I think you will see Babbie , but events
prevent
me. This was to have been my last long
trip,
but I think not now and perhaps
never. At 90
I can not complain. We all go
sometime. Have a
good
Reunion.
Bill
Patricia and Roland Orengo
Hi Ben,
your email arrive at the moment where we think
about to attend your reunion in 2008.
You are very nice to invite us with all
of you. Our stay with you in Savannah in 2005 was, for us, a very moving moment.
You all were so kind with us.
It will be a pleasure to see you again, of
course.
We have to see several things as if it is possible to be in free work
(holidays) at this period of the year.
If we go to USA, we will stay
longer to visit your country and Powell's family.
Could you tell you our
answer later ?
thanks so much, Ben.
Patricia and Roland
Orengo
Virginia Jorgen
I want to wish Boom Boom a very happy
birthday. Boom Boom is the one whom I first contacted about the
517th. I saw his name on your website and it sounded as if my
husband, Lt. Andy Jorgen, had mentioned him at some time. Boom
Boom helped me so much in finding things and we've corresponded ever
since. It has been really great. He is such a
wonderful man. His book that he wrote is so great too. He sent me a
copy. All my friends and my kids know all about Boom Boom
too. They are all praying for him.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
BOOM
Betty Traver
Ben
I brought Myrle home today from the Mike O'
Callihan Federal Hospital at the Nellis Airforce Base. He has to take it
easy for awhile and try to get his strength back. Thanks for everyone's
prayers and good wishes. I met Kathy McIntosh at the Sunrise hospital here
in Vegas. Thanks for the inquiry, Kathy.
Betty Traver
JOHN F. BUCHALSKI
Good Morning:
Please feel free to pass along to any
veteran from our recent wars.
JOHN................
I am writing to you as a fellow combat vet, who did
his stint in the
military and Veteran's Hospitals. I had no idea of what the
future held
for me after my military service. For the next few years
people will be
saying, "Thank you for your service." It will probably
embarrass you as
it has me. It makes those people feel better because they
have no idea
of what we have gone through and have no idea of what to say to
you. To
tell you the truth I don't know what to say back to them either.
Usually
I say "yeah" or say nothing. Our experience in combat is so distant
from
what most Americans know, you will just get frustrated if you try
and
explain anything to them.
Sometime in the next thirty years you
will realize that the only people
who have an understanding of our combat
experience are other vets. You
will be talking to some guy at the VA who is
thirty or forty years older
and he will know what is going on with you when
thoughts of combat start
jumping into the front of your mind and they will. I
have been talking
to a WW II or Korean War vet and it feels like we are both
eighteen
again, because the trauma of combat happened to both of us when we
were
that age.
Right now the whole Nation is on your side. Politicians
love you and the
President showers you with praise. I am sorry to tell you
that this will
end. The only people that are really there for you are your
close family
and other vets. Washington is constantly trying to save money by
cutting
Veteran benefits. President Bush and his administration have cut
veteran
medical care by over $1.8 billion. Congress knows about this
shortfall
and they wanted to fix it, but they had to go home for the July
4th
holiday and left the veteran hanging until they get back.
Veterans
from past wars have had to band together and form groups to
lobby Congress
and the White House so that we get the help we do today.
That is why there is
the DAV, VFW, AM Vets, Blind Vets, Paralyzed Vets,
MCL, Vietnam Vets, Gulf
War Vets, and many more.
These groups formed because Washington stopped
keeping promises to care
for those who fought for America. If Veterans
couldn't vote, we would
have nothing. If you are severely wounded, the
American Government will
help you out. The money they give you will not make
you rich or even
middle class, but if you watch what you spend, you will have
enough for
food and shelter.
I want to tell you some things about the
Veterans Administration and the
medical care you will be dealing with for the
rest of your life. First
the good part. The people who work at the various
Medical Centers are
great. The doctors, nurses, people who clean the halls,
security, and
the guy who plants the flowers and cuts the grass are all there
because
they want to be and they truly want to help you, the veteran. You
will
find that many are veterans too, but that makes no difference
because
everybody there is out to help you.
The people working at the
VA do the best they can with budgets that are
cut, old equipment, out-dated
facilities, and an Administration that is
constantly trying to get them to
save money. Remember that, because time
at the VA can get very
frustrating.
The bad part is that getting help from the VA is a game that
can cost
you your life. You will find that all of those Veteran Organizations
are
your advocate. There are a few Senators and Representatives that will
go
to bat for you, but for sure they are in the minority. Your best bet
is
to learn how to play the game from other vets. They can save you
from
beating your head against the wall. Also keep in mind that the
Veterans
Administration loves to make you nuts with paper work, forms,
and
appeals.
Today, our new veterans (Gulf and Iraq War) are working
on getting their
body back to the best it can be, depending on what happened
to you. For
the rest of your life you will be working on your mind. You have
been to
combat and that changes you. Everything you saw, heard, and
experienced
in combat was experienced by other vets too. Never exactly like
what
happened to you, but close enough so that other veterans are at
least
able to understand where you are coming from.
Other veterans,
the DAV and VFW were nice enough to give me their time
and understanding in
obtaining medical help through the Veterans
Administration.
Like it
or not you have joined a new club.
It is up to you to make the best of it
you can. There are thousands and
thousands of Americans from every war we
have had who are willing to
help you out in any way they can and some of them
will need your help.
So, I will say thanks for what you did for our
country. I won't bullshit
you though, the next few years are going to be
harder than any time in
your life. You have to learn how to become a civilian
again. Old friends
won't seem the same and so many things that people worry
about will seem
trivial after what you have been through.
If you have a
wife or husband, clue them in about the VA and seek help
from the local DAV
or other service orgaization in your area.
America is a wonderful
country and I would be there in a heart beat if
it needed my protection again
and I know you feel the same. Right now
the best thing you can do for your
country is making yourself as whole
as you can. Take your war experience and
use it to self-motivate your
life in a direction that can bring you
happiness. You earned it!
Semper Fi,
JOHN F. BUCHALSKI
USMC &
USAF (RET)
"FAIR WINDS AND FOLLOWING SEAS TO EACH AND EVERYONE OF
YOU"
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