Dramatic Play Reveals Untold Stories Of The Vietnam War

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As the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War approaches later this month, I would like to invite you to consider commemorating this date in a new and profound way.

I am the proud daughter of a U.S. Military veteran … a veteran of World War II who remained in the US Army Reserves and continued to serve stateside during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. My dad landed on Utah Beach on D-Day, knowing his chances of survival were slim. He carried his experiences back to America with him at the end of 1945, always feeling in his heart he had survived “for a reason.” Fifteen years later that reason became clear to him and he left his secure executive job and started his own company, dedicated to honoring the sacrifices of American service men and women through return trips to their areas of active duty. He ran military tours for veterans of World Wars I and II, Korea and ultimately Vietnam for over 40 years. I spent 20 years of my own career helping him in that endeavor, as did my brother (himself a retired USANG Colonel).

So while I do not join you as a child of a Vietnam Veteran, I do share your experience as the daughter of a parent who went to war. And I have the unique experience of having seen thousands and thousands of American veterans return to their areas of service. As importantly, I have seen what a profound affect those trips had on the veterans and – equally as much – on the family members who shared those journeys with them.

While my dad has passed away and our company is no longer in operation, the experiences during those years have not been lost. I saw children of American veterans come home with a totally new understanding and appreciation for what their parent experienced in war and how that shaped the person that later raised them. The sight of a grown man waving a very large flag in an American military cemetery with tears streaming down his face is imprinted forever in my mind; I heard repeatedly of “aha” moments from other military “kids” whose eyes were opened in a new way. I will never forget one letter we received from the wife of a serviceman who took this journey with her husband and their children. “We will never be the same. I left home with a husband. We returned home with a hero.”

I cannot personally offer you here the opportunity to go to Vietnam (though some of our former employees still offer this service)… but I can offer you the rare opportunity to get a glimpse into the Vietnam War from a more personal point of view without needing an airline ticket. I have been lucky enough to become involved with a small community theater in Berwyn, PA, Footlighters Theater (one of the oldest in the Philadelphia area). Run entirely by volunteers. Footlighters strives to share the arts with the community and involve the community in the arts through six plays/musicals each year. This month we will be opening a very special production which I would like YOU to consider attending. It is called “A Piece of My Heart” and it explores the effects of the Vietnam War (during and after) on the American participants.

While there is no clear documentation, official estimates indicate that 7500 military women and an equal number of civilian women, served in some capacity in Vietnam during the war years. At that time, there was little to no media coverage about women in Vietnam, nor was there adequate reporting of their experiences, heroism, their homecomings, or their readjustment difficulties. In the 1980’s, Keith Walker met with the director of the Veterans’ Outreach Center in Concord, CA, who (a Vietnam vet herself) had been trying to locate other female veterans who might have undergone similar difficulties as she, and thus have a need to connect. This resulted in a two year journey of nationwide interviews including nurses, officers, Red Cross workers and entertainers – all who shared the common experience of serving their country in Vietnam.

Keith wrote a book, A Piece of My Heart: The Stories of 26 American Women Who Served in Vietnam. In the words of author: “These are the stories of twenty-six American women who went to war. You will experience the strength they all possess— a strength I have come to know well these past two years, in meeting them, in editing their stories, and in sharing their concerns. I want to thank them for opening their hearts to me, each aware of the pain and unsettling it would cause in her life. I am proud to have earned their acceptance, and because of it, my life will always be richer.”

Walker’s book has been transformed into a powerful drama by Shirley Lauro, with six actresses and one actor portraying numerous characters. A Piece of My Heart is meant to be representational of many different experiences and personalities. The play begins in the late 1960’s and portrays each young woman before, during, and after her tour in the war-torn nation, ending as each leaves a personal token at the memorial wall in Washington. A Piece of My Heart has been named “the most enduring play on Vietnam in the nation,” by The Vietnam Vets Association. Author Doris “Lucki” Allen, a highly decorated, three-tour Army veteran, considers A Piece of My Heart to be “a masterpiece.” She reports that the character of Intelligence Officer Steele “is basically a true portrayal of my three tours in Vietnam.” Dr. Allen hopes to make the Footlighters Theater run of the play her 18th attended production.

Audiences rarely leave the theater after A Piece of My Heart unmoved. Like male veterans, many women returned with post-traumatic stress disorder, finding it hard to shake the numbness that made a war zone bearable or to settle into a life minus manic highs and lows. As one remarks, “The war really did a number on all of us.” The women on stage recount the time they spent “in country.” “The one thing Nam did for me was that I felt like I could walk on water,” says a nurse, a conviction that made later jobs seem worthless or impossibly bland.

This incredible production opens April 24th and runs weekends through May 9th coinciding with the 40th Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War (April 30, 1975). I believe this show will speak to you in a very special way and invite you to JOIN US for this memorable and impactful performance.

Footlighters Theater is located at 58 Main Avenue Berwyn, Pennsylvania 19312 (Map It). Details can be found and tickets purchased online at www.footlighterstheater.com. You won’t want to miss this moving production. Bring a family member or a friend; thank a veteran; count your blessings.

I look forward to greeting you there. Sue Ryder Scott

The post Dramatic Play Reveals Untold Stories Of The Vietnam War appeared first on Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance.

© 2014 ‎(COVVHA) Children Of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance INC
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(COVVHA) Children of Vietnam Veterans Health Alliance INC.
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