May 27-June 2, 2004

city beat

War Cries

MORAL DUTY: Julian Grant, an Army vet, says many reservists sent to Iraq never thought they'd see the combat they now face. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Veterans in Philadelphia know the challenges those returning from Iraq will face.

by Deborah Bolling

As flag-draped coffins carrying the remains of American troops who have died in Iraq quietly land at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, some veterans who have survived the travails of past wars can be found at a spot tucked away on a tiny street beneath the Ben Franklin Bridge.

Since 1980, the Philadelphia Veterans Multi-Service & Education Center (PVMSEC), a nonprofit organization on Fourth Street near Race, has offered a host of re-acclimation services to veterans from conflicts going back as far as World War II.

Inside the five-story building, the trappings of unflinching patriotism are stark. An assortment of American flags sits alongside framed photos of smiling soldiers, proclamations of heroism, battered helmets and bronzed grenades. Red, white and blue buttons with the words, "I'm Proud to Be an American" are on sale for $2.

Ed Lowry, the center's executive director and an Army veteran of the Vietnam War, sits behind a cluttered desk flanked by his own memorabilia. He explains that since the center receives no funding from the city and minimal money from the commonwealth, securing financial support is a daily endeavor. (Much of its money comes from grants and the private sector.) Nevertheless, the organization doesn't veer from its primary goal of helping honorably discharged veterans find their way back into mainstream society.

He says the center was established under President Jimmy Carter. "We were one of 28 centers like this nationwide in 1981. By 1984, we were the only program still in operation."

Lowry says that often when troops return home, the hardest thing they have to face is what they left behind: their regular lives.

"They're asked to put their life on hold," he says. "They come back expecting to get some help and get on with their lives. We're sort of a safety net. We're that place you send a veteran when you don't know what to do with them."

Every weekday, as many as 100 vets -- half of them homeless -- flow in and out of the center. Among the free services available are job and educational training as well as social and human service counseling. The men and women can also find a place to grab a nap, take a shower, wash and dry their clothes, consult with doctors and psychologists, eat a healthy meal and get sound advice.

Julian Grant, the center's director of special programs, has worked at the PVMSEC for more than 22 years "without a sick day," he says, laughing. From 1965 to 1967, he served in the U.S. Army as a personnel specialist on a tour in Germany without ever seeing combat. Grant points out that, unlike during Vietnam, the battalions in Iraq and Afghanistan are comprised mainly of reservists rather than combat-trained troops.

"Basically, these young people left their jobs and their families for what they thought would be three to six months," he says. "They signed on expecting to serve two weeks in the summer and some weekends. Now, they'll be doing possibly a year. I don't think too many of them actually thought they would be going into battle. But, most importantly, I don't think they're trained to do all that's required. They've received part-time training. Now they're in a war zone, and that creates lots of problems. For them, it's a life-and-death situation and I don't think they're as prepared as they need to be."

He says he hasn't come across any Iraq war vets at the center yet, but he knows they're coming.

"They return with a number of problems that they hadn't anticipated," Grant says. "I have a lot of sympathy for the young men and women who are over there. And as a veteran, I totally support them."

Outside the center, under the deafening roar of the traffic overhead, some vets have gathered to grab a smoke and get some air. Inside, the heroism of war is understood and embraced. Outside, the mood is a bit different.

With news that the war in Iraq is producing more and more casualties each week, these men know what the returning veterans will face. They are reticent about discussing the current conflict, saying that vets are very often misunderstood and misrepresented in the media. In particular, they note that the troops in Iraq are taking an unusually bad rap since the world has seen the photos and videos from Abu Ghraib prison.

"You gotta feel bad for those kids," says Charles, a veteran who won't divulge his last name or where or when he served. "They're traumatized. Then you come back here and it's still bad, and you feel even worse. What I'm most afraid of, though, is that Bush is going to get re-elected. He started it, so he's got to finish it."

Another veteran, Dwayne, insists, "No, he's gonna lose." He is also guarded. "Even Republicans, the people who voted for him before, are tired of this. They're tired of the pictures. They're tried of the deaths. They're sick of all this. He won't win. He can't."

Charles says, "What they need to do is put the white flag up and surrender -- like they did in Vietnam. We lost that war and we're losing this one, too."

One Vietnam-era vet who never saw combat but served in Germany as a communications specialist from 1966-69, says that while he agrees with his colleagues, on most days, they don't discuss the war in Iraq -- at all.

"We don't talk about it," he says. "What is there to say? When you come back after your tour, you have other things to worry about -- like how to get a place to live and how you can become more independent, find a job, things like that."

For nearly 20 years, Thomas has been spending either some or all of his day at the veterans center.

"I've been coming here almost since the place opened," he says. "They provide the things that I need to survive."

Walking proudly through the facility, Dan Sickman, the center's job placement and development specialist, points out the many benefits of the organization. He says joined up with Lowry in 1983 to help establish the Vietnam Memorial. In 1994, when the veterans center incorporated, he became a board member.

"We're the best-kept secret in Philadelphia," he says, gesturing to the participants of an in-house computer class. "Last year, we had over 22,000 visits."

A Vietnam combat veteran who served in the Marine Corps, Sickman says that one of his primary goals is to help returning veterans learn about the rights and benefits afforded to them by the federal government. He says that despite their honorable service to the country, they return home having to fight another war for their own survival.

"There are 1.4 million vets in Pennsylvania, a quarter million in Philly, alone," he says. "Veterans are the most powerful force in the country, but the least served. They come back with no homes and no jobs. I speak to both officers and kids that don't even know what they're entitled to. My only question is, "Why not?'"