. People started taking sides and the N/O circled up the wagons and dug in. One of the strangest things I'd seen lately came out of this. This came in the form of one of the National Office personnel, Bill Branson, being appointed, (not elected), to the post of, (are you ready?) "Head of Security for VVAW Inc". Here is an organization that had been around since 1967 and that even in its heyday during the war and through all the bullshit mentioned in Part One of this column, had never had a "Head of Security". A head of security was not needed in the old days, why start now. That question would be answered real soon. My friend Jeff Johnson from Minneapolis, jumped into the fray with Doc and me. He had signed me up in S.F. in 1972 and we are still close friends. He started asking questions and was told to shut up. He also was part of the new chapter in California. He was also told by Romo that he could not be a part of the N Ca,. chapter, even though there is no rule barring anyone from being part of any chapter in VVAW rules. Romo also told Jeff that according to Jack McClosky there was no interest in Ca, for a new chapter. Jack had been dead for almost three years, so that did not wash. Also that he,(Romo) would not allow, even if there was interest, a new chapter in N Ca. Thank you very much, fearless leader. I guess you can see where all this was going to go. Straight to hell in a hand basket. There were other issues that came up that had been festering for some time, which just added to the mix and things got worse. All through this Doc., myself, and other members that got involved, just hammered on the N/O for answers and the right to have a say in what was going on. It got nuts and ugly on the net and I was part of it all. I don't feel good about some of this, but sometimes you have to take a stand and say no more.

The next piece of stupid crap to come from the N/O was Doc and me being suspended from VVAW for being bad boys that would not get with the program. This little tidbit was delivered from none other then the "Head of Security", Bill Branson. It became clear why there was a "Head of Security": to keep the members in line and get rid of trouble makers. I held my head and sobbed for hours, I can't play no more... Oh woe is me...

Doc Upton took this turn of events in a rather somber mood. Somewhat like Chesty Puller, commander of the Marines at the Chosen Reservoir during the Korean War. As the story goes, when Puller was told by his staff that they were in fact surrounded by a far superior force of Chinese infantry and armor, Puller said "Good, now the bastards can't get away." And went on an immediate offensive. When the Marines were withdrawing from Chosen, Puller's higher command asked if he was retreating. He replied, "No Sir, I am attacking in a new direction." If you don't believe this, go ask any Marine about Chesty Puller and the Marines of the frozen Chosen. They also took every piece of equipment and dead and wounded with them. Nothing was left for the Chinese. Doc had been a navy corpsman with the Marine recon in Nam and he just attacked in a new direction. Doc., for some time had asked for a list of members and financial records. The N/O of VVAW had refused every request, saying he did not have a need to know, and was unauthorized for that information. Wrong answer. Doc contacted the Attorney General of Ill. and asked what the rules were regarding nonprofit status in Ill. He was told that anyone could ask for and receive member lists and financial records from any nonprofit organizations registered in Ill. Member or not. The AG also asked why he was asking, seeing how VVAW Inc. had not had a nonprofit status since 1992. Oops! Doc went ballistic, and filed a complaint with the AG, asking for an investigation on this new revelation. Berry Romo, and the N/O of VVAW Inc. had told no one of the loss of the nonprofit status, and still accepted moneys from people who thought that VVAW donations were tax deductible. Is this any way to run a railroad?

When Doc contacted Romo and the N/O of VVAW about what he had learned from the AG of Ill., he was told that the AG was lying and everything was fine. This was so far from the truth, it was almost laughable. First off, why would the AG lie, VVAW was not the Ford Foundation, by any stretch of the word. Two, everything was not fine and would get worse. Several other members also filed complaints with the AG of ILL. demanding they investigate, and that the financial records and members list be supplied. And the beat goes on. At about this time I had had it with these bozos in the N/O and quit out of pure disgust with having been lied to for years. Shortly after I quit, Doc was expelled from the organization completely. One should understand that all through this there were people in VVAW who advised the N/O not to land on Doc and me, warned that the suspension was not a good idea, and the expulsion of Doc Upton was not how to deal with the problem. All this advice was flushed down the toilet in Berry Romo's house, which is where the National Office is housed. Convenient now, isn't it?

