European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                R return to Nam a roller coaster of emotions by Leslie Berger los Angeles times i t has been Good for me to sea those Beautiful people and this Beautiful country at peace. Alt my memories of in were of War suffering and. Destruction. I sort of loved this country though they sent us Here for War. Now that it s free i love it even. 1 More. A a. A Quot a from the diary of Charles Nixon sept. 12,1990. War Veteran Charles Nixon returned to Vietnam this fall chiefly for intellectual reasons to travel in a third world country arid As he put it to witness first hand the effects of . Foreign policy. A. Maybe its because he was an ambulance Driver during his 1966-�?T67 army stint in Saigon and by his own account was spared much of the wars horrors. He came Home to finish College hold a steady Job marry a woman who has become his soul mate and Start a successful contracting business a hardly the tormented postwar experiences of some others. / he was caught off guard then by his roller coaster. Emotions during the recent visit and by the inexplicable Power that Vietnam and his Long dormant memories of it held Over him. V Quot a a. Quot i expected to go Back and visit a country at peace and. Learn More Quot Nixon said recently in the Den of his ,. Suburban los Angeles Home. Quot i did no to expect to be so moved by the country. It was a tremendous emotional. Experience for me and caught me by Surprise. A the biggest thing for me was All i knew about _ Vietnam All my images of Vietnam were from the War and i had nothing to replace them with Quot said Nixon 46, a tall striking Man who said that he was brought up to fear communists and feelings. Quot now i have a whole country a and people and  a _ j a Between sept. 4 and oct. 30, Nixon joined seven other veterans on a Quot peace and reconciliation Mission Quot outside Hanoi a six week adventure during which they helped. Rebuild a medical clinic in the Village of yen Vien. A according to the veterans Vietnam restoration project. The non profit group that organized the trip the clinic had been out of use since it was destroyed by . Bombs 20 years ago. A a. Nixon and his colleagues lived in a guest House with dormitory like quarters and worked Side by Side with their. Former enemies. All were in their 40s, five of the eight were unmarried. Several suffered Post traumatic stress As a result of fighting in the War. They took Side trips organized. By the local Branch of the communist parly and followed the orders of vietnamese construction managers. One Veteran flew Home  during the first week after acknowledging that he did not feel comfortable a around the vietnamese could not work with them and.  control his paranoia. Others such As Nixon s Roommate from Maine grew so close to their foreign coworkers that they wept like children when they said Goodby. A a Quot this country at peace is Beautiful. Why did our government rain such awful destruction on these people i it seer is that in is a National sore spot. Guess Washington Learned some lessons from the experience. But were they the right ones the american people still Don t understand the  . A a Nixon diary sept. 12 More openly. On most Days he would work on the construction site until the Early afternoon or until he succumbed to the heat hauling buckets of Concrete and bricks by hand or shovelling debris. Even to Nixon a contractor it was backbreaking work. A. A a a. Ahe read a lot of vietnamese history and eventually Felt relaxed enough to take Long Bike rides through Hanoi an ancient City of Parks and Trees he said he prefers even to Paris a. A a Quot he had been euphoric after a four Day orientation. Session in Rural Sebastopol where a pair of psychologists helped the travellers get to know each other and guided there through their tangle of  a the past four Days have a everyone admits seemed More like four weeks. As a Gro up we s seemed to have come together feet closer. The self revelations and \ a a. Acceptance by others has increased feelings of Trust and caring. Truly a unique experience i fett Tike i had gone through a sort of Emo Tlona t Basic train  a. A Nixon a diary on sept. 4, As the group prepared to leave the United states. For Nixon a who avoided War protests when he came Home because he Quot wanted to get on with my life Quot a it was the first time he had been exposed directly to other veterans suffering a a a a a. Quot one vet told about the first time he shot someone in combat Quot Nixon said. Quot he was ambushed by three North col. To Minh Thanh with former foe sex Marine Bui Johnson of Manchester Connon tour last year of what once was the a demilitarized zone that divided Vietnam at the 17th parallel. Vietnamese and shot one  Chest. The Guy cried out in. Pain. Twenty years later he still remembers it and feels guilty about . Another a medal of Honor recipient revealed a scar on his Torso that Quot looks