Re: Brudno and The Wall

Date: March 12, 2004

"The Battalion - Opinion

Vietnam veteran should not be memorialized
By Chris Lively

Constructed in 1982, the Vietnam War Memorial stands as a resonant dedication honoring the courage, sacrifice and devotion to duty and country characterized by the nearly 2.7 million Americans who participated in the grim struggle. The wall contains roughly 58,000 names of those considered casualties of war. Already a tragic and staggering number, that number could grow by the thousands if one family's request is granted.

Almost four months after returning from battle, prisoner of war and U.S. Air Force Capt. Edward Brundo took his own life due to the psychological devastation symptomatic of many Vietnam soldiers both during and after the war. Now, his family has requested that his name be added to the wall on the grounds that Brundo's trauma was a war-inflicted casualty, according to a news report from World Net Daily. The Brundo family makes a sensible and honorable request, and it is one that deserves the utmost compassion and attention.

Granting approval of such a request, however, would set a precedent that would be almost impossible to keep.

Although the memorial is a dedication to all who served in combat, current U.S. Department of Defense policy states that the names inscribed on the wall be of those who were killed or declared missing in the combat zone designated by President Johnson's executive order.

Names of those who died after the war directly from wounds received in the combat zone also meet the criteria. As a result of the Brundo family's request, a psychiatric consultant to the surgeon general conducted research and reported that Brundo's record indicated that he sustained "severe psychological and physical wounds" in Vietnam, which resulted in his death by suicide, according to The Washington Post.

Maj. John Thomas, chief of public affairs for Air Force personnel, advocates granting the Brundo family's request. He mentions that the criteria for name addition refers to wounds received, but do not differentiate between physical and psychological wounds. The wall currently contains names of suicide victims, but are of those who died in and during combat.

All things being equal, post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological abnormalities inflicted by a war of such devastation and chaos could be serious enough to drive many to suicide. Although this is arguable, granting approval for the Brundo family would result in the a case-by-case record review of any veteran's family wishing to do the same. While Brundo's case may justify an inscription under these grounds, inventing a process with today's available technology to distinguish between war-induced suicides and those that stem from other reasons would be a logistical nightmare.

Also excluded from the list of names are victims who have died of cancer as a result of exposure to Agent Orange. Here too, qualifying Agent Orange-induced cancer would become a tedious, impractical task.

Jan C. Scruggs, president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, opposes the inscription of Brundo's name. "If the Department of Defense decides to go down this route," Scruggs argues, "I guarantee you and the Department of Defense that 20,000 families of service members who committed suicide will demand, and will now have legal standing, to place those names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial," according to The Post. Scruggs makes a reasonable point as he also claims that there is simply not enough room on the wall to include all of those names, not to mention other post-conflict death victims such as those from Agent Orange.

Estimates of post-conflict suicides of Vietnam veterans reach staggering numbers, and some say would need possibly two more entire walls to accommodate them.

Since the fighting ended in Vietnam, various names have been added to the wall, as was expected by the VVFM. However, these names are of those who died in training missions in the combat zones or of directly related and distinguishable war injuries not characteristic of all suicide victims.

Perhaps the memorial should have been built with the anticipation of adding thousands of more names, but that is another issue in itself. Nevertheless, Captain Brundo and all post-war suicide victims deserve to be remembered and revered for their dedication and services at least in the hearts and minds of those who cared about them despite the fact that inscribing their names in the wall would have certain unfeasible implications.

A spokesman for the VVMF said a decision would be made regarding the Brundo family's request in the next few weeks. In the meantime, the VVFM will appropriately dedicate a plaque honoring the victims of post-conflict suicides and cancer next month, an appropriate way to honor people who lost their lives because of Vietnam, despite the fact that it is not feasible for the wall to be amended. "