The Legacy Of Craig Venter: Vietnam Veterans

Craig Venter, a biotechnologist who had fought in the Vietnam War, once said, “The Vietnam War totally turned my life around. Some people's lives were eliminated or destroyed by the experience. I was one of the fortunate few who came out better off.” The Vietnam War was a treacherous battle for many veterans. Even though Wayne Chevalier was not in many battles, he still had experiences that he still remembers today. Wayne had skills that he used to survive in the war and overall, he is lucky to be alive today. Wayne Chevalier had an interesting time in the war. In remembering Vietnam veterans, it is important to remember how injuries could impair them, the skills they used to help survive, and how some of them experienced traumatic moments.

Overall, these injuries can affect a veteran throughout their life. David Niles interviewed an especially interesting veteran from the Vietnam War named, Wayne Chevalier. Although Wayne wasn’t in a battle with guns, he did receive an injury while training in boot camp. While he was running with the rest of his company, a car came down the road that hit him and many others. He stated, “Well, that was something I’ll never forget because before we got back to the barracks, we got hit from the back by a vehicle going 45 mph. It hit hard enough that the driver hit the steering wheel and was knocked unconscious, and never did stop, and dragged us about 100 and some feet down the road” (Chevalier). That moment when he was hit is something that Wayne will never forget. Even though he gained minor injuries from it, the traumatic moment where he saw others lose their life caused him to remember those short seconds

Many veterans experienced near death moments. Wayne almost died twice, once when he was run over and another when he was almost flattened by metal equipment. In an article by Keith Upchurch it said, “Veterans in particular often feel frustrated and alone, because medical professionals often don’t listen to their near-death accounts and take them seriously.” Those near-death moments are what can cause post traumatic stress disorder. Medical Professionals, however, ignored those problems causing many to suffer from it (Upchurch). Wayne’s problems were ignored by people, this caused him to constantly relive those disturbing