ABLEnews Extra

          [The following column was written by Terry Anderson,
          a journalist held hostage in Lebanon for many years,
          and the co-chairman of the Vietnamese Memorial
          Association--not to be confused with the Vietnam
          Memorial in Washington, DC. It can be freq'd as
          VET40516.* wherever ABLETEXT files are found. The
          Washington Post titled Anderson's op-ed:]

                    Lew Puller Was No Victim

The death of Lew Puller, Jr. last Wednesday was a tragedy for his
country, for his family, and for me personally. He was a good friend and
a man I admired greatly for his courage, idealism, grace and kindness.
There are few enough heroes left for us today. He was one, and not just
because of what he did as a Marine officer in Vietnam to earn the Silver
Star. He showed himself to be a hero in all the battles he fought for the
next 25 years--against his physical disabilities, against depression and
alcoholism and drug dependency. 

He was not a victim. Nor would he want the million other Vietnam Vets of
America to be seen as victims. The coverage of Lew's death has revived
that stereotype of vet as damaged human being, plagued by demons and
unable to live in a normal world. What of all those vets, the vast
majority of whom are successful businessmen and educators and
politicians? Men like Jim Kimsey, who built and runs America on Line, or
Sen. John Kerry? There are three times as many Vietnam vets in the US
Senate as their numbers in the general population would suggest. They are
not victims. They are men who fought a terrible war, then went on with
their lives, taking out of their experience what they could use and build
on.

And what of Lew himself? His search for personal healing brought healing
to others here, through his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "Fortunate Son."
And it lead him to attempt a much greater healing, between America and
Vietnam. As director of the Vietnamese Memorial, he worked hard for
reconciliation between the two peoples and helped conceive the VMA's main
project--a living memorial to the 2 million men, women, and children who
died in Vietnam in the form of several schools to be built in Quang Tri
Province, the poorest in the country. He went back to Vietnam and chose a
spot for the first school, raised money towards the construction, and was
on the verge of seeing ground broken.

Lew was a man who carried many burdens, heavier than you or I could
imagine. He carried them with strength and grace for 25 years before they
became too heavy for him, and he laid them down in the only way he could
think of. But don't tell me he was a victim. And don't try to make
victims of the rest of us.

[Washington Post, 5/16/94]

ABLEnews Editor's Note: And were those burdens to heavy for us to help
him bear? It is only in his concluding paragraph that Anderson even
intimates the fact that Puller died at his own hand, a suicide, a factor
that doubtlessly contributed to the revived stereotypes of Vietnam
veterans, however, unjust. With due respect for this vet's heroic past--
and leaving aside his advocacy of reconciliation with an unrepentant
enemy, the true heroes are those who keep their posts against the odds
until relieved by their Commander. Moreover, we do not believe that vets-
-or anyone else--should have to prove their "worth" to TAB society
through what shallow minds deem "success." It is not a crime to be
damaged--even victimized--by the brutality of war nor is it an act of
heroism to be elected to Congress or to make big bucks.

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