Voices of Veterans by marthasvineyardtimes

VOICES OF

VETERANS MARTHA’S VINEYARD SPEAKS OUT • OCT. 26, 2023 •

VOICES OF VETERANS is sponsored by Martha’s Vineyard Museum

VOICES OF

VETERANS

October 26, 2023

VOICES OF

VETERANS M A R T H A ’ S V I N E YA R D S P E A K S O U T

Welcome to Voices of Veterans QUOTES FROM THE COVER

Bob Penney

Tom Murphy

Pg. 6

Pg. 3

Benjamin Mayhew Pg. 9

Samantha Potter

Kevin Devine Pg. 8

Pg. 10

Paul Schultz Pg. 4

Tom Bennett Pg. 7

Photos from the Memorial Day parade in Tisbury from 2022. PHOTOS: JEREMY DRIESEN

ometimes it can feel cliché to thank a veteran, like it’s something you're just supposed to do — an obligation. Which is unfortunate.

after returning from war, and how he learned to live with it; we hear from a Vietnam veteran about his return home, how he was spit at and called a baby killer; a wartime medic tells us about his job choosing which patients could That obligation minimizes what survive and which they couldn’t help, and the veterans actually go through, and impact that had on him psychologically. We what they continue to go through also hear from some who took their pain and turned it into helping others. when they return from war. And it isn’t just war stories. We hear from a When you sit down with a soldier and lismother and daughter who both served, who ten, hear their story, they have some pretty led the way for other women to serve in a maleincredible insights, some that you’ll see undominiated field; we also hear from a career fold in our special series here, called Voices soldier who would recommend the service for of Veterans. And as you’ll read, the act of anyone; and there’s a 100-year-old World War II telling their stories — of sharing and conveteran — the last of the Greatest Generation — necting — saves lives. with some insights you’ll be surprised by. And that’s what our Voices series is all about But perhaps most important to these stories, — listening to Islanders as they tell their stories. For the series, we meet the people where they is that they give just a glimpse of what war is are at. The stories are told in their own words — like, and why we should go to great lengths whatever they want to share. We’ve talked with to avoid it. It’s easy for our elected officials to press the button, but the consequences of their Islanders struggling to find housing and those caught up in the “Island shuffle.” Others told us decisions last for generations. That feels like it’s what their lives were like during the COVID-19 never been more important than today, with pandemic. We’ve also highlighted racism on the war seemingly breaking out across the world. We’d like to thank the sponsors for this speIsland, and heard from survivors of addiction. cial section, the Martha’s Vineyard Museum For the Voices of Veterans, we hear from an and the M.V. Mediation Program. We couldn’t Islander who struggled with survivor’s guilt

bring you these stories without their vital support. We’d also like to thank the museum for continuing to produce the exhibits and work they have for so long. In a way, the museum is in the same line of work we are: telling the stories that enrich our lives here on the Island. So we can’t thank them enough for their contributions to our efforts. And for all the work the Mediation Program does for families and organizations on the Island, helping to resolve conflict before it becomes seemingly insurmountable. They are fully qualified for conflict resolutions, whether its workplace conflicts, family and divorce mediation, and even helping victims of unfair or deceptive business practices. We also would like to give a shoutout to our dedicated staff that contributed to the interviews on these stories — Eunki Seonwoo and Abigail Rosen — and to our design and production team, especially Nicole Jackson and Kristofer Rabasca for putting it all together. So, take a moment and sit back and enjoy this series about your friends, town officials, neighbors, and fellow Islanders who have served their country. MVT — News editor, Sam Houghton — Managing editor, Connie Berry

VOICES OF

VETERANS

Tom Murphy Tom Murphy is the chairman of the select board in Aquinnah, and sits on the town’s finance committee and planning board. He’s also the veterans service officer for Aquinnah, and involved in the veterans housing program planned for Oak Bluffs. He served in the Army during Vietnam.

’m originally from Western Mass. I went to school in the Springfield area, and graduated from Saint Anselm College in 1968 at the same time that the Vietnam War was raging. My daughter asked recently, “What were the interviews like?” when we were graduating from college, and I said, “We didn’t have interviews. We had physicals.” Many of us in that graduating class were either getting drafted or signed up. I got a draft notice, and I had a brother that was a captain in the Air Force, who advised me if I was going, I should go in as an officer. So I tried to go into the Air Force and the Navy, but both of them had already gotten their officers from ROTC, so the only options were the Army and the Marines. So I chose the Army, and I signed up to be an officer. I went through basic training, AIT at Fort Dix in New Jersey, and then they shipped me off to Fort Benning, Ga., for officer candidate school, which I graduated in July 1969. When I was in the OCS, I had three choices. You could go in the infantry, the infantry, or the infantry. So I chose the infantry. In those days, you had a two-year obligation after you were commissioned. One year of training — basic training, advanced infantry training, and officer candidate school — and then you had one year of stateside, so I was appointed as a training officer, and I actually became the adjutant to Gen. Oscar Davis, and I was his aide, which had a lot of privileges with it. And after that year, I went directly to Vietnam. I went to Vietnam in April of ’70, and came back the April of ’71,

PHOTOS: COURTESY TOM MURPHY

October 26, 2023

and I spent a year with an organization called MACV, which stood for Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. I was a training officer at a training facility, and I worked with a South Vietnamese infantry battalion for a year, and traveled throughout the central highland area of Vietnam. We traveled with the South Vietnamese. We were basically the intermediaries between American support — whether that be medevacs or gunships or supplies. So I was really the conduit, and I was also an advisor. When we were out in the field, after a period of time I was advising the South Vietnamese on military tactics, and how to stay alive, actually. I was the infantry advisor, so I was in combat for most of the year. We took a lot of casualties, and we would have various missions that we would go on. We would go on ambush missions at night, and it was a very difficult year for a variety of reasons. But … I lived with about 20 Americans in a little Vietnamese village. So it was difficult because we became very close to the people that we worked with and the people that we lived with, so when we lost someone, it was more difficult than if it was just strangers to us. It was very challenging. There were a lot of losses, but I don’t want to get into too much stuff. When you get commissioned, they, I guess wisely, suggested you spend a year stateside learning how to become an officer and how to manage people before they put you into combat. When I left, we were advised that infantry lieutenants in Vietnam had a 2½week life expectancy. It was a challenge. We lost a lot of people, a lot of good people. I lost a lot of friends. I’m still able to maintain a relationship with the few friends that I have left, and it’s been actually terrific. I was the infantry advisor, and my counterpart was a Korean captain who was the artillery advisor. He and I became very close

"There is a certain anger that returning soldiers like myself will always contain within them against the government for having treated us so poorly. We understand now and we forgive, but we don’t forget.”

