How has VVAW supported veterans and active duty GIs?
In the mid ’70s to mid ’80s when traditional veterans groups were calling Vietnam veterans losers, VVAW was the first veterans organizations to set up rap groups to deal with traumatic after-effects of war, setting the example for readjustment counseling at Vet Centers now (Hunt, 86-87, 221n.65; Nicosia, 162-165, 548). VVAW exposed the shameful neglect of many disabled vets in VA Hospitals (Hunt, 40, 186; Nicosia, 317-320; Stacewicz, 209, 262, 283) and helped draft legislation to improve educational benefits and create job programs (Stacewicz, 23, 163, 181; Wells, 489). VVAW fought for amnesty for war resisters, including vets with bad discharges (Nicosia, 309). We helped make known the negative health effects of exposure to chemical defoliants and the VA’s attempts to cover-up these conditions as well as their continued refusal to provide treatment and compensation for many Agent Orange Victims (Hunt, 183; Nicosia, 88; Stacewicz, 350-355). VVAW has supported Gulf War vets in their str
