Return to heal war wounds

An SHI delegation led by its president Edward Tick has visited Vietnam from December 28, 2012 to January 14, 2013 to explore the lives of local war veterans and their children.

Tick knew about Vietnam when he was a university student in the 1970s. He joined thousands of peace-loving people supporting Vietnam through anti-war demonstrations in the US.

Graduating from the faculty of psychology, he had the chance to meet and work with veterans returning from the Vietnam War.  

A literature exchange between Vietnamese and American war veterans writers during the SHI delegation's visit in January 2013

SHI was then established to help American war veterans reintegrate into their communities. Under SHI auspices, war veterans have returned to their former battlefields in Vietnam, meeting local veterans and civilians to share sympathy and promote tolerance.

Since 2004 the organisation has brought American war vets and their relatives to Vietnam and carried out charitable activities.

It has undertaken initiatives to fund and assist war victim rehabilitation, including children affected by Agent Orange/dioxin, buy daily necessities for Mekong Delta farmers, build preschools and repair schools damaged by natural disasters.

It has delivered a message of peace to the Vietnamese people through art exhibitions and cultural exchanges that hope deepen mutual understandings.

Tick said it was an honour of the veterans to take part in charitable activities in Vietnam.

According to him, many American war veterans are physically and spiritually scarred by their experiences in Vietnam during the war.  

T. Loglin, a veteran of the Vietnam War, recalled his fears of arriving at the airport, thinking he would see the cold anger in local people’s eyes.

This unease disappeared after meeting with locals, especially those who once stood on opposite frontlines, and instead he received warm welcomes and generous hospitality. He realised that the Vietnamese people had already extended their tolerance.

Those who we fought against are willing to break with the past and help us heal the wounds of war, he confided.

All members of the SHI delegations concurred on the charitable purpose of their trip, but highlighted how they were comforted by local people’s tolerance and hospitality. 

E. Tick wants to do something more for the Vietnamese people, despite first focusing on treatment for American war veterans. After travelling the length and breadth of Vietnam, he became aware of the agonising pain lingering on in many Vietnamese households.

As the SHI executive director, he has shuttled between the US and Vietnam, organising charitable campaigns to assist Vietnam overcome war aftermath.   

Tick considers Vietnam his second home, especially after marrying and adopting a Vietnamese child. Charity work is the duty and responsibility owed to this peaceful land, he said.