University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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Vietnam. The word silences some, evokes curiousity in others and embitters many. Eighteen years had passed since the capitol city of Saigon fell to the communist North Vietnamese, yet the Vietnam War emerged in 1987 and 1988 as one of the most talked about subjects in American history. With the 1982 dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. (a wall inscribed with names of those killed or missing in the war) and the recent release of films such as Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and Good Morning Vietnam, and award- winning books like Pace ' s Story, and even a television series, Tour of Duty, the generally avoided topic of Vietnam surfaced. Riding the wave of media attention and discussion about the war, Austin Vietnam veter- ans, residents and university students worked to keep the memories of those killed, or still con- sidered missing, alive. Plans for a living memorial in South Aus- tin were unveiled in September as part of this effort. The Vietnam Veterans Bouldin Creek Park Foundation was developed to serve as both a meditative place for veterans of all wars, and as a community recreational facility to remember those still living, Don Dorsey, vice president of the project, said. Vietnam veterans, Dorsey said, needed in- volvement, as with the community park. We help the community, and that helps the vets. Activity of Vietnam veterans was low until recent years, when media attention turned to- ward the war, according to Dorsey. Platoon opened the door for Nam vets, Dorsey said. He and members of Texas As- sociation of Vietnam Veterans, of which he was the 1987 treasurer, were part of a special screen- ing of the movie at the Arboretum, when it was released in Austin early in 1987. Counselors were present to discuss any anger and pain the film evoked because of its realistic quality. Platoon, Dorsey said, isn ' t about what ' s right; wars aren ' t right people get caught in the middle. A pharmacy major at UT from 1966 to 1968, Dorsey said he joined the Marine Corps because he ran out of college money, and wanted to be an infantryman fighting for his country. After Nam, though, I wanted to do more drugs than sell them, he said. The war was different from anything he could have imagined, Dorsey said, and once there, he found he disagreed with what was happening. I never agreed, I just knew once I got there it wasn ' t the place to protest . . . You see what you ' re made of, he said. You didn ' t know anyone very long; you just marked those days off that calender. Returning to UT after the war, Dorsey re- ceived an an degree, which he has used to design products for his Vietnam veterans- oriented company. As chairman for the awareness committee of TAW, which began in 1985 as a non-political, community involvement organization, Dorsey, with other members, visited Austin high schools, describing the Vietnam experience in an effort to dispell the myths of Rambo. Dorsey also said university students seem to be showing more interest, but, young kids are more enthusiastic than the college kids two years ago. Lack of interest about the war by college students may have been because the contro- versial subject was avoided in high school ed- ucation until recently, Thomas Philpott, UT history professor, said. Vietnam 19

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18 Vietnam CONCEPTUAL PLAN SOLEMN MOMENT: Pat Bennet, ex U.S. Marine, par- ticipates in the pledge of allegiance at the Texas Association of Vietnam Veterans meeting, Dec. 10. PLANS IN PROGRESS: The Vietnam Veterans Bouldin Creek Park was unveiled in September. The park was to serve as a recreational facility for all veterans and community residents. IN REMEMBRANCE: Special ceremonies occured at the State Capitol Rotunda for all veterans of war, Nov. 1 1 .

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Although many years have passed, a new awareness of the war has emerged Platoon certainly made a difference, though, he said, on the amount of questions and interest he received when lecturing about the war in his classes. (Current) students were born at the height of the war in 1967 and 1968, and have no memory of it, but keep hearing about it, he said. They now realize they don ' t know any- thing about it. Philpott, who had been teaching at UT for twenty years, said in the past, students seemed to have opinions, both positive and negative, about the war, yet did not have substantial knowledge about the subject. That is why he covered Vietnam in class. Vietnam veterans spoke in some of his class- es, Philpott said, and at one time, the Gov- ernment Department offered a class on the war. With the recent interest in the subject, Philpott said the possibility of again offering a course dealing exclusively with the war existed, but, whoever teaches it would have to prepare for it (because) it is so controversial . . . and so explosive. Media attention, movies and books did not encourage enough understanding about the Vi- etnam War, according to some who had de- voted themselves to veteran issues. Members of Angel Flight, the sister organ- ization to Arnold Air Society of the UT Air Force ROTC, dedicated themselves to a Prisoner of War Missing in Action project, making it the group ' s national ongoing issue, according to fall Angel Flight commander Tonia Carlisle, history senior. During the last week of September, members of Angel Flight and the UT Air Force, Army and Navy ROTC participated in a candlelight vigil in which members spent hour-long shifts for 24 hours manning a booth in front of Russell A. Steindhan Hall, in memory of POW ' s and MIA ' s of the war. Not many people think about MIA POW issues, Carlisle said. It ' s been so long they feel, why think about it? When the organization was present on the West Mall to offer information on POW MIA issues, response was generally low, or anti- military, Carlisle said. If they ' re not involved in the military, they don ' t seem to really un- derstand. Besides signing and sending petitions to the Vietnam government for the release of POW MIA remains, Carlisle said Angel Flight and Arnold Air Society members purchased bracelets, each with an MIA ' s name and de - scription on it, to be worn until he is found. Although the company from which the bracelets were ordered reported a much greater than average request for them during the year, Carlisle and Angel Flight member Barbara Frazar, psychology sophomore, said other stu- dents ' responses to the bracelets had been mostly of confusion. Students ask, ' Did you know him (the name on the bracelet)? If not, what are you wearing this bracelet for? ' Frazar said. The bracelets, Frazar said she told people, were a symbol for those who are still missing; that they have not been forgotten. Keeping alive the Vietnam War and veter- ans ' issues was the focus for certain groups nationally and locally since the war ended. In 1987 and 1988, their cause achieved a height- ened awareness because of spotlighting by the media; however, as with various subjects in the past, the risk of losing the public ' s interest existed. Something real is happening, P hilpott I said, but people could back away because it I hurts too much ... If young people ask ques-l tions about Vietnam though, then other subjects, i will open up. by Kim Stanick STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER: Ron Dorsey, Texas Association of Vietnam Veterans member, discusses the many problems that Vietnam veterans encounter in their day-to-day lives at the Dec. 10 meeting. THEY SHALL NOT BE FORGOTTEN: Jane Dougherty, history junior, examines the MIA bracelet that Sandy Lawson, elementary education junior, wears in memory of Major Harold lineberger. 20 Vietnam