Left, Tom Murphy in Vietnam with other service members. Captain Shim, white shirt, is below.

during our time in Vietnam. About five years ago, my son became connected to a lot of very successful people in South Korea, and told them about my relationship with Captain Shim; he said, If he’s still alive, we’ll find him. He did find him, and I wound up not only interacting with him on the internet, I went to Vietnam about five years ago, and I had a layover in Korea. We made arrangements to meet, and had our reunion after 50-some-odd years, and we had a wonderful reunion … He was a captain in artillery, became a colonel in artillery, and now he’s, I think, the poet laureate of South Korea. How about going from warfare to peacefulness? [I served] just under three years. It was 10 months of training and then two years of service … one of the worst parts of Vietnam was coming home, which you wouldn’t think would be a bad part. When World War II veterans came back, they were in troop ships sent out, and they spent two or three weeks traveling, and when they got home, everybody greeted them warmly. We all heard stories about how people would buy you dinner. If you went into a bar, everybody would buy you a [drink]. Let me tell you how bad it was. We got orders that we were going home, and we were delighted to have survived and delighted to be headed home. When we landed after a 12-, 14-hour flight … the plane taxied off to the side of the runway and shut down. And it was hot in California in April. The sun was baking our plane, and when they turned the plane off, the little air spurts above your seats were also turned off, so it was starting to get warm, and we waited five or 10 minutes, 15 or 20 minutes. Maybe close to 30 minutes. When we landed, everybody was jumping up and down and high-fiving and just very emotional we were back at home. But we started to get annoyed after 10, 15, 25 minutes sitting on the hot tarmac waiting for something to happen. I just figured that they were just waiting for the mayor of the city with the key to greet us as we arrived. What actually happened is, after some period of time, the doors finally opened, both the front doors and the back doors, and three MPs with drug-sniffing dogs walked up and down the aisles, sniffing our bodies and our crotches and everything, to check us for drugs. That was the greeting we received from the United States military upon our arrival, after spending a year in combat. It was humiliating for our government to do that to us, and it was humiliating not to have anyone greet us. It was humiliating to give us a piece of paper saying we were civilians and Continued on 4

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October 26, 2023

Paul Schultz, from Edgartown, went into the Army at the age of 21 in 1968. He served in Vietnam in the B Battery, Third Battalion, Sixth Artillery Unit.

SAM HOUGHTON

graduated high school on the Vineyard in ’65, went to enlist in the Army, and got turned down because I had a bad knee. I got turned down again in ’66. In ’68, I was drafted, and they took me. I left here on the 9th of September, ’68. I did basic until the middle of November at Fort Gordon, and then got shipped to Oklahoma to train in artillery, to train on howitzers. When we came home for Christmas, no one knew where they were getting shipped to. My father asked me, “Where are you going?” I said, “I have no idea.” I left here January first, 1969, and never saw the Island again until the 17th of April, 1970. The two things I’ll always remember about Vietnam: the heat and the smell. It was 105°. And then the smell. With all the different things at the airport: the jets, the helicopters, the little forklifts and machinery, all the garbage — it knocked you off your feet. I was on a howitzer. I started out low man on the totem pole. As guys left after their year of service was up, I moved up, and pretty soon I was the head of the gun. We did what are called LRPs [long-range reconnaissance patrol]. What a LRPs is —

Paul Schultz “In Vietnam, I found a lot of brave guys. August 16–17, 1969: The infantry had outside of crazy — they usually do six- or a courier from Hanoi. He had seven-man units. Five Americans and If you got hurt, someone who defected from North Viet- intercepted orders for the people in Phan Thiet to overtake the Americans. They put two arThey go out and find buried weapons they would come nam. tillery guns right in the village. and tunnels. And when they found them, We had a human wave attack. We fired they would call an artillery strike, and we to drag you out. would what was called a beehive round. It was blow it up. Or when they got in troubuckshot out of a howitzer. You hear ble and they were in a firefight, they would “boom,” and 2,500 pieces of shrapnel go and we would fire at the enemy. They would help say,We"Fire," that way. And whatever is in front of you, could fire a 40-pound projectile five me, it wasn’t there. miles, and if we had the right coordinates, you fight off the we could take a building out and not bother believe I’ll tell you what happened to me coming home from Vietnam. Two things: We any of the other buildings nearby. enemy.” flew into Fort Lewis in Washington. It was The night I will always remember, Tom Murphy Continued from 3

COURTESY TOM MURPHY

that we could only wear our uniforms for 24 hours, and thank you for your service. It was a very difficult return from Vietnam for all of the soldiers. There is a certain anger that returning soldiers like myself will always contain within them against the government for having treated us so poorly. We understand now and we forgive, but we don’t forget.

The good news is, we survived and we did arrive home to our families. The other thing people don’t understand is when you’re going off to a war — I don’t care what war it is, and I don’t care what job you had; you could be in infantry or you could be a finance person working in an office — but war is so random, obviously, anybody can get killed at any time, anywhere, when you’re involved. When you’re at the airport saying goodbye to your mother and father, or your brother or your sister, or your wife and child, or your

Tom Murphy , left, and Captain Shim during their reunion.

husband and children, you never know if you’re ever going to see them again. So it’s a very emotional moment, and a lot of people don’t understand that either. Anybody who’s been to a combat zone, they understand how difficult it is to say goodbye to your family. And we should all be grateful for the freedom veterans have provided for everybody. At the time, the mindset in 1971 was that people were throwing tomatoes at Vietnam veterans that were returning. People didn’t acknowledge the service our people gave, and the first thing we wanted to do was hide the fact we were Vietnam veterans. People did not have the opportunity to transition. Going from combat to civilian life is a difficult challenge, and it takes time to re-enter into civilization. But we didn’t have that time, so there’s a lot of Vietnam veterans that got into trouble when they returned, and were emotionally distraught and had a lot of trauma, and never really were able to transition. Years forward, in the other wars — Iraq, Afghanistan — when people came home — I lived out in Western Mass., and a lot of returning soldiers would [land in] Westover Air Force Base — we would go out at all times of day and night, hundreds of people would go there to greet them and to welcome them home, and all of the things that Vietnam veterans never received. We never received a welcome home. It was emotional for everybody. It still is. The military has learned how important it is, and hopefully they’ve improved on that dramatically.

