Mike Bernardo

May 17, 2017

Episode 11 — The Remarkable Legacy of Vets With A Mission

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SUMMARY: Vietnam Veterans discuss the legacy they desire to leave behind through the work of Vets With A Mission.

TEASER — Mike Bernardo: I’ve never seen a group that’s quite so generous and open hearted. And here they are being generous and open hearted in a country where people were shooting at them, and people were trying to kill them. So that’s to me, that’s something that will stay with me, is just the generosity and the openness and the kindness of these guys – really is remarkable.

INTRO — Kent C. Williamson: The average age of our soldiers during the Vietnam war was 22 (that’s according to the US Wings website). What that means is that today most Vietnam veterans are in their late 60’s and 70’s. The Vets we’ve been following in this podcast know that they can’t continue making trips back to Vietnam forever. As much as they love serving the people there, they understand that their final trip back to Vietnam looms on the horizon. And for the most part, they’re okay with that. They’ve been faithfully doing their work in Vietnam all the while knowing that at some point their mission will be complete. At some point their work their will come to an end. So when I sat down with each of these men I made sure to ask them about the legacy they’ll leave behind.

Welcome to the By War & By God Podcast, I’m your host Kent Williamson. This show is a companion series to the award-winning documentary film By War & By God. In the podcast we’ve been telling the remarkable accounts of people whose lives were forever changed by the Vietnam war. You’ve heard stories of heroism, and stories of tragedy, and stories of reconciliation. You’ve heard about the magnetic force that tugged and pulled and eventually drew these soldiers, medics, machine-gunners and crewman back to Vietnam for the purpose of serving some of the poorest of the poor in that beautiful country. And today we’ll talk about their legacy.

But before we jump into today’s episode, allow me tell you about Big Heaven Cafe. Big Heaven Cafe is the place to go to purchase the documentary film By War & By God, so please click your way to Big Heaven Cafe dot com. That’s Big Heaven Cafe dot com and use the coupon code “podcast” to save five bucks on your copy of By War & By God. And don’t forget that 20% of all sales of By War & By God from Big Heaven Cafe go to the non-profit Vets With A Mission, the group that since 1989 has taken nearly 1400 Vietnam Veterans back to Vietnam for healing and reconciliation.

In today’s episode we’re talking about legacy. Back in the 1700’s, Benjamin Franklin offered some good advice regarding leaving a legacy when he wrote, “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” The veterans we have been following in this series have been doing something worth writing about. Which is precisely why we made the film and created this podcast. So let’s examine the legacy that Vets With A Mission will leave behind. Alright, here we go…

Bob Peragallo: I think that people in our society have a very warped understanding of what war is all about. How it comes into existence, how it’s fought and what the after effects of war are. And how we treat each other, how we treat former enemies.

Kent C. Williamson: This is Bob Peragallo…

Bob Peragallo: There’s two, two aspects of war, it’s the people that you fight against – the actual soldier to soldier. And then there is the society that is affected by war. In America and in Vietnam, both societies were affected by war. Part of the healing process that Vets With A Mission was able to bring was to the social aspect, as well the actual soldiers that we fought against. And I would hope that Vets With a Mission would be a model, a frame work that others could look at and learn and see that, “Yes this is possible, that out of such tragedy and difficulty could come a ray of hope. And that we all don’t just become ravaging, angry bitter people; that we actually can have a transformation in our own selves and good can come out of that experience. So, I would hope we would be a model for other people.

DROP IN — Kent C. Williamson: In a blog on the Huffington Post website back in 2015, Katherine Meadowcroft authored an article titled “What Is Your Legacy?” She wrote, “A legacy should be deeply considered. It takes on immortality, and it is how we live on after death. If we think of our legacy as a gift, it places an emphasis on the thoughtful, meaningful, and intentional aspects of legacy. The consequences of what we do now will outlive us.” I personally love the idea of a legacy as a gift to future generations. What kind of gift do you want to leave?

Kent C. Williamson: What do you want people fifty years from now to remember about Vets With A Mission?

Mike Bernardo: The main thing that people need to remember about Vets With A Mission, now and in the future and for generations is that – this was a bunch of guys who fought a war that was very difficult, very difficult for them. And because of the changes that happened in their lives as Christians, they wanted to go back and do something to help the Vietnamese people, and do something to make it right.

