JOE “RAGMAN” TARNOVSKY: VIETNAM STILL OUR LONGEST WAR

ARE REPORTERS PLAYING WITH STATISTICS TO TAKE ANOTHER CHEAP SWIPE AT VIETNAM VETERANS?

By Joe “Ragman” Tarnovsky for VT Dear Mr. Stantis (sstantis@tribune.com):

While having coffee and reading the morning newspaper with my wife the other morning, she handed me the newspaper with your political cartoon showing the Vietnam and Afghanistan combat veterans. Being a Vietnam Combat Veteran, Sir, anything anybody publishes about our war piques my interest greatly. I do not have to tell you the history of our war and especially the aftermath of the homecoming experience, and to be quite frank, Mr. Stantis, many of us still have emotional and mental pains even 40 plus years after we finished our combat tours in that Southeast Asian country.

There is one thing about your cartoon that is a very important matter of contention to me and probably will be to many other Vietnam Veterans that see and read your cartoon as well. You have the dates of the Vietnam War listed on the helmet of the Vietnam Veteran caricature as 64-73 which is just not true. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial lists the dates of our war from July 8,1959 to May 7, 1975, with the first United States official death listed as June 8, 1956. By putting the dates of our war from 64-73, Mr. Stantis, you have omitted 544 men that died for their country in Vietnam whose deaths were not in the time-frame for your published political cartoon. What war did these 544 men die in, Sir? These figures and dates that I am presenting to you are from the National Archives and are the officials statistics for our war. I have also heard television news journalist now state that Afghanistan is the longest war that United States has ever been involved in and they, too, are incorrect. I do not understand why people want to revise history and propagate their version of the past to be factual when it simply is not true.

I would respectfully request to you, Sir, please do not try to rewrite history. If the war in Afghanistan lasts longer than Vietnam, Vietnam Veterans will gladly relinquish the title of “longest war” and acquiesce our place in history to the valiant young men and women fighting for all of us in Afghanistan today. For me, I hope Afghanistan will not linger as long as Vietnam for one reason, I do not want to see any more American casualties. I do not want more of our Afghanistan veterans coming home in body bags and others severely disabled physically and mentally that will need help from the Department Of Veterans Affairs because they cannot take care of the veterans using the system now. Vietnam Veterans have never had any reluctance to give proper recognition, respect and thanks to the subsequent generations of veterans that have followed us in service to America, something we did not receive, Mr. Stantis, from most of those that preceded us in uniform. I have heard more than one Afghanistan veteran say, “The first person to thank me for my service and welcome me home after getting off the plane was a Vietnam Veteran.”  Over the years Hollywood and journalists have disrespected, demeaned and treated us as the ultimate miscreants of society but that attitude and treatment started to turn around with the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982. Vietnam Veterans have forgiven the less than stellar reception from the people of America, although we will never forget it, because by forgetting the past we might allow that same type of anti-veteran sentiment to happen again to another generation of men and women that choose to serve America in the military. Unfortunately, Mr. Stantis, and I sincerely believe you meant no disrespect, but 544 names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial were disrespected and forgotten by being omitted, and I am sure probably many more Vietnam Veterans feel the same way, just by the dates you inscribed on your political cartoon.

Although the mental and emotional wounds of Vietnam Veterans have healed, Mr. Stantis, the scar tissue over those wounds is thin. For many of us that served in that war it will probably always be that way until the day they put us in the ground. Those of us that are still here today, we are survivors, survivors with the mission to always make sure those names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial are treated with honor, respect and remembered for their ultimate sacrifice. If the war in Afghanistan lasts until 2016, and I pray that it does not, maybe then you can republish your political cartoon and it will be factual at that time. One thing I can guarantee you, Mr. Stantis, if Afghanistan does last that long, those of us that served in Vietnam and are still lucky enough to be on this earth, will be welcoming home and thanking our brothers and sisters from America’s longest war!

Joe ‘Ragman’ Tarnovsky

Vietnam Combat Veteran

In-Country 28 August 68 to 22 Oct 70

Joe "Ragman" Tarnovsky

Joe is a Vietnam Combat Veteran, having served 26 months in the Republic Of South Vietnam, 10 months with Company A, 27th Combat Engineers, 28 August 1968 to June 1969, and 16 months as a crewchief/doorgunner with the 240th Assault Helicopter company on UH-1C Hueys, the Mad Dog Gunship Platoon from July 1969 to 22 October 1970.

Joe graduated from Cuyahoga Community College in 1982 with a Associate Of Arts Degree and from Cleveland State University in 1986 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology; he also accumulated 12 hours of graduate work at Cleveland State. He lives with his best friend, his wife, and they have 34 rescued cats, 7 rescued dogs.

Joe has spoken at high schools and colleges for 25 years about PTSD, war and how not to treat returning veterans when they come home to America after fighting for their country.