thedrifter
02-22-06, 07:24 AM
Coping after fighting in Vietnam: Veteran sees similarities in Vietnam and Iraq
Posted by the Ocean County Observer on 02/22/06
BY LOIS A. KAPLAN
STAFF WRITER
LACEY — Vietnam veteran Chuck Hoff, who spent 14 years in the U.S. Marines including 26 months in Vietnam, says he has never fully recovered from his experiences there — and doesn't expect to.
"Serving there was probably a lot like serving in Iraq is now," he says. "There were no bands greeting us on our return. We were just following orders, and the enemy — who were good fighters — used U.S. public opinion to bring about our departure from Vietnam."
Today, Hoff believes U.S. veterans of both the Vietnamese and Korean conflicts did not receive the right kind of treatment at home following their service and that even today the Vietnam War is still not properly taught in U.S. schools.
Looking back, he himself still has respect for Vietnamese soldiers.
"While searching enemy bodies, we found family photos which made us realize each of these Vietnamese soldiers was just another guy like us," he recalls.
Hoff, who is president of Chapter 855 of Vietnam Veterans of America, and his wife, Lee Forlaw-Hoff, who is the chapter's chaplain, today have three daughters and four grandchildren in New Jersey and a son and three grandchildren in Florida.
Hoff says he is extremely grateful to his wife for getting him to go to a VA clinic in recent years because they diagnosed him with some service-connected medical problems dating back to his time in Vietnam, including hepatitis, which may or may not be a long-term consequence of Agent Orange; and acne blisters, which the U.S. government now says are almost certainly a result of his service in Vietnam.
"I see a VA psychiatrist every two or three months now for severe post-traumatic stress disorder," he says. "I was lucky to survive Vietnam. They also diagnosed me with some medical problems dating back to my time there," he says.
Born in 1939 in Bound Brook, Hoff is the only former U.S. Marine in a family with a long history of U.S. Navy service. In Vietnam, he served as an infantry unit leader in the I-Corps, operating out of towns and villages with 15 to 20 men on patrol under his supervision.
He also served in Japan and other parts of the Far East, in European countries such as Italy and Spain, and — here at home — in Virginia, Georgia and at the Earle Naval Ammunition Depot in New Jersey.
His daughter, Tammy, born in Vietnam in 1968, is now a New Jersey teacher and herself the mother of three children. His daughters Kim and Abby each have two children, his son Joseph three, making a total of 10 grandchildren.
Following his return from Vietnam, Hoff became a police officer in Keansburg, a position he held for about seven years, rising to the rank of sergeant. After that he drove a tractor-trailer, delivering cargo to Pathmark stores throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. He retired after getting 100 percent total disability status from the federal government for combat-related injuries.
Chuck and Lee Hoff, formerly of Tuckerton, now live in Lanoka Harbor, where they care for their current family of six dogs: two golden retrievers, a black Labrador who lost a front leg at an early age from frostbite while living in Minnesota, an Akita/shepherd mix whom they adopted many years ago, a 16-year-old Afen-Pinzer, and a Chihuaua they adopted about six years ago from the Popcorn Park Zoo.
Ellie
Posted by the Ocean County Observer on 02/22/06
BY LOIS A. KAPLAN
STAFF WRITER
LACEY — Vietnam veteran Chuck Hoff, who spent 14 years in the U.S. Marines including 26 months in Vietnam, says he has never fully recovered from his experiences there — and doesn't expect to.
"Serving there was probably a lot like serving in Iraq is now," he says. "There were no bands greeting us on our return. We were just following orders, and the enemy — who were good fighters — used U.S. public opinion to bring about our departure from Vietnam."
Today, Hoff believes U.S. veterans of both the Vietnamese and Korean conflicts did not receive the right kind of treatment at home following their service and that even today the Vietnam War is still not properly taught in U.S. schools.
Looking back, he himself still has respect for Vietnamese soldiers.
"While searching enemy bodies, we found family photos which made us realize each of these Vietnamese soldiers was just another guy like us," he recalls.
Hoff, who is president of Chapter 855 of Vietnam Veterans of America, and his wife, Lee Forlaw-Hoff, who is the chapter's chaplain, today have three daughters and four grandchildren in New Jersey and a son and three grandchildren in Florida.
Hoff says he is extremely grateful to his wife for getting him to go to a VA clinic in recent years because they diagnosed him with some service-connected medical problems dating back to his time in Vietnam, including hepatitis, which may or may not be a long-term consequence of Agent Orange; and acne blisters, which the U.S. government now says are almost certainly a result of his service in Vietnam.
"I see a VA psychiatrist every two or three months now for severe post-traumatic stress disorder," he says. "I was lucky to survive Vietnam. They also diagnosed me with some medical problems dating back to my time there," he says.
Born in 1939 in Bound Brook, Hoff is the only former U.S. Marine in a family with a long history of U.S. Navy service. In Vietnam, he served as an infantry unit leader in the I-Corps, operating out of towns and villages with 15 to 20 men on patrol under his supervision.
He also served in Japan and other parts of the Far East, in European countries such as Italy and Spain, and — here at home — in Virginia, Georgia and at the Earle Naval Ammunition Depot in New Jersey.
His daughter, Tammy, born in Vietnam in 1968, is now a New Jersey teacher and herself the mother of three children. His daughters Kim and Abby each have two children, his son Joseph three, making a total of 10 grandchildren.
Following his return from Vietnam, Hoff became a police officer in Keansburg, a position he held for about seven years, rising to the rank of sergeant. After that he drove a tractor-trailer, delivering cargo to Pathmark stores throughout New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. He retired after getting 100 percent total disability status from the federal government for combat-related injuries.
Chuck and Lee Hoff, formerly of Tuckerton, now live in Lanoka Harbor, where they care for their current family of six dogs: two golden retrievers, a black Labrador who lost a front leg at an early age from frostbite while living in Minnesota, an Akita/shepherd mix whom they adopted many years ago, a 16-year-old Afen-Pinzer, and a Chihuaua they adopted about six years ago from the Popcorn Park Zoo.
Ellie