Veterans Law] The Vietnam War - Psychological Effects

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FBI Agrees To Look Into Webmaster, PTSD disabled Vietnam Vet Jack Cunningham's Cover-Up Charges Against The State of New Jersey http://www.american s-working- together. com/id519. html

----- Original Message -----
From: J.C.C. Vincent http://health. groups.yahoo. com/group/ PTSDveteranSuppo rt
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 7:41 PM
Subject: [PTSDveteranSupport ] The Vietnam War - Psychological Effects...

The Vietnam War and PTSD
Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, otherwise known as PTSD, claims the minds of many victims, including Vietnam veterans. The Vietnam War has claimed tens of thousand of victims to PTSD. This syndrome can affect anyone who has survived a severe and unusual physical or mental trauma. Survivors of life- threatening events may develop this illness, which tends to be more severe the less it was anticipated. Some victims rexpierience the traumatic events through nightmares and flashbacks. Others numb themselves emotionally, startle easily, and experience anxiety attacks, insomnia, poor memory, difficulty concentrating, and feel guilty about their survival. Some life events may make one more susceptible to depression and anxiety. Veterans with this syndrome live paranoid lives. Treatments for this illness are still being explored and vary. The majority of Vietnam veterans experienced, witnessed, or were actually involved in death threatening circumstances. Their response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror all resulting in Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. With this syndrome comes depression and anxiety. Anxiety sufferers have physical symptoms such as, shakiness, muscle aches, sweating, cold and clammy hands, dizziness, fatigue, racing heart and dry mouth. Emotionally they may feel irritable and apprehensive, fearing that bad things are about to happen to themselves or their loved ones. The most noticeable consequences of anxiety are the way it so often leaves its victims virtually disabled,. PTSD victims may suffer from depression also. Signs of this disease are noticeable change in appetite, problems sleeping or waking, sudden loss of interest in activities previously enjoyed, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness and guilt. Clinically diagnosed PTSD survivors exclusively suffer from reoccurrence, avoidance, and persistent symptoms of increased arousal. Sufferers have recurrent distressing dreams of the event. They act or feel as if the traumatic event were reoccurring through illusions, hallucinations, and flashback episodes. Veterans make effort to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma. Along with this, they avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollection of the war. They have trouble recalling an important aspect of the event, as well as feeling detachment from others. Vietnam veterans have been known to have difficulty falling or staying asleep. They experience irritability or outbursts of anger and hypervigilance. Duration of the disturbance is more than one month. The war has been known to cause clinically significant distress in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning. Many Vietnam veterans don't know one day from the next. Their family has trouble guessing how they will react to even the most mundane happenings. Memories of the veterans are too painful to remember, but too traumatic to forget. Wives reports watching their husband's tosses and turn at night and reenact nightly patrols. Most veterans living with PTSD were involved in combat exposure and guerrilla training. Experts say that the root of PTSD is the fear of loss and abandonment, leading to the inability to form and emotional connection with another person. Of the 3.4 million American men and women who served in Vietnam, 500,000 live with PTSD, and almost 1.7 million will exhibit clinically significant stress reactions at sometime during their lives. PTSD has many known causes, however, the most significant amount of victims stemmed from the Vietnam War. Many have sought help through support groups and medications, while others live with the disease from day to day. There is no way to completely rid one of PTSD, the only sure way of reducing the amount of PTSD sufferers is by reducing the amount of people who fight is war. The affects of the war concerning Post Traumatic Stress Desorder are long lasting. Symptoms can last for years and victims may be on medication long after the symptoms diminish.... The Vietnam War's affects aren't only seen during the first immediate years after; hundreds of thousands of men and women live with stress syndromes decades after the Vietnam War ended.... One extremely popular legacy of the Vietnam War is the psychological affects on both... the men and women in combat... as well as all those who lived through it...!!!

