Comments on: What’s wrong with the Department of Veterans Affairs? http://www.reportageonline.com/2010/05/whats-wrong-with-the-department-of-veterans-affairs/ Magazine of the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:05:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Barry Parker http://www.reportageonline.com/2010/05/whats-wrong-with-the-department-of-veterans-affairs/comment-page-1/#comment-572 Barry Parker Sat, 12 Jun 2010 05:57:59 +0000 http://www.reportageonline.com/?p=3479#comment-572 here here Jacqui Kirkby - what an excellent comment. Very relevant personal experience added as evidence. I support everything you have said and thank you for speaking up on behalf of your Dad, who I'm sure would have been very proud of you, and the Vietnam vets. Really, it seems as though academics have never changed, and still deny and denigrate. I thought this book may have been an interesting read until I got to that part about the Vietnam vets where Prof McKenna says the ostracism "was never the case". Also, the reason that the French, Germans and Italians treat Remembrance Day as a day of mourning instead of nationalism, is probably because the War represents to them a failure, a surrender of life and lifestyle. Don't forget though, the Australian sacrifice, per head of population, was significant, probably more so than many other nation's. here here Jacqui Kirkby – what an excellent comment. Very relevant personal experience added as evidence. I support everything you have said and thank you for speaking up on behalf of your Dad, who I’m sure would have been very proud of you, and the Vietnam vets. Really, it seems as though academics have never changed, and still deny and denigrate. I thought this book may have been an interesting read until I got to that part about the Vietnam vets where Prof McKenna says the ostracism “was never the case”. Also, the reason that the French, Germans and Italians treat Remembrance Day as a day of mourning instead of nationalism, is probably because the War represents to them a failure, a surrender of life and lifestyle. Don’t forget though, the Australian sacrifice, per head of population, was significant, probably more so than many other nation’s.

]]> By: Barry Parker http://www.reportageonline.com/2010/05/whats-wrong-with-the-department-of-veterans-affairs/comment-page-1/#comment-576 Barry Parker Sat, 12 Jun 2010 05:57:00 +0000 http://www.reportageonline.com/?p=3479#comment-576 here here Jacqui Kirkby - what an excellent comment. Very relevant personal experience added as evidence. I support everything you have said and thank you for speaking up on behalf of your Dad, who I'm sure would have been very proud of you, and the Vietnam vets. Really, it seems as though academics have never changed, and still deny and denigrate. I thought this book may have been an interesting read until I got to that part about the Vietnam vets where Prof McKenna says the ostracism "was never the case". Also, the reason that the French, Germans and Italians treat Remembrance Day as a day of mourning instead of nationalism, is probably because the War represents to them a failure, a surrender of life and lifestyle. Don't forget though, the Australian sacrifice, per head of population, was significant, probably more so than many other nation's. here here Jacqui Kirkby – what an excellent comment. Very relevant personal experience added as evidence. I support everything you have said and thank you for speaking up on behalf of your Dad, who I’m sure would have been very proud of you, and the Vietnam vets. Really, it seems as though academics have never changed, and still deny and denigrate. I thought this book may have been an interesting read until I got to that part about the Vietnam vets where Prof McKenna says the ostracism “was never the case”. Also, the reason that the French, Germans and Italians treat Remembrance Day as a day of mourning instead of nationalism, is probably because the War represents to them a failure, a surrender of life and lifestyle. Don’t forget though, the Australian sacrifice, per head of population, was significant, probably more so than many other nation’s.

]]> By: Nick Evershed http://www.reportageonline.com/2010/05/whats-wrong-with-the-department-of-veterans-affairs/comment-page-1/#comment-571 Nick Evershed Tue, 25 May 2010 07:08:41 +0000 http://www.reportageonline.com/?p=3479#comment-571 Fixed, thanks Helen. Fixed, thanks Helen.

]]> By: Nick Evershed http://www.reportageonline.com/2010/05/whats-wrong-with-the-department-of-veterans-affairs/comment-page-1/#comment-575 Nick Evershed Tue, 25 May 2010 07:08:00 +0000 http://www.reportageonline.com/?p=3479#comment-575 Fixed, thanks Helen. Fixed, thanks Helen.

]]> By: Helen http://www.reportageonline.com/2010/05/whats-wrong-with-the-department-of-veterans-affairs/comment-page-1/#comment-570 Helen Tue, 25 May 2010 07:05:16 +0000 http://www.reportageonline.com/?p=3479#comment-570 There's some inconsistent capitalisation of 'World War one' in this article, as well as misuse of apostrophes in 1970s, 80s and 90s (they're not necessary). There’s some inconsistent capitalisation of ‘World War one’ in this article, as well as misuse of apostrophes in 1970s, 80s and 90s (they’re not necessary).

]]> By: Helen http://www.reportageonline.com/2010/05/whats-wrong-with-the-department-of-veterans-affairs/comment-page-1/#comment-574 Helen Tue, 25 May 2010 07:05:00 +0000 http://www.reportageonline.com/?p=3479#comment-574 There's some inconsistent capitalisation of 'World War one' in this article, as well as misuse of apostrophes in 1970s, 80s and 90s (they're not necessary). There’s some inconsistent capitalisation of ‘World War one’ in this article, as well as misuse of apostrophes in 1970s, 80s and 90s (they’re not necessary).

