European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 25, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                July 1985 the stars and stripes Page 3 Vietnam combat veterans still suffering study reveals lower More divorces by Clint Swift Washington Bureau Washington the War int Over for thousands of Vietnam combat who acc still paying a Price for their service in High divorce lower incomes and less a study announced tuesday the by the american legion and Columbia shows that veterans of heavy combat earn to less a year than service members who served at the same time but did not encounter the same we find As the mean level of traumatic combat experience so does the divorce says the report by Jeanne and Steven annual family in come As do reported Levels of general the researchers said they compared veterans with the same age and Educa Tion to make sure the income difference was related to intensity of of the veterans who were involved in heavy combat in 66 percent have a family income of or the study that compares with 74 percent of the study participants who saw Light More than 6 percent of the heavy combat veterans reported incomes of or twice the poverty rate of the comparison seventy seven percent of the heavy combat veterans said they were compared with 82 percent of the legionnaires in the study As a the report Twentyfive percent of those who were in the most intense fighting have been compared with 12 percent in the group that saw Little or no nearly 10 percent of the heavy combat group has been divorced twice or double the rate for the comparison the divorce analysis was restricted to veterans born from 1944 to the group that the researchers said sent the largest percentage of men to serve in Southeast Asia and that Felt the most damaging conditions of the the researchers gathered data on More than 600 variables on each of the legionnaires who completed the detailed about 40 percent of the group had experienced combat in Southeast Many of the questions on health and happiness Are still being the study the general health reports of the heavy combat veterans More closely re semble men 10 to 20 years older who did not see said John Sommer Deputy director of the National veterans affairs and rehabilitation commission of the Steven assistant vice presi Dent for epidemiology at the american cancer said the veterans tended to feel that the a docs not provide Security and peace of mind or keep veterans informed about available but he said once veterans were within the veterans administration sys they found that the staff was courteous and helpful and that the services they received were comparable to other health Jeanne an associate professor in the school of Public health at said the study was a scientifically valid random Survey of legion members from Mary Ohio and she said there was no attempt to make the Sample match the population or the population that served in the legion Sample was 98 percent for an official of the veterans administration said 10 percent of forces in Vietnam were one can readily speculate if we have observed such problems in this there arc Large numbers of men in America who have served their country in situations of intense Battle who Are far worse she Stellman said the number of veterans who agreed to fill out the questionnaires gives her great Confidence that the effects discovered in the data actually the results generally fit with those of earlier she although some officials involved with the study were surprised at the of the income and divorce rate a legion spokesman said the organi which does not keep statistics on the race or sex of its has million about of those Are Vietnam Era or about 9 percent of those who served during the he said legion Rolls include about 10 percent of those who served in the korean War and world War the study began in the spokes Man results of the study Section on Post traumatic stress disorder will be reported in september at a meeting of the society for traumatic stress stud another Section on including effects of agent will be released when the analysis is the legion began the study for it has shared the frustration of Vietnam veterans at government in difference or defensiveness about legitimate and pressing readjustment prob lems of veterans and their he me said the legion will use the results in its work before Congress and Federal agencies that serve swarming to the sea some people clogged the beaches sunday in the Katase Noshima Southwest of the Day marked the Start of the monthlong summer holidays for most of the nations elementary and Junior High school the faces Are familiar a photo Liverpool born actor Mark and Ameri can Kim Miyori pose in London after the announce ment that there to take the title roles in the television movie John and Yoko a love Mcgann played the title role in the musical Lennon in a Liverpool a native of Santa began As a and she was in the film peppers lonely hearts club