Today was the first day of rehearsal for our production of HOW I GOT THAT STORY by Amlin Gray. We invited board members and patrons to join us for the Meet and Greet and first read through of the play. We were also fortunate to have a number of volunteer consultants joining us:

Sue Diaz, author of Minefields of the Heart and post show speaker for Feb 25 and March 3;
Joe Ciokon, Vietnam Veteran, Navy reporter, and post-show speaker on March 1;
Ernie d’Leon, Vietnam Veteran, ACVOW (American Combat Veterans of War) Board of Directors;
Max Gruzen, Vietnam Veteran, Army photojournalist;
Michael Kilpatrick, Vietnam Veteran, founding member of Veterans Village of San Diego.

They shared their personal stories and feedback from listening to the read-through.

Some of the themes, questions, discussion points, and quotes that emerged included:
- A theme in the play: what is real? what is true? how do you know?
- What were the reporters who covered the Vietnam war really like? How prepared were they?
- “Loss of innocence” through war
- After you’re there, you take on ownership, want to stay
- Loss of compassion for the enemy…. loss of compassion for yourself
- You change to survive
- Mind games
- Brotherhood

Costume Designer Jeannie Galioto and Scenic Designer David Weiner also joined us and shared their designs.

Here are some photos from the day:

In connection with our production of HOW I GOT THAT STORY, we are collecting video stories from veterans about their war experiences. Here’s a written story from Casey Meehan, a Vietnam Veteran who served as a Navy nurse. Those of you who saw our 2005 production of A PIECE OF MY HEART may recall that Casey participated in our arts education program and met with the high school students who attended that play. Her photo was also on the poster of A PIECE OF MY HEART. Here’s her story:

 A Vietnam War Recollection

By CDR Casey Meehan, NC, USN, RET

The year was 1959; I have in one hand a brand new college degree, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and in the other hand a commission as an ENSIGN in the Nurse Corps of the US Navy. I am off on a grand patriotic adventure…

Nine years later in May 1968, after five duty stations including one in Japan and one in the Philippines, I was in receipt of my requested orders to the Naval Support Activity Hospital in DaNang,Vietnam; a 650 bed hospital consisting of many Quonset huts connected by wooden ramps built on a sand dune across the road from China Beach.

October, 1968, 2 ½ months into my assignment in the ICU, a great hullabaloo occurred one morning—several Marine Corps Generals, two Admirals and the C.O. of the hospital descended on our unit. WHY? I inquired?  A VIP (Very Important Patient) was on his way to us from the OR.  WHO?  I asked.  Chesty Puller’s son was coming and I was then briefly filled in on Chesty’s story; a retired Marine Corps LTGEN whose 37 year career is a legend in the Corps, the most highly decorated Marine in their history having been awarded the  Navy Cross five times– among a total of 56 medals.

My patient was Lewis Puller, Jr a 22 y/o Marine Corps 2LT only “in country” for two ½ months and severely injured-one leg gone at the hip and the other above the knee, both hands injured w loss of fingers leaving only three on one hand and two on the other, ½ his buttocks and ½ his scrotum gone.  It was beyond belief he had survived  tripping a booby trap in the field,  waiting for a chopper med-evac for what seemed like hours—-thank God for corpsmen!   But after two days of intensive care he miraculously was still alive and was then air-evaced back to the states.  I did not know what happened to him as there were many hundreds of patients that just kept coming, 22,000 during my twelve month tour of duty.

Fast forward 23 years to 1991, Dottie and I and another Vietnam Vet Navy Nurse, Julie, decide to visit the Vietnam Memorial better known as the “WALL”, it had been built and dedicated in 1982.  The experience of being there among so many vets was almost overwhelming—tears came easily, the greeting among us was a bear hug and the phrase “Welcome Home”—something that developed when so many Viet Vets felt ignored or worse upon their return from action—no one seemed to care as it was an extremely unpopular war.   We agree with the now familiar saying that has come out ofIraq—HATE THE WAR, NOT THE WARRIOR.

While there, among all the families and vets, sitting in a w/c was a conservatively dressed double amputee.  After the usual bear hug and welcome Home greeting Dottie asked him, when were you wounded and where were you treated?   He responded, ‘October ’68 and NavalSupportActivityDaNangHospital.  So there sat Lew Puller!!  What a wonderful feeling to actually know for sure that someone I cared for made it.  We chatted and he told us about his family, his wife and two children, and how he had written an autobiography that was being published as we spoke.  We took pictures and promised to buy his book stat.  The book, Fortunate Son, The Healing of a Vietnam Vet came out and was universally praised including a 1992 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction.  We sent our copy to him and asked for an autograph—it came by return mail with the following inscription:

To Casey Meehan and Dottie Yelle,

Whose embrace of the healing profession saved the lives of countless young men like me during the Vietnam War.  To you I owe a debt that can never be repaid.  Nevertheless, I hope that you will regard the writing of this book as, at least, partial payment!

With love, respect, admiration and my undying gratitude…

Welcome Home, Lew B. Puller.
November 11, 1991

The book told of his life from age 5 to 45, his recovery and hospitalization—over two years and 15 operations, his successful attendance at law school, and holding a position as senior attorney in the office of the General Counsel at DOD.  His brutal honesty in describing his physical – he never walked again, mental – depression, and spiritual obstacles including sinking into alcoholism and recovery thru AA were riveting and uplifting, especially to other vets.

In 1991, PEOPLE Magazine printed a special edition called “Amazing Americans” an interview, with pictures, cited Lew Puller as one of 23 of those amazing people!

Lew died May 11, 1994, unfortunately by his own hand, after more hospitalizations and a relapse into prescription drug addiction and alcoholism as a soothing balm.  He was buried at Arlington Nat’l Cemetery with full military honors. The Vietnam War claimed another victim.  And so on this Memorial Day, 2009, I submit to you that not all warriors fell on the foreign field of battle—some came home and continued the long arduous, often painful, fight til death overtook them.

Casey Meehan, Julie Loughney, Lew Puller, Dottie Yelle

Lucy Saltmarsh & Todd Kennedy at the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center

There is so much Mo`olelo would not be able to accomplish if it weren’t for the expertise and generosity of our community partners. The Veterans Museum and Memorial Center  (VMMC) in Balboa Park was a critical partner for Mo`olelo’s 2005 production of A Piece of My Heart, and once again they are lending their support for our upcoming production of How I Got That Story. There’s a section in How I Got That Story where Greg Watanabe’s character, The Historical Event, transforms from being a G.I. walking to a bar, into a Lieutenant in the field, into a Private First Class in the field, into a Guerrilla, and finally into a Sergeant in the field. The transformations are instantaneous and happen on stage. We needed help finding the proper Vietnam-era army uniforms. We also needed to find a class A army jacket with the bronze oak leaves of a major. To our rescue came Lucy Saltmarsh, Curator at VMMC and her volunteer Todd Kennedy. They pulled field jackets, the appropriate badges, uniforms, etc and talked us through the proper placement of the bars, patches, and options for quick-rigging.

We are so grateful for Lucy, Todd and the VMMC.