Amid the aroma of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and with the sounds of his generation playing in the background, Ed Reynolds talks a little about his days serving in the Vietnam War, but mostly about what’s happened since then.
The Connecticut native, who’s lived in Kennesaw for the past couple of decades, served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the early years of full American ground operations.
That was in 1965 and 1966, before hundreds of thousands of troops came over in military transport planes, like the C-5 manufactured at Lockheed’s Marietta plant.
“Got there before the big guns came,” Reynolds recalls. “We landed by boat.”
His combat experience was intense, and being a radio operator “was not a healthy occupation to have.”
The retired building construction supervisor said he didn’t endure the wrath of anti-war protestors like some Vietnam veterans. However, as the years continued, so did the frustrations of dealing with a system designed to help veterans like him.
Reynolds says he suffered a heart attack in 1992, and thinks it could stem from exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam. Other maladies have added up, and he noted he came back with one that lingers—ulcers.
“I was 20 years old,” Reynolds said. “Imagine that.”
On Saturday, an East Cobb non-profit that helps veterans in need treated Reynolds and other veterans to food, music and to give thanks for their service, with Veterans Day being observed in the coming week.
United Military Care, which moved to a building on Old Canton Road near Roswell Road 11 years ago, entertained a few dozen veterans on a sunny, blustery afternoon.
UMC helps veterans who are in danger of experiencing, or who have experienced, hunger, homelessness and lost hope.
“When you leave the military, you lose two things,” said Leenie Rubin of United Military Care, which began assisting active-duty personnel but has expanded to reach out to veterans.
“Your rifle, and your buddy. Our mission is to serve as a ‘battle buddy’ ” for veterans who often don’t know where to turn for help.
UMC served more than 8,000 veterans in 10 counties across metro Atlanta last year, and expects to serve more this year, according to President Kim Scofi.
That’s because word’s growing about how the organization is trying to fill the gaps in veterans’ assistance.
UMC has two food pantries, and delivers food regularly at Fort McPherson for distribution around the Atlanta area.
The assistance includes help with clothing, government and agency referrals, home visits and phone calls and special events, such as Saturday’s cookout.
Making human connection is often the most important thing UMC does, Scofi said.
“It’s offering hope.”
She said she got a call several months ago from a staffer at the East Cobb Senior Center, about a regular visitor there who’s a Vietnam veteran and who was threatening suicide.
Scofi got in phone contact with the man, and offered up some tough love—military-type directives about getting help, and how to do it.
“Now he’s living in Mississippi, near his family,” and isn’t in deep isolation any longer, she said.
Reynolds has stayed involved in Marine League and other veterans events. But as he got older, and as his health declined, he grew frustrated in getting health care and other veterans benefits for himself. He had to quit work to care for his wife for six years (she died in 2012), while he was seeking to 100 percent disability payments from the Veterans Administration.
“It took me 14 years,” he said.
His experience is common. Scofi said that some so-called “blue water” Navy veterans—those who transported Agent Orange to Vietnam—are only now getting VA benefits. That’s because of bureaucratic red tape that denied them to veterans who literally didn’t step foot on Vietnamese soil.
While much is made of the suicide rate of veterans from the Iraq War, Scofi said the largest percentage of veterans who take their own lives is in an age group of 50 and older—from Vietnam to those who served during the first Iraq War, in the early 1990s.
Reynolds noted that it’s groups like UMC, more than those from the larger civilian world, that are reaching out to veterans.
“It’s real nice to know that there are people who want to appreciate veterans,” he said.
If you’re a veteran or know of a veteran who needs assistance with food, housing or just need someone to talk to, you can reach United Military Care by clicking here or calling 770-973-0014.
UMC also accepts donations to carry out its services. You can donate online by clicking here.
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