The Vietnam War is really a misnomer, since Congress never officially declared war. Instead, it was known for a long while as a "police action." However, the effects of this "police action" were as intense as any war. As we studied the effects of Vietnam through direct research and the interviews of those who had experienced some of these effects, we learned that any war has a legacy. A few of the many effects which we examined were the following: -The Medical Legacy of the War. With every action comes a consequence. This is true of hostile actions known as wars. The effects of war outlast the relatively short term that battle is being waged. The after- effects of the Vietnam War, in particular the effects of the chemical warfare waged , will outlast the soldiers who fought the war. The most common chemical used in Vietnam was Agent Orange, a mixture of plant hormones used to kill vegetation. Along with Agent Orange were chemicals dubbed Agent Blue, Agent White, and malathion. During the years 1962-1971, the United States dumped 19 million gallons of Agent Orange over Vietnam. This chemical contaminated soil, vegetation, and all human and animal life in the area. These herbicides stay in the soil for decades before breaking down. Unfortunately, these chemicals can be passed down from generation to generation. At first, information about Agent Orange was not available, allegedly withheld by the U.S.... government. Later studies indicated that diseases such as cancer and liver dysfunction as well as severe personality disorders and certain birth defects may be traceable to Agent Orange. Not only is the person contaminated with Agent Orange affected, but his offspring as well who may be victims of enlarged livers, kidney abnormalities, may have cleft palates, and may suffer early death. The environment in Vietnam has suffered greatly from the effects of this chemical warfare. Large areas that were once jungle are now covered with scrub and wild grasses. It is estimated that it could take centuries to recover. It is hard to fix with money the damage done by these herbicides and chemicals; however, many have filed lawsuits against companies that produced Agent Orange during the war. So far, producers have paid over 180,000,000 dollars in class action lawsuits. -The Effect of the Vietnam War on Immigration. In the year 1975, Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam fell to North Vietnamese troops.That year, three areas in Orange County, California, were set to become the homes of thousands of South vietnamese refugees looking for a new life in the United States.This is where 140,000 refugees have come to resettle and rebuild their lives. Orange County, just fifty miles from Los Angeles, CAlifornia, had the largest population of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam. Among the early refugees were a small number of the criminal orga ization, military personnel in the war, who tried to re-establish the structure they once had had during the war. In 1979, a second group, referred to as the "boat people" because of the dangerous escapes by boat which they endured in this era, gradually started to resettle in Orange County as well as other areas of the U.S. However, a large number still remained in camps in Hong Kong and other parts of Southeast Asia. In 1970, there had been fewer than 10,000 Vietnames living in America; by 1980, after the war, it had risen to almost a quarter of a million because of their refugee status at the end of the war. Currently, more than half a million Vietnamese reside in the U.S. These refugees have brought from their country their rich culture and heritage. In Orange County, many started their own businesses. Vietnamese restaurants are plentiful. They have become successful and experience a strong economy, developing many succesful commercial and cultural centers. One community in Orange County is called "Little Saigon. The Vietnamese resettlement helps reshape communities. The ability of the Vietnamese to put their lives back together is both remarkable and admirable, teaching us that putting the past behind.... and starting anew is possible.... with patience... and persistence. ...!!! -Vietnam as Photographed by An-My Le... and Geoffrey Clifford...