a Sunday. I got together with two other guys going to Boston, because we knew they weren’t going to like us. On the way to the airport, the cabbie says, “Just so you know, they’re protesting the war at the airport today.” That didn’t bother us. We got there. We see them protesting. We tried to go past, and all of a sudden we heard these voices: “Where do you think you’re going?” I looked around and I said, “I’m going home.” There’s three of us and five of them. The first guy threw a punch and hit me in the shoulder. Another guy threw another punch and hit another guy in the shoulder. But the third guy made a mistake. He spit. He got me and my two friends. The two of them looked at me. We dropped our bags, and had a three-on-five fight. It was no contest. The police came and looked at them, and said to us, “Why don’t you get on that airplane?” So we did. And the second time, I got invited to a cookout with a guy that I fished with. He says, “My friends are coming down, why don’t you meet them?” These two ladies have been drinking. One of them says, “My grandson wants to go into the service, and I don’t know if it’s any good.” She asked me where I served. I said, “Vietnam.” She turned to me and said, “How many babies did you kill? That's something you don't say to someone returning from war.” Twelve times I’ve been turned away from Veterans Affairs. Agent Orange killed the nerve in my arm down to my hand. They sprayed Agent Orange to kill the foliage, and it got into the water that we drank, the food that we had. It would get on top of us when we went out on our firebase. I still have no feeling here [pointing to hand]. I got out of the Army in 1970. This showed up in about 1989. I had a job, and I couldn’t do it. I worked with the water company. I couldn’t work. I couldn’t do anything because I couldn’t feel my hand. I have diabetes caused by Agent Orange. In Vietnam, I found a lot of brave guys. If you got hurt, they would come to drag you out. They would help you fight off the enemy. I met a lot of great guys, and still like to talk with them. Ones in Arkansas, ones in Minnesota, Tennessee. So we stay in touch. Guys I served with. MVT Interview by Sam Houghton

I’m hoping our veterans project in Oak Bluffs gets a lot of support from the press. We’re proposing to build 12 units, all efficiency, one-bedroom units on land Oak Bluffs has donated, gone off on RFP, and Island Housing Trust and the Cape and Islands veterans group have won the bid. We’re starting the fundraising process as we speak, and hopefully, as we get closer and closer to Veterans Day, I hope there will be more and more community awareness through the newspapers and other media to support this worthwhile organization. A friend of mine who was fundraising for the hospital said it was an easy raise because a lot of people on the Island needed the hospital. Well, it should be an easy raise to raise the money for veterans housing, because every single person on this Island has enjoyed the freedom that veterans’ suffering has provided them. I’m also going to tell you how proud I am to be the veterans service officer for Aquinnah. You probably may have never noticed, and I hope you have, but the town hall has a monument. On the lefthand side of the monument, it explains it’s given by the governor to the town of Gay Head, which during World War II provided more soldiers in proportion to its population than any other city or town in New England. That’s quite a bit of history that’s not well-known or wellremembered. MVT Interview by Eunki Seonwoo

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October 26, 2023

SAM HOUGHTON

homeless; that were addicts, because nobody treated them. We got nothing. There were guys during the Vietnam time — one day you were out there shooting, killing people — and a guy would come to you and tell you, “OK, you’re going home.” That day, you were going home. No rehabilitation. No nothing. You’re out on the streets in California, with your fatigues on. Being in Korea and seeing some of the suffering of the kids over there and the people, I wanted to help people. My role now as a veteran advocate is to work with these guys. Some of them need housing. Some need food. Some need transportation. Whatever needs they have, we provide for them. If someone is coming back from war, bring them in. Because what he really wants to do is talk. He wants someone to listen to him, to hear him, and to help provide him with the tools and the necessities he needs to succeed. He might just need someone to hug him and say, “Man, you’re all right. It’s all right to feel that way. It’s all right.” Men are grown up to be fixers: “I’m going to fix everything.” And you’re not. Growing up, we’re told, “Don’t cry. If you cry, you’re a sissy.” Sometimes these guys got to cry. They got to be hugged. They have to be told, “No, you’re not a failure.”

Bob Tankard

Bob Tankard served in Korea in the 1960s, during the Vietnam War, guarding the border just outside North Korea. Tankard is also a veterans outreach coordinator for the Island at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services. The organization provides readjustment counseling on a focused, individual level, as well as in group settings with fellow veterans. A support group meets weekly to discuss the challenges of reintegrating after the war experience.

was in Korea for 13 months. Every once in a while, the North Koreans would come across [the border]. There would be little skirmishes. They gave us 30 minutes to get out of our area to go to our alert site. That’s it. Thirty minutes, or we all would have been dead.

When the sirens went off, everyone scrambled. You scrambled to get your gear. Get to your vehicle. Within 30 minutes. Usually that was once a month. Sometimes you would go out for two days. Other times, you would stay out for three weeks in the woods, sleeping on the ground. So we had to live with that fear and anticipation for 13 months. I saw a side of humanity there that was just terrible. Poverty. Abandonment. Fear. Loneliness. I felt it in myself sometimes. I felt it in the guys. I felt it in the people in Korea. It was a tremendous eye-opener. But when I got off the plane, and was called a baby killer, I thought to myself, Did I land in the right country? We couldn’t talk to people about our experience. People didn’t want to hear it. I couldn’t travel in my military clothes.

It was like we were the enemy in this country. When I got out in ’67, there was still that negativity. Our friends — who we thought were our friends — they didn’t want to hear about it because they were against the war. Which I understand, but what I couldn’t understand was why they treated me that way. I was sent there. Not by choice. I had four choices. Go. Go AWOL. Go to jail. Or go to Canada. Those were the choices. When I was sent over, I was a celebrated soldier. When I came back, I was a different person. The country had changed. Now, the military realized that they had ignored Vietnam guys. They gave us nothing. When we came home from Korea and Vietnam, they were addicted. Cocaine, marijuana; whatever they needed to keep the fear down. That’s why you had so many Vietnam guys that were

Up to the minute

“There were guys during the Vietnam time — one day you were out there shooting, killing people — and a guy would come to you and tell you, 'OK, you’re going home.' That day, you were going home. No rehabilitation. No nothing.” And in a group, we can say that to each other. We can say that to each other because we’re brothers. No matter what color you are; no matter what nationality you are; no matter what religion you are: You’re brothers. And they understand exactly that. And that’s what we do. Some of these guys, when I look at them, and they say, “You were there for me.” And I say, “Well, that’s what we should do for each other. I’m there for you as a brother in the military.” MVT Interview by Sam Houghton

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VOICES OF

VETERANS

October 26, 2023

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SAM HOUGHTON

UP-TO-THE MINUTE NEWS, FEATURES, AND WHAT’S HAPPENING ON MARTHA’S VINEYARD.

