Iraq and Vietnam veterans find common ground

By Claudia Parsons

WATERTOWN, New York (Reuters) - In the Vietnam War, some in the U.S. military who opposed the war wore a paper clip on their uniform as a sign of dissent -- an underground tradition some who fought in Iraq want to revive.

Sgt. Eli Wright, a medic who served in Iraq and is awaiting a medical discharge for post traumatic stress disorder and a shoulder injury, has a gallery of tattoos on his arms and legs. He recently added a black paper clip on his right hand.

"During Vietnam, guys that were against the war would wear a paper clip on their uniform somewhere, it was a little way for them to identify themselves," Wright said in an interview at the Different Drummer Cafe in Watertown, near Fort Drum.

"It stands for People Against People Ever Re-enlisting -- Civilian Life is Preferred," he said.

"We decided instead of just wearing paper clips, we would actually tattoo them, a permanent reminder of our dedication to getting out," he said, adding that he's hoping other soldiers who oppose the war in Iraq will follow suit.

"It's my salute hand. I broke the regulations to get it," he added. "That's why I keep it covered with a band aid."

"On my last day I'm just going to take it out, salute the commander and show him how I feel."

Wright was a battlefield medic in Iraq and then worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center when he came back in 2004.

He was assigned to wards of patients with amputations, brain injuries and other wounds from Iraq and Afghanistan, and later worked in the emergency room where he said many patients were Vietnam veterans with drug and alcohol problems.

"Seeing their problems, and how far back their problems go, I started really looking at this entire system," he said. "I saw these failures across the board, it's multigenerational."

"It was just overwhelming."

Wright has post traumatic stress disorder, he has trouble sleeping, memory loss and anxiety, and is a recovering alcoholic. He is one of about 300,000 service members suffering mental health problems after serving in Iraq or Afghanistan.

"They've told me straight up they don't have the staffing, the resources to provide individual counseling so they give you drugs and put you in group counseling," he said.

"VERY, VERY ANGRY"

Such stories are deja vu for Dean Anthony, 60, an infantry officer in Vietnam in 1968. He was shot in the head but escaped serious injury and went back to duty.