A Promise Kept

I first met Fred in 2012, a few months after the announcement on December, 2011 about the planned closure of the Hot Springs VA. I was taking testimonials from veterans who used our VA and wanted it to remain open. The testimonials were to be sent to the VA administration in Washington, DC.

Fred had fought for his country in Vietnam and he volunteered once again, this time to fight the battle to save our VA. He was hesitant to tell his story. He was modest about his time in the service but resolute about the importance of saving the Hot Springs VA that was crucial to his health care. His diabetes and neuropathy, which had left him house-bound, were connected to his exposure to Agent Orange, the herbicide used by our military to destroy the vegetation in jungles of Vietnam. When Fred went to the VA they would bring out the maps and ask him where he had been in Vietnam. He said that he had received excellent care from the VA.

The following are Fred's words from part of his interview with me: When I joined the Marines and went to Vietnam I believed in the cause. I thought that Communism would spread like the domino effect and I wanted to do my part to keep that from happening. Six months into it I began to realize that it was a lost cause. They were a third world country and couldn't, and, at times, wouldn't defend themselves. It's a tall order to go from a peasant country to a democracy. From that time on I was looking forward to getting out of the service, but I had a personal sense of responsibility and I had made a promise to my country. Now my country is breaking their promise to us.

It was an American policy that when flyers were down they would try to go in and get them to safety. They did everything they could to protect their people and fly out to rescue them. How's a guy from Crawford, Alliance or Pine Ridge Reservation going to feel when they have to take a three hour ride in an ambulance to get to the hospital? It will take an extra hour and a half to get to Fort Meade from Hot Springs. When someone was down in Nam, they risked their own lives to get him out.

Long ago Fred kept his promise to his country even when he no longer believed in the cause. Then he became worried that soon that same government he once served would break its promise and deny him and other veterans accessible and quality health care. Agent Orange left its ugly mark on this loyal veteran of the Vietnam War. His last years were spent in a nursing home in Rapid City.

With quiet determination and dignity Fred fought his final battle by sharing his story. His words will live on in Reveille in Hot Springs, a book of testimonials by and for all veterans, past, present, and those yet to come.

He was buried today with full military honors. May he finally rest in peace.