Kent C. Williamson: This is Vets With A Mission Medical Director, Mike Bernardo…

Mike Bernardo: I’ve never seen a group that’s quite so generous and open hearted. And here they are being generous and open hearted in a country where people were shooting at them, and people were trying to kill them. So that’s to me, that’s something that will stay with me, is just the generosity and the openness and the kindness of these guys – really is remarkable.

Kent C. Williamson: What do you think is the best thing that Vets With A Mission has accomplished?

Bob Peragallo: The best thing that Vets With A Mission has accomplished is a combination of all our work. If we were to put it all together…

Kent C. Williamson: Again, Bob Peragallo…

Bob Peragallo: …Our main purpose is we wanted to reconcile men like myself and other veterans to their war experience. We wanted to bring healing to them personally, but yet at the same time while doing that we would also bring healing to the Vietnamese people. Our motive as soldiers in returning to Vietnam – where that, we were really trying to help the Vietnamese people. I think that we have effectively done that, we’ve showed them that we are human beings and that we were more than just their enemy. For a period of time we were their enemy, but as we went back we became people that were there to help them through their misery and their suffering. The people that we met after 1975 and the late 80’s when we returned – they were an oppressed people. They were a people that suffered greatly, in just the physical aspects of life – mentally they suffered, psychologically they suffered. It was a tremendous tragedy that was unfolding that it appeared that nobody in the world really cared about. But here was a small group of veterans that would return and bring aid to them, and help them. And it spoke volumes to them, and it spoke volumes to us as well. But the real benefit was sending a message that, “Listen, this just wasn’t about conquering a nation or winning a war, it was much more involved than that.”

Roger Helle: It’s hard to probably define one thing that Vets With A Mission have accomplished in Vietnam, because there’s been so many.

Kent C. Williamson: This is Roger Helle…

Roger Helle: We’ve seen surgical procedures that have been provided by supporters of Vets With A Mission – that have literally saved children’s lives, adult’s lives. Surgical procedures that they could not afford, but if they had not had it they would not have lived. Medical care – in the early days, building a clinic in a rural area would take the infant mortality rate from 40% down to 3 or 4%. And I guess we looked at it as like giving a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name. And other things happening like sitting across the table from men that we fought against years before. Men that – they tried to kill us, and we tried to kill them. And having reconciliation, even to the point of seeing former communists that we fought against coming to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Kent C. Williamson: When you look back at the work that Vets With A Mission has done, what jumps out?

Cal Dunham: What jumps out for me are the people that we have served.

Kent C. Williamson: This is Cal Dunham…

Cal Dunham: The opportunity to interact with the people – either in construction of a clinic, or just working in one of the clinics that we’d already established. These people began to one, see us as Americans in a different light. But we got to see them in a different light of just people helping people. What I hope the Vietnamese began to see was, that my heart was to help them. That there was no more animosity. I just wanted to help them, and when I was helping them, I was helping them in the name of Jesus Christ. I didn’t want them just to see another guy, that was over there just trying to do good for the sake of doing good. I wanted them to really see all of us as people that cared about them. And I think we’ve accomplished that. I think the people that we serve – they know we’re different – not just because we’re helping, but I believe they see Christ in what we are seeking to do for them.

DROP IN — Kent C. Williamson: I’m a filmmaker, an artist, and a writer and as part of my legacy I will leave my films, my paintings, my poems and articles. Even this podcast in a way will become a part of my own legacy. What are you leaving behind? What gift are you giving to future generations? The legacy of Vets With A Mission will be seen in medical clinics and in lives changed and impacted both here in the States and in Vietnam. And it’s my sincere hope that their story (as seen in the film By War & By God and through this podcast) will inspire a soldier from Iraq or Afghanistan to do work similar to what Vets With A Mission has done in the countries impacted by our recent wars. That would be incredible. A link of sorts from one generation of soldiers to another, to continue caring for people impacted by war. That would be an incredible legacy.

Kent C. Williamson: Fifty years from now, what do you hope people know about Vets With A Mission?