Bob Penney

Bob Penney is one of the last surviving veterans of World War II on Martha’s Vineyard. He lives on Oak Bluffs Harbor, and turned 100 on August 21. He enlisted in the Navy, but never left the U.S. during the war.

was a freshman at Tufts University when Pearl Harbor came along. I figured my college career was over. A friend of mine, who turned out to be a lifelong friend, said, Why don’t we join the Navy and they’ll let us finish out the year? What I didn’t know at the time, we didn’t have much choice. They didn’t have enough space for us, so they let us finish our first year. My first night in the Navy, someone committed suicide by jumping out of the fourth-floor window, and I thought to myself, “What did I get myself into?” But it got better from there. It’s a terrible thing to say, but World War II was the best thing that happened to me. We were winning the war, and they just had too many guys they didn’t know what the hell to do with us. So they switched from one training area to another, from one plane to the next. I was flying mostly multi-engine planes. I started out in Piper Cubs, then to double-wing. We would do confidence maneuvers and simulated carrier landings. And then I got into multiengine planes, and then from there to Catalinas and seaplanes. I never left the U.S. [during the war]. I liked to tell people, “Not one Japanese plane got past Key West when I was sta-

“It’s a terrible thing to say, but World War II was the best thing that happened to me. We were winning the war, and they just had too many guys they didn’t know what the hell to do with us.” tioned in Florida.” A small joke. I was in the U.S. when the war ended in Europe. We flew from Jacksonville to Key West about 200 feet from the land, and caused a lot of noise. That was our celebration. Why I wasn’t called back into the Korean War, I will never understand. A lot of guys I knew did, but I didn’t. MVT Interview by Sam Houghton

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October 26, 2023

spent the first three to four years of my life on Chappaquiddick, and we moved over to Edgartown. I grew up in Edgartown, went to school there, and went to the regional high school and graduated in 1964. My family have been here a while, and I’m glad to be back. It’s my home, and I love this place. I was going to go to [college] for a while, but I ended up not doing that, and joining on Feb. 2, 1965, [when] I went into the service, I believe it was. I couldn’t afford to go to college. There was no work on the Island after Christmas. I worked on a farm. I was unemployed, I didn’t have enough money to really pay for tuition, and my parents couldn’t afford to help me, and I knew that if I didn’t go, I was going to get drafted anyway. I asked my uncle, who’d been in the service, which branch was the best one to go into to get an education for something, and he said the Air Force. So I joined the Air Force. Went up to Boston, got sworn in, and headed off to Lackland Air Force Base for basic training. I served four years in the Air Force. I was a medic, and I served stateside medical air evac when I first went to Andrews Air Force Base [in Maryland]. I worked taking the wounded off the planes and taking them to our hospitals in the area — there was Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed Hospital, and the big Air Force hospital, Malcolm Grow Hospital. So I did that, and that was probably one of the most impactful things I did in my service — medical air evacuation as a medic. When I left medical air evac, I served in the hospital working with some of the wounded there as well. I was then sent over to Turkey, where I spent a year and a half. The last six months of my work was as an independent duty medic in Izmir, Turkey. We [had] 500 men, and I ran the dispensary and took care of the guys up there for the last six months of my stay. I got out Jan. 2, 1969. But before I got to Andrews Air Force Base, where I did medical air evac of the wounded, I was stationed in Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, and I was sent to Gunter Air Force Base for medical training, and that was in Montgomery, Ala. Martin Luther King and the others marched from Selma to Montgomery while I was there, in Montgomery. So that was an experience, too, that kind of woke up this Island boy to what’s going on in our country. Two and a half years, mostly at Andrews Air Force Base, where I did the medical air evac and I worked in the hospital in the different departments. Then I was given orders to go overseas, and back then, Greece and Turkey almost went to war while I was there. The whole place was put into preparation for war. We had to blacken the windows at the hospital where I was working. It was really something. Headlights were all blackened, and they had big howitzers right by the harbor ready, and people standing by. But then Cyrus Vance flew in from our government and settled the dispute between Greece and Turkey, and that didn’t happen. It was over Cyprus, the island of Cyprus. We had to evacuate all dependents out of Izmir, out of Turkey actually. So they sent the fleet in, they all got on board and they were gone, and then just the rest of us were left there. It was a little hairy. So, I spent … just a month short of four years, and I got out of the service, came back home, spent a year traveling trying to figure out where I wanted to go in life … I got out on Jan. 2, ’69, and I took a year off. I worked for a while on the Island doing manual labor, and a friend of mine and myself decided to just go to Europe and

find a place where we could hang out. We were lost on what we wanted to do with our lives after the service. I was, anyway. One of the things that happened in the Vietnam War was [when] veterans came back, they were treated badly. They were blamed for being in an unpopular war, and [people] took it out on the veterans. We were told to take our uniforms off when we got back to the States, because we didn’t want to be accosted. People were spitting on the veterans as they were walking out of the gates, and there were all kinds of protests. Veterans were just treated very badly by the rest of the civilian population. Remember, one of the things that happens when someone serves the country, and especially when they have to go into combat and risk their live, is that the healing from that comes

EUNKI SEONWOO

Tom Bennett grew up on Chappaquiddick and in Edgartown, and served as a medic in the U.S. Air Force. He provides assistance for veterans at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services.

a medic taking care of veterans, even to this day, in a way. I’m still taking guys and women who have served their country. It gives meaning to my life. That’s why I’m still doing it at my age. [When I got back], I got a job at [Martha’s Vineyard] Community Services, and started out working hotlines for people who were involved with drugs back then — 1970 is actually when I came here to work. I went from being the coordinator of the volunteers running the drug hotlines to running the project program itself, that was called the Summer Project. And then I also started working at the youth center, and I went on to begin the Daybreak Program here at Community Services, and I ran the mental health center for 20 years. I was the director of the mental health center. And then,

Tom Bennett

from the people back home, who put them on a pedestal and thank them for serving and saving them from being taken over by the enemy, or anything that had to do with ruining our country. But that didn’t happen. There were protests, there was actually a lot of racial tension. There were riots. Watts burned. There were cities that were lit on fire because of the racism that was going on in the country. It was a hard time, the ’60s, especially the late ’60s … early ’70s there was a lot of racial tension in the country, and a lot of real painful memories for me and most of the veterans who came back, because we’ve just been off serving our country, and we were being blamed. It was really just a wound to an entire generation of males, because if you didn’t join, you were drafted, and a lot of people were sent into combat, where they saw horrific things. I mean, just my working with the wounded affected me and impacted my life, because I saw what happens in war, and I took care of those wounded veterans, and that was hard for me. But to be sent over there in harm’s way and have to come home and be treated like that by the people you were fighting for is a trauma in itself. It’s almost like a double trauma. It really is. I was lucky. The risk is I could have been sent over there and been taken out. We lost a number of Islanders to the wars. I took care of veterans in the service, and when I look back now, I realize … I’m still

