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Monday, October 29, 1990 / University Daily Kansan
Troops haunted by Vietnam
Vets in gulf recall stigma attached to war in Southeast Asia
The Associated Press
EASTERN SAUDI ARABIA — Lance Cpl. Juan Buaca, hunkered down in the belly of a U.S. Marine assault vehicle hurching across the demonstration back against Operation Desert Shield
"It ticks me off," said Bacca, 20 of Lubbock, Texas. "This isn't VIetnam. This is a totally different situation."
Vietnam was long ago and far away, but the conflict is much on the minds of young soldiers in Saudi Arabia.
Word of anti-war demonstrations in the United States has trickled back to the troops here, who are the top of the attack and pointed at Saddam Hussein's forces.
They are mindful of the hostile reception that greeted Vietnam veterans a generation ago when they came home from an unpopular war.
They fear that a loss of public support for the deployment of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf region has created a similar anger down on their beads.
"I'd feel betrayed if people turned against us," said Cpl. John Vaughn,
23, of Bravow Company of the 3rd Marine Regiment, based in Hawaii. Vaughn, of Detroit, is nicknamed "Cold War Sling" for slang for a career military person.
Washington was the United States' longest war — the only war it lost. It was marked by campus roads, draft laws and public shame. The scars are still apparent.
"I would hope people would put it aside and learn from it but not judge every conflict by what happened in Vietnam," Bacca said. "We'd like a whole lot better if people were patting us on the back."
Several soldiers approached reporters to ask about support on the homefront for troops in the gulf.
Public backing for the deployment was initially high, but there has been increasing criticism of President Bush's actions as the high cost of the operation has sunk in, and people have come out with respect of a shooting war in the region.
Maj. John Bates, 44, of little Rock, Ark., an executive officer for a Marine battalion, was wounded in Vietnam. He was shot in the lung.
From his standpoint, U.S. citizens misdirected their anger at the fight.
ing men in Southeast Asia instead of targeting the politicians who sent them there.
"The military doesn't make policy. We only enforce it.", said Bates, from a mess font set up in the sand and with a finger on the finger in the wrong direction.
Vietnam memories are still strong for first St. Chuck Woodruff, 38, of Orville, Calif. He was on the second-to-last helicopter that left the roof of the U.S. Embassy when Saigon fell April 30, 1975.
"The question keeps coming up because there's nothing to compare this to except Vietnam," said Woodruff, who has the Marine Corps emblem tattooed on his left arm. "This is the biggest military operation then. I think it will take generation and decades before people forget."
Support from home means a mea-
tops huffing, puffing and sweating
it out on a reentitlement Saudi sun,
7,000 miles from the East Coast.
Staff Sgt. Charles Woods, 31, of North Glenn, Colo., said the troops could deal with the conditions "as soon as possible." American people are behind them."
Research animals mysteriously escape
The Associated Press
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Hundreds of mice, rats and hamsters used for research were released from their cages at the state University of New York at Buffalo Medical School, but hundreds of mice group has claimed responsibility
The animals were found scampering around five rooms Saturday morning by a technician who had just arrived for work, said school spokes
person Linda Grace-Kobas.
"They opened the cages, and the mice and rats got out of the cages, but they did not escape from the rooms," she said.
There were no signs of a break-in or any indication as to why the animals were released.
"Animal rights people usually leave a message," Grace-Kobas said. "There were no notes. There was no 'Save the Animals.' This was
strange. It seemed random. It seemed pointless."
She said university officials were trying to determine what effect the animals' release would have on the church projects in which they were used.
"By letting them out, experiments are disrupted," she said, adding that some of the experiments necessitate being kept in a closed environment.
IN RESPONSE TO THE FLIERS POSTED ON CAMPUS FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17.
Dear Mr. "No Butt-Pilots":
Here are some womyn who find your remarks as sexist as they are homophobic. No matter what sexual orientation, we prefer people who think above the waist. Don't call us if you want a date. We're real people--ones who are openminded, intelligent, and brave enough to sign our letters.
Yours sincerely,
Yours sincere.
Laura Alexander
Ellen Bannister
Jacki Becker
Heshini Bhana
Jeanette Bonjour
Connie Burk
Brenda Butler
Bridget Cain
Tina Chapman
Katy Clauer
Karen Cook
Becki Dickherber
Jeni Dodd
Linda D. Ferrell
Sara Fiscus
Kate Flock
Renee S. Grimmer
Sara Hall
Amy Hammer
Stephanie Hampton
Stephanie Huffman
Janette Karn
Lisa Kelley
Kristin Lange
Jen Martinez
Karen Matheis
Denise McCracken
Mary Nall
Amanda Norris
Janice Olander
Shirley Phillips
Aimee Polson
Lisa Purdon
Stephanie Ring
Semiramis Rogers
Marla Rose
Jen Roth
Sarah Schiefelbein
Alice Schneider
Dawn Scheuer
Phillippa Standley
Leah Stephens
Debbie Streifford
Liz Tolbert
Steph Wafford
Beth Watson
Trisha Watson
Melinda Weir
Leslie White
Amy Windju
Eva Woods
Sheila Zusched
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