VIETNAM
Continued from Page 1
while there, ■'lie said. untl her
experiences especially taught
her the x nine of life.
"1 feel Vietnam shaped my
life It was kind of like it was a
teacher, loo." Gunson said Shi'
said she learned that human
life is fragile and c art tie lost "in
a heartbeat
Gunson said she tries to live
life to the fullest now When
you get to the end iif the tun
nel, you c an’t go hac k and redo
parts of it." she said
Hut getting to this point of ac:
i opiatic e and finding the good
in a had situation has not al
ways been easy for Gunson
She spent time in counseling
and still must talk herself
through difficult times, like
when she has flaslthac ks
The smell of outdoor cooking
is a stimulus for flashbac ks, she
said, and sometimes the weath
or is, too
’ 1 he other morning when 1
went to get the paper. It was
\er\ halms out It was a Viet
nam morning, she said So she
talked herself through the
''memory and analyzed why tie:
day reminded her of V ietriam
In I'llit). Gunson had gone 10
years without counseling, until
she became sun idal iincl cjuit a
good job At that time, post
traumatii stress disorder vs.is
just beginning to gain attention
and there were not mans sup
port groups lor veterans, she
said
( Unison turned on the teles i
sion one dav. a dav (aid or
chestrated inv life." she said, to
see another veteran 'discussing
post traumatic stress disorder It
vsas then she realized what her
problem was
She then joined a local vets
support group and began
speaking public Iv about her ex
pcricnces because talking is
therapeutic for her. she said
In 1UH0. (unison was inter
vieweci lor a JO JO TV program
cm women in the military, hut
found the interviewer to be in
sensitive to women’s trauma
S he interv iewer said, "f don t
know whv vein let it bother yo.u
because you weren't really
there,” (unison said "I came
unglued,'' she said and ev
plained to the interviewer that
she saw the people that were
shot and dealt with the blood
and guts of what happened
(unison's mam experiences
have shaped her view of a
woman's role in war. and she
admits <hc jomollnirs has
mixed feeling about it
As a mother of a fiyearold
ir 1. (iunson said she does not
tteliev e there should bo a worn
mi s draft and she said she tie
hoses there shouldn't be am
more wars
She said that in battle /.ones,
there was no front line, so
women who were sent to what
were considered non iomti.it
regions a< tually were in danger
(luiison said if woltien go io
war, they need to tie prepared
to defend themselves and must
not rely on men to protect
them
And, she said, women have
the potential to lie a strong
fighting ton e
'Have \ou heard, that joke ‘
she said What s 'meaner than
all the males on both sides of
the l.ulf war and < art also con
!.| i n vs a te r lor t i \ e (lavs’ A
vs. man vv it.h I’MS
You’d have to get all of tin*
vviiincll ail the same ( veins so
tliev Would alt have premen
strual syndrome at the same
time, she -,,inl 'laughing, and
Uieri you would have a verv
formidable fort e
FILM
Continued from Page 1
war
Slit’ said when slit" now
Minis Vietnam veterans, she
apologizes for what siir used to
think of them. And the friendly
gesture!, were extended to her
one time, she said, when a set
eran thanked her lor protesting
the war. which he said helped
tiring soldiers home
A World War II veteran. John
Saemann. said tie (ante to see
the film at the Temple Iteth Is
rael her ause he sympathizes
with Vietnam veterans
' ' T h e v didn't ti a v e a
Nintendo war like the Persian
(iulf," he said.
CALC spokesman, Irwin
Noparstak, said the group
showed the film to promote
healing fur veterans The film
was shown in 1HII/, fir said. Id
i crowd of alxiut -too people
Afterward, counselors were
available to talk with veterans,
he said
Nopiirst.ik said he hop>-s
many people will sei' the film
bet ause it is a i bant e lor them
to consider alternatives to the
military. he said
It's a subtle anti war film.'
he said "I thought it would he
nice to sfmvs an ordinary (char
.icter) This is not Kambo
And, Nopursliik said, it is im
portant for people to realize
fmw many veterans are affected
by post traumatii stress disor
tier Me said that by 1980, more
Irwin Noparstak
ihdn t.U.OOO Virln.im vclrr.uis
had i ummiltinl sun i<)c nturr
than arc hsled on the
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