Vietnam veterans find a new role

A psychiatric ward
"I remember coming home thinking 'that was really surreal, that was horrendous, no way in my lifetime I'm ever going to make sense of that,'" said Beebe, who served in Vietnam in 1967 with the 1st Cavalry Division.

"On good days we were protecting a village from guerrilla attacks so the farmers could plant their rice, and then on bad days we were getting shot at from that same village," Beebe remembers. "There were no words to explain that, even if someone had asked, and secondly, no one was interested."

Garrett found his voice through a psychiatric ward. Although he had flunked out of college before the war, he had returned to school and earned a degree in clinical psychology. He was working with the V.A. in Augusta, Ga., in 1980, when he was assigned to talk to other Vietnam veterans who were experiencing mental problems.

“It was the first time I had talked to another vet about Vietnam since 1970,” Garrett remembers. “And then I started to talk with the veterans on the psych ward and identify with them, with their anger at the government, their anger at the way they had been treated. I would walk out of the hospital every day furious, not understanding what was going on.”

Beebe's experience was similar: "I wanted to know, Why can’t I sleep at night? Why, before my feet hit the ground in the morning getting out of bed, I’m furious? Why can't I stand being in a crowd. Why can't I hold a conversation with anyone? Why are all of these things going on?"

Learning about post-traumatic stress
The answer was a concept that was new to psychologists at the time: post-traumatic stress disorder. Although it had been noticed before, it wasn't until the Vietnam War that it was studied extensively by psychologists. "Suddenly there was an acceptance of the fact that emotional distress is a response to the trauma of war," said Beebe, who now manages veterans center programs for the V.A. in the Northeast.

E. Kenneth Hoffman Protest march in Washington, D.C., early 1970s.

And many Vietnam vets found they had something to talk about with the veterans of earlier wars. "Lo and behold, Korean War and World War II vets said, 'Gee, I’ve been suffering from this too,'" said Beebe.

With time, talk and counseling, the wounds began to heal.

For Beebe, the turning point came with the dedication of the Vietnam Memorial in 1982. "That was enormously validating for Vietnam veterans," he said.

For Peragallo, coming to terms with Vietnam changed his life. In 1988, he wrote about his experiences for a book a friend was writing. That lead to a trip back to Vietnam, and a group, Vets with a Mission, which builds medical facilities in rural Vietnam. He's made 32 trips back and now has friends who are former foes.

"We had a reconciliation dinner and we talked soldier to soldier," he said, "They bawled their eyes out, and we bawled our eyes out."

SPECIAL COVERAGE Vietnamese fete war’s end, look to future The final days in the S. Vietnam capital From hawk to dove Vietnam vets find a new role Home for Vietnamese in U.S.

For many Vietnam veterans, the final turnaround came with the first Gulf War, so totally different from Vietnam. This time the enemy was easy to find, and the battle lines clearly drawn. Unlike in Vietnam, U.S. generals were happy to face the news media, showing off gun-camera images of bombs striking their targets, rolling out the maps which showed hourly how the United States and its allies were slicing through Kuwait and into Iraq itself. In five days, the ground war was over, with only 148 U.S. troops killed in action. Gulf war veterans came home victorious, to welcoming parades.

And now, after Afghanistan and Iraq, the image of Vietnam veterans as pot-smoking, baby-burning losers who would turn violent at the drop of a beer bottle, seems finally put to rest. When U.S. troops return from Iraq they are welcomed with banners, bands and open arms, and those at the head of the welcome line are often Vietnam vets.

"With this war, we are out there now to do outreach to the returning Iraq and Afghan veterans," Beebe said. "One of the things many Vietnam vets said was, 'Never again — never again wouldn’t we recognize the sacrifices people make when they go to war."

MORE FROM U.S. NEWS

U.S. news Section Front

Ethics report: Palin abused authority O.J. Simpson seeks new robbery trial Homeless man dies after being set ablaze Leading in polls, Obama plays it safe Man, 88, fatally shoots ill wife at hospital Canseco detained at U.S. border with fertility drug Conn. court nixes gay marriage ban Two Cuban soccer players missing in DC After Shepard, no federal hate crime law Report: Making math uncool hurts U.S.   U.S. news Section Front   Add U.S. news headlines to your news reader: