Friends worth fighting in war for

Former Clovis resident Ian Cooke’s experiences as a 19-year-old “tunnel rat” in Vietnam reminded me of my distant brush with the war.

When the North overran the South , I was a Navy electronic spy on Guam—2,500 miles away. Eventually, more than 111,000 Vietnamese refugees were transported to Guam and housed in tent cities while being processed for resettlement—mostly in the U.S.

I volunteered in some insignificant capacity, and in my job intercepted desperate messages out of Saigon.

Because of anti-American sentiment, we had been warned not to travel to Thailand. But I couldn’t resist hitching a ride on an Air Force tanker to experience the Buddhist-dominated culture.

During a cross-country trip by bus, taxi and rickshaw, the only dangers I encountered were assaults on my bulging wallet by entrepreneurs who guessed correctly I was heterosexual.

Cooke, now living in Tucson, Arizona, could smell the war.

As his company’s smallest man, he crawled into tunnels to search for the enemy.

Fired at several times, his “reflexes were quicker than theirs. I didn’t use my flashlight and let my eyes adjust to the darkness. I could see their shadows, then fired my Luger (pistol) toward the muzzle flashes. After that, they stopped moving,” Cooke said.

While on a two-man reconnaissance patrol, Cooke and his partner came under fire from an enemy two-man patrol. After the first shot, his partner ran away.

Cooke was hit in the femur, and spent years in and out of VA hospitals undergoing muscle transfers, skin grafts and other surgeries to repair the damage.

The enemy followed his blood to where he was slumped against a tree. In the ensuing firefight, he killed both.

His partner became “a victim of the jungle” (a euphemism for what happens to cowards by friendly forces).

Now on 100 percent disability from numerous complications from his gunshot, after graduating from college after the war, Cooke joined Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) — working with Native Americans in California.

He also worked in the newspaper business, and promoted concerts (Linda Ronstadt, Rick Nelson, Warren Zevon, etc.)—which he got out of “because of the unhealthy lifestyle.”

When he was young, Cooke’s family immigrated from Scotland to Canada and then Arizona. “My parents and my brother and I became naturalized citizens,” he said. “Though I was against the war, I felt a duty to serve.”

After returning home, where “like most Viet Nam veterans, I was invisible,” he joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War.

Cooke never fought out of patriotism, but “to protect my buddies. The war was a waste of over 50,000 American lives.”

He also feels the U.S. involvement in the Middle East is a waste of lives and treasure.

“I knew that the WMD's (weapons of mass destruction) was a crock of crap,” Cooke said. “The Bush/Cheney Middle East policy was and is a complete sham and created the mess we are in.”

Cooke, diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, admits forming lasting relationships is difficult, and combat — where “it was kill or be killed” — left him “with zero tolerance for B.S.”

Contact Wendel Sloan at: [email protected]