Vietnam Vets Tell Their Stories to Composer

At an emotional gathering full of sadness and pride, Vietnam veterans Wednesday night told their stories to a composer writing a symphony about the Vietnam War.

Some made what amounted to political speeches decrying the politicians who had sent them to war. Several read poems or told stories about fallen comrades. And one played a tape reproducing the screams of a helicopter crew as their craft went down in the jungles of Vietnam.

About 50 veterans and their families showed up at the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel to reminisce aloud about their wartime experiences at the invitation of composer Elliot Goldenthal of New York.

Goldenthal has been commissioned by the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Orange County’s major professional ensemble, to write a large-scale symphonic-choral work memorializing the Vietnam War. Scheduled to premiere at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in April, on the 20th anniversary of the war’s end, the hourlong piece will feature two traditional American singers, a children’s chorus made up of American and Vietnamese children, elements of traditional Vietnamese folk music both vocal and instrumental and, of course, the symphony orchestra.

“The piece is being written to help put closure on an awful situation,” said Louis G. Spisto, the symphony’s vice president and executive director. “This is not a piece intended to have a political point of view. We only wish to honor the American veterans and Vietnamese whose lives were disrupted. There is still a huge amount of unresolved emotions about these experiences; the hope is that we can achieve the kind of healing in our art form, which is music, that the Vietnam Wall has helped achieve in art and architecture.”

Doing that, however, requires deep understanding on the part of the composer, who is not a Vietnam veteran. To help Goldenthal, Spisto said, the symphony organized a workshop Tuesday night featuring members of the orchestra working with a group of traditional Vietnamese musicians and singers. And on Wednesday, he said, Vietnam veterans from all walks of life were invited to share their letters, poems, songs and stories with the man who’s already spent months penning a musical ode to their experiences.

“We wanted to give the folks who we’re writing this piece for an opportunity to assist in its development,” Spisto said. “We want them to assist us in getting closer to their actual feelings and experiences.”

Lots of sharing seemed to be going on at Wednesday’s gathering.

“It was a unique experience,” Kurt Roberts, 49, said of the time he spent fighting in the war. “I’ve had some difficulties coming home.”

Said Fred Norris, 45: “Vietnam has changed me, even to this day.”

Greg Luters, 46, told the composer, “Right now I’m still trying to deal with the past. The symphony might help me deal with the pain.”

Goldenthal said of the project, “This is not an easy task. This is the type of direct communication I want to bring into the piece. I want stuff that comes directly from the gut.”

* SHARING SONG

The composer also worked with Vietnamese musicians. F1