VETERANS SECTION • 1 Military-Police • 2 TBI • 3 PTSD • 4 Honorable Acts • 5 Healing • 6 McCain, Nisei • 7 USS Liberty • Bills

Vietnam Veterans Against McCain/Issues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFM1xqqTX_g http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/mccain-and-the-pow-cover-up/ http://www.beyondthekillingfields.com/on-mias-the-press-was-lazy-or-cowed/ http://www.beyondthekillingfields.com/vietnam-mia-pows/ We need to note the following about McCain: Owing to his time as a POW, McCain has been recognized for his sensitivity to the detention and interrogation of detainees in the War on Terror. In October 2005, McCain introduced the McCain Detainee Amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill for 2005, and the Senate voted 90–9 to support the amendment.[184] It prohibits inhumane treatment of prisoners, including prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, by confining military interrogations to the techniques in the U.S. Army Field Manual on Interrogation. Although Bush had threatened to veto the bill if McCain's amendment was included,[185] the President announced in December 2005 that he accepted McCain's terms and would "make it clear to the world that this government does not torture and that we adhere to the international convention of torture, whether it be here at home or abroad".[186] This stance, among others, led to McCain being named by Time magazine in 2006 as one of America's 10 Best Senators.[187] McCain voted in February 2008 against a bill containing a ban on waterboarding,[188] which provision was later narrowly passed and vetoed by Bush. However, the bill in question contained other provisions to which McCain objected, and his spokesman stated: "This wasn't a vote on waterboarding. This was a vote on applying the standards of the [Army] field manual to CIA personnel."[188] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain Beyond the Killing Fields: What was the body of evidence that prisoners were held back? A short list would include more than 1,600 firsthand sightings of live U.S. prisoners; nearly 14,000 secondhand reports; numerous intercepted Communist radio messages from within Vietnam and Laos about American prisoners being moved by their captors from one site to another; a series of satellite photos that continued into the 1990s showing clear prisoner rescue signals carved into the ground in Laos and Vietnam, all labeled inconclusive by the Pentagon; multiple reports about unacknowledged prisoners from North Vietnamese informants working for U.S. intelligence agencies, all ignored or declared unreliable; persistent complaints by senior U.S. intelligence officials (some of them made publicly) that live-prisoner evidence was being suppressed; and clear proof that the Pentagon and other keepers of the “secret” destroyed a variety of files over the years to keep the P.O.W./M.I.A. families and the public from finding out and possibly setting off a major public outcry. http://www.beyondthekillingfields.com/when-john-kerrys-courage-went-m-i-a/ Alternative view of Vietnam Veterans against McCain - on Tighe seen in McCain and the POW Cover-up above: http://www.miafacts.org/tighe.htm Books Kiss The Boys Goodbye by Producer Stevenson and husband William (1990) Beyond the Killing Fields by Sydney Schanberg Some Names Maj. Mark Smith Sgt. 1st Class Melvin McIntire-supports torture in CIA or other prison systems and uses McCain’s experience to sugest torture works Rep. Sam Johnson -- Vietnam Veteran who experienced 7 years in Vietnamese prison system and was tortured article (07/21/2015) https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/i-was-vietnam-pow-donald-trump-120436 John Sidney "Jack" McCain Jr. was a United States Navy admiral, who served in conflicts from the 1940s through the 1970s, including as the Commander, United States Pacific Command.--…During the Vietnam War, McCain was Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Command (CINCPAC), commander of all U.S. forces in the Vietnam theater from 1968 to 1972. He was a stalwart supporter of President Richard Nixon's policy of Vietnamization. McCain played a significant role in the militarization of U.S. policy towards Cambodia, helping to convince Nixon to launch the 1970 Cambodian Incursion and establishing a personal relationship with Cambodian leader Lon Nol. McCain was also a proponent of the 1971 incursion into Laos. McCain retired from the Navy in 1972. His father, John S. McCain Sr., was also an admiral in the Navy and a naval aviator, and the two were the first father- son pair to achieve four-star rank.[1] His son, John S. McCain III, is a former naval aviator who was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam during McCain's time as CINCPAC, who retired with the rank of captain and then became a United States Senator and the 2008 Republican Party nominee for President of the United States.Wikipedia War Often Considered The Price For Peace Few of us want to sit by and “take it” - if we feel our lives or way of life are threatened, many people are willing to put out serious sacrifices in the hopes of victory for personal peace. In other words, we hear and see the words “peace is not free” or “there is a price for freedom” all the time. What we need to do in these cases is become increasingly informed citizens, well read and thoughtful, so as to expose the lies that governments provide to encourage citizens to go to war. Once we start reading up on things, we realize just how many ways we can be manipulated - as well as our governments. Most people realize media can shift the public’s