FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Tennessean , August 21, 1999
Saturday City Edition
section: local ,Pg.6b
Headline: Forum Targets Concerns About VA Hospital Plan
Byline : Bill Synder Staff Writer
Body :
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will hold a "town hall forum"
in Murfreesboro Monday to air concerns about the planned intergration
of the Middle Tennessee's two VA hospitals . The proposal has been
opposed by some veterans groups and descendants of Medal of Honor
winner Alvin C. York , after whom the Murfreesboro VA is named .
Hershel Gober , deputy secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs,
and Dr. Thomas L. Garthwaite, the VA's undersecretary for health, will
conduct the forum from 2 to 3 pm Monday in Building 107 theater at the
Alvin C. York VA Medical Center, 3400 Lebanon Road
(Highway 231) Under the propsal, all acute inpatient medical and
surgical care would move to the Nashville VA Medical Center on the
campus of Vanderbuilt University Medical Center, and all psychiatric
and intermediate medical care would move to the Murfreesboro VA. The
two medical centers serve 48,000
veterans each year and VA officals say intergration would allow them to
providew services more efficiently and at a lower cost. But
opponents,3who plan to holsd a Labor Day rally in Chattanooga, worry
that services
at the Murfreesboro facility will deteriorate .
Last month Charlotte Vandergriff of Chattanooga and members of the York
family presented petitions opposing the intergration of services to
Veterans Affairs Secretary Togo West in Washington,D.C.
Vandergiff, who is married to a veteran, said veterans in the
Chattanooga area will have to travel longer distances for acute care .
" It's going to become horrendous with the unpredictable rush-hour
traffic in Nashville," she said ." This is going to place an almost
impossible hardship on our aging,disabled and sick veterans."
West has not yet decided to approve the proposal, VA officals said .
Gober, a decorated Vietnam veteran, is former director of veterans
affairs in Arkansas. He was appointed deputy secretary of the VA by
President Clinton in 1993 .Garthwaite, former chief of staff at the
Milwaukee VA medical Center in Wisconsin , was appointed acting under
secretary for health in July.

Colonel Douglas E. Moore, US Army-Ret
8907 Kenilworth Drive
Burke, VA 22015

Dear Colonel Moore -

Your article, "Bad Day at Binh Gia' published in the August 1999 edition
of
the ARMY Magazine is memorable to me. The outline of the military
scenario
and the bravery of American forces on the ground is gripping. I commend
your
history of our 1964-1965 period of service in the Republic of Vietnam to
all
Americans. As a medevac helicoptor pilot, and member of the Army's
superb
medical service corps, you supported our operations in the field
heroically.
You had a view of the battles raging there like few others. Being on
the
ground in that same period of time, I perceived life (and death) there
differently -- massive, hot, humid, jungles; busy traffic with the fumes
of
spent oil and gas; native villagers caught in a web of horror by the
Viet
Cong Communist forces; the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) trying
to
cope with the onslaught of their enemy (hiding out in every crack and
crevice
of the area; and young Americans 'learning' to cope with the whole scene
and
SURVIVE.

As you know, the 'war' was 'officially' recognized in August 1964. It
was no
coincidence that the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese regular military
forces
commenced operations against the South in a vigorous way, accelerating
their
terroristic tactics and stealthy infusion of regular forces in the ARVN

areas of operations. These invading communist forces were especially
active
in those areas where American forces were operating and attacks were a
daily
occurance. We were constantly on our guard and vigil, but,
nevertheless,
taking energetic action in the field to thwart their efforts to gain
public
support or assasinate as necessary.

In October 1964 this young regular army 'mustang' major of the US Army
stepped off the chartered jet at Tan Son Nhut airport -- full of vim,
vigor,
and vitality!!! I was imbued with a sense of purpose, remembering that
I had
put on the uniform at age 15 in 1943 up in Fort Fairfield (Aroostook
County),
Maine -- God's Country -- having been mentored by our World War I vets
who
had returned to us and who were our
heroes of the day. Armed with a Lee-Enfield rifle from Canada (our
Springfield rifles
having been sent to England for the Battle of Britain), I had memories
of
guarding German POWs near Houlton, Maine as they worked in the potato
fields
in the area --
crucial for the war effort then.