The Vietnam War has been over for years, yet the images and feelings of those affected by its horror still remain. War leaves a deep impact on a personís life-one that cannot be forgotten, even after a lifetime. Wars end in reality, but live on in the hearts of those who remember. It is such an immense entity that it demands attention. The war reached out to two photographers; both traveled to Vietnam to obtain a sense of the aftermath of the great war. An-My Le escaped Vietnam in the middle of the war with 200 dollars sewn into her jeans. She then started her life over in America. Now an adult with a Ph.D. from both Yale and Stanford, she returned to her homeland to capture the images of her youth. All of her photographs are in black and white, giving them an intensifying effect. (See above photo of Vietnamese classroom, an exception to her typical subject matter.) The majority of her pictures are of the Vietnamese wildlife, surely something that would have been destroyed due to battles at the time of her flight. Her pictures are able to capture the plant-life (mostly trees) in their most vulnerable form. They are still dew-covered and fresh, probably in the early morning hours. The forests are located in Ba-Vi and Hanoi. She also depicts the everyday life of Vietnamís largest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Her photographs show people farming, flying kites, and returning home from work. These activities were not likely to have taken place during the war. An-My Le also gives a feeling of solitude in her pictures, maybe because she is no longer a part of the Vietnamese way of life. One of her pictures shows an empty room with 2 chairs and a table in the back, small in comparison to the room. The war had drastically changed her life; it would be impossible for her to not let go of its memories. The Vietnam War had wide-ranging effects on Vietnam, some of the effects were seen through color photographs by Geoffrey Clifford. His gallery was named "Vietnam: The land we never knew." He took pictures of people and the countryside, from their farmland to the country's animals. There was a picture of a man on his peaceful farmland tending to his ducks. The land in the background was a green countryside and the sky was a bright blue. There were pictures that portrayed US influence. One of them was a little boy walking on the side of the road. He was dressed in a type of worn -out suit. He was wearing a cowboy style hat and he was caring a leather bag. Another picture showed a train crossing a river on a bridge. There were people living under the end of the bridge and a little boy fishing. Out of all the pictures I think there were two pictures which had an impact on me. The first was a picture of an old man's face. Looking into his eyes, you know he has seen a lot. He looked as if the war never ended because he still had fear in his eyes. He survived a war and now lives lost and scared. The other picture was of a little girl smiling. She looked like she was having fun with a playful smile. She hadn't even been born when the war was going on. So she didn't see the war; the war is just a story to her. Overall ,the pictures that Geoffrey Clifford took showed pictures of the Vietnam never portrayed. Both these photographers could not have taken the photographs they did without the influence of the Vietnam War. -The Effects of Media on War. Vietnam was a war that had many different effects on people, pop culture, music, clothing and very importantly, the media. The techniques and goals of the media changed dramatically because of Vietnam. The media was what brought the news of all the horrors of Vietnam to America into everyone's home. The effects of Vietnam before, during, and after the war would change the way media performed forever, making Vietnam a tremendous influence on the media's perspective. The media, before Vietnam, focused on the positives of wars like the Korean War, presenting U.S. actions in a positive light. They focused on what people wanted and needed to hear. There was no competition, and money wasn't as key afactor in becoming a journalist. The commercialism of news was far less a factor in the reporting of news than it was in the Vietnam War era.. The news wasn't so much negative as it was up beat and energetic. It was the media's job to keep the American listeners optimistic and panic free. Television was not available on any other war before Vietnam. It wasn't about who could get the most listeners by presenting the most sensational newscasts. During the Vietnam War, there were always correspondents from various newspapers and magazines coming and going. Men from all over the United States were there, in Vietnam trying to find stories to inform the people at home. The American soldiers didn't care for these journalists; they would either ridicule them or threaten to "shoot their nuts off." This kind of reaction would be expected, especially when they were out there fighting, while these correspondents were busy taking pictures. Yet, discouragement also came to the correspondents that were at Vietnam for a long period of time also. Most of the correspondents in the beginning of Vietnam supported the war effort and they didn't seem to question the right of the US in being there. Later on during the war, reporters began to show skepticism and formed a biased opinion throughout America. In the US, newscasts devoted little time of their evening broadcasts to actual fighting. The reports at that time reflected and intensified popular doubts that had been rising, primarily because of the escalating causalties. The reporters didn't have as much enthusiasm as they had when they were first assigned to go to Vietnam, but found stories of sorrow and pictures of pain. The best advice that would be given to new incoming journalists of the war would be to practice hitting the floor...! During the end, and after Vietnam many correspondents questioned the war effort and began expressing that by giving offensive reports about America's rights to be in Vietnam. Most of the correspondents criticized the methods, foolishness, lying and self-delusion of the failure to set a policy that could win. The reporters began showing the American people all the true horrors of war, especially the politics behind it. Because of the endless effort from the correspondents to communicate the truth, many of the American people began to doubt the American