like a Road map Quot Nixon said. Another. Was homeless another had lost several friends from the Blue Collar town in new England where they grew up and. Were drafted. But group members drifted apart. One of Nixon s. Biggest disappointments was that once in Vietnam Quot people retreated into their own shells and acted like they did during the War Quot he . Quot the group held a few loosely organized Quot rap Quot sessions but the meetings weren t held regularly. And Nixon s efforts to record his colleagues lives before. During and after  were rejected in a few cases. Increasing his loneliness and feelings of isolation. Nixon said he thinks future trips should include a. Psychologist or Counselor As an escort a suggestion. Rutherford said the project was seriously considering a i keep thinking Al feelings Are not so pleasant but they All Are better than feeling dead or numb i be opened myself up to a Tot of pain etc., but it feels like the right thing to do. Reaching out to those people at the restaurant was the right. Thing to do even if it Hurt a Tot Quot a a. 1 a a. A Nixon diary oct. 15 a human rights activist who has travelled in Cuba and Central America with his wife Louise Nixon was. A anxious to meet and talk with vietnamese and learn How the communist society worked. Sometimes he. Succeeded and on his last night in Hanoi enjoyed dinner with a couple of government information  had talked to All afternoon. A. But Nixon said that he also had a few frustrating encounters with vietnamese a possibly because of the language Barrier but also he thinks because of lingering bitterness from the War one evening he had struck up a conversation with a restaurant manager and she ordered a pot of Tea a in Vietnam a gesture of Friendship. The woman a  them and after a while Nixon invited the couple and their 6-year-od daughter to see a movie the following night. They made a Date and the husband even offered 10 pick up Nixon at Hist Junul a House. Bui the now Bond came apart when Nixon got his dinner Bill he realized the woman hat charged him Tor the. Quot Friendship Quot Lea and Lor a hoi is earned i owe l he had t ordered but used to be polite. A a Nixon says he paid it d higher amount although it was Clear he was upset. At that pen i. He recalled the woman s husband began a pantomime at a Soldier with a machine gun and looking directly at Nixon repented "b-52 Pilot 0. 52 Pilot Quot a shorthand Lor i lie uni male enemy to the North a vietnamese. A a. Quot i was really hurl and jell betrayed Quot Nixon later wrote in a his diary. Quot i Felt Tike i opened up and made a i fondly a. A gesture and got kicked  a. A a yet on  of work Nixon s group held a a a.  their viol name so co workers and Many of i to vietnamese and americans cried Nixon included Quot i  Ted and Truy silting together before dinner Ted 6 feet 2 inches 240 pounds  a Veteran Truy 5 Leet 4 inches 130 pounds. Quot Nixon whole about his Roommate and the Man s vietnamese Nond. Quot. Quot Truy was leaning against Ted with his head on Tod s shoulder. Ruythe. Nova Soldier who could have killed some of the friends that t de lost in i to Warwas like a a. Puppy  be separated   Vyas a Ted so was i. Quot we were. All. Deeply moved. This was the hardest. Parting in be Eyer expert priced.  cried at partings a Little in the past but never like  a a. A. Ralph Tomperl an american Veteran who is assistant commissioner of Public health in Massachusetts is greeted by Nguyen dunh Vinh at a War veterans workshop in Hanoi in 1989. It was the third such trip for the 2-year-old veterans Vietnam restoration project which operates with a Small staff and donated funds in Garberville Calif although Vietnam veterans of America has sponsored several Tours in the past three years the project is the Only such group that provides humanitarian Aid to Vietnam organizing volunteers to help build medical facilities and donating medical  fifteen years after the controversial War ended. Organized american travel to Vietnam is Stojil illegal because the us government maintains a Trade embargo with the country refusing o restore Normal diplomatic and commercial relations Quot the trips sponsored by the project however a Are a sanctioned under a 1987 a moment Between the two co u it r ies that a i lows p i vate g Rou is to p r a v Ide. Humanitarian Aid a a  we Are actually participating in the construction of a a facilities and the trips Are just a Side Natter Quot said Scott a Rutherford the project s develop me a coordinator. Adding that another trip is planned next fall. Nixon described  As a rewarding but extremely difficult experience in which the. Groups internal. Dynamics difficult As they were were compounded daily by the frustrations of working in a foreign culture. They had. A to Cope with language and cultural barriers , Southeast asian heal and Claustrophobic humidity Quot to Chi minho a revenge Quot and a debilitating virus that struck a the group. A. The trip did not change his life Nixon said but affirmed his political convictions that nations have a right to self a determination and that the United Stales should not.  