I remembered too, that I wound up in the Cavalry in Linz, Austria on
the
beautiful (?), blue (?) Danube as part of the then threefold American
strategy: (1) resolving the surrender of the German forces in Austria;
(2)
implementing the liberation policies of the Four-Party allies, and (3)
resisting an expected Soviet Union invasion of ALL of
Austria and possibly even Bavaria in the conquered Germany. Thus, it
was
with a bit of apprehension that I 'processed' in-country in Nam in '64.
A
short stay at the Hotel Majestic brought a small group of field-graders
in
direct contact with the locals.
Integrated into the new structure of the Military Assistance Command,
Vietnam
(MACV) -- established under the Command of General William Westmoreland
(my
old 'boss' at Fort Campbell, Kentucky) just a few months earlier in
January
1964. It was to supplant the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG)
established in September 1950 by the US Government under the leadership
of
Brigadier General Francis Brink (for whom the Brink Hotel in Saigon was
named). Classified operations were the name of the day. My base of
operations was off Boulevard Tran Hung Dao, in Saigon (named in honor of
a
heroic 13th Century Vietnamese Marshal who defeated the Mongols and
saved
Vietnam).

Assigned a driver (identified only as 'Frenchy, and who came from Hanoi,
thus
speaking Hanoi French) and a jeep (plus), I was off on one assignment
after
another.
You know from your experience how the villages were surrounded by
jungles and
masses of vegetation, and how treacherous and daunting it was for
Americans
to venture forth on operations. One never knew when an ambush would
erupt
or some
gun fire would pierce the stillness (if there ever was such). Many
areas in
the southern part of South Vietnam were hotbeds of military activity by
the
Viet Cong. Our advisors and support personnel were potential targets of

opportunity. By December 1964 I was getting my bearings in the Rep. of
Vietnam, supporting ARVN forces and MACV elements in the caldron of Viet
Cong
overt and covert operations throughout the cities and hamlets alike. In
all
this mess, I became one of the Army's casualty statistics. On Christmas
Eve
1964 I was 'attacked' by a 200mm shell planted by the Viet Cong. The
world
exploded about me and I momentarily saw a blinding white light and just
a bit
of a terrific expolsion. The only thought that crossed my mind was,
"This is
it." I was hit by the full fury of searing, jagged pieces of metal and
glass
on the front of my torso along with being blown backwards hitting a
solid
object, causing the breaking of ribs and injuring my back severely.
Blood
flowed into my eyes, out of my nostrils, and from the holes in my poor
old
'bod.'

When my mind finally kicked into gear again, I found, to my great
surprise,
that I was still alive!!!! The sound of Niagra Falls was in my ears.
My
hearing was gone. Visually, I barely made out the ghostly image pearing
down
upon me. It was, indeed, an angel in disguise -- a US Army Ranger who
just
happened by the fray in his jeep. He had leaped out, run over to me,
picked
me up in his arms, lugged me back to his vehicle, and held me tightly as
we
both sat on the hood of his jeep while his Vietnamese driver beeped the
horn
and drove like a mad Indy (Indianapolis) race car driver to an aid
station.
We thence wound up at the Headquarters of the Naval Support Activity
(HEDDSUPACT) Naval Station Hospital in Saigon ( which had been
installed
earlier in the former Fizgibbon BEQ in December 1963 -- how
fortuitous!!).

I remember coming to somewhat and seeing a nurse and doctor peering down
at
me.
The nurse said I was about to go into 'shock' and put something in my
mouth
to prevent my swallowing my tongue. I was practically naked, but
covered
with coagulated blood, grit, and some temporary bandages. I had been
penetrated by shrapnel of all types and sizes. The explosion had blown
out
both ears. I couldn't hear a word anyone spoke. Navy Nurses cut away
what
was left of my pants, saving my wallet. My identification tags (dog
tags)
had been taped beforehand and were still hanging around my neck. I
succumbed
to shock. When I came to this time I picked out a Christian Navy
Chaplain
in summer whites looking down at me. He
looked compassionate and introduced himself. I don't remember his name,

unfortunately (nor that of my rescuer, the Army Ranger). He did his duty
that
day and to others in the same boat. I mumbled a few words to him. I
asked
him to give me my wallet which had been placed under my pillow. I then
asked
him to take out a small item wrapped in paper. He did. He was amazed
to
find a silver Cross of Loraine (or Patriarchal Cross) with its two
horizontal
bars at the top. I then asked him to open up the paper. He stared at
it
with piercing eye. It was the 91st Psalm of the Bible -- the Psalm of
Protection. I told him that it had been given to me by my dear wife,
Melitta
before I had left from Tucson, Arizona where the family had moved to for
my
tour in Vietnam. He then read the Psalm in a cracking voice. Gathering
my
voice a bit more, I related to him that this same Cross had been carried
by
my wife's dad in battle in World War II. As he stepped in a 'chuckhole'
he
was shot in the left shoulder. He and the family were 'convinced' that
this
was a miracle indeed as he was saved from a shot in his heart. So, I
inherited the Cross of Loraine wrapped in the 91st Psalm and had it with
me
in Vietnam. I still carry it today. It has a special meaning to me and
my
bride (now of almost 52 years).

