VietNow
National Magazine
Veterans Incarcerated
Veterans Incarcerated
Chapter Meeting in Nebraska
By Matt Davison – VietNow
National Veterans Incarcerated Chair
Matt
Davison |
|
It was a privilege to
visit with the troops at TSCI (Tecumseh
State Correctional Institute in Nebraska)
one evening last September. There was
Bob Gutsche, John and Sandy Davis, and
me from VietNow. And along with us were
Nebraska State Senator DiAnne Schimek,
Tecumseh VFW members Leonard Gauchat
and Clarence Hupka, and Lawrence Obrist
from the vet center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Here on this page are some of our impressions
from the meeting.
This was my second visit with the Tecumseh
State Correctional Institute VietNow
chapter (Nebraska - Incarcerated), and
equally as rewarding as the first.
Once
again, branch-of-service banners hung
in the large meeting room, refreshments
were available, and references to VietNow
were everywhere. This is a sizable chapter,
and members attend their meetings.
The
spiritual leader of the chapter, a Native
American, calls himself Laddie. He arrives
carrying an eagle feather, which carries
great power in his tradition. This time
he also has prayer ties, which are squares
of colored cloth representing the “Four
Directions of the Universe,” and
the “Four Colors of Mankind.”
Laddie
is an outgoing, take-charge guy,
and he began the meeting by having
everyone form a circle with their chairs.
In the Native American tradition, all
of life is a circle and spiritual events
always take place in a circle. Laddie
then shared his innermost thoughts
with attendees, especially speaking
to those veterans who still carry the
mental wounds of combat and who are tormented
by the memory of battle.
It is obvious
that Laddie commands great respect from
chapter members and guests alike. He
speaks directly to the soul of the veteran
and is moved by the emotion he feels for
his audience. When he is finished speaking,
Laddie goes to each individual in attendance
and blesses them with the eagle feather.
Laddie says he believes that the Creator
has led him to TSCI to attend to the
spiritual needs of veterans incarcerated,
and that this is his mission for the
remainder of his days upon the Mother
Earth. It is obvious that he carries
out this mission with strong compassion
for all who have served and sacrificed
for America’s
freedom.
 At the conclusion of the
meeting, Laddie presented me with
his prayer ties, and in the Native American
tradition, he asked me to burn them
at the end of four days so that the
smoke of these ties would carry his
prayers to the Four Directions. I
burned them on the fourth night and
said a special prayer for Laddie and each of
the TSCI VietNow members.
Matt Davison,
Veterans Advocate with Joint Efforts,
Inc., began working with veterans incarcerated
two years ago through the creation of
the Veterans Support Group at the Federal
Corrections Institution at Terminal Island,
San Pedro, CA. He has also counseled
pre-release veterans at the Los Angeles
County facility in Lynwood, CA., and
worked to get a veterans incarcerated
support group set up at San Quentin.
He received the “Beacon of Light” award
from FCI Terminal Island for developing
the fastest-growing program at the institution.
Back to main Veterans Incarcerated page.
Back
to top of page.
VietNow
National
1835 Broadway – Rockford, Illinois
61104
800.837.VNOW – 815.227.5100
vnnatl@inwave.com
We can't continue our work without
your help.
Please click here to donate
now.
|