viewpoints; for example we see bumper stickers like “I don’t believe the Liberal Media.” Well, the problem with proclamations like that is we don’t have just one media; we have a media composed of diverse groups and individuals. The fact of the matter is, amid all of the lies and hype we do find truthful and accurate articles in the media of the United States. The problem is often not a matter of one agency controlling all of the media as much as it is filtering through all of the gimmicks and falsity to get at the nuggets of truth. Corrupt agendas make use of this blasting of attention into millions of scattered microbits; it’s a strategy to keep us confused and off center. Some so-called peaceful organizations might be funded by terrorists or anti-peace groups faking it on the internet and elsewhere. What comes across as one thing might be something else. How do we sift through all of this, especially if we fear our government and police force might be infected with corruption? Sometimes Lies, Sometimes Truth From Officials You see, the problem is sometimes we are not being lied to by the FBI, police and government and sometimes (there are those who suggest we are lied to daily) we are - just like with the media. Sometimes the FBI is telling us about a real threat and that we had better be on alert. On the other hand, there are those in the police and military who want to tell you if you are given orders, you are given orders. For example, look at the easy example of our dictated use of cell phones with bugging potential, making it illegal for cell phone companies to provide bugging-safe phones. We are not allowed to use cell phones that cannot be tapped into. Those in power want you to succumb to a line of authority one way or another. If you are told to believe or do something, you are expected to jump. When we learn that sometimes things are true and other times they are not true when told it is in our best interests to jump, we wind up with a real problem: should we jump or not jump? Which is the safest answer? Again, remember that wealthy person, corporation, hidden terrorist or other international group back behind the scenes: how are people like that playing on the rest of us in this realm of uncertainty and mixed messages? How does it play to their advantage? to top of page/menu https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolefisher/2018/05/28/the-shocking-health-effects-of-agent-orange-now-a-legacy-of- military-death/#81f7d6021c6a veteransagentorange_veteransissues_humanissues_thegoldenrivernet_updates_02/07/2017_07/04/2016 to top of page/menu VETERANS - AGENT ORANGE AGENT ORANGE LOCAL INPUT FROM VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL PARK IN FARMINGTON, NEW MEXICO note 07/04/2016: as the website has been undergoing editing and changes some parts of this page are not up to par, including photos missing. I will work on this soon. This is one of the original sections of the website because I had made an emotional connection with the Vietnman Veterans Park in Farmington, New Mexico - located north of Butler Avenue and 30th Street not too far from the San Juan Community Cllege. from about 2013 when things were still being learned. Some of the older pages have not been fully edited while newer parts were worked on. However let it be known that the Vietnam Era and veterans from that war as well as all wars are considered an important part of the American experience and dilemma. The Vietnam Era is particularly close to heart for two reasons. One is that I was a little girl watching things unfold in a small way through the adults around me. I was overseas on an island that had something to do with Vietnam - Okinawa - as it was a supply or waylay station - and I heard news about Vietnam on a small clock radio in the kitchen when my mother was teaching me to read. I remember my mother talking about the war because of that news. The second point, as mentioned in the Uncle Mike section in personal Notes, is that my father’s only sibling, a younger brother, was in that war and came back with some kind of agitation problem. I am not sure my grandparents told the rest of everything they knew, and I am sure they did not know all the details themselves. Although Mike went on to become a very long-term and successful FBI agent before shooting his ex-wife and himself (we assume that is exactly what happened, but we must always consider other possibilities, including behind the scenes invisible fingers, just to be sure. This is not to discount his responsibility if what was portrayed is what happened, but because of the widespread recent police abuses and scandals, we would not be thorough if we did not ask ourselves if Mike’s story was included in a system-wide conspiracy involving police and FBI shootings.) Regardless of Mike’s actual situation, we can ask ourselves if tensions and problems created by Vietnam involvement set the stage for a psychological pre- disposition for out of control violence involving family members or others. I do not know if Mike was exposed to Agent Orange or not, but we must consider that he could have been, like many others over there. Agent Orange is a symbol of Vietnam’s out of control dark side, as it was the irresponsible usage of chemicals that endangered people on both sides of the war, wildlife, animal stock, agriculture and the environment in general. We need to also consider that its constituent parts still show up in herbicides sold in stores today. Two signs go together and are found at the Farmington, New Mexico Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Butler Ave. This site has a small set of picnic