Veterans Ina Casali and Robert Galbraith on service and connection

As teens, Ina Casali and Robert Galbraith joined the Vietnam War effort, because, as Galbraith remembered, their country needed them.  When discharged, both experienced the loneliness and discomfort of returning to civilian life after serving in a war that had torn the country apart.

Galbraith, especially, recalls not going out in his uniform.

“Guys who served in WW II were celebrated as heroes,” he said. “We came home and were shamed for being vets.”

Casali also felt disconnected after serving.

“I came home at the height of the Tet offensive. My service was from 1967 until 1970. I felt strange, at odds with my peers. Instead, I chose friends who were also veterans. Time spent together in service creates intense bonds; no civilian friendship can compare to it. As WAVES, we experienced fundamental aspects of military life. But at that time, the only women sent to ‘Nam were nurses. For them, it was a daily stream of wounded, dead and dying patients.”

Even so, women in military service felt the pressures of the time.

Eighteen, far from home, she and her cohort of Women Auxiliary Volunteers faced antipathy from male superiors, who felt they didn’t belong in the service. They had to work twice as hard to be taken seriously.  They were housed in base hospitals because there weren’t other facilities to accommodate them. With the morgue outside their quarters, they saw incoming wounded and bodies daily.

“You had to get tough,” she said, “because you had no choice.”

Galbraith thinks about Vietnam every day. “A smell. A song. A sound can trigger a memory. A Huey helicopter makes a particular sound. It always stops me in my tracks. There’s a kind of tree that grows there that also grows here. The smell of it burning takes me right back there. The memory of war never really leaves you.”

The struggle each felt to navigate alone has made them commit to helping other veterans.

Casali went back to school while raising her family, eventually teaching at Suffolk Community College, where many returning veterans were students. Recognizing their needs, she established a writing program specifically designed to address their lived experience as well as a Veterans Day celebration at its Eastern campus where Ken La Valle, himself a veteran, was a keynote speaker.

Today, she continues to encourage those who serve, especially women, to take full advantage of the opportunities for advancement and education available to them.

“Our country needs people who are willing to serve,” she said. “Learn as much as you can. Take opportunities. Continue the tradition of upholding honor and respect. The military will change you and the transition back into civilian life is difficult. But veterans have help available to support them. Don’t be afraid to reach out.”

Galbraith says the VFW is a good place to start. 

“At the 414, we have a member who assists with getting V.A. benefits. He does all the paperwork. We have weekly social hours where you can relax, meet and converse with other veterans. It’s a big plus when you can get advice from those who’ve served before you.

“V.A. medical services are first rate. They can’t do enough for you. And their medical teams are very attuned to veterans’ health problems.

“VFW Post 414 is open every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 4 to 10 p.m., and we welcome new members. You can stop in for a beer or a soda, watch TV, shoot pool, and meet new friends. We want to hear your ideas for new activities, too, like comedy shows, community fundraisers and dances. If you have discharge papers, stop in. We’d love to see you.”

Galbraith wants to remind veterans that their VFW is active year-round. Events include participation in March of the Gremlins in October, Sara Luna’s blanket project to make and distribute handmade blankets—140 this year—to residents of V.A. homes, collections for USMC’s Toys for Tots program, and the very popular Visit With Santa, this year from 12 to 3 p.m. on Nov. 30. Families are invited to enjoy holiday cheer, hot dogs, hot chocolate and camaraderie.

This Veterans Day, Casali and Galbraith want to remind all of us that connection is crucial.

“There are so many veterans living alone, or in veterans’ facilities and hospitals. Their families may have died. Or disappeared. They don’t get visitors. They need to know they’re not forgotten. And not only at Christmas. The need for company is year-round,” she said.