ing with veterans ever since 1984, as a major part of my caseload. All through the years, I ran the counseling center. I also had a caseload of clients that I saw as a therapist. I’m still seeing veterans and running the group today. I would serve if I had to do it again. I think it’s important to serve your country, community, in some capacity. I’m a big proponent of national service for our young people. Not necessarily military — that could be one choice. Something to give back, to understand this isn’t free. None of this is free. A lot of people have died to make it so you and I can sit here and I can say whatever is on my mind. I don’t think that’s a conscious theme in this country like it should be. We also need to know our history, and that’s being lost. That’s a part of, what could be a part of this training. The real history and power has progressed. Even though we’re far from perfect, we keep working to make it better. [Veterans] give a lot to me, more than they can ever know. They give back to me. [Working with veterans] gives meaning in life … Other things do as well, of course: my family, my boys, my grandchildren. But this gives me something I can do for others, my community, my country. There were things about the military I wasn’t crazy about. I’m not a guy who’s “militaristic.” I’m more of a guy who wants to help people and treat people and be a good medic. I’m not into being in charge of people, and giving orders, and that kind of thing. A lot of that was not my cup of tea, but I adapted and adjusted to it because that’s how the military works, and it was a part of the mission to take orders. So that’s what I had to do, and that’s what everybody has to do if you want to get through the military. And it worked out. I met some really good people in the military. Some of the finest people I’ve ever met, I’ve met in the military. I’m still in contact with some of my old friends from the military. I didn’t want to make it a career. I’m not a “military guy,” if you know what I mean. But I wanted to continue to serve my community, and I wanted to contribute. And I wanted to come home. I wanted to come home to the Island and my community, and the people I know: my family, people I care about. But it wasn’t easy. It was not an easy transition. It was very difficult to go from, pretty much, a very structured environment to a totally unstructured lifestyle. That’s one of the

“It was really just a wound to an entire generation of males because if you didn’t join, you were drafted, and a lot of people were sent into combat, where they saw horrific things.” finally, I became the associate executive director of the agency, and I was working in different departments here, being supervision, basically. But my first time working with a veteran was back in 1970 — I remember a Marine came in and was struggling with PTSD, which we didn’t know was post-traumatic stress disorder back then, came into my office and broke down. I can still remember that. It was tough. I ended up taking over a group that was started by some veterans in the community — Woody Williams was one of them, Jeff Baker was another one — called the Rap Group. They realized that they needed a leader because it was hard for them to deal with some of the emotions and things that were coming up. I ended up taking over the group in 1984, and I think it was 1986 where we got a contract with [Veteran Affairs]. I’ve been work-

adjustments people have to make when they come back from the military. They have to find their way, to feel like they have a mission or purpose to do something that’s worthwhile. They had that in the military, because the mission is to serve and protect. But as a civilian, you have to find it in your life. I was a sergeant in the Air Force, and I was chosen to be an independent duty medic, so I was successful in what I did. I really liked what I was doing with the patients, a lot. I was on call 24/7 when I was in the service, and then I came back and I was on call for almost the past 40 years here, so it’s been a part of my makeup — to be available to people. I just hope people realize how important it is to support their veterans in this community, and I hope they’ll do that. MVT Interview by Eunki Seonwoo

VOICES OF

VETERANS

October 26, 2023

It was great. I loved every bit of it, even the bad times. It’s given me just a bunch of opportunities. I’ve been to 59 countries, and the majority of those were due to the fact I was in the military. I traveled to a lot of places, had a lot of fun. I did a bunch of deployments. The only regret I had was the time I spent away from my family and my kids. But it was phenomenal, man. The good times outnumbered the bad, easily. I’ve made a lot of great friends, too. I always say the best time I had in the military was when I was stationed in Italy. I got to travel all over Europe and Africa — that was another one of our regions — but just the time over there was a lot of fun, and by far the best time I had. Alaska was great, too. I love hunting and I love being in the outdoors. That was another great spot for me. I ain’t gonna lie, [transitioning to civilian life] was hard. It was extremely hard.

while I was in the military. You know, it wasn’t intentional. I think I would’ve been more involved if I had the ability to do that. Like I said before, I was so detached and so focused on the military, I didn’t pay attention to what was happening tribally or culturally. It kind of prevented my kids from getting involved as well. I just missed out on a lot. But I’m relearning things, and I’m learning a whole lot of other things as well, from a lot of our elders, and even our young folks who’re culturally experienced and who have a lot of knowledge. I’ve been to a lot of locations conflictualwise. But my first 10 years in the military, it was a peacetime military. We had minor engagements in Haiti and Bosnia and Kosovo. Those were small-time things. Once the things that happened based off 9/11, that’s when everything shifted. We started getting involved in a lot of Middle

“I loved every bit of it, even the bad times. It’s given me just a bunch of opportunities. I’ve been to 59 countries, and the majority of those were due to the fact I was in the military. I traveled to a lot of places, had a lot of fun.”

Kevin Devine Kevin Devine spent nearly three decades in the Army, and served in many regions of the world. He currently serves on the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) tribal council.

PHOTOS: DENA PORTER

was born and raised out here on the Vineyard, and I left when I was 20, 21 years old. I went into the military for 28 years, and came back a couple of years after that. After 30 years of being gone, I came back and got involved with the [Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah)] and ran for office. Here I am serving as a councilman now with the tribe. I’m two years in now. Eleven Bravo was my MOS [military occupation speciality]. I was an infantryman by skill set. It was 1992, so just prior to my 21st birthday I joined — a couple of months prior. I [poured] foundation before going in. [Joining the Army] was something that I always wanted to do. I knew that was going to be something that I did. Initially, I was going to join the Marine Corps. I was dead set on that; I studied everything to do with the Marine Corps. I had a good friend — actually a friend of the family and a friend of mine — who was a couple of years older than me — Rick Bernard was his name. He was the past commander for the VFW, he served in the 82nd Airborne Division, jumping out of planes. It was right after Panama. He jumped into Panama in 1989. He was

I sit here and I kind of wish I stayed in longer. I missed the camaraderie and the type of people who are in there. You have just a bunch of folks who are type A personalities, and everybody’s got the same common goals and want to accomplish the same things. They’re all resultsoriented, driven. Coming out of the military, you know, it’s a whole different world. And again with the camaraderie, it’s just a different place for folks to be around. When one person’s miserable, another person’s miserable. Just the teamwork aspect of things, it was just a great place to be in, and I really struggled coming out … I took six months off. I didn’t do anything for six months at all, and I knew I wanted to do something. I needed to find a new purpose. It was a hard struggle for me. When you do something for the better half of 28 years, it’s hard to adjust. One of my best buddies, we’ve been friends for 30 years, he got out after four years, and he wished he stayed in. He missed every part of it, too. It’s a hard adjustment for a lot of people. [Being with family] is definitely a plus. I’ve got grandkids now. I’m making up for lost time right now. A lot of reconnecting. I was so detached from anything tribal Kevin Devine spoke about the fortitude of indigenous warriors in American tribes and how their skills formed the basis of defense tactics in the U.S. military during the 2023 Indigenous Peoples' Day celebration.

home on leave one time in ’90, ’91, and he told me a bunch of stuff about jumping out of planes. Another guy was Joey Wurdell, he was an Airborne Ranger. That just got me dead set on being an Airborne Ranger. So I ended up going to the Army recruiter and said I wanted to be an Airborne Ranger and the rest is history.