Atso furthered his Long Effort to show emotion cold War relics remain by Donald Smith National geographic b Oris Kalagin would like to go to Hollywood. The Washington based russian television producer wants to put  program. About How americans make movies. The program would be seen a i across the soviet Union on Kino Noranna a popular monthly television show but because Kalagin is an accredited soviet a a journalist and because from the official . Perspective the cold War is not quite Over getting to Hollywood will not be easy. A a a. T Quot the state department Wili not allow Kalagin to Fly to. A a los Angeles he and his Crew Wili have to go to. San a Francisco. Where they will be required to hire a taxi or. Limousines they May not rent a car without a Driver r then they will motor to h Hollywood a distance of about 400 Miles the Tab for the round trip drive will come to about $2,000,. A Quot. A  is extremely expensive but i obey All the. Rule Kalagin shrugs. A a the rules in this Case sound Jike a loopy version of. A Simon says Uncle Sam says Quot do not Fly into los Angeles a or drive on route 95 outside Camden n Jor Cross the Mississippi River by . But the rules Are As . As cold War diplomacy could make them when they evolved during the Depths of the bad old Days before perestroika glasnost and Gorb mania. A -. A even As the United states and the soviet Union Are burying their nuclear hatchets some relies of distrust remain a to the bemusement of Many on both sides of the crumbling Iron curtain. One . Official puts it this Way Quot the cold War May be Over in general but it is not Over in  a a the results can be annoying. A Quot As a soviet reporter can commute freely within a 25-mile radius of the Washington Monument but not. Beyond Quot says Vladimir Matyash Washington Bureau chief for the soviet news Agency Tass. A a a a Quot sometimes we have deadline situations when we would Ike to go somewhere in the United states far beyond the 25-mile zone. The state department requires 48 hours notice before considering our request if its a Friday it Means that we need at least five  a a a a even when permission for travel is Given soviet diplomats  Are routinely barred from vast areas of the United states. Quot Yellowstone National Park is closed Tous Quot says. Matyash. Quot grand Canyon is closed. Boston is open but Cape cod is closed. Atlanta is open but the state of Georgia is  a. In Many cases soviets must go to extremes of. Ingenuity to . Traversing closed areas. Nation go Geol Rokic shortly after arriving in Washington for his third tour of duty with the soviet embassy information officer. Vladimir Belyakov was invited Loa Idress a College. Group in Nelsonville  of simply flying to Columbus and driving for 90. Minutes to Nelsonville Belyakov had to Fly to Cincinnati Ohio to avoid closed areas. The drive to Nelsonville took 4vz hours. A a. A a a a. During the Goodwill games  year hundreds of athletes trainers and spectators from the soviet. Union flocked to Seattle a closed City. The state department says the intricate system of travel restrictions which applies Only to .-based diplomats and journalists has Littie to do with fears of. A soviet spymaster combing the american Countryside for strategic secrets. Travel restrictions frustrate soviet Diplomat Vladimir Belyakov waiting for a plane at National Airport in Washington it has mostly to do with reciprocity.  the soviets have always had a policy of limiting the travel of diplomatic and press personnel from foreign  the state department s Jonathan c Mayhew explained  in several ways certain i ies Are. Closed and other whole areas Are closed. And Ihen Uliey close of certain areas on a Lemed Rary basis for whatever  a a. A the United states has Long objected to Sociol re strict ions and urged that they by dropped so tar to no Avail. \. A Quot we Havo no particular lev Iago in this area except to a maintain a strict policy of reciprocity Quot says Mattiew Quot so to have established a. System of closed areas and. A a closed cities and some times  and closed a areas just to complicate matters and maintain More or loss the same Kirin  they  the system to almost entirely . A. A All this could . Secretary of stale James a.  proposed to. Soviet officials last year a a that the two countries abolish All closed areas and a. Simplify the rules for notification of travel plans. U s. Quot officials say that chances Tor such an agreement Are Good. A a. Quot we soviet journalists have the same tru strut ions As our american colleagues in Moscow Quot says Tass s. Matyash but the Pom ical climate is much belter now. Its just a matter of me a matter of Mutual Trust and.goodwill1a Page 14 the stars and stripes saturday december 29, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 15