Roger Helle: Fifty years from now, what do we want the people of Vietnam to think of Vets With A Mission…

Kent C. Williamson: Again, Roger Helle…

Roger Helle: My hope is — In the scriptures it says that in the early days of the church, they recognized the Christians by the love that they had for one another. It’s my hope that that they, their children, their grandchildren will remember that there were these Americans that came to Vietnam. And they did what they could to help us, and they loved us. I remember one time early on, sitting across the table from a former North Vietnamese colonel. In those early days they always ask us, “When were you here, where were you at?” Well as we were talking, I discovered that he was the commanding officer of a regiment of North Vietnamese regulars that nearly wiped my company out on a search and destroy mission. We walked into their base camp and we were overrun – we fought for five days in this battle in this valley, trying to keep from being overrun. And so, we had this awkward moment that he realized that I had lost friends, and he was responsible – it was his men that nearly wiped us out. And so, through the interpreter, he said, “Why are you doing this, why are you coming back to my country, why are you helping us?’ He said, “You know, this may seem like a small thing,” the project we did at the orphanage. He said, “May seem like a small thing to you, but it’s not to us.” He said, the Carnegie Foundation came to Vietnam and said, “We want to do something, and never came back. The Ford Foundation came and said we want to help you, but never came back. But you, you’ve done something and why are you doing this?” And I looked at that Colonel, and I said, “Sir, Jesus Christ has taken away all the pain and hurt that I experienced during my time in Vietnam. And because of that love that God has for me, I can say, ‘I love you’ and ‘Jesus loves you.’” And our interpreter down at the end of the table started bawling. And so we had the Americans on one side of the table and we had the communists on the other. And everybody’s looking down at the table saying, “What did this Yankee imperialist say to our precious sister that she’s sitting down there bawling?” A couple moments of silence, and our interpreter just finally stopped crying and she told the colonel what I said. And when she translated what I said, he looked across the table and his eyes were big, and he just looked at me then he stood up with his hands on the table and he came around the end of the conference table. And I got up, and he looked up at me – I’m 6’4 and he’s not. And he looked up and he just threw his arms around me and had tears just streaming down his eyes – and I just hugged him. And we got done, he looked at our interpreter and he said to her, he said, “Tell him I’ve never had an enemy tell me before that he loved me.” That’s what I hope, fifty years from now – that they’ll remember those acts of kindness, acts of love. Where we’d get beyond the war, and that Vietnam is a nation and it’s a people that God loves unconditionally.

Dave Carlson: I would like people to think…

Kent C. Williamson: This is Dave Carlson…

Dave Carlson: …that God is so sovereign and powerful that He can take people who spent the best part of their lives, their youth. Who came over here to destroy and to kill, and to take territory, and to win. And then went home after a debacle of all sorts of international pressures and decisions to relative shame in their own country. He took those broken people, and he brought them back to the place where they fought. The most unlikely people in the world to take his message back, and to plant seeds of both reconciliation between our countries, reconciliation between individuals who fought, but also, salvation for those who fought who were tormented in their own minds and hearts. And salvation of the people that they came originally to hurt, and now they came back to save. And if anything, it’s proof that God can use anybody. Doesn’t have to be well trained, doesn’t have to be well spoken, doesn’t have to be evangelical, miracle workers. He can take soldiers, and people who are the least likely to be ambassadors. And can plant seeds that have amazing outcomes. That would be a great legacy for Vets With A Mission.

Phil Carney: What I would want people to remember about Vets With A Mission…

Kent C. Williamson: This is Phil Carney…

Phil Carney: …is that without question, Vets With A Mission was God’s idea. And it was something God raised up, and something God made happen, and something God has used. And I don’t say that to sound over spiritual. If anybody would have been watching the formation of Vets With a Mission, especially in those earlier days. I don’t think anybody would have probably from the sidelines witnessed what we were talking about, and who was doing it, and saying, “that’s a really good idea”. I think God raised up the most unlikely people. It was primarily Vietnam vets in the early days. All of us had issues that we hadn’t even dealt with yet. So the idea was, a bunch of Vietnam veterans that are now Christians – let’s find out if we can get back into Vietnam and see what we can do. I think any good mental health specialist would have said “That’s really a bad idea, you guys shouldn’t do that, something really bad is going to happen.” And yet, it was God. And I don’t remember any of us thinking in those early days, or any of the early board meetings and so on, thinking that it was going to have any longevity. Maybe we’ll do something 3 or 4 years, do a few trips, maybe develop some humanitarian projects. And here we are 25 years later, and to see the impact that Vets With A Mission has had on people that have gone on the trips, vets, wives of vets, such a diverse make up of people, and the impact it’s had on Vietnam. What I would want people to remember about Vets With A Mission, was that it was God’s idea – and he raised it up from the most unlikely sources and diverse make up of people. And has added to it, and grown it, and used it in a very significant way. I would just want people to remember and know that about Vets With A Mission. It really, really, really has been raised up of God and used of God.

Kent C. Williamson: With all the work that’s been done in Vietnam, how do you want Vets With A Mission to be remembered?