Eastern countries. But, yeah, Afghanistan, Iraq, some other locations … I’ve been pretty involved with that stuff. I’ve done multiple tours in those locations. There’s always going to be a culture shift, you know? Times change … World War II generation folks, they have their thoughts on how the military changed and how culture shifted. Vietnam vets probably think the same thing. There’s always going to be culture shifts. Everybody’s going to have their opinions if it’s good or bad. We’ll see how it turns out. There’s definitely changes in the military now since I’ve been out, with some of my buddies, some of my soldiers that I had in the past, that are high-ranking leaders today. It’s a different world. They’re focused on different things. Cybersecurity is a big thing — we’re pretty vulnerable in that realm of things — and the world’s a crazy place right now. We’ve got a bunch of folks out there trying to do us harm. China’s a big threat, North Korea, Russia, Iran, Syria. There’s some high-powered ding-dongs out there in the world, and they don’t like us. We just got to stay vigilant and stay with the times, and that’s what’s going to change military culture, with what’s going on in the world. There’s a recruitment problem in all branches, and this culture shift may be the problem. The media portrays a lot of things and puts stuff out there. I don’t know what’s preventing people from joining the military. Based off of my experiences, I’m hoping folks will join, and have the same experiences that I did. Again, there are going to be bad times. I don’t know how many times in the past I’ve thought about getting out of the military because of something pissing me off. But at the end of the day, whatever it was that pissed me off in the past, it wasn’t enough to make me get out. I just hope some folks start rethinking some things, and get out there and serve in the military, and protect and serve this great nation. MVT Interview by Eunki Seonwoo

VOICES OF

VETERANS

October 26, 2023

Benjamin (“Skipper”) Mayhew III grew up in Chilmark, and served in Vietnam as a medic.

was in the Army as a medic. Vietnam: two years. It was actually a little bit shorter than that, because when they get you back, they pretty soon got rid of you right away. I got drafted, and they had me stationed in [Oahu, Hawaii]. That was, or at least I heard, to get us climatized. To be able to withstand the heat in Vietnam. It was hot. It was brutal. I went to Texas for medical training, and after that I belonged to a unit. They had me stationed in Hawaii as a part of the 25th Infantry. They stuck us there so we were just there when they transferred us [to] the Vietnam thing. Basically, they only needed the numbers. It was strictly politics, nothing to do with right or wrong, or anything else. At least, in my opinion. [The transition] was easy. I had no problem. I came back right here. I was living with my parents at the time, and I didn’t

have any kids, and I wasn’t married at the time — I am now — so at that point in my life I played it by ear. For me, it was really [that] I ended up with PTSD. I’ve got a psychological condition. Basically, when I was in Vietnam, I was in one place doing one job, and then they grabbed me and used me to do a triage, because they just had [soldiers] come in one after the other. It could be anywhere between eight to 11, 12 guys in the chopper, wounded or dead … Basically, for each and every guy, I had to play God. I had three other guys who were under me, but I made the decision for all of those guys. It really has a psychological [impact]. I didn’t want that job, but I did it. You know, you do what you’re told. I was a medic, that was my MOS [military occupation specialty]. They put us with a unit that they started up. We were there when they started in Vietnam. This one company they ran over first, and then the other three companies were there with them within a week or 10 days. I did that. It was scary. I mean, it’s scary what it did to

my brain. Psychologically, making all of those life decisions, that’s the last thing I thought I was ever going to be doing. I figured I was going to be getting out of the military in a few months, and … I did what I was told, and I did it for a day, a night, and a day. I had 45 seconds, something like that, for each guy. As a medic, you couldn’t hear anything, so you had to do it by feel. I realized that right away. It’s kind of like field expedience. You’re allowed to make some adjustments like that. That was a big deal for me. That’s what I did, and you want to serve your country, right or wrong. And, in my opinion, [the war] was as wrong as wrong could be. I didn’t know that in the beginning, but I found out a few years later, something was really wrong. I mean, I recognized something was goofy. What’s interesting is all these guys, they had a unit working on psychological [issues], so they were following you, and trying to keep an eye on what you were doing. A lot of questioning and all that. I did my job, and I made mistakes on the

EUNKI SEONWOO

Benjamin Mayhew III

“It was scary. I mean, it’s scary what it did to my brain. Psychologically, making all of those life decisions. That’s the last thing I thought I was ever going to be doing.”

guy and he died when he shouldn’t have died, but nothing I could do about that. I realized right from the get-go that it was my decision. Nobody else was going to come in and change anything. I was being criticized because they didn’t do it. I did it. Everything was fine until that point … I never had to fire my weapon over there, thank God. Because if I ever killed anybody, then it was going to be on me for doing it, killing them. I just made sure I didn’t get in that position where I had to decide on that kind of thing. Mine was just to decide what condition he was in, whether he was going to go in and get assigned right away, and [whether] they were going to work on him as quickly as possible. So it was triage; it was emergency-type stuff. Once you do something like that, it’s way out of the norm. It’s so strange and out of the norm. And the Army didn’t really know what they were doing at that point. We hadn’t been at war in ages, and in my opinion, it was totally trumped-up. It was all about the Benjamins. Most of this stuff has got more to do with the Benjamins than it does right or wrong. It is very unfortunate. A lot of lives were lost. Priorities weren’t always in proper order. After that, I simply felt I had no business being here. Now, when I saw how many guys died — I mean, these guys ended up basically ambushed. They thought they were going to be ambushers, but got ambushed by the locals. They were way better at this guerilla warfare. There were obviously men who were affected by it. I didn’t know when to grieve. At that point, I didn’t know much about PTSD. I don’t think a lot of people did. We are no longer dealing with it quite the same way. It’s good. The world really needs to hear about those things — what really took place, and that kind of thing. A lot of stuff gets covered up, especially in the military, especially with a whole thing like that. Everybody had a job, and it was a lot of different jobs over there, like everywhere. You had a lot of different hats to put on. I was learning. At that point I didn’t know the effects. I never even heard of PTSD, I never heard of any of this stuff. I knew enough to know. A lot of guys were badly affected, and have been through too much, and doing things like that. I was definitely a standard case. It’s just kind of how people behave. We know that people behave a certain way; it depends on the individual, but it depends on the circumstances of what’s going on. For me, it was not good. I was very badly affected. And, you know, even a few committed suicide. They have a whole history of shell shock. They have a different name each war, but it was the same thing — shell shock or battle fatigue. Names that’ve never even been spoken before. The Army’s much better now. Way, way better. It’s like day and night. The military is very slow about a lot of stuff. When they get something right, they’ll keep going with it … and what’s best on how to treat it. It depends on the individual, especially psychological stuff. MVT Interview by Eunki Seonwoo

mvmediation.org | 508.693.2999 | 15 Merchants Way, Suite 5, Vineyard Haven

VOICES OF

VETERANS

“The trend in the military started changing as well. It became less of a discriminatory place, and was more of an inclusive place. But like many things, it takes time.” –Deborah Potter