The next day, as I lay on my cot, I was surprised by a visit by two
distinguished VIPs: our Ambassador to Vietnam, General Maxwell Taylor
and
General William Westmoreland, called the COMUSMACV. They both saluted
me and
I tried, rather feebily, to return a salute to them. They looked
'grave' and
their presence was a pick-me-up for me for sure. The Navy medical staff
were
capable and attentive. It was a
24-hour surveilance. The docs determined that my wounds, as such, could
not
be suitably treated in Saigon so a decision was made to send me to the
Clark
Air Base Air Force Hospital in the Phillipines. I tell you this to give
you
a picture of the medical evacuation system then in place for me. I was
put
aboard a medevac plane at Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base and skylifted to
Nha
Trang on the coast. After we landed I could see the sparkling waters of
the
bay nearby. Out of the opposite window was a bluff (great for hiding
Viet
Cong attackers). And attack they did, with mortar fire. All 'H---'
broke
loose. Incoming woomph-pows came closer and closer as they were getting
the
range. Needless to say, our medevac pilot revved up his engines and
took off
in the fastest climb that I had ever experienced. The medevac Air Force
crew
were superlative.

I landed in the Phillipines in wonderment. I 'wondered this' and I
'wondered
that.' I wound up in a ward in the Air Force Base Hospital at Clark
with a
variety of other casualties. We were the 'returnable' ward. I spent
several
days having wounds cleaned and sutured, ribs banded, xrays taken, my
'plumbing' examined, eyes examined and debris taken out of them, and
having
ear operations to bring back some hearing in them. My ears were worked
on as
I was strapped in a chair with a bone in my mouth as the docs said that
they
could not 'freeze' ears while they were working on them. I survived
that
episode, but was warned that they would only let me return to Vietnam
if I
promised not to expose my ears to loud noises!!! I made promises
(which, of
course, could not be kept). Our head nurse was a 'terror!' We had
early
morning inspection. No bending of the rules. The object, I guess, was
to
"shape up or ship out!!!" Met a lot of guys from Nam. A few never went

back, going on to Japan for treatment, thence home. I returned to Clark

Hospital several times so that progress could be checked and more
'improvements' made.

Got to call my bride (home with our two youngsters) in Tucson, AZ. She
mentioned that she had gotten the 'knock on the door' at 2:00a.m. on
Christmas Day by the Western Union messanger. He gave her a telegram
(which
she still has) sent by the Adjutant Genral of the Dept. of Army giving
her a
terse announcement of my condition. It was a grave and apprehensive
opening
of the telegram with our two youngsters looking on. The 'system' broke
down,
though as she could not 'find' me in the system. No one really knew
where I
was, so it was a happy call that I made to her on New Years Day 1965.

When I got back to Nam, my Colonel boss pinned the Purple Heart Medal on
me
and presented me with MACV General Orders announcing the award. I never
ever
thought of being given the Purple Heart. Today, though, I wear it
proudly as
I belong to that select group of veterans who make up the Military Order
of
Purple Heart veterans organization (chartered by Congress for the
combat-wounded veterans).

Your penetrating article, Colonel Moore, has, as you see, prompted me to
give
you this anecdotal memo as an adjunct to your history of the war in
Vietnam
in the 1964-1965 time period. We look at Vietnam through a
kaleidoscope.
peering at the many facets of life, injury, and death of the South
Vietnamese
and their supporting US Forces. So, "Welcome home, brother."

Some observations, in retrospect, if you allow me:

(1) War is hell, as General Sherman once remarked.
(2) Notwithstanding this, the American millitary forces supported the
decisions made with bravery and sense of duty.
(3) The "Vietnam War" was unlike its predecessors in many respects. No

fixed fronts and the "enemy" everywhere.
(4) A viable medical treatment and evacuation system is essential to
the
fulfillment
of military missions at all levels.
(5) A dependable "Casualty Reporting System" must be in place and made
to
operate. Patients should not be "lost."
(6) Life is full of suprises.
(7) It is great to survive the battles of war and come home alive.
(8) You can't take anything for granted.
(9) The 91st Psalm "works!!!"
(l0) Having family support is golden. Family love is a true "treasure"
in
life.

Again, thanks for the memories. Well done good Sir.
I remain, yours in Patriotism and Vietnam Brotherhood,

George M. Gallagher
Colonel, US Army-Ret
Vietnam Vet (Chapter 227, Vienna,VA