Veterans helping veterans

Bordentown Township group offers support to soldiers

By: Anthony Coppola
   BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP — Michael Engi, president of the Bordentown Township Vietnam Veterans of America, doesn’t want today’s troops to suffer the same hardships he did.
   That is why his chapter has established a care program for soldiers and their families.
   "We aren’t looking for sympathy for what happened to us," Mr. Engi said. "We are just looking to see that the public doesn’t treat them the same way."
   He remembers returning home from Vietnam to persecution rather than praise. In many ways, Mr. Engi said, "the reception coming back was worse than actual combat." He said he hopes that Americans will one day stand united.
   "The people that treated us this way are still around today, they just don’t talk about it," Mr. Engi said. "They gave us the cold shoulder, you might think we had two heads."
   Several times a week, for the past three years, Mr. Engi and fellow chapter members have supported troops arriving from and departing to Iraq and Afghanistan. Thousands of flights take place each year at Fort Dix, and the group hasn’t missed one yet.
   "The troops treat us with such respect and admiration," he said. "After 35 years we’re now finally able to feel proud, it has done more for us than any parade could ever do."
   Mr. Engi says the veterans achieve a sense of camaraderie with the troops that can only be understood by fellow combatants. One area where Mr. Engi found a link is dealing with post traumatic stress disorder. The term relates to events involving near-death experiences, threatened physical injury, and psychological integrity.
   "We give them our take on how to handle different situations," he said. "They know they can open up and talk to us about anything."
   On Monday nights, the veterans pay a visit to the Warrior Transition Units, an area for injured and ill soldiers. They arrive around 7 p.m. and leave as late as 3 a.m. in some instances.
   "They are just glad to see us, it makes a difference having the vets around," Mr. Engi said. "Usually we bring them stuff like hoagies or chili, things they can’t get on base."
   The families of deployed troops also benefit from the veterans’ generosity. At McGuire Air Force Base and Fort Dix, family support groups created a program called Hearts Apart, aimed at providing welfare and recreation. Mr. Engi’s chapter donated $1,000 worth of gift certificates to families in 2006.
   "We usually give them to the families in most need of help," he said. "They are broken down in portions of $25, a lot of families need assistance with things like baby care products."
   The veterans also take a trip every other month to visit with patients at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and sponsor trips to Atlantic City with troops.
   Mr. Engi says the bond between soldiers fighting this war and the Vietnam veterans is very strong.
   "They remember our faces," he said. "When they get off of the buses and airplanes a handshake often turns into a hug, and sometimes even tears."