October 26, 2023

gram, from my previous job, to become a lawyer for the military and enter the JAG [Judge Advocate General] corps. And so right now, even though I’m basically a full-time student, I’m still in the Air Force. My assignment is to be a student at Stanford Law School. I’m very fortunate for that opportunity.

Deborah and Samantha Potter

PHOTOS COURTESY THE POTTER FAMILY

Deborah Potter is the current town administrator for Oak Bluffs, and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran. As an enlisted Marine, she served as an air traffic controller stateside and overseas before coming to work on the Island for the Federal Aviation Administration. Her daughter, Samantha Potter, born and raised on Martha’s Vineyard, serves as a captain in the U.S. Air Force. She graduated from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School in 2015, then enrolled in and graduated from the Air Force Academy in Colorado before receiving a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Oxford. Currently, Samantha attends Stanford Law School on a KnightHennessy scholarship.

Deborah Potter: I’m not originally from the Island. In 1990, [I began] work as an air traffic controller at the Martha’s Vineyard aircraft control tower. That’s how I met my husband. His family has been here in some capacity for well over 125 years. But we decided to make this our home, so we moved here in 1992 when we got married, and then the kids, Samantha and her sister, were born in 1997. [I joined the Marines] in Pennsylvania. That’s where my father was from. And he was a Navy enlisted individual who retired out of the Navy. I graduated [from high school] in 1982, and went right into the military because of financial considerations for college. I spent just under eight years in the Marine Corps. [As a Marine], I was in air traffic control. I spent the majority of my time in Yuma, Arizona; in addition, a year over in Okinawa, Japan, where I worked on a controller cross-training program at Kadena Air Force Base. When I got out in 1990, I worked [on the Island] for the FAA for a little over a year and a half. But during that time, I got recalled for the first Desert Storm. I was out of the military, and under a program at the time called IRR (Individual Ready Reserve), which meant I [still] had to maintain my uniform, and for two years after I got out, if the military needed to recall me for any purpose, they could, which they did when the first Desert Storm operation began. But that was just a six-week recall. Most of my [military work] was in the United States or Japan. [In Japan,] I was on what was called an unaccompanied tour. I was there for one year. The Marine Corps had very limited

DP: My history [in the military] is over 30 years old. It’s not the same military anymore. [Now,] especially for young women, it’s a great opportunity for them to at least open their eyes to and explore it as a potential option to help them achieve their goals. Marines are generally a little bit on the tougher side. When I first enlisted, I did face a lot of discrimination because of my age and my gender, even an air traffic control. But I will say when I left the military, by virtue of myself and a few other women really succeeding in that field, we were changing the dynamics of at least that occupational specialty. And the trend in the military started changing as well. It became less of a discriminatory place and was more of an inclusive place. But like many things, it takes time. Over time, policies change, ideals change, practices change, and the people change. And so the newer generations coming in will often have a different idea of what’s acceptable and not acceptable than older individuals from prior years. I don’t regret being in the military at all. I think it was the best pathway for me to open up all of the avenues and doors that I wanted to open up for myself. And if I had not gone into the military, I would not have ended up here, which means I would not have met my husband, which means I would not have had my two beautiful daughters. So for that, I’m eternally grateful for my military service. SP: I think it is, it is much different,

probably, than my mother’s experience, in part because, as she mentioned, it is a different military. And I think in a lot of better ways. It’s much more progressive in terms of social policies, and it takes sexual assault and sexual harassment incredibly seriously, which is something as an organization I’m really proud that we do. It’s still a problem, it’s still a problem everywhere, but I think [the Air Force] ] is really getting better at it. In terms of just being a woman, the biggest issue, or the biggest struggle I face,

“I have just an amazing network of strong female mentors in all ranks, from a general to my fellow officers. And I think the female network, and the camaraderie and mentorship, has been so helpful and so strong.” –Samantha Potter roles for air traffic controllers at their base, so we managed to talk the Air Force into allowing several of us air traffic controllers to go over to their facility to train and augment their staff. For me, it was a very enjoyable time. I would say I would have liked to explore the area more; it just didn’t quite work out at the time. But I definitely enjoyed my time working with the Air Force.

Samantha Potter: I think my mom’s

experience called me to service. Also, both of my grandfathers had served in various capacities. So I think our family as a whole just has a public service orientation. And so I knew I wanted to do something in that vein when

I graduated high school, and I spoke to my mom a lot about the military. She was very adamant that it was the right path to look at commissioning sources, instead of going into the military as an enlisted member, which was what [my mom and grandfather did]. She also helped me pick out the right branch. For me, that was the Air Force. I think also the fact that my father was a pilot, and we’ve been around aviation for quite a long time growing up. So it was just a natural fit. A lot of people don’t know about all of the amazing educational opportunities in the military. And one of them I’m actually pursuing; it’s a career transition pro-

is just oftentimes you’re the only woman in the room. And that hasn’t changed. And I think that’s more of a recruiting problem. Women generally don’t go into the military as much as men. I’ve never really been discriminated against or faced challenges in that way, personally, but it is something you notice. And I’m getting more comfortable with that. But definitely, when I first commissioned and entered the Air Force, it was hard being the only woman in the room, and as a younger officer, just trying to navigate that space. But I have just an amazing network of Continued on 11

VOICES OF

VETERANS

October 26, 2023

Continued from 10 strong female mentors at all ranks, from a general to my fellow officers. And I think the female network, and the camaraderie and mentorship, has been so helpful and so strong. And I think that’s probably changed from your time in the service, where it was maybe a little more competitive between women.

DP: There were just so few of us. And it

was harder. For a lot of people, mentorship wasn’t necessarily a big idea that was pushed and stressed. But I know towards the end of my time [serving], we were moving more toward trying to do that. I never looked at my Marines by their gender, their color, their religion. “You’re a Marine, do your job.” And that’s all I expected back — let’s have that same courtesy. That was kind of the mentality that we were trying to address: Know your people, and employ them in accordance with their capabilities. So as far as I was concerned, I didn’t care about your gender. Could you control airplanes or not? And if you could, I would do everything I could to help you. If you couldn’t, I did everything I could to help you find a job better suited for your skill set.

