Veterans from two local Vietnam Veterans of America chapters will meet next week with veterans of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The trip has been organized by former U.S. Congressman David E. Bonior, a U.S. Air Force vet who served during the Vietnam War and who has Ukrainian and Polish heritage.
Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 154 has long been involved with helping the people of Ukraine. When a call was put out for donations, chapter members collected clothing, toiletries, and medical supplies that were transported in the deuce-and-a-half belonging to Chris Scalise, pictured here. (CHRIS SCALISE SUBMITTED PHOTOS)
Volunteers Marty Griffin, John Pellerico, Keith Edwards and Gil Claunch helped get it all to a warehouse to then be sent to aid citizens affected by the Russo-Ukrainian War. (CHRIS SCALISE SUBMITTED PHOTOS)
The aim of the visit is to help Ukrainian vets who are dealing with their war experiences and to help traumatized children.
“The mental health of children and Ukrainian military personnel have been hard hit,” Bonior said. “In our discussions we concluded that helping Ukrainian combatants and children was a worthwhile goal for us to pursue. Those of us who are U.S. veterans of the Vietnam War remember well working to help our fellow veterans who suffered PTSD after fighting in Vietnam. As a member of the U.S. Congress back in the 1970s and 1980s we passed legislation that became law and provided counseling therapy for our veterans. We know that good therapy can make a significant difference in the life of combatants and of children who have been in or near war.”
Bonior founded the Vietnam Veterans in Congress caucus and coauthored “Vietnam Veteran: a History of Neglect.” He coined VVA’s motto: “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.” He was a participant in discussions for the founding of VVA, chartered in 1986, with Bob Muller and John Terzano.
The former congressman acknowledged Paul Palazzolo of Clinton Township and president of VVA Chapter 9 in Detroit, Gary Purcell of Macomb Township and president of VVA Chapter 154 in Clinton Township, and Dimondale, Mich., resident Jack Devine, a charter member of VVA Chapter 9, for their leadership on the project.
According to a news release, the visiting Ukrainians are Andriy Kaspshyshak of Lviv, who left graduate school in 2022 to join the Ukrainian armed forces and served in the 103rd Territorial Defense Brigade, 62nd Battalion, and now heads the office for veterans at Ukrainian Catholic University; Glib Bitiukov, head of the Ukraine Catholic University Center in Kyiv who served as a medic in the Ukrainian armed forces; Pavlo Zaremba, an infantryman and drone pilot operator in southern Ukraine who has served as a first-person view drone instructor; and Yevhenii Klymenko, who fought in multi-year battles in Ukraine and has created a service dedicated to supporting wounded servicemen, families of fallen and missing servicemen, and to preserve the memories of those who gave their lives defending Ukraine.
The visit was scheduled to begin in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, July 9, when the veterans were scheduled to take part in a mental health panel that included a neurologist, a psychiatrist, a national security expert and college professor, and a co-founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Also on the ischedule is a visit to veterans memorials, a reception in their honor, a guided tour of museums, and a visit Arlington National Cemetery. Their D.C. tour will include a trip to the U.S. Capitol and meetings with legislators.
The Michigan visit begins Sunday, July 12. After checking into a Detroit hotel, they visit a Ukrainian-American museum in Hamtramck. At a restaurant, there will be a moment of silence and remembrance, perhaps a toast, to the late Randy Wright, an attorney and member of VVA Chapter 9 who had worked on the partnership project with Bonior, Palazzolo, Purcell and Devine.
On Monday, July 13, there is a veterans forum — open to the public — from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Clinton-Macomb Public Library, 40900 Romeo Plank Road, Clinton Township.
At 2 p.m., the group visits the Veterans Support Center at 18025 15 Mile Road, Clinton Township, an all-volunteer facility established by VVA Chapter 154. Besides a food pantry, the Veterans Support Center has professional service officers on duty, a small museum, a speaker’s bureau and active honor guard, and an Associates group. The Michigan Traveling Memorial honoring Michigan people who died in the Vietnam War will be displayed. Front-desk volunteers routinely steer people from the community toward the help they need.
Purcell described the support center visit as a time that everyone can “kick back” and socialize, and where the Ukrainians — who are fluent in English — and Americans can get to know each other.
“There’ll probably be a lot of people with Ukrainian heritage or Ukrainian ties that want to talk to and thank them,” Purcell said.
On Tuesday, July 14, the visitors will see various sites in Detroit and there is a news conference at the Masonic Temple Detroit where VVA Chapter 9 holds meetings and events.
“We’re going to have people from the VA hospital there, hopefully to discuss any problems they might have, and the reason they’re coming here is to find out how our veterans organizations run, so they can take it back to Ukraine,” Palazzolo said.
“We need to support them, and part of Dave’s mission is to exchange ideas on how we take care of veterans here,” Purcell said.
Devine and Bonior and a few other vets went to Ukraine last year. Bonior has made additional trips.
“We went to about a dozen different places throughout the country that are handling the wounds of war, both for the veterans and their families and the children, of course,” Devine said. “So we’re inviting some of them here to get a real good connection and get support for what they’re doing and give them information on all the different things that we do in case they want to copy that.”
Bonior said six programs in Ukraine are making a difference for veterans and their families.
Donations may be made to the nonprofit 501c(3) Ukraine Charitable Platform at 2247 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago IL 60622 and notated “Bonior appeal for PTSD aid.” They will benefit Veterans Hub in Ivano Frankivsk, Ukraine; Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv; Care Service in Odesa Ukraine; Misha Angels in Kyiv and Macomb County; Caritas in Ukraine; and Save Ukraine in Kyiv (and other places in Ukraine).
The two local VVA chapters have each donated at least $2,500 to the cause.
Send news of service clubs and veterans organizations to Linda May at lindamay@ameritech.net or call landline 586-791-8116.