]]> By: Jacqui Kirkby http://www.reportageonline.com/2010/05/whats-wrong-with-the-department-of-veterans-affairs/comment-page-1/#comment-569 Jacqui Kirkby Tue, 25 May 2010 05:13:09 +0000 http://www.reportageonline.com/?p=3479#comment-569 We never seem to learn how to deal with complexity in this country. Opinion lurches from one extreme to another. My father had injuries left over from WWII that he wouldn't get treated because of an aversion to hospitals. My mother eventually got him to check into Concord Hospital under the care of Veterans Affairs in the late 60s where he experienced and witnessed what he described as the inappropriate anti-war attitudes of young medical students and doctors to old war veterans. This coincided with then attitudes to the Vietnam War, but not contained to that conflict. He spent most of his time in hospital looking after the needs and dignity of older WW1 veterans who he claimed were treated as malingerers by the medical staff because they had nowhere else to go...then he checked himself out without getting fully treated. He registered an official complaint with Veterans Affairs, but it achieved nothing. He died aged 67 years with less than 25% use of his lungs. If people want to know how Vietnam Vets were treated when they came home, watch the 1970s film "The Odd Angry Shot". An American War Vet told me he thought it was the best film ever made on Vietnam. Better still, ask the Vietnam Vets themselves...in both USA and Australia. They certainly weren't given a warm welcome. War is far more complicated than represented by either side in this debate...and it shouldn't be used to pursue other agendas. We never seem to learn how to deal with complexity in this country. Opinion lurches from one extreme to another. My father had injuries left over from WWII that he wouldn’t get treated because of an aversion to hospitals. My mother eventually got him to check into Concord Hospital under the care of Veterans Affairs in the late 60s where he experienced and witnessed what he described as the inappropriate anti-war attitudes of young medical students and doctors to old war veterans. This coincided with then attitudes to the Vietnam War, but not contained to that conflict. He spent most of his time in hospital looking after the needs and dignity of older WW1 veterans who he claimed were treated as malingerers by the medical staff because they had nowhere else to go…then he checked himself out without getting fully treated. He registered an official complaint with Veterans Affairs, but it achieved nothing. He died aged 67 years with less than 25% use of his lungs.

If people want to know how Vietnam Vets were treated when they came home, watch the 1970s film “The Odd Angry Shot”. An American War Vet told me he thought it was the best film ever made on Vietnam. Better still, ask the Vietnam Vets themselves…in both USA and Australia. They certainly weren’t given a warm welcome.

War is far more complicated than represented by either side in this debate…and it shouldn’t be used to pursue other agendas.

]]> By: Jacqui Kirkby http://www.reportageonline.com/2010/05/whats-wrong-with-the-department-of-veterans-affairs/comment-page-1/#comment-573 Jacqui Kirkby Tue, 25 May 2010 05:13:00 +0000 http://www.reportageonline.com/?p=3479#comment-573 We never seem to learn how to deal with complexity in this country. Opinion lurches from one extreme to another. My father had injuries left over from WWII that he wouldn't get treated because of an aversion to hospitals. My mother eventually got him to check into Concord Hospital under the care of Veterans Affairs in the late 60s where he experienced and witnessed what he described as the inappropriate anti-war attitudes of young medical students and doctors to old war veterans. This coincided with then attitudes to the Vietnam War, but not contained to that conflict. He spent most of his time in hospital looking after the needs and dignity of older WW1 veterans who he claimed were treated as malingerers by the medical staff because they had nowhere else to go...then he checked himself out without getting fully treated. He registered an official complaint with Veterans Affairs, but it achieved nothing. He died aged 67 years with less than 25% use of his lungs. If people want to know how Vietnam Vets were treated when they came home, watch the 1970s film "The Odd Angry Shot". An American War Vet told me he thought it was the best film ever made on Vietnam. Better still, ask the Vietnam Vets themselves...in both USA and Australia. They certainly weren't given a warm welcome. War is far more complicated than represented by either side in this debate...and it shouldn't be used to pursue other agendas. We never seem to learn how to deal with complexity in this country. Opinion lurches from one extreme to another. My father had injuries left over from WWII that he wouldn’t get treated because of an aversion to hospitals. My mother eventually got him to check into Concord Hospital under the care of Veterans Affairs in the late 60s where he experienced and witnessed what he described as the inappropriate anti-war attitudes of young medical students and doctors to old war veterans. This coincided with then attitudes to the Vietnam War, but not contained to that conflict. He spent most of his time in hospital looking after the needs and dignity of older WW1 veterans who he claimed were treated as malingerers by the medical staff because they had nowhere else to go…then he checked himself out without getting fully treated. He registered an official complaint with Veterans Affairs, but it achieved nothing. He died aged 67 years with less than 25% use of his lungs.

If people want to know how Vietnam Vets were treated when they came home, watch the 1970s film “The Odd Angry Shot”. An American War Vet told me he thought it was the best film ever made on Vietnam. Better still, ask the Vietnam Vets themselves…in both USA and Australia. They certainly weren’t given a warm welcome.

War is far more complicated than represented by either side in this debate…and it shouldn’t be used to pursue other agendas.

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