ProgressOhio

      As a Life Member of Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), I received my July/August 2008 issue of the VVA Veteran Magazine. In it I found an OUTSTANDING article written by Brother Bill Crandell, who I never personally met but heard of from one of my best friends passed on, Doc Randy Barnes. I believe they both served together on VVA's national board. Bill Crandell was a young (26 year old}, 1st Lt., 199th Light Infantry Brigade Americal Division back in the day (1971) who gave the opening statement for the first Winter Soldier testimony by Vietnam Veterans given in Detroit, Michigan. Bill was one of the early members of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), who would not only go onto be part of the heritage of VVA, but a career in the Department of Veterans Affairs recently retiring. I have no intention of talking about what William Crandell did or said back in the day, but more to the point what Bill has to say now, some 30 plus years later. Kudos to Bill Crandell for giving VVA the opportunity to be one of a growing number of voices for The Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) Winter Solider Investigation held in Maryland during 2008. This despite a rank and file membership split three ways on not only how WE viewed our war, but THIS ONE. Since we will find it out from those who do not hold Bill Crandell's views on his war regardless, if you are interested in what Bill had to say about Vietnam when he was 26 have at it. I post it with no judgment here or there.

NOTE: I will post LINKS separately, I'm having problems with the html tags.

       Bill articulates the reason why I'm not making a judgement call on what he did or said back in the day, far better than I ever could in his article Iraq: Vietnam Without Water (video links provided).

      The July/August Issue of the VVA Veteran has not gone online yet, so I cannot provide readers a link to that story, but I will once it becomes available.

      I also want to make it clear that although I'm a Life Member of VVA, I in no way (neither does Bill Crandell, these are his views that I share) represent Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) at National, State, or local level. I am not an active member of any local, regional, or state level VVA organization in Ohio. I'm well, a member at large who interacts with the VVA as a Veterans/Military Affairs advisor of which there are hundreds if not thousands - every VVA member.

Bobby Hanafin SP/5, U.S. Army (69-76) Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired (77-94)

PS: Unlike Bill Crandell, I never participated in the first (or second) Winter Soldier although I passionately opposed and oppose both wars (Vietnam and Iraqnam). I was on active duty at the time Winter Soldier was held, and my personal thanks goes to every Vietnam Veterans who was then a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), even those who went on to help Bobby Muller found VVA (back in the day) for keeping MY NAME off the Wall that Heals.