tables, lawn, children’s play area and trees, and has a nice native vegetation area in front near the main parking area. It also has a clay and black granite brick area with names on them commemorating both living and killed/missing veterans. Signs read left to right, but the second one on Agent Orange is presented first below. The sign on the left talks about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with information which continues onto the sign found on the photo on the right which then talks about Agent Orange. Click on the photos for an enlarged image. Second sign on right: “AGENT ORANGE in 1962 through 1971, a number of chemical herbicides were used extensively in South Vietnam. The primary use of herbicide was to to kill vegetation and thus deprive enemy forces of ground cover. Agent Orange was the most common herbicide and derived its name from the orange stripes on the 55 gallon drums shipped to Vietnam. By denying ground cover, Agent Orange made enemy ambushes more difficult and undoubtedly saved American lives. However, in the early 1970s, veterans began reporting health problems believed to be related to the dioxin in the herbicide. A lot of controversy still exists over its effect on humans and extensive studies are being conducted.” First sign on left: Vietnam Veterans Issues Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: “In 1980, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder was recognized as a psychological malady by the American Psychiatric Association. Like shell shock or battle fatigue experienced by veterans of both World Wars, symptoms include a sense of emotional numbness, re-experiencing of the traumatic event, nervousness, depression, nightmares difficulty in developing close relationships, insomnia, and survivor guilt....Reasons cited for the high number....with PSTD include the failure of Americans to absolve them from their participation in the controversial war and the grueling guerrilla warfare of that war. Furthermore, upon completion of their tour of duty, veterans did not return with a unit but by themselves and very quickly, without any time for readjustment into American society. Whatever the reasons, since the end of the war, 59,000 Vietnam veterans have taken their own lives [as of 1993]. This is more than the number of US casualties sustained during the war itself.” (read the sign in the photo for the full content). Doing peace takes practice. It does not do any good to talk peace when down inside we feel like mini-bombs waiting to explode. Perhaps most of us have anger issues of one kind or another lurking somewhere below the surface. We might display peace on one level while on another, we are ready to lash out at someone about something we feel attacked over or believe strongly. Our pushed buttons might reveal who we really are more than all the words of peace we have ever expressed. In the final analysis, peace might sound good but be hard to keep going all the time and everywhere. The only way out of this seems to be self-work and honesty, with a desire to heal those parts of ourselves with jagged edges. We can start on the path of peace, then, knowing we are not perfect and that we have our own non-peaceful tendencies when pressured about certain things. Learning to identify and work with what pressures us is the key to a growing awareness of both ourselves and the sincere action of peace. Japanese Americans in WWII American Heroes: Japanese American World War II Nisei Soldiers and the Congressional Gold Medal https://www.famsf.org/press-room/american-heroes-japanese-american-world-war-ii-nisei-soldiers-and-congressional- gold Memorial Nisei http://www.nvmc.org/ 100th Batalion Nisei http://www.100thbattalion.org/archives/puka-puka-parades/european-campaigns/nisei/ Nisei: The Quiet Americans (1973) Author: Bill Hosokawa Go For Broke: The Nisei Warriors of World War II Who Conquered Germany, Japan, and American Bigotry (2015) Author: Douglas Sterner Nisei Soldiers Break Their Silence: Coming Home to Hood River (Scott and Laurie Oki Series in Asian American Studies) (2012) Author: Linda Tamura Eric Saul military historian, founder and executive director of Visas for Life. Has researched and written about contribution of minorities to the U.S. military. Some exhibits he has created: Unlikely Liberators, A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the Constitution Books- contributed to Go for Broke; coeditor of Visas for Life. Wrote Unlikely Liberators. The Story of Chiune Sugihara and Japanese Americans of the 522nd Field Artillery, writing a book (as of Oct. 2015) on diplomatic rescue in WWII. Updates: 2020/05/08 Moved Agent Orange from River Gold to this section Topics/Vietnam WW2 McCain, Nisei, Agent Orange, etc. goldenriverorg_humanissues_veterans_McCain/Issues__updates_05/15/2018 Beyond Killing Fields excerpt on POWs Vietnam; Wikepedia on McCain Detainee Amendment 2005; 05/14/2018 Vietnam Vets against McCain/Issues section started; 02/07/2017_;04/17/2016

VET-6 McCain, Nisei, etc. (Misc. War Related Topics) Vietnam John McCain - vietnam Veterans Against/info Agent Orange (Vietnam) World War 2 Japanese Americans in WWII (Nisei) See Also in Veterans Section Agent Orange Commentary (separate page) Resources Veterans (top of that section) John McCain - vietnam Veterans Against/info Iraq, Afghanistan, and Related Areas (separate page) Marine Abuses Medal of honor PTSD TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) Peace Groups Veterans Organizations Support, Healing Support - Remodeling, Disabilities Acts, Bills - Current or Past Books Japanese Americans in WWII (Nisei) VoteVets.org