/// OPINION
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2023 ARIZONA VETERAN SURVEY
“Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.” GEN. DOUGLAS MACARTHUR
Becoming an SAO involved on-the-job training conducted by an experienced officer. My first case where I was a tag-along involved a 19-year-old soldier who came from a southern Michigan farm family. After driving through country roads, we came to the entry lane of the family’s farm, which led to a circular driveway with an American flag at its center. Of course, the flag was at half-staff. We were greeted at the front door by the casualty’s mom and dad and invited to sit on the couch, which was positioned in front of the fireplace in the living room. Directly opposite the couch sat the casualty’s 18-year-old widow. On the mantel above the fireplace was an eight-by-10-inch photo of the casualty taken at boot camp a few months prior dressed in his green uniform. My trainer methodically and unemotionally went through the details of how the decedent’s body would be flown home escorted by a soldier from his unit. The casualty would be offloaded from the airplane into the mortuary’s hearse and taken to the funeral home designated by the NOK. Details of the military funeral procedures were also discussed. Questions were answered and two solemn hours later we departed the house. It was all I could do to keep my emotions in check throughout. On the way down the driveway, I asked my trainer how
Additional duty Lawmakers should bear burden of next-of-kin notification BY JEFF BARTLE F OR MANY PEOPLE, THE VIETNAM WAR STARTED IN 1961. But it was in the summer of 1970 when it became personal for me. I was newly assigned to the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Command in Warren, Mich. In addition to my
VETERAN RESPONDENTS
7%
17%
REPORTED CONCERNS ABOUT LOSING THEIR CURRENT HOUSING AND 1% REPORTED THEY WERE CURRENTLY WITHOUT A STEADY PLACE TO LIVE.
REPORTED EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AT LEAST ONCE IN THEIR LIFETIME.
he was able to do this time after time without breaking down. He said I’d get used to it and each casualty’s family becomes just another case. That was not true for me. Every case impacted me. Circumstances in 1970 were such that a soldier could be walking in the jungles of Vietnam carrying an M-16 and 48 hours later be back in his hometown. A friend of mine was No. 1 on the SAO List when a soldier was killed on the way to Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base where he was scheduled to get on a plane to come home after his year-long Vietnam tour. When the notification team pulled up to the house, they had to walk through a yard that was all decorated with American flags and “Welcome home” signs in preparation for the casualty’s anticipated celebratory arrival home picnic the next day. These cases became the Vietnam War to me. In our nation, young men and women get sent to war because one old man, the president, convinces the majority of 535 other old men, congressmembers, to vote in favor of sending them. Usually, it’s done without any personal cost or stress on the 535. One of the consequences of their vote is someone else’s
regular job, my contemporaries and I were all given the additional duty of Survivor Assistance Officer. The essence of the job is to help the family of a servicemember who died on active duty with their interactions with the U.S. government 24/7/365. Army protocol dictated whenever a soldier died while on active duty, the next-of-kin would be notified as soon as possible, and the notification would be made in-person by a fellow soldier of equal or superior rank. Most Vietnam War casualties were enlisted personnel, so most of the notifications were made by non-commissioned officers who were E-6s and above. Roughly three hours after the notification, the SAO would show up at the NOK’s residence to outline the procedures that were going to happen in the coming days and weeks. Their input was solicited and accommodated whenever possible. The meeting usually took a couple of hours and was filled with emotion and the recitation of many memories. This was especially true when the parents were divorced, and the casualty had designated the mother as the official NOK. At the positive end of the spectrum was a Black
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SERVICE MEMBER RESPONDENTS
Based on my experience, notification of the next-of-kin should not be made by 25-year-old lieutenants and staff sergeants at the direction of old men in Washington, D.C.
15%
27%
REPORTED CONCERNS ABOUT LOSING THEIR CURRENT HOUSING AND 6% REPORTED THEY WERE CURRENTLY WITHOUT A STEADY PLACE TO LIVE.
REPORTED EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AT LEAST ONCE IN THEIR LIFETIME.
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FAMILY MEMBER RESPONDENTS
9%
18%
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child loses their life and the 535 go on with their day. This is wrong-headed thinking. Based on my experience, notification of the next-of-kin should not be made by 25-year-old lieutenants and staff sergeants at the direction of old men in Washington, D.C. It should be the responsibility of the casualty’s congressman or senator who made the initial decision. If that became the protocol, the U.S. would enter into conflicts only after very deliberate thought and analysis by the decisionmakers. Wars would be prosecuted with full effort and the disputes would be resolved within weeks or months and not persist for years.
lady who lived in downtown Detroit. In the early 1970s, anti-war sentiment ran strong in most large American cities. Indeed, Detroit was not the most hospitable place for a White, uniformed guy with short hair to be walking down the street. In our initial meeting concerning her recently deceased son, I related to her it was my job to answer her questions and concerns 24/7 and to meet with her as necessary whenever she requested. As our meeting was ending, she said, “Lieutenant, I want to assure you I will never ask you to come to my house after dark.” It was one grateful, 25-year-old, junior officer who walked out of her house that day.
REPORTED CONCERNS ABOUT LOSING THEIR CURRENT HOUSING AND 1% REPORTED THEY WERE CURRENTLY WITHOUT A STEADY PLACE TO LIVE.
REPORTED EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AT LEAST ONCE IN THEIR LIFETIME.
Editor@AmVetsMag.com
ConnectVeterans.org/Survey
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AMERICAN VETERANS Summer 2024
Summer 2024 AMERICAN VETERANS
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