Excerpts from IRAQ: Vietnam Without Water Before talking about Winter Soldier Iraq, Bill Crandell gives a realistic assessment, especially for most of you non-Veterans out there, just how Vietnam Veterans, to include Vietnam Era Vets who never served in-country Vietnam are split basically three ways over how WE view our war. Frankly, one does not have to have been an in-country Vietnam Vet to have experienced our so-called Welcome Home back in the day. Bill explains it this way. "Some of us [Vietnam Vets] see the war in Iraq as a conflict America had no choice but to enter , one that's going well or at least decently. Others say the nation had to get into Iraq, but the current administration bungled it. The third view is the war was a mistake from the get-go. Vietnam veterans don't fault the courage and capability of the troops, whichever outlook they have. Nor do Iraq veterans. What is striking is how these three outlooks parallel the views Vietnam veterans had about out own war while it was on and for at least a decade afterward. The same three-way split shaped the founding of VVA's commitment that no generation of veterans would again abandon another began with our mutual pledge that we, Vietnam veterans, would not break with one another over differences in how we saw the war. You could hear it voiced as, "Well, you're full of crap, but you've got a right to your opinion. You fought there." So it is no surprise that veterans of the figithing in Iraq and Afghanistan have the same range of opinions about their war. They have each other's backs, no matter what they think of the larger issues. Still, they split the way we did." Note: In a related article, that I'm still working on, a sociologist who has done research on the diverse views of veterans toward questionable and controversial wars found socio-cultural, and economic factors beyond the control of Vets had just as much an impact on their debate within as veterans had little to no say in decisions made by their civilian leaders except to challenge and question those decisions when they went against individual, and then group moral and ethical belief systems. Major Hanafin Bill goes on to say that he attended the mid-March Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan, a major project in Silver Spring, Maryland (held at the National Labor College, 10000 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring,MD (just outside of Washington, D.C.). The parallels Bill saw between the Winter Soldier Investigation of 1971 and this 21st century version were striking:"scores of angry young combat veterans denouncing the war they recently fought as a disaster kindled by inadequate vision, with American troops wasted while being pushed to commit acts that scarred them as much as the [other] war [did a significant number of Vietnam Vets regardless where they fit in the three way split]. Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) has more than a thousand members nation-wide [not counting the many informal members who have not gone public and active duty members reluctant to go public and I know from personal experience why]. Major Hanafin IVAW "is organized into 43 chapters in 48 states," says Crandell. It's leaders selected 55 witnesses to tesify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as to present video and photographic evidence. Veterans described the killing and injuring of innocent civilians and unarmed combatants, racism and sexism in the military, and their experience since coming home. There also were panels of scholars, veterans, journalists, and others to give context to the first-person testimony, as well as taped interviews with Iraqi civilians. On the first night, Kelly Dougherty, who served two tours as a military police officer in Iraq and is now IVAW's executive director, told the packed auditorium that she became involved as one of the group's founders "because of the damage to Iraq and our military comrades, and to uphold the values we went to fight for. She described IVAW's goals as "ending the occupation, full compensation for veterans, and reparations for the human and structural harm done in Iraq." Not all veterans agreed. Feedback from Winter Soldier 2008 and Crandell's observations that, "A middle-aged protester slipped into the conference on the third day yelling, "You guys are betraying good men." [Obviously this older guy forgets that our All Volunteer Force IS NOT composed of only good men, but more women than the WWII, Korean War, or Vietnam War generation ever experience sharing combat experiences with. Major Hanafin Bill says that, "A well-organized security contingency provided by Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), [Iraq Veterans Against the War], and local Labor Against the War security responsible for keeping peace at their facility] frog-marched the pro-war protester outside the venue. It is only fair to recognize that many Vietnam veterans [as Bill explains by the three way split] still feel that the 1971 Winter Soldier Investigation [which he played a significant role in] demonized our [Vietnam] generation of veterans as "baby-killers." However, Bill is also quick to point out that the baby killer label among other unpleasant epitaphs blaming our troops for the failure of our government to achieve victory in Vietnam, was hurled with equal venom at returning riflemen, clerks, and chaplains as early as 1967. I can confirm that by the time I returned to the world (Fort Carson, CO) in 1972, not one time did anyone in our unit at Fort Carson hear such language used on us. I'm not saying that toward the end of the Vietnam War troops were not spit on or degraded for their service. What I am saying is that such frustration had pretty much been neutralized by the time Veterans became part of the anti-war movement to both educate and discourage misquided frustration and blame toward our troops. Major Hanafin. Do not take my word for it, suffice it to note that most all Vietnam Vets, regardless of where we sit on that three way split Bill describes, have one thing in common. We will not tolerate anyone, even our own, degrading the service of this younger generation of Veterans or blaming THEM for our nation's frustrations and our civilian government's failures to achieve