Veteran Activism & The Perimeter

Nearly 20 years after the Vietnam War the stigma around veterans facing serious trauma due to their service in the war was finally subduing. “The 1990s saw concerted efforts at both the state and national level to increase public awareness and reduce the stigma of mental illness” (Mental Health Colorado). This big step in America’s awareness of how people can be affected by mental stressors and trauma was a huge step toward veterans receiving accurate and helpful care. This monumental moment in mental health advocacy and recognizement lead to the willingness of Vietnam Veterans to open up about their experiences 20 years prior. The veteran-created publication The Perimeter, served as an outlet for veterans to vent, advocate awareness, and support each other through similar struggles. At the time, this publication was sponsored by the Texas Association of Vietnam Veterans, and it was written and produced in Austin, Texas.

On the cover page shown to the left, a message from the president, Ron Dorney, details the triumphs and possible setbacks that a recent Prisoner of War rally held by The Perimeter’s members. Nearly twenty years after the last American soldiers were sent home from Vietnam, prisoners of war were yet to be located. Dorney praises the hard work and dedication of the veterans involved in The Perimeter’s efforts, and constantly reminds his veteran audience how “deserving” they are of being applauded for their (advocacy) work. This cover page shows a slew of other details about The Perimeter and its’ members. The list of the complete board, and their phone numbers are included in the top left, with the group’s mailing address and production credits to the right of it. At the bottom of the front page, both the group’s merits as a non-profit, and their meeting information is provided. An additionally note-worthy addition was the president’s sign off: Semper Fi. This is a phrase frequently used by all US Marines, that means “Always Faithful” (U.S. Marines Corps). Marines use this term specifically for motivation and support of each other during and after combat. Despite the rather ‘call to arms’ like rhetoric in the rest of Dorney's excerpt, this phrase stands out as drawing attention to the main goal of The Perimeter, to support and raise awareness for Vietnam Veterans.

The contents in a typical publication by The Perimeter range from cartoons, advertisements for various mental health facilities, warning signs for sensing PTSD in fellow veterans, and poetry created by the veterans themselves. This platform was created for and by affected veterans. In the 1990s, mental health was just becoming a concern that society was able to vocalize or even recognize at all. The perseverance of these men to create a platform for others suffering for them to receive support and to vent creatively about their experiences in Vietnam marked a positive directional shift for the stereotype that all soldiers had to be “ok” after war. The creators of The Perimeter knew they wanted to make a difference for giving veterans a voice, but there is no way of knowing the healing impact their efforts made on others suffering behind closed doors. 

This poem, written by William G. Dougherty, was published in March 1992 in The Perimeter. Dougherty’s poetic works, being the treasurer and one of the producers of the publication, were often featured. A common theme of Dougherty’s poems is the idea of being lost, even while at home; unappreciated and ostracized. This specific poem, “Welcome Home,” talks about the internal conflict of a soldier after coming home from Vietnam. Not knowing why they were forced to fight, and unable to talk about the experiences endured during the war, Dougherty describes a soldier fighting against himself after being forced to fight a war. The complex internal conflict that Vietnam soldiers were faced with after coming home rendered many unsure of how to express their fears and sorrows. Some were able to vet their grievances to others, but for some who could not, poetry was their outlet of emotional release.

In various cases, poetry has been used as psychotherapy for certain patients. Giving people we are unable to communicate their thoughts and feelings through words, poetry gives them an alternative way of expression. 

“The [poetic] words are poured into a stream of particular consciousness and style that bespeak man’s feelings and inner dimensions. They speak of emotions, ideas, attitudes and values. The poetic creation, as any form of art, is a reflection and projection of the processes operating within the individual.”

-Jules Barron

Jules Barron argues that using poetry as a means to explore the human psyche is successful in more ways than one. Barron suggests that poetry accesses “deeper reaches of the personality,” than any other type of communication, for it reaches the unconscious mind (88, Barron). These findings unsurprisingly align with the discovery of so many affected veterans finding solace in this form of art, for what better way to communicate their stressors than reaching into their unconscious psyche. 

The pinnacle of this connection between therapeutic practices and veteran consolation is that the veterans that created poetry about their experiences did it out of their own volition. Their attempts to express themselves lent to a form of accidental self-therapy, for this concept had not even been prevalent in the 1990s. The veterans who utilized therapy as a backboard to their trauma not only started a ‘new’ process for healing, but they also showed other trauma survivors that it was ok to be vocal and discuss their experiences, even if not outright. The Perimeter challenged the stereotypical hardened-soldier norms, and gave way to a fellowship centered in support and recovery for Vietnam Veterans. 

The steps a couple of individuals took to try and express their trauma led to the holistic healing of a group of men that had felt alone even in their own homes. What most people failed to recognize was that, for the soldiers, the hardest part of coming home was not the physical relocation, but instead the social reintegration back into society. Bringing the soldiers ‘home’ was not the only solution the men deployed needed. Being home was not all that the soldiers needed to give them solace, they also needed help and support. The new home that the Vietnam Veterans unexpectedly found was in the support from each other, and the guidance to be able to express their feelings vulnerably and proudly.