government. Skepticism rose. The media was no longer about getting the good honest news of mankind to the public but now the endless competition to earn fame, money and success on television from the American people. The media presented overly negative pictures of American goals and accomplishments. A new legacy would be built: the rising of suspiciousness, one that reflected and showed the broader dissatisfactions with government. Journalism was now about the money and the success that would be wrapped around it. The competition rose as the need for negativity in the American life unraveled. Good, wholesome, honest and positive news would no longer be found. The media, much like the American people, began losing hope in the government, so broadcasters thereafter would produce such newscasts that would also fill the American people with a strong sense of doubt.A major detriment to the credibility of the American public was the leaking of information to the public from the Pentagon Papers. These documents were revealed by journalists to contain far higher rates of American casualties and far less successful batttles than the officially released government statistics had indicated. No longer would the press accept the government press releases; now they began more investigative journalism to check the truth of the official reports. -The Impact of Music On War And The Impact of War On Music. You're sad and depressed, happy and reminiscent, angry and disappointed, and calm and melancholy. What can make you feel these feelings all at the same time? Music. In each era, each culture, and each lifetime, people can find some kind of identity in the music they listened to. Through music; politics, controversies, current events, etc. were heard. The effects of this was a dramatic change in society and life forever. So then, how did the Vietnam War affect the music? Or, how did the music effect the people around? A look into the style of a musician before and after the war, or a detailed look into the meaning of a song lyric, would best illustrate the effects. But first, some interviews of what various Vietnam Veterans thought about the music of that time. Many veterans enjoyed the music that sprouted out of that era. You had artists such as Jimi Hendricks, Janice Joplin, Jefferson Airplanes, The Doors, The Beatles, and many others. You had songs like," Eve of Destruction" , "War", "Soldier Boy", "Give Peace a Chance", and others as well. A former Vietnam veteran says, "I think the music was radical and helped start heavy drug use." Another veteran recalls, "It seemed the war affected the music. A lot of songs were about the war or what was going on at home here.It seemed directed towards getting the men out, and the negative aspects of the war.Most of the younger generation at that time were against the war and wanted it over." Many of the songs also encouraged drugs and "free love. " Many songs were about the war, and mostly were against it. It was because of the war that many artists felt it was necessary to write and sing about the evils of war, and the happiness of peace. So, the war very obviously affected the music of that time. Similarly, the music also affected the people. It preached of peace, protest, freedom, etc. Not all of the people of that era enjoyed the music:"As far as I'm concerned, much of the music from that era was just crap!," reported one Vietnam veteran I interviewed. Many, however, felt that the music was good and important. "The music back then was the BEST! It wasn't all that psychedelic stuff either, though there was a lot of that too." "I think the culture of any era is heard in its music." "Good music." Now, a look at the true meaning of the lyrics written by the artists of that time. During the Vietnam War Era, many people were affected in different ways by the events that had occurred overseas. This created an anti-war atmosphere when the support was needed the most. Many different artists, such as Jim Morrison and Country Joe McDonald started to protest the war through their music, . The music became much more harsh and negative. Sarcastic, negative lyrics began to appear much more frequently during these times as views on the war changed. For example, in the song: "Feel-Like-I' m-Fixin'- To-Die Rag" by Country Joe McDonald (1968) he sings: "And it's one two three... What are we fighting for... Don't ask me I don't give a damn... Next stop is Vietnam." This song was meant to show how confused and disoriented the soldiers were going into combat. The music lyrics satirically dehumanize the young men going into combat, labeling them as unimportant identities: ".Sent your sons off before its too late... You can be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box" This music foreshadows the destiny of the many in the armed forces. The music became vivid images of what the future held in store for them. Vietnam created and caused great changes within the music industry, changes that brought on new types of music like psychedelic rhythms, and lyrics that gave a haunting and vivid telling of the Vietnam War. Those songs, the ones that tell of the Vietnam War were the songs that brought out the strongest reactions to the war. "I-Feel-Like- I'm-Fixin' -To-Die-Rag " was even played on the armed forces radio, and described how the war affected American life: "Come on, mothers, throughout the land... Pack your boys off to Vietnam... Come on, fathers, don't hesitate... Send your sons off before it's too late... You can hear the sarcastic tone in this verse, at the same time see how the music industry may have influenced or supoorted the negative attitude of the American public toward the war. Another song, however, written post war, "Drive On " by Johnny Cash, is a song that looks back on Vietnam and tells about how a man is trying to move on in his life: "Drive on, it don't mean nothing... My children love me but they don't understand.. . And I got a woman who knows her man, drive on... It don't mean nothin it don't mean nothin, drive on." Both songs, read in their entirety will fully show to you the negative view the music industry had of Vietnam. Both songs, by two different artists, in their own style criticized the war, one concerning the attitude toward the war during its time period and the other of the after-effects of the war. Music has always had a finger on the pulse of the issues of its era; music of the Nam War period shows this well.