victory in Iraq. To tolerate such disgraceful behavior is in violation of VVA's pledge to never again leave another generation of veterans behind [regardless their views on their war]. Of special note, Bill states that, "The tone of the testimony was anything but defamatory, though many of the acts veterans describe were horrific. "The politicians and generals have continued these occupations to the point of breaking our soldiers and destroying our military," Brooklyn, NY IVAW member Selena Coppa, a Military Intelligence Sergeant on active duty in the Army, said. "As veterans and patriots, many of us feel we must speak out about our experiences in order to change current policies and bring honor and dignity back to our military and our country." I salute Sgt. Coppa, because she reminds me or me when I was a young Sgt on active duty crying in the wilderness to my chain of command that if they wanted to take a realistic and serious look at the drug and alcohol addiction problems of our ground forces back in the day, they had no further to look than Vietnam and our apathetic at best welcome home. More so, I admire that she has more courage to resist tyranny destroying our armed forces from within than I did back in the day. I never joined VVAW until NOW. Our military family hopes and prays that more like Sgt. Coppa will continue to make the Army (or Air Force or Navy) their home and career especially as officers (mustangs). In fact, being one who opposed the Vietnam War yet staid in the armed forces, I strongly encourage active duty troops to within reason resist this one or at least provide moral support to those with more courage than I had. Major Bobby Hanafin Jabber Magruder, a student at California State University, Northridge, and a Sergeant in the Army National Guard deployed to Tikrit in 2005, put it differently. In a panel describing rules of engagement (ROE) that grew increasingly permissive until it became, in one soldier's words, pretty much fair game to shoot at anyone who seemed to pose a threat. Magruder commented: "This is not a failure of leadership. Commanders will always give troops tools to defend themselves. The problem is the occupation." All witnesses were carefully screened by IVAW to verify their credentials, presented a visually mixed bunch. One of the witnesses, and a young friend of mine, Garett Reppenhagen, joined the Army a month before 911, and became a scout-sniper in the 2nd Battalion/63rd Armor, 1ID, performing missions in Diyala Province for a year. His father served in Vietnam but didn't talk about it before he died of Agent Orange-related cancer. Among the testimony Garett provided was about antiquated equipment and weapons. He talked about having to use an old M60 machine gun from our Vietnam generation - an ancient relic like those of us within the three way split who either cheer on Garett's generation, mentor them on how to survive this Vietnam, or both. Garrett went onto say that the M60 "broke down and had to be fired in single shots." His testimony was not aimed at former comrades, but for them. Reppanhagen was Honorably Discharged in May 2006 having served out his IRR commitment. It has been the conduct of the war from the top down (chain of command) that Garrett has questioned, challenged, and assist others in bring to trial even as American public support for Garret's War (no not Bush's War, because the longer we are in Iraq after Bush departs, our troops inherit the war along with their next temporary Commander-In-Chief). Garrett noted that, "Confusion goes on every day in Iraq," he reported. "We went to Iraq to defend their country, but found we had to kill civilians to protect ourselves. The war [itself] is the atrocity. [not our troops sent to fight it]. That is what makes for a potentially possible happier ending for this younger generation of Veterans than our generation. With our help and guidance (when asked for it), those of us sitting on the three way split over our own war are the most capable of keeping blame and finger pointing where it seriously belongs. The politicians (regardless of party, for it is no coincidence that most active duty troops and families identify themselves as Independents, Libertarians, or anything and nothing except Democrats or especially Republicans who are doomed to never divorce themselves from the Bush Legacy. In closing, Bill Crandell noted that when he left Winter Soldier 2008, the other side represented on the street by Eagles Up, which describes itself as "part of the pro-war lobby." Five white-haired men and a middle-aged African-American woman with their backs to the Winter Soldier Investigation holding several flags and banners - The Stars and Stripe, Marine Corps, Navy-and signs that said, "Honk for victory." The drive-by commitment to war [reflecting overall American commitment] was friendly [as long as those honking did not have to commit anything or anyone to Vietnam Without the Water. The next morning it drizzled [on them] much as our dreary July 4th morning, "and the sunshine patriots were GONE." That is an appropriate ending Bill! Point is it was the two words "ancient relic" that got my attention and inspired me to THINK not only about those young veterans to question and oppose what they've been asked to do for the nation, and those who passionately believe they are part of a noble cause. Bill talked about the Vietnam generation's three way split, but I've come to believe that our generation's views are related but no longer relevant to these youngsters who have earned the right to debate their own war, even if they do view it as Vietnam Without the Water. Bobby Hanafin SP/5, U.S. Army (69-76) Major, U.S. Air Force-Retired (77-94) Life Member, Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) 21st Century Member, Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) Life Member, the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Associate Member, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) For those interested in Bill's full article, my apologies but it is not yet available online. However, you can see a video of Bill's observations of Winter Solider 2008 sponsored by Labor Against the War and Real News Network:

 I will post a LINK to the VVA online article once it become available.