With the "circle up the wagons and bunker in" mentality of Romo and the N/O, VVAW has been reduced to an organization in name only. Many people remember VVAW from the old days and what it had been and stood for. That is not what it is today and don't be confused by its web site and all that. VVAW is controlled by Berry Romo and a few henchmen. There is one chapter in Champagne/Urbana Ill. with mostly college students as members, and one in New York City, that works independently of the ruling clique in Chicago. As far as the rest of the country, there are no chapters in existence. The re-formed chapter here in Northern California, is made up of old members who live our lives and remember being part of a very colorful segment of American history. And that's the way it should be. Most of us feel that the "The" on Vietnam Veterans Against The War, should be dropped altogether. And the name should be " Vietnam Veterans Against War", pure and simple. VietNam is gone to the mists of time and history, but War just keep going and going. Kinda like that weird pink rabbit, that beats a base drum and runs all over the T.V.

Oh, before I forget, Brian Wilson and his dog and pony act did not go to Chiapas after all. I guess someone had a surge of common sense, and thought that breathing was better then martyrdom.

Here is an update I just received from my information network. You don't think I make all this up now do you? Since I left VVAW in`98, I have had friends that are still connected keep me informed as to what Romo, "The Fearless Leader", and his lackeys were up to. It seems that Romo has come up with a way to deal with the problem of regional coordinators. His plan is so simple I don't know why he did not figure it out years ago. His solution to the questions that some regional coordinator might come up with, is to not have regional co-odinators. His rationale for this is that the regional co-odinators were not doing their jobs i.e., getting new members and sending money to the N/O. And that no one wants the job, and they won't do as Romo tells them, and no one wants to stay in the bunker with him anymore, and Eva can't cook and the Generals all lie... Oops, sorry, I got Romo confused with another historical figure.

So what you have now is contact people. That way Romo and crew can ignore or discredit those contact personnel as they please. What the bottom line is, is that VVAW is not now or will ever be what many people remember it to be. Now this will make all those right wing, we really did win in Vietnam types very happy, but do people that live in denial (not the river) really count anyway. So to the rest of you out there that remember and lived through the VietNam nightmare, remember a time when a bunch of young American Veterans stood up and called question as to the insanity of that ugly war and received the condemnation of the country for doing that and still stayed the course to that war's final conclusion. That is what VVAW was and in the minds of those many vets it will always be just that. And you know, Troops, I would do the whole thing again, ah life in the fast lane...

Well troops, before I finish this saga of how not to run an organization, I would like to give you a piece of irony. My good friend Susan Olson has informed me that her dad, Karl Olson, is going to Chiapas, with none other than Witness for Peace in Jan. 2000. The same organization that her brother Peter worked with for 3 years in Nicaragua. Karl is a spry 81 year old senior with a long history of anti-war work under his belt. Karl was a CO (conscientious objector), in WWII, has worked with many groups, such as CCCO and WRL (Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, War Resisters League). I plan on doing a column on him and the CO's of the past soon. Quite a colorful group, I must say. I told Karl my feelings on going into combat zones, even if Chiapas has been quiet as of late, things are still touchy down there. He understands my concerns, but pointed out that he was going with Witness for Peace, a group that knows what it's doing. I have to concur with him and wish him god speed. He had been a Congregational minister for 50 years and I thought that fit.

OK Troops, time for a break. Smoke if you got them, bum one if you don't. This has been a long and hard column, but history is history, period. No matter which side of the political coin you are on, it must be addressed. Now don't you feel warm and fuzzy all over, just like I do?

Till next time, ya all keep reading those newspapers and watching the T.V. for what we all know and love: The American Historical Process.

Today's tips are:

1. All five second grenade fuses will burn down in three seconds.

2. Try to look unimportant because the bad guys may be low on ammo.

See you around the Base Camp..... Drill Sgt. Hassna....... OUT!

copyright Steve Hassna, 2000

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