BREAK: Kent C. Williamson: But first, I want to give you a heads up about next week’s episode. It will be our final episode of the By War & By God Podcast and it will truly be a Memorial Day Special. If you listen to our show from beginning to end you know that I close each episode with this line “And of course, thank you to our Veterans… those who returned… and especially those who didn’t. Like my wife’s Uncle Floyd. Thank you!” Well, in next week’s episode we will tell the story of my wife’s uncle, Lieutenant Colonel Floyd W. Olsen who was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. In April of 1968 he flew his final mission; a flight from which he would never return. But as you’ll learn, even in death Floyd Olsen left a legacy; a legacy that lives on today in Vietnam. So please make sure you join us next week as we conclude this series. Now back to the show…

Kent C. Williamson: With all the work that’s been done in Vietnam, how do you want Vets With A Mission to be remembered?

Pat Cameron: We built 21 medical clinics there. We built a church while we were there. And we built some great relationships with a lot of great Vietnamese people and that it’s gonna grow and make a huge impact that maybe I’ll never see.

Kent C. Williamson: This is Pat Cameron…

Pat Cameron: Twenty-five years from now, I don’t know if I’ll be here or not but it’d be nice to think that – they look back someday and say, “Those crazy vets made a huge difference to us that had nothing to do with the war.” I think that’s the key to Vets With A Mission. We’re not doing it because of the war. We’re doing it because – for the love of God and the – come back over there and reconcile with them that we love them. And that we want to help them. And that we know they need us and we need them. I think the impact – we’ll never know, maybe for 50 years or a hundred years what we will – what impact we made there. But I do know they know who we are. And I do know that there’s a lot of villages and a lot of Vietnamese over there that without us they wouldn’t – a lot of them wouldn’t still be living. A lot of children that’s gonna grow up and a lot of them going to remember what we did and tell their children. My big hope is that they know – one, the most important reason we’re there is that we’re serving the Lord.

Chuck Ward: Most of my life, I’ve struggled with self-esteem issues – rejection, that sort of thing.

Kent C. Williamson: This is Chuck Ward…

Chuck Ward: I don’t know if it was because I was always the smallest kid, the shortest guy in grade school and high school and college, sports – always the last one picked. Didn’t grow up in a very close family, or a lot of physical contact in my family, so I’ve always struggled with that. And it’s hard for me to separate what I want people to think about me, and think about Vets With A Mission. So, Vets With A Mission has been a savior for me, and the Lord allowing me to work in this ministry, to serve in this ministry as a volunteer and now being so involved as the leaders – one of the leaders of the organization. What I would want people to know or remember, my legacy. Is that I finally accounted for something. I amounted to something. I was valuable in my life. My life meant something. And the work that I’ve done will leave a legacy, regardless of my shortcomings and failures in my life. I’ve struggled being a father, I’ve struggled being a good husband. I’ve struggled in my career at times. But through this, I think I made a genuine difference, and that’s what I hope people would remember about me, and Vets With A Mission — that we made a difference — not only on this earth, but eternally.

CLOSE & CREDITS — Kent C. Williamson: Thank you for listening to this episode of the By War & By God Podcast from Paladin Pictures. Don’t forget to tune in next week for our final episode of the series, our Memorial Day Special, as we tell the story of Lieutenant Colonel Floyd W. Olsen.

You can learn more about By War & By God at By War And By God dot com. Don’t forget to use the coupon code “podcast” at Big Heaven Cafe dot com to save five bucks on your copy of the film. You can also watch By War & By God for free if you have an Amazon Prime account.

You can find me on Facebook or Twitter. Just search for Kent C. Williamson and while you’re there search for By War & By God and like or follow us. Please email your thoughts about the show to Kent at By War And By God dot com.

The By War & By God Podcast is written and produced by me Kent C. Williamson with Sound Design and Finishing by Ashby Wratchford. Our Audio Engineer in the studio is Steve Carpenter. Thanks also to my brother Brad Williamson who helped record the interviews in today’s episode.

Special thanks to Ashby Wratchford who portrayed the voice of Benjamin Franklin in today’s episode. Thanks Ashby!

The By War & By God soundtrack was composed by Will Musser and for a limited time you can download the soundtrack for free at By War And By God dot com. Thank you to the entire Paladin Team which includes Leslie Wood, Steve Carpenter, Dan Fellows, and Ashby Wratchford.

