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VETERANS DAY: Honor those who have served at a local event PAGE 2
Veteran recalls time in US Army, Vietnam BY NOELLE OLSON SHOREVIEW PRESS EDITOR
“You realize very quickly that you are in a different world, and you learn to be very adaptable,” Vietnam Veteran John Abbott said about his time in Vietnam. Abbott, of Shoreview, was drafted into the Army after he graduated from Brown University in 1968. “I volunteered to go to Officer Candidate School (OCS), and one of reasons I did it was I thought maybe the war would be over by the time I graduated,” he said. “The first memory that I have of the Army was the traumatic induction process.” Abbott said basic training at Fort Dix in New Jersey was a time of soul-searching and pain. “When we faltered, we felt the same shame as when we were belittled and screamed at by our drill sergeants,” Ab-
bott said. “I remember hearing the ice break as we jumped into our shooting pits. We had to stand in freezing water during our rifle firing practice.” After basic training, Abbott went to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri for combat engineer training. “We were shamed a little less, but the training was a lot harder,” he said. “I recall that our final challenge was a three-day mission to build a floating bridge over a wide river. We marched 5 miles through snow to get to our campsite.” He continued, “The problem was, the bridge could not be built because the river was frozen. The senior sergeant ordered men with sledgehammers to be strapped to a floating platform. After they broke the ice away, the rest of us began to build the floating bridge.” Abbott then headed to Fort Benning in Georgia for OCS.
“It was the most demanding and character-building six months of my life,” he said. “After graduation, I became a commissioned second lieutenant in the infantry.” Vietnam At the end of 1971, Abbott received orders to go to Vietnam. “It was when we walked out of the aircraft at Tan Son Nut airport out of Saigon that I knew I was in another world,” he said. “The clawing heat and the rancid smells were overwhelming.” Abbott spent his first week in Vietnam at a training school to learn the history, culture and language of the Vietnamese people. Then he was sent to Da Nang to join a mobile advisory team (MAT). “I spent 10 1/2 months in free-fire zones in Vietnam,” he said. “The first
CONTRIBUTED
John Abbott
SEE VETERAN, PAGE 2
Art to tell of trauma, healing BY RANDY PAULSON STAFF WRITER
WHITE BEAR LAKE — When words failed to convey the emotions she felt following a traumatic incident in her youth, Michelle Hoge turned to her lifelong passion for painting. The 55-year-old White Bear Lake artist will showcase her collection of canvas creations at an open house exhibit from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, in her upstairs studio in the Getty Cowork building. Hoge’s exhibit, titled, “Finding Me: PTSD, Trauma, Addiction, Recovery,” visually depicts her feelings following a near-fatal physical assault she experienced when she was 18 years old. Her artwork also illustrates her ensuing post-traumatic stress disorder and yearslong addiction to alcohol and drugs. “I was able to express my feelings on paper when it's not always easy to talk about,” Hoge said. “So many people are suffering from PTSD and addiction, and I just want to give people hope.” She studied fine arts at the College of Associated Arts in Saint Paul and then at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in Minneapolis but did not complete her degree. Hoge said she was still in shock from the assault at the time. Hoge’s paintings include dark-toned self-portraits and brighter landscape pictures that capture scenes from her travels across the country. Some of those sites include Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa
PAUL DOLS | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Flying fish sighting While most other local residents found shelter indoors, Mitch and Tatiana Hill took advantage of the recent extremely windy conditions and successfully launched and flew their flexible and resilient fish-shaped kite at Wedgewood Park in Mahtomedi. Wind gusts in access of 50 mph were reported at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. The high winds and cooler temperatures signaled the end to a string of warm, above average early November days. Meteorologists are predicting rain, snow showers and closer to average temperatures leading into November.
SEE ART EXHIBIT, PAGE 13
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