SP: I’ve had a relatively interesting career path so far, [with] amazing academic op-

portunities. And so [I’ve been able to] focus on myself. I might have other younger officers who I’ve supported. I spent a year at Hanscom [Air Force Base] as an acquisitions officer. And that career field is unique, in that we are mostly officers. That’s a big difference between the Air Force and the Marine Corps — if you’re an officer in the Marine Corps, you would routinely command probably 100 enlisted members. But in the Air Force and a lot of its career fields, you actually wouldn’t. I am moving into a career field where I will get to lead enlisted members. And that is something I’m really excited to do. I’m excited to learn and to practice, and learn from them. When I graduate, I will be in the Air Force for at least the foreseeable future. I think it’s a good fit for me. It’s something I like doing, and I like being part of the organization. My fiancé and I are really trying to go abroad again, and work overseas. In the long term, Massachusetts, or Martha’s Vineyard, is definitely a place where we’d like to end up.

DP: It would be a great opportunity for

Islanders, especially younger Islanders, just to know about the opportunities that might be available to them, because we just don’t seem to have as many opportunities here anymore as we used to. There’s so many programs now that

are available, where the military can help pay for your education. And that’s a lot of things that some people may not look into or explore. These opportunities don’t generally present themselves when you follow a regular pathway. But sometimes the military can accelerate a pathway and open up doors that you never even imagined existed. And if you can marry it up with your interests — like, for example, Samantha is going to be on the cutting edge of space law, and is actually going to be doing a NASA internship for a year during her second year of law school.

SP: I think one of the draws to me for joining the Air Force was it is a very cutting-edge branch. They’re at the forefront of a lot of really cool investment, development, and technology. The Academy exposed me to outer space as a future domain, and not just through a military lens, but as something we’re going to use, and we already use in our daily lives. So it kind of sparked my interest, and I’ve been studying it. It was kind of through the marrying of social science, humanities, and the sciences that I found this love for space, because it isn’t just science. It’s also law and philosophy. I mean, there’s so many disciplines that go into understanding how we think about outer space. Even just philosophically, how

do we want to use the domain? And so I think all of my background, from high school to my time in college really, helped point me to the domain, and then helped me be prepared to study it. When I was at Oxford, my international relations master’s degree was in outer-space law, so I’ve been able to explore those opportunities, a lot of them provided by the Air Force, to pursue that interest. And now we have the Space Force, which is underneath the Air Force. And so that is an opportunity that I can, you know, go be a lawyer for the Space Force, which is probably the only place, other than maybe NASA and some other government agencies, you can actually practice spacewalks.

DP [on her daughter’s future profession]:

I think it’s fantastic. She’s a super-intelligent individual, and it’s right up her alley. I think she’s going to do phenomenal work in this field. Especially as things progress. She’s already been published multiple times for space law, legal briefs, and I just think she’s going to be fantastic. And someday or another, maybe we’ll all work for her. Well, this is also one of the reasons why I kind of suggested bringing Samantha in on this conversation. She’s way more interesting than I am. MVT

Interview by Abigail Rosen

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VOICES OF

VETERANS

October 26, 2023

JEREMY DRIESEN

Randy Dull

Randy Dull joined the U.S. Army in June 2000, and served for 15 years between active duty and National Guard. He was deployed to Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and finished his service as a staff sergeant. He is the veterans service officer for Dukes County.

have survivor’s guilt from an instance, after I got injured, when I wasn’t there for five guys who died in a vehicle incident. I was close with them. It was one of those, “When I worked with the driver, did I train him well enough? Would my being there have changed anything?” Because I would have been out on that mission. [They] were going with special operators to conduct a high-value target. It was either going to be a quick and easy mission or there would be a lot of firefighting. They

could talk about your crummy week. In essence, it’s the group healing. And if you are going through something, someone else there has done it themselves, or something similar. So they give you different tools in the toolbox to help you along. With a group or with other veterans, it’s nice being able to know you can talk with someone, rather than trying to do it alone. A good portion of my generation, [we were] trying to do it alone, and it hasn’t worked. I think I’ve buried the same amount, if not more people, than I’ve lost in all my combat deployments, due to suicide … after they try to do it alone. You’ll never be 100 percent afterward. With PTSD, there are certain things you do. It’s like clockwork, you don’t think about it, but you always have your back to a wall. Always looking for the closest exit. With a group, you don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. But it brings back a quality of life where you are not constantly looking over your shoulder. Instead of being blatant, it just becomes subconscious. I’m perfectly fine with it. Like going into town, I can sit at hightops at a bar. Before, it had to be a wall. Had to be next to a door. You can get that quality of life back where you can sit wherever you want, and not have to worry about it. Coming home [the reception was different]. When I was injured, I flew home to the Island; there were probably 30, 40

“Eight years ago, I wouldn’t have talked about this. When I came home, my initial mentality was, ‘If you’re not infantry or haven’t seen what I have seen, I don’t want to talk to you about it. I don’t want to hear your issues.’” had an Abrams tank, the lead vehicle. The Bradley [Fighting Vehicle] my friends were in … they were unable to see that half of the road collapsed under the tank ahead of them. So when they went over a small berm, they couldn’t see that a quarter of the road collapsed, and they rolled into a canal. Eight years ago, I wouldn’t have talked about this. When I came home, my initial mentality was, “If you’re not infantry or

haven’t seen what I have seen, I don’t want to talk to you about it. I don’t want to hear your issues.” I was very ignorant. I started going to a veterans group on the Vineyard. My first meeting, I was sitting next to a Navy SEAL, and I was like, “You’ve seen so much more than I have, and you’re here.” I could freely talk. It was 15 people all going through their different experiences. If you had a crummy week, you

veterans that met me. Another deployment, you walk off the boat, you have the veteran honor guard. You had an engine from every fire department. A squad car from every police department. The welcoming home we got — after seeing, specifically seeing what the Vietnam guys got — to me has definitely changed. MVT Interview by Sam Houghton

Thank you The Martha’s Vineyard Times is grateful for the support of our sponsors and supporters, without whom projects like this would not be possible.

“The MV Museum values its role in preserving the stories of our Island Veterans. We welcome military families with free admission as a Blue Star Museum and invite everyone to listen to the oral histories of many veterans on our YouTube channel @MVMuseumOralHistoryChannel. Also accessible at the bottom of our home page at www.mvmuseum.org”

MV Mediation thanks Island community military veterans for their service.