This podcast is a production of Paladin Pictures. Yep, Paladin is a film production company that sees the value in audio podcasts. Why? Because like is the case with By War & By God… the podcast can go deeper into the story than the film ever can. Paladin Pictures is committed to the creation of redemptive entertainment and thought-provoking cultural critique. Learn more about us and our films at Paladin Pictures dot com. That’s Paladin P-A-L-A-D-I-N Pictures dot com.

By War & By God is produced at the Paladin studio in the amazingly wonderful, beautiful little town of Charlottesville, Virginia.

And of course, thank you to our Veterans… those who returned… and especially those who didn’t. Like my wife’s Uncle Floyd. Thank you!

EPISODE 11 – The Legacy of Vets With A Mission

PLAYERS: Mike Bernardo, Pat Cameron, Phil Carney, Dave Carlson, Cal Dunham, Roger Helle, Bob Peragallo, Chuck Ward, and host Kent C. Williamson

SUMMARY: The remarkable legacy of Vets With A Mission.

LINKS:

By War & By God Website

US Wings Website – Average age of US soldier during Vietnam War was 22

Big Heaven Cafe – Save $5 on the DVD of By War & By God with the coupon code “Podcast”

Vets With A Mission

Email Kent

Huffington Post – Blog Article – “What Is Your Legacy?” by Katherine Meadowcroft

By War & By God Soundtrack – Download the original soundtrack to the film for free!

Paladin Pictures

April 26, 2017

Episode 08 — The Work Being Done

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SUMMARY: Vietnam Veterans tell about the work they’re doing today in Vietnam.

TEASER — Bob Peragallo: The Que Son clinic had a death rate of child birth of 33%. And in the first year after our clinic was opened, the death rate of newborn babies dropped to 3%.

INTRO — Kent C. Williamson: What do you get when you take a van full of Vietnam Veterans and a van full of U.S. Medical Professionals and drive them out into the jungles of Vietnam? This isn’t a joke by the way. The answer is that the Vietnamese people living in those rural villages get access to healthcare that they may never otherwise receive. And that right there is a major part of the work of Vets With A Mission.

Welcome to the By War & By God Podcast, I’m your host Kent Williamson. This show is a companion series to the award-winning documentary film By War & By God. It’s a place where we can go deeper into the stories of the lives of these veterans than we’re able to in the film. This season we’ve been telling the remarkable accounts of people who’s lives were forever changed by the Vietnam war. If you’ve been following the podcast you’ve heard stories of heroism, and stories of tragedy… but you’re also going to hear some amazing stories of reconciliation, all of which is the result of this magnetic force that tugged and pulled and eventually drew these soldiers, medics, machine-gunners and crewman back to Vietnam for the purpose of serving some of the poorest of the poor in that beautiful country.

But before we jump into the show, let me tell you about Big Heaven Cafe. Big Heaven Cafe is the online store for Paladin Pictures. It’s the place to go to purchase your copy of the documentary By War & By God (along with Paladin’s other films), so please click your way to Big Heaven Cafe dot com. That’s Big Heaven Cafe dot com and use the coupon code “podcast” to save five bucks on By War & By God. And remember that 20% of all sales of By War & By God from Big Heaven Cafe go to the non-profit Vets With A Mission, the group we’re talking about in this podcast that since 1989 has taken nearly 1400 Vietnam Veterans back to Vietnam. Why do they go back? For healing and reconciliation… and all the things you’ll learn about in today’s episode and the next few shows..

Today, we’ll hear about The Work Being Done… But as you recall from last week, in the late eighties and early nineties, Americans weren’t going back to Vietnam. So for this group of Veterans who wanted to do something good there they had to find work that they could help with, so they made a couple of fact-finding trips back to Vietnam to meet people and line up projects. We’ll jump in right there…

Phil Carney: Well on the first trip they had made contact with a Catholic nun, Sister Jean Marie, who had run by herself a polio orphanage in Saigon.

Kent C. Williamson: This is Phil Carney…

Phil Carney: She had no support or help, but she gathered up all of the Polio orphans off of the streets, and did her best to care for them. And that was the initial contact Vets With A Mission had made on their first trip. So on the second trip that I was on there was a small project to build a pool, a swimming pool for some water therapy for her kids, as well as bring different supplies and so on. To help that pool, so the thrust of that trip was the polio orphanage in Saigon.

DROP IN — Kent C. Williamson: Polio or poliomyelitis is a highly infectious viral disease that storms the nervous system, and may result in total paralysis within hours. According to the World Health Organization polio has decreased globally from an estimated 350,000 cases in 1988, to only 37 reported cases in 2016 due largely to vaccination efforts. Vietnam was certified as being polio-free in the year 2000 while the United States became free of the disease back in 1979.

