Veterans Try to Staunch Wounds

A group of American veterans hoping to make peace with their Vietnam War experiences left Seattle for the jungle nation where, with the help of counselors, they will replace traumatic memories with fresh images. “I have a lot of dreams about Vietnam, a lot of thoughts about Vietnam, and I will live with it until I die. What I hope to get out of (the trip) is to learn to live with Vietnam a little better,” said Bill Koutrouba, 46, a former Army medic who first proposed that the veterans return to the source of their nightmares. The eight veterans and two counselors will be accompanied by a documentary film maker, who will record their two-week visit to combat and camp sites for the Public Broadcasting System. Koutrouba, one of the war’s most decorated veterans, hopes the resulting film can heal other veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. But for at least one member of the group, the problem is not how much he remembers but how much he blocked out. “I spent 33 months in Vietnam. I can only remember 10 days,” said Ed Marcin, who went through two tours of duty. “The rest is just basically blanked out. I can’t seem to picture anything.”

It was certainly not business as usual for corporate heavyweights George Steinbrenner, Lee A. Iacocca and William Fugazy, who put aside their monetary concerns for the day for a meeting more in the spirit of the spiritual--a chat with Pope John Paul II. The three waited patiently for the Pope to conclude his weekly general audience with the public in the Vatican’s Paul VI Auditorium before grabbing their moment. The Pope talked briefly with Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees baseball team, who brought with him Yankee paraphernalia that included warm-up jackets, presumably for use during papal work-outs. He also chatted with New York businessman Fugazy and Chrysler Corp. Chairman Iacocca in the meeting arranged by New York Cardinal John J. O’Connor.

No one was more surprised than Deborah Gernes when she learned she had become the first woman named eligible to command a Navy vessel. Women were not even allowed to serve on Navy ships when Gernes joined the service, and are still barred from serving on combat ships such as aircraft carriers and destroyers. “I never expected this would come about,” said Gernes, 39, of the designation, which puts her in a selection pool for a ship command within two to three years. Gernes, a 15-year Navy veteran, has been promoted to commander’s rank and now serves as executive officer aboard the San Diego-based repair ship Cape Cod.