Margie Robben

By Margaret and John Robben

Memorial Day 2010 is upon us and it’s appropriate now to remember what the Vietnam War was like when Richard Blumenthal was still in college.

Like many other young men of that time, Blumenthal was in no hurry to put his life at risk for a war that most of the country didn’t believe in.  One of the few legal ways of avoiding the draft was to seek college deferments and hope that the war would be over by the time you graduated.   Blumenthal, and thousands of others, chose this route.  But the Vietnam conflict seemed to drag on forever.  Preferring the Marines to the other services, Blumenthal signed up for the Marine Reserves.   As it turned out his unit wasn’t activated and he served his five years Stateside.

The aircraft Carrier, USS HANCOCK, (CVA-19), was deployed to Vietnam numerous times between 1962 and 1969.  On board the HANCOCK during one of these tours was Yeoman Ken “Jake” Jaccard.  While Jaccard was serving on active duty in the waters off Vietnam, Blumenthal was billeted in Washington, D.C. Both young men served their country, the former on active duty in the Navy, the latter in the Marine reserves. Jaccard, now in his 60s says he still suffers from Survivor’s Guilt. Is it possible Blumenthal does too?  If so, that might account for the few times he’s misspoken about his military service.

When Jaccard returned from Vietnam he found himself coping with the fact that he’d survived the war.  To help himself deal with these feelings he undertook the task of working on special websites for other veterans, as well as writing poetry like many other veterans have done down through the ages.  His poem,”Survivor’s Guilt,” is included in this column.

Blumenthal, whatever his feelings were about the Vietnam War, has been working with passion aiding American veterans.  As Connecticut’s Attorney General he’s been in a unique position to help bring them back into the mainstream of American life.

Young Americans have been “called to serve” during our country’s wars and depending on the climate of the times have gone willingly, or reluctantly, or in some cases not at all.  The latter have been called “draft dodgers, or “cowards,” and some have even been imprisoned.  Many of them became permanent exiles of their own country as a result.

The Vietnam War did such serious damage to the young people of this country that it’s resulted in the Draft being shelved in favor of Voluntary Enlistments.  No longer do Americans rush off to sacrifice their youth on the altar of war when other means of protecting our way of life might suffice.  Having a military reserve, such as the one Dick Blumenthal served in, could prove as much of a deterrent to our enemies as having a large-standing presence of military might around the world.

                 SURVIVOR’S GUILT–A Vietnam Legacy

                                             by Jake Jaccard, YN3, USNR

                                 Sometimes I ask WHY they had to die
                                 And WHY I was left alive to grieve…
                                 The answer seems we shouldn’t try
                                 To question mysteries we can’t perceive.

                                  Life at best, is happenstance,
                                  We’re here to live life the best we can
                                   The rest then, must be left to chance…
                                   and accept Fate as a man.

                                   Our Birth was much like being vexed,
                                    for in the Womb, we feared to leave.
                                    No one can tell what happens next,     
                                    No answers come, our doubts relieve.

                                    You may miss those who did not

                                    survive,

                                    For those whose blood was spilt…
                                    But more: Be happy that you’re alive,
                                    And dwell not, on all this guilt.

                                     For that is what they’d want you to do,
                                     To live your life for them…
                                      Life goes on, and so must you! 

                       And in this way, you’ll honor them.

Copyright 1996 – All Rights Reserved (with permission to reprint)

Jake Jaccard, lives in Winchester, Tennessee. We found his poems and the poetry of other Veterans on the following website.  http://www.usshancockcv19.com/poetry/vietnam/index.htm

(Published in the Greenwich Time and Stamford Advocate on 5/31/10)