http://health. groups.yahoo. com/group/ PTSDveteranSuppo rt/

I'm hoping that all PTSD disabled gets Reasonable Disability Accommodations over this. As of yet, we have no Reasonable Accommodations for PTSD. NONE...

My Cover-Up charges, against a State's government, highlight the opposite of Reasonable Accommodations. The State of New Jersey is actually discriminating about my PTSD. I was even mocked for my PTSD in sworn New Jersey Supreme Court Office of Attorney Ethics certifications. http://www.american s-working- together. com/attorney_ ethics/id21. html

Regardless of why you signed the petition, thanks for signing!
Jack Cunningham http://new.petition online.com/ NJCORRUP/ petition. html

----- Original Message -----
From: old_sick_and_ tired_vet
To: PTSDveteranSupport@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2007 4:44 PM
Subject: [PTSDveteranSupport ] Re: A BROTHER NEEDS OUR SUPPORT...

Right Queen Bee. We all remember the way it ended. With that being said, it has absolutely nothing to do with Jack. I've just casted my vote. I do not want to give up and let the bad ones win again.

Anastacia, (Widow of an "Old Sick and Tired Vet")

============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
--- In PTSDveteranSupport@ yahoogroups. com, "Margaret Myjak" <queen_bee_mohawk@ ...> wrote:
>
> We all remember what happened when we started a pool last june. (...7280
> votes AND NOTHING HAS CHANGED...) We all remember... Politicians are all
> of same ilk: Liars and deceivers... ... We all have learned our lessons
> well....
>
>
>
> Your Sister,
>
> Margaret Myjak aka Queen Bee Mohawk.
>
> ============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =========
> --- In PTSDveteranSupport@ yahoogroups. com, "John \"Jack\" Cunningham"
> ProudCapMarine@ wrote:
> >
> > Thank you everyone, who have signature my petition. Governor Corzine
> still has not answered my certified addressed letters to him.
> >
> > I wonder if he would not answer my letters if I was not PTSD
> disabled...
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Maria
> > To: PTSDveteranSupport@ yahoogroups. com
> > Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2007 9:17 AM
> > Subject: [PTSDveteranSupport ] Re: A BROTHER NEEDS OUR SUPPORT...
> >
> >
> > Name Comments
> > 677. Maria Emmons Proud wife of a Nam Vet
> > ============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= ========= =
> > --- In PTSDveteranSupport@ yahoogroups. com, "J.C.C. Vincent"
> tigershadwar@ wrote:
> > >
> > > Dear J.C.C. Vincent,
> > >
> > > This email message is sent to you from PetitionOnline. com to confirm
> > > your signature as "J.C.C. Vincent" on the online petition:
> > >
> > > "OPEN LETTER TO HONORABLE NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR JON CORZINE"
> > >
> > > hosted on the web by our free online petition service, at:
> > >
> > > http://www.Petition Online.com/ NJCORRUP/
> > > <http://www.petition online.com/ NJCORRUP/>
> > >
> > > Your signature on the petition is already complete, and there is no
> need
> > > to reply to this message.
> > >
> > > Your signature number for this petition is 483.
> > >
> > > At PetitionOnline. com, we host the petition you've signed, but we
> didn't
> > > create it. If you would like to comment on the petition, or
> otherwise
> > > communicate directly with the petition author, you can contact the
> > > author at:
> > >
> > > Jack Cunningham, ProudCapMarine@
> > >
> <http://health. groups.yahoo. com/group/ PTSDveteranSuppo rt/post?postID= 9ve\
> \
> > >
> Jw743vwuQST1r7ySgOF FbYTHZSDkF- qrvc-4_grlgpZTvZ sZmJVJhwiYbBi0IZ dmYZMZbKjh\
> \
> > > NpL6IP8MQa08bWA>
> > > AMERICANS WORKING TOGETHER
> > > 676 Total Signatures
> > >
> > > View Signatures
> > > <http://www.petition online.com/ mod_perl/ signed.cgi? NJCORRUP>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > PetitionOnline. com has disabled the display of email addresses for
> > > signatories who chose to make their address public. We have done
> this to
> > > reduce the spread of harmful Windows viruses which harvest email
> > > addresses from the web cache of infected computers. This also
> prevents
> > > spammers from harvesting email addresses from this site.
> > >
> > > [MySpace Graphics]
> > > = IMPORTANT =
> > >
> > > PLEASE SIGN JACK'S PETITION
> > > <http://new.petition online.com/ NJCORRUP/ petition. html>
> > >
> > > CLICK
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > http://new.petition online.com/ NJCORRUP/ petition- sign.html
> > > <http://new.petition online.com/ NJCORRUP/ petition- sign.html>
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > A BROTHER NEEDS OUR SUPPORT
> > >
> > > To All: Please help our Brother Jack get some support for his PTSD
> > > discrimination case against New Jersey. Here's a link to a letter
> that
> > > is addressed to a New Jersey Superior Court judge. The letter
> explains
> > > his charges against New Jersey.
> > >
> > >
> > > http://www.american s-working- together. com/attorney_ ethics/id33. html
> > >
> <http://www.american s-working- together. com/attorney_ ethics/id33. html>
> > > [TIGER: scary picture of a tiger]
> > >
> >
>

http://www.American s-Working- Together. com

FBI Agrees To Look Into Webmaster, PTSD disabled Vietnam Vet Jack Cunningham's Cover-Up Charges against the State of New Jersey http://www.american s-working- together. com/id519. html

MARCH 29, 2008 VIETNAM VETERANS DAY "WELCOME HOME" IN CROSSVILLE, TENNESSEE -- DETAILS PRESS HERE
http://www.capveter ans.com/american _patriotism/ id16.html

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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