“There were just so many ways of getting killed during the Vietnam War,” said U.S. Army veteran Ron Trovato. “We thought about coming home every day.” Trovato and several other vets from local Chapter 20 of Vietnam Veterans of America stood in the library at Churchville-Chili High School for two days in early April, speaking with students and answering their questions about the Vietnam War.
Veterans from Chapter 20 have been visiting U.S. History classes at Churchville-Chili for almost a decade now. This year, 11th-graders in both Regents and AP classes hosted U.S. Army veterans Trovato, Joe Peck and Valentino Gatto, along with ex-Marine Chuck Macaluso and Ken Allocco, a former B52 Master Crew Chief for the U.S. Air Force.
The students, barely younger than these vets had been when they headed to Vietnam, listened intently as their visitors discussed their first-hand experience of what is now American history.
The vets discussed many topics, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the impact of Agent Orange. Trovato said that without the herbicide that cleared foliage and left no place for snipers to hide, many soldiers would not have come home at all. Unfortunately, thousands of vets have paid a steep price with serious health problems caused by Agent Orange. Even Peck, who was stationed in Germany, was touched by the effects of the pesticide. He was exposed at Seneca Army Depot, where the herbicide was sprayed regularly.
Students asked about daily life “in country,” fighting an unseen enemy, the draft, and the social and political environment of the 1960s and 1970s. All the veterans remembered how difficult it had been to come home to a country that did not appreciate the sacrifices they had made. “I was met by angry protesters at the airport,” said Trovato. “Like many vets, I just folded up my uniform and tried to pretend it had never happened.”
The annual visit was arranged by teacher Elizabeth Hoelperl, who, along with teachers Kyle Poag, Chelsea Carl, Katie Armstrong, Loren Inglese, James Rinella and Michael Bayerl, helped students make connections between their studies and the stories they heard from people who lived the history.
For more information on Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 20 in Rochester, visit www.vva20.org/.
Provided information
