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Show 4 Signpost Tuesday, July 12, 1988 Pro and Consensus: Do you agree with President Reagan's decicion to compensate the victims of the Iranian Airbus? "I don't think we should. They cause a lot of problems for us and they don't do anything for us. Until it's all cleared up, I think it's a possibility they were trying to set us up." Denee Jenkins Freshman Nursing Roosevelt, UT Shooting tragic, but justified Ray Eldar, Jr. Senior Reporter "Well, it's possibly a mistake because it admits we did wrong and that our policy about the Persian Gulf is wrong. "The compensation is a good idea as long as it doesn't conflict with the policy in effect." Damon Fry Senior Business Management Gonzales, TX 1 , Monday the While House announced that President Reagan had decided to pay compensation to the families of those who died when the United States Navy shot down an Iranian airliner, killing 290 people. The question of compensation arose almost as fast as Iranian Air Flight 655 went down. It would appear that the Navy was justified in the shooting. Must we pay compensation? No. Should we? Probably. The Navy has already admitted that contradictory to their earlier reports, the Airbus A300 was well within the 20-mile air corridor assigned to commercial flights. It also said that though the USS Vinccnnes reported the Iranian Airbus en route to Dubai was at 9,000 feet and descending, another U.S Navy ship, the USS John H. Sides has claimed the airliner was at 12,000 feet and either holding steady or climbing. Despite these facts, several questions remain. Why did the Iranians allow Flight 655 to fly into a war zone, regardless of the air space it was in? Why was the Iranian airliner transmitting signals on a military channel, and why didn't the pilot of the Iranian plane respond to the Navy's attempts to contact the plane and warn it ofi? It should be remembered that just five minutes prior to the take-off of Flight 655, the Vinccnnes and the frigate Elmer Montgomery had engaged five Iranian gunboats in the Strait of Hormuz, sinking two and damaging one. It was then that thej Vinccnnes began tracking the airliner that was using a radio channel used by Iranian F-14 fighters. Some might say that the U.S. need not compensate the Iranians because they never compensated the families of the 241 Marines who died when a truck filled with explosives crashed into their barracks in Lebanon or that the Soviets never compensated the families of those who died when a Soviet missile struck Korean Airlines Flight 007. I hate to think that we would base are reactions according to those of Iran and the Soviet Union. I like to believe that we, the United States, arc different. That we wouldn't let pride or vcngcncc get in the way of doing the right thing. I don't know what the difference is between an F-14 blip on a radar screen to that of an Airbus A300, or if there is one for that matter. The captain of the Vinccnnes had about four minutes to respond to the approaching plane, and as unfortunate and tragic as it was, had I been in his shoes I believe I would have done the same and 290 people would still be dead. It was a tragic error, but I believe a justifiable one. Vietnam vets memorial to survival LaUonne Willis WSC Student "To hell with this world," "nobody understands," "why can't I get it together," and "what's the use" arc all a few. expressions my group uses or have used. "He's not wrapped too tight," " a bunch of drug heads," "nothing but bums," "don't hire that guy," "real losers wallowing in their own self-pity," and "unstable" are also comments related to my group. We are a group who are, by choice and necessity, working toward control, self-esteem and dignity. As a group, we share a common, fragile reason for membership Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD as it is cryptically referred to. It isn't an exclusive male membership women arc definitely a part of the group. PTSD is a long-term effect of the trauma of combat. Qualification requirements are anywhere from one to 365 days spent in a southeast Asian country called Vietnam. The effects can be immediate or take as long as 12 to 14 years to surface (something like a bite in the butt by a pit bull dog whose jaws are on "lock"). Hard to shake off, too! The symptoms and reactions are nightmares, uncontrollable shakes, cold and hot running sweats, instant re-plays or flashbacks in living (and dying) color accompanied by stark terror. Some of us attempt to self-medicate with booze or drugs. For whatever reasons, we didn't look for or accept help until it was almost too late, if we were lucky. You sec folks, the nightmares are about 18-, 19- or 22-year-old kids who we feel guilty about because they won't ever get any older in our minds. They won't be back, and we can't lake iheir place. We arc the lucky ones. The shakes, sweats, flash-backs and palpitations are triggered by such mundane things as a firecracker, backfire, a helicopter or fighter aircraft flying over lower than usual. Even a word will do. Anyone can jerk you back in time, momentarily to some "situation" in Nam. The added effects of drugs or alcohol can cause a loss of control, it never really helps. (It didn't help in Nam either.) Some of us secretly wish, at times, we were back there because it seems to represent a solution for our guilt other than self-pity. Today, with the guidance of a professional counselor and each other, we are putting our lives back in place. We are finding ways to channel our frustrations into positive, productive ways to understand and deal with our problem. We are doing it together now because each of us did it alone together in Vietnam. We are surviving. Now we are putting it back together. The trail gets a little rocky sometimes, and we do stumble, because it has been a long way from where we were to where we should be. But we are growing and getting better. Each time one of us graduates or gains employment or enjoys a sober night's sleep, we have taken another step forward. In my opinion, we are becoming the living memorials of Vietnam. it X: i (Signpost photo: Scott Summcrill) |