Bob Peragallo: We built one of our early clinics in the Que Son Valley.

Kent C. Williamson: This is Bob Peragallo…

Bob Peragallo: The health center had a general care facility, it had a dental unit and it had a birthing unit. The Que Son clinic had a death rate of childbirth of 33%. And in the first year after our clinic was opened, the death rate of newborn babies dropped to 3%. And our investment in that commune was twelve thousand dollars for this health clinic. And so, a twelve thousand dollar investment in this rural area that served thirty three thousand people – that’s a lot of bang for your buck.

Mike Bernardo: The clinics that we work at…

Kent C. Williamson: This is Vets With A Mission Medical Director, Mike Bernardo.

Mike Bernardo: They’re usually well maintained brick or concrete, cement structures.

Kent C. Williamson: Describe the conditions…

Mike Bernardo: Fairly sterile – when I say sterile, I don’t mean sterile in terms of germs. Sterile in terms of the amount of things there to sort of soften the features of the rooms. Usually there’s a – maybe a chair or a couple of chairs, or just a wooden bench, or a wooden bed. So, fairly sparse. But not a lot of supplies, not a lot of medication – and certainly not – not of any medications. Most of them or very few. Some basic supplies, but not a lot – and not a lot of equipment.

Tom Love: The conditions in Vietnam are not unlike a lot of other conditions. You go to a village that’s sort of a shock at first, but after a period of time, you begin to realize that this is not unusual in terms of third world treatment, and what you see.

Kent C. Williamson: This is Tom Love…

Tom Love: We go out to the rural parts of the country, we’re not in the big cities. You really see the poor people, and the primitive situation they live in. Single room homes. They’re dirt floors, they have little or nothing – I mean little or nothing. You look around and they have nothing. They have a set of clothes that they’re wearing. Maybe the second set of clothes is on the line drying from the washing. Their kids are happy and joyous, with what little they have, and I think that really touches you. But I think overall it’s a struggle. And you see the wrinkles on their hands and their feet. You know that their back breaking jobs of planting rice, and they’re stooped over. We’ve observed them in the fields as we pass by in a bus. It’s – I think it really touches your heart that you’re really making a difference in their life.

Kent C. Williamson: What was the worst case that you saw over there?

BREAK: But first… Have you been to Vietnam on a trip like this? What was your experience like. Record your response on your phone and email it to me, or type it up and send it to me at Kent at By War And By God dot com; that’s Kent… K E N T at By War AND By God dot com. I’ll look forward to hearing about your visit. And we might put some of your stories into a future episode.

Now back to the show…

Kent C. Williamson: Several of the people in today’s episode are NOT Vietnam veterans. Vets With A Mission doesn’t require you to be a Vet to join them on their trips. Some of the people your hearing today are medical professionals, CPA’s, and businessmen. People just like you who decided to go… to make a difference; who answered the call, so to speak. Alright, now let’s really get back to the show…

Kent C. Williamson: What was the worst case that you saw over there?

Mike Bernardo: There was a young guy who was out working in his field, working in the field behind his house about seven years ago. Hit an unexploded land mine that exploded in his face.

Kent C. Williamson: Again, Mike Bernardo…

Mike Bernardo: So when we saw him, his face was disfigured and scarred. He actually was missing an eye, it was a very traumatic thing for him. And we were able to connect him up with surgeons in Hue, and they were able to fit him with a prosthetic eye, and to help correct some of his scars. So that was the most, I’d say the most meaningful encounter we had was with him. There were some other folks that we actually were able to help. One lady we were able to give her a glucometer. She was a diabetic, had no way to check her blood sugar, and we were able to get them a glucometer and supplies for her to monitor her sugar. Which was a great – a great thing that we do in the States that we take for granted all the time, that she had no ability to do.

Kent C. Williamson: Again, Tom Love…

Tom Love: When we take out a tooth that’s abscessed, infected, that somebody’s had pain and problems for maybe a year or two – that tooth is gone, that’s the end of the problem. And so I think we, in the dental field, feel a lot more – sense of accomplishment, because we’re able – actually able to finish off a process, and that’s a good feeling.

Tim Schwulst: I worked at the optometry unit. And gave – helped fit glasses after the optometrist looked at them.

Kent C. Williamson: This is Tim Schwulst…

Tim Schwulst: The only problem we had there was, we ran out of men’s glasses, and so we were trying to give women’s glasses to these Vietnamese men, and they were having kind of a problem with that. So we had a few tense moments there when that guy refused to put the pink glasses on.

