Veterans: Former soldiers share experiences
Continued from page 1A
having lost the war in
Vietnam upsets him.
“We made an impact,” he said.
“The parallel between Iraq and Viet
nam is exact. We can put in a govern
ment, but we don’t know what it’s
going to be. ”
Thompson said his experiences
in the airlift were “absolutely,
positively” life changing and that
they inspired him to learn as much
as he could about other cultures
and conflicts. ’
“1 know more about Iraq than I
ever dreamed of. I know about Sun
nis and Shias and tribal wars. I know
the history. I know the difference be
tween the religions and why there’s
factions,” he said.
He expressed frustration at how the
University often treats — or outright
ignores — veterans.
“What’s being done after all these
years of war?” he asked.
“Veterans are not listed in the affir
mative action section of the employ
ment application here,” he said.
“They were removed. They call it ‘job
experience’ on another page.”
But some at the University make
sure veterans are remembered.
Dave Musgrove, an office manag
er for the Business Affairs Office
and a retired master sergeant for the
Army, began putting up memorabil
ia displays for Veteran’s Day eight
years ago. People bring in helmets,
medals and photos for themselves,
family and friends.
This year, they began putting up
colored flags to honor individual serv
ice members and to designate which
conflict they served in.
“We don’t try to glorify anything.
We just put out information,”
Musgrove said.
He echoed Thompson’s
thoughts, saying that many who
have served are reluctant to talk
about their experiences.
“We’re a quiet minority; we’re not
real loud,” he said. “You’d never
know because they don’t say any
thing about it, but they’re proud of
what they did.”
He’s going to Albany today for
an annual parade and said that
while Veteran’s Day is important
to him, some don’t realize the
meaning behind it.
“Some really think about it, and
some just think of it the same way
they think of Memorial Day, a day to
go off and barbecue,” he said.
C. J. Nelson, who is the communi
cations scheduler in the Business Af
fairs Office and a retired tech sergeant
in the Air Force, said his military ex
perience gave him a strong work ethic
that has extended throughout his life.
“If you’re in the military you’ll do
what you need to do,” he said. “You
take your lunch if you get it and you
take your break if you get it, but that’s
not your primary goal. ”
He added that the military has a
family ethic, which he finds lacking in
civilian life.
“You take care of the people that
you work with,” Nelson said. “It was
very hard to move into the civilian
sector, where you live next door to
someone for years and don’t know
their name.”
Musgrove said he hopes veterans
of the Iraq war will be treated better
than his colleagues, but he has
his doubts.
“They’re an invisible people. The
treatment of veterans through this
conflict are no different than Vietnam.
They want to wave flags and send
them away but don’t want to talk to
them when they get home,” he said.
He added that it’s important to re
member that those in the military do
not choose their missions.
“It doesn’t matter where they went,
where they served, what they did;
what’s important is they did it,” he
said. “For me, that’s what Veteran’s
Day is all about.”
He said he has no regrets about his
military service.
“I’m extremely proud — I
went back and served two more
years in the merchant marines,”
Thompson said.
“Hate the war, never the veteran,”
he said. “The stigma goes to the indi
viduals who served.... We evacuated
nearly a million people out of Viet
nam, all told, and gave them a new
life,” he said. “That’s winning to me.”
Contact the higher education reporter
at kbrown@dailyemerald.com
Skateboards: Safety is EPD's major concern
Continued from page 1A
as safe as possible for pedestrians,”
Ellis said.
In the past, pedestrians have been
struck by skateboards and have been
sent to the hospital because of their
injuries, Ellis said.
On one occasion, an elderly
woman was struck by a loose skate
board, fell, hit the street curb and
broke her hip, Ellis said.
Leona Mark, an employee of
Sigmund’s Cleaners, said it’s dangerous
for customers when skateboarders are
on the sidewalk. She also said the noise
of skateboarding can be irritating.
“I can’t hear my customers,” she
said. “I can’t hear the phone.”
University sophomore Brad Sny
der, who longboards near East 13th
Avenue, said the prospect of ticketing
would discourage him from long
boarding on the street.
Ellis said he hopes to educate
more people about the skateboard
ing ban so police won’t have to start
writing tickets.
“What we really want down
here is a safe environment for
pedestrians,” Ellis said. “We’re not
trying to make money. ”
Contact the crime, health
and safety reporter
at kgagnon@dailyemerald.com
* Pre-Law Society at
Portland State University
Presents the Fifth Annual
Law School Fair
023711
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Smith Memorial Center Ballroom @ PSU
Free Admission • All Welcome
Meet with over 50 admissions directors from
around the country
Contact garrisont@pdx.edu
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