Wheaton veterans group helps heal wounds of war
Military personnel who are wounded in combat are awarded Purple Hearts. But the wounds that won them the honor can be slow to heal — if they ever do. Some members of Wheaton Chapter 144 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart recently talked to the Daily Herald about their experiences during and after combat, and the support they have found in one another. Wheaton resident Sam Maggio didn#146;t talk about the experiences that won him two Purple Hearts for many years.
He was 20 when he was drafted into the Army and sent to Vietnam.
#147;I figured it would make a man of me,#148; he says.
Maggio landed a job as a mail clerk, but when the Tet Offensive began in early 1968, he was sent back to combat. He was in a foxhole on May 1 of that year when a mortar shell landed two feet behind him.
#147;It took out half my hearing and I got slight wounds over the top of my hands,#148; he recalls.
Maggio stayed in the field and 15 days later was wounded again in heavy fighting. This time it was worse.
#147;I got 110 pieces of shrapnel, my left foot was crushed,#148; he says. #147;(But) I consider myself very lucky because I almost got killed probably 40 times.#148;
Maggio was transported to an American hospital in Japan. On the way in, he looked out the window from his stretcher and saw Japanese protesting the war.
#147;This is like the most vulnerable time a guy could have,#148; he says.
After six months in the hospital, Maggio returned to the States where he was assigned to a motor pool until he was released from the Army as a disabled person in June 1969. He returned to college and eventually spent 16 years working in electronics repair.
#147;It was very hard to get a job as a Vietnam vet. You have a disability. No one wants to hire you,#148; says Maggio, who is now deemed totally disabled by the military. #147;It wasn#146;t until the late 1980s until it got OK to be a Vietnam veteran again.#148;
The turning point came when he made a last-minute decision to attend a 1968 parade in Chicago that he estimates attracted 100,000 vets.
#147;It made me feel good about being a veteran finally,#148; he says.
Maggio joined a host of veterans groups, including the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Two years ago, he became the commander of Wheaton Chapter 144. He proudly relates that since moving to Wheaton from the South Side of Chicago four years ago, the chapter has raised $52,000 for groups such as the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans in Wheaton and Gold Star families who have lost a relative in action. The Purple Heart veterans receive some money from the state and raise a lot of it themselves, Maggio says.
#147;We stand in front of the Jewel and collect money,#148; he says. #147;I#146;m proud of the work we#146;re doing.#148;
Maggio said the chapter has 79 members, but he estimates one-third of them are World War II veterans who aren#146;t active. Like in many organizations, a handful end up doing the work. The group meets at 7 p.m. the third Tuesday of the month at the Wheaton VFW hall, N731 Papworth St.
#147;We would like to get more members,#148; he says. #147;We do have some fun. We do get a lot of fulfillment when we raise the money and we give the money away.#148;
Showing respect
Like Maggio, Thomas #147;Tex#148; Tracy of Winfield earned two Purple Hearts in Vietnam. Serving as an Army staff sergeant, he spent 18 months in Southeast Asia until he was wounded two days in a row on Nov. 16 and 17, 1969. He was 19.
#147;I don#146;t know if I can talk about it,#148; he tells a reporter. #147;Yeah, I can.#148;
Assigned to explosive and ordnance disposal, Tracy and his unit had stopped for the night at the bottom of the Black Virgin Mountain in South Vietnam when the Viet Cong began shelling from above at midnight.
#147;I didn#146;t even know I got hurt,#148; he recalls. #147;I felt something on my back. I had shrapnel in my back.#148;
With the base camp under attack, Tracy couldn#146;t be flown out. On the next day on the way into the camp, Tracy was riding on top of a vehicle when it hit an explosive.
#147;I got blown up to A, B, C.,#148; he says. #147;Next thing I knew I was in Japan.#148;
Paralyzed, Tracy spent six months in the hospital in Japan before he could move any part of this body. He walked out of that hospital three months later and was sent to a hospital in Denver.
Tracy spent another six years in the Army and was stationed in Germany. After leaving the service, he worked in construction and drove a limousine for 30 years before retiring. But his wartime memories are still fresh.
#147;Shrapnel in my back, it#146;s still there. Every so often a piece of shrapnel comes out,#148; he says.
Just as the shrapnel remains, so do does the sting many Vietnam veterans felt when they returned to a country that didn#146;t support the war.
#147;I would like them to show some respect. We didn#146;t ask to get Purple Hearts,#148; Tracy says. #147;Like in an airport, some people say #145;thank you.#148; Some people treat you like (excrement).#148;
Finding support
Capt. Kenneth L. Jacobs, (U.S. Army, Retired), started the Wheaton Purple Heart chapter with Maggio and another veteran, who has since moved out of the area. Jacobs enlisted in the Army in 1989 and served in Desert Storm. After returning, he continued to serve in the Reserves until he was called back to active duty in 2003.
Sent to Iraq, Jacobs was assigned to the city of Baqubah, where the military worked to improve the lives of residents. They were on their way to pick up parts to repair the city#146;s garbage trucks when they were ambushed by the Iraqi infantry still serving under Saddam Hussein.
Jacob#146;s vehicle was hit and he saw burning under the hood.
#147;When I woke up, I was looking at stars,#148; he said.
Jacobs#146; left hand was bleeding from shrapnel and the exposed parts of his body were singed. His platoon sergeant had been blown apart.
Perhaps not realizing the vehicle had been hit, the enemy did not come back to kill him and the other survivors.
Jacobs, who replaced his fallen sergeant as platoon leader, went back to work the next day and spent nine more months in combat. His physical wounds healed quickly, but the psychological ones have been more lasting.
Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, he wouldn#146;t drive after sundown for a year after he returned home.
#147;I deal with post-traumatic stress disorder every day, every night,#148; he says. #147;I could sell tickets for my nightmares.#148;
Engaged at the time he was wounded, Jacobs almost didn#146;t go through with the marriage. He#146;s had counseling, stopped drinking and become sensitive to the need to avoid what will trigger his PTSD.
#147;If you#146;re going to deal with it, you#146;ve got to tell your story,#148; he says. #147;The best people to tell your story to is other Purple Heart veterans.
Retired from the Army in May, Jacobs has turned his attention to becoming an artist as a sort of self-therapy. He plans an art show and sale featuring original artwork done by veterans and T-shirt prints on Dec. 2 at Skywriter T-Shirts, Ltd. in Glen Ellyn.
#147;All veteran artists are invited to participate,#148; he says.
For more information on the show, contact Skywriter at (630) 793-9521. For details on meetings of the Wheaton chapter of the Purple Heart, call the Wheaton VFW at (630) 668-8756.
If you go
What: Veterans art show and sale
When: 7 to 10 p.m. Dec. 2
Where: Skywriter T-Shirts, 538 Duane St., Glen Ellyn
Info: (630) 793-9521