Vietnam veteran ensures every hero gets proper welcome

  • Published
  • By Samantha L. Quigley
  • American Force Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFPN) --  It happened to Steve Cobb during his first tour in Vietnam with the 11th Light Infantry Brigade. He was wounded in combat -- four times.

"I got four Purple Hearts my first tour and zero my second," Mr. Cobb said. "I finally learned to duck."

While learning to duck may have been an extremely valuable lesson, it cannot compare to what being wounded in combat taught him. That is what he draws on when, three times a week, he meets the wounded servicemembers who arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., from Iraq or Afghanistan.

It is that experience that gives him credibility when he meets one of those servicemembers, as he has been doing since April. It is also that experience that helps him put what has happened to that servicemember into perspective.

"The bond and understanding is instant, it is deep, and it's lifelong," Mr. Cobb said, "because they recognize I've been through the same thing that they have.

"It's hard to describe to someone who hasn't experienced all the trauma and the shock and the pain and the inconvenience of evacuation," he said. "It's really hard to understand what that person feels deep inside. But when you've been there and gone through that, you have that understanding and the bonding is so instant."

Mr. Cobb is currently the commander and adjutant of the Military Order of the Purple Heart Chapter 353 for the greater Washington area. He said he does not meet planes at 1 a.m. for the glory. His motivation is the reception he received when he returned from Vietnam.

"When I came home, there was nobody but demonstrators to meet the troops. And I just never wanted to see another generation of troops come home without being welcomed (and) appreciated," Mr. Cobb said.

The veteran and his wife, Tanya, said they try to meet each servicemember arriving at Andrews and offer whatever help is within their scope. Usually that includes easing hesitations and maybe even eliciting a laugh or two to put things in perspective. But the duo's main focus is to make sure nobody leaves empty-handed.

Mr. Cobb’s organization supports combat-wounded veterans of all wars. When that status has been determined regarding a particular servicemember, he or she receives a specially prepared packet of information. That packet includes information on benefits, treatment and contacts in case there are any questions or problems.

It also contains some "morale boosting" items, including a miniature Purple Heart medal, a history of the medal, a phone card, a sheet of Purple Heart postage stamps and a welcome-home letter. Also included is a year's free membership with any of the organization’s chapters.

Noncombat-injured veterans are not left out. They receive welcome-home packets from the Veterans of Foreign Wars that include a benefits brochure, a service officer card and a year's free VFW membership.

"The philosophy behind that is, if I walk into a room with six patients and three are battle injuries and three are nonbattle injuries, no patient is ever left empty-handed," Mr. Cobb said. "It's a huge morale factor, and they all appreciate it."

While the packets provide an icebreaker, getting the servicemembers to focus on the future and not dwell on the past becomes the order of the day. Mr. Cobb's weapon of choice for that pursuit is usually humor. And "Wednesday night doughnuts" do not hurt anything either, he said. Occasionally, wheelchair races have to be refereed after the doughnuts are gone.

Those who get the packets at Andrews represent about 80 percent of the wounded servicemembers coming in, he said. The other 20 percent of the troops are critical enough to be taken from the flightline at Andrews directly to Walter Reed Army Medical Center or the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where Mr. Cobb follows up to make sure the servicemembers receive a proper welcome home, including one of the two packets.

It is through these follow-up visits that Mr. Cobb said he learns what personal items the hospitals need for the servicemembers. He said the staff is not allowed to voice those needs unless asked directly, but when he broaches the subject, there are always needs. The biggest, he said, is usually breakaway sweat pants.

He said he and his wife will continue to meet the wounded servicemembers coming into Andrews with information and their own special brand of thanks, understanding and appreciation.