Pat Cameron: I’ve had patients that I could do nothing for.

Kent C. Williamson: This is Pat Cameron…

Pat Cameron: Cataracts over there are horrible. We didn’t have the equipment or the staff to do anything and it was so – so sad that they came in and you – they think if I gave them something it was going to help them. Sometimes I just gave them something. Like the cataract people, I just give them a set of sunglasses. Give them something. Because sunglasses would at least help the brightness. Because obviously, lights a real sensitivity problem with them.

DROP IN — Kent C. Williamson: Speaking of cataracts… I made two trips to Vietnam while filming material that ended up in By War & By God. On my first trip, some friends in the United States had given me money to help the people there however I saw fit. One morning while I was filming the daily Vets With A Mission medical briefing the doctors mentioned seeing an elderly woman at the clinic the previous day who could benefit from cataract surgery. Vets With A Mission coordinates these procedures with hospitals and doctors in Vietnam and the cost there is only a few hundred dollars to fix both eyes. Following the discussion of the old woman’s cataracts one of the team members stepped up and volunteered to cover the cost of one eye… and then the room got quiet. At that point I turned my camera off and set it down. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the money my friends back home had given me and I laid it on the table. And THAT easily we helped a woman blind with cataracts be able to see again. I like to think of that grandmother staring at her grandkids as they play in the village. And all it took to make that happen was a few people who cared.

Mike Bernardo: When we go and do a medical team with the Vietnamese people, they’re very appreciative, very kind. They seem to be very gentle souls…

Kent C. Williamson: This is Mike Bernardo…

Mike Bernardo: They are definitely appreciative of the care that’s given. No matter what it is that we give. Even if we can only give them a few bags of medications. They’re very appreciative of anything that we do. So yeah that’s a big – that’s a big difference. And certainly in the States we have patients that are very grateful for what they get – what kind of care we give. But, it’s different, it’s different there – there’s a much higher level of gratitude. Gratitude is a major part I think of why people from the US want to go back, because that sense of appreciation that comes from the Vietnamese.

Chuck Ward: Vets With A Mission has had some great days in Vietnam, and we’ve had some bad days.

Kent C. Williamson: This is Chuck Ward…

Chuck Ward: And for me, the worst day was back around – it was the year 1999 or 2000. And we had a medical team that was going to two villages out in Khe Sanh Valley and it was always difficult to get permission to go to these villages. The government didn’t want you out there, but we’d gotten permission to go to these two villages. Primarily because someone on our team was a Vietnamese-American, who actually grew up in that village. So we were very excited about going there. About a month before the trip, I had written a letter and appeal for Vets With A Mission, that went to everyone on our mailing list. Well, one of the people on that mailing list was a social work professor from an upstate New York university. He happened to be in Da Nang, where we were, doing a social work project in conjunction with the government. Well, when he got that letter, he disagreed with it’s content. And the content was about a Vets With A Mission team that had gone to Khe Sanh the previous year. And the day before we got there, an individual had stepped on a land mine or had disturbed a grenade in the soil. Horribly wounded. When we got to visit this village in Khe Sanh, which was tribal people, ethnic minorities – this individual was dying. Well, we arrived in our vans. We always brought supplies and gifts for the chief and the people at this village. Well they came running to us and had us go to this hut. And we go in this hut and this guy is laying there, horribly wounded. So the Vets looking around saying, “Wow, this guy really needs to be medivaced, he needs a doctor, he needs to go to the hospital now.” And we, there was nothing we could do, except pray. So we did. We assembled around, we laid hands on him, preyed on this poor farmer, and then we left. So now, it’s a year later. And I mentioned sending out that appeal, and the social worker, professor got – well, when he found out we were in Da Nang, he was livid. He thought the letter was hocus-pocus. He didn’t agree with it. There’s no way something could happen that I put in that letter. And what happened in that letter is that I explained how a year later, we went back to that village. The village people came out running, so excited to see us. The chief came and said, “Come, come, come.” We went and met this young man, who had exploded that mine or that grenade. And he was absolutely well. He hadn’t even gone to a doctor. So for us it was a miracle. And the village chief even said it was a miracle. Well, this social worker in Da Nang disagreed. When he found out we had a medical team in Da Nang, he went that afternoon to the government and told them a pack of lies. That we were gonna distribute bibles when we saw the patients that we were gonna pray for every patient. We we gonna try to do miracles. And of course, that just freaked the government out. And they cancelled our visit to those two villages. And because of that social worker, two villages, approximately 1200 people received no healthcare, and they stopped our team from working for two days and we just sat around the hotel. And that’s one of my worst days in Vietnam with Vets With A Mission.

