Vietnam veterans bring help to victims of the war

Harriman n Over 37 years since Ed Frank left Vietnam during the war, and a full 40 years after Howard Goldin arrived “in country,” these two Vietnam Veterans and members of the Spring Valley Rotary Club drove up to Orange County this month. Frank and Goldin came to Legends in Harriman on Tuesday morning of last week to inform the members of the Monroe-Woodbury Rotary about their planned trip to Vietnam from October 30 to November 18. Frank and Goldin will be part of a team of 31 volunteers traveling to Vietnam, to work on a variety of projects. They have made this post-war trip before, and their projects include the Schools To End Poverty (STEP) program, orphanages, medical clinics and senior citizen centers. “We can’t be everywhere though—we have to narrow down the number of projects in order to do quality work,” said Goldin. Goldin resides in Airmont and is a veteran of the U.S. Army. He served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, was awarded a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, and is a retired Spring Valley Police Chief. Schools built through the STEP program will offer many classes, including English. “We can go back after we sponsor a school and monitor the progress,” Frank said. Frank, a resident of Congers and volunteer firefighter, is a U.S. Navy veteran. He served from 1069 to 1970 from the Mekong Delta to Cambodia and is retired from New York City Transit. The volunteers are a mix of Rotarians and Vietnam Veterans. They can be one or the other—or both. The volunteers travel at their own expense, and the cost per person has increased from $1,900 to $3,500 since 2005 for the 20-day trips. These volunteers bring school equipment and medical supplies with them for the Vietnamese. Medical supplies can include everything from medicine to wheelchairs and ambulances. Many of the Vietnamese suffer from a condition known as water-on-the-brain. For this reason, brain shunts are a much-needed item there. The shunts are used to treat the condition by draining the water from the brain. Dr. Jo Ann Quattrone, a Warwick resident and member of the Warwick Valley Rotary Club, has been seeking donations of these items from three suppliers. She has received 30 shunts so far, and expects to get several more before leaving for her first trip to Vietnam with the volunteer team next month. Dr. Quattrone, who retired from her 15-year practice of dentistry in Monroe last year, was interviewed by telephone earlier this week. “I’ve been doing this for seven years,” she said. Her previous six trips were to Brazil, Israel, Guatemala, Grenada, Nicaragua and a U.S. Indian reservation. In addition to the brain shunts, Dr. Quattrone is collecting toothbrushes, toothpaste, body wash, shampoo, vitamins, clothing and seeds from a seed company to bring to the Vietnamese in need. “I’m packing many of those items in suitcases for others to bring,” said Quattrone. Dr. Quattrone said that she would receive some medical supplies from the International Medical Relief Foundation, and was getting some contributions from local businesses and churches. “Our group is a tool to do God’s work,” said Quattrone. This is a way for her to put into practice the motto of Rotary—Service Above Self. “It’s also about sharing peace around the world—there are no borders for me,” she said. Anyone wishing to support these Vietnamese projects can send a check payable to “Spring Valley Rotary” and mail it to P.O. Box 59, Spring Valley NY 10977. Write “Vietnam Project” on the memo line.