Kent C. Williamson: What are some of the most exciting things that you’ve seen Vets With A Mission be involved in over the years?

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All right, let’s get back to this episode…

Kent C. Williamson: What are some of the most exciting things that you’ve seen Vets With A Mission be involved in over the years?

Jim Proctor: We’ve built well over 25 medical clinics. The fact that now we’re going back and staffing those and training those. That’s exciting.

Kent C. Williamson: This is Jim Proctor…

Jim Proctor: Because the organization’s always been trusted by the Vietnamese Authorities, they’ve allowed certain latitudes and us to do certain things that maybe some other organizations haven’t. And one of them was printing Bibles. Vietnam has had a lot of people when it first started opening up in the late 80’s and 90’s that wanted to go in there and work on projects and do things. But it was for the splash in the pan, the effect. And sometimes those people would complete a project and then leave. I mean, there are stories of well-known evangelists, well non-profit type people that would go over there, and it was more of a PR-type thing. And they would do some work, but then they’d leave and everything would go back to normal. Vets With A Mission has always been low key. We don’t care if we get the big press and the big recognition. And we just do what we’re supposed to. And then over a period of – well into 5 to 10 year period, we had had that trust with the Vietnamese government – as much as communist government will trust people. Because the pendulum swings back and forth, as to whether – how much they trust you and what their comfort level is. So, we just always built up that track record that we did what we said we were gonna do. And sometimes to the surprise of them. Because they – our projects got done quicker, sometimes under budget. They were first class. I mean, some of our medical clinics have become prototypes for the country. So, from that respect, we had the credibility, and that has allowed us a certain flexibility. To do things like – even at one time, to print Bibles. Again, the pendulum swings. I think there has been times when they’ve been more open to allowing some evangelism or some evidence of Christianity. And there’s been other times where that’s just not an option, you just don’t even bring it up.

Dave Carlson: I had probably some of the most memorable experiences of my life.

Kent C. Williamson: This is Dave Carlson…

Dave Carlson: What I didn’t expect was to get the opportunity to actually see the results of some of the work we were doing. On that trip, was my first opportunity to see what Vets With A Mission was accomplishing with our vets. To me it was all about doing something in Vietnam for the Vietnamese. But there was one individual on our trip who had not had a night’s sleep in 30 years, since he left the war. He had some real serious issues. His whole goal in going on this trip was to be sure to visit the field where his best friend died. And I’m sure he had tremendous survivor guilt. Of course, a lot of these veterans went home believing they had destroyed a country, believing they had destroyed a people. And instead, when he landed in Saigon and spent the first couple of days there – something inside of him healed. He slept like a baby for the first time in 30 years. He came away, no longer really wanting to see where his friend was killed. He wanted to do something positive for the country, but he was relived of the guilt that he had been carrying for decades, that he had destroyed these people or destroyed this culture. And he hadn’t – they’re wonderful, they’re beautiful people, they’re loving, they’re fun, they’re full of joy. And he walked back into that and said, “Then it’s all okay.” And he could sleep. And I had never known the therapeutic value of going back to country. That these veterans were – have an opportunity to participate in. Since I wasn’t a vet, I really couldn’t understand that, but I got to see it first-hand.

CLOSE & CREDITS — Kent C. Williamson: Thank you for listening to this episode of the By War & By God Podcast from Paladin Pictures. A quick reminder to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss an episode. Please tell your friends about us. You (and they) can learn more about By War & By God at By War And By God dot com. Don’t forget to use the coupon code “podcast” at Big Heaven Cafe dot com to save some cash on your copy of the film. You can also watch the By War & By God for free if you have an Amazon Prime account.

Find me on Facebook or Twitter. Just search for Kent C. Williamson and while you’re there search for By War & By God and like or follow us. Please email your thoughts about the show to Kent at By War And By God dot com. The film will screen on Friday, May 5th at the International Christian Film Festival in Orlando. So check it out if you can.

The By War & By God soundtrack was composed by Will Musser and for a limited time you can download the soundtrack for free at By War And By God dot com.

Thank you to the entire Paladin Team which includes Leslie Wood, Steve Carpenter, Dan Fellows, Steve Lessick, and Ashby Wratchford.