July 1, 1994THEY'RE ON THE ROAD TO HEALING
WW II VETS FIGHT THE PAST
July 1, 1994THEY'RE ON THE ROAD TO HEALING
WW II VETS FIGHT THE PAST
By Jonathan Dube
WHEN THE FOURTH OF JULY celebrations get under way this weekend, former
prisoners of war will not be celebrating. Despite their patriotism, they'll be
ducking for cover.
For these World War II veterans, the fireworks and other noisy celebrations
revive traumatic memories they have been struggling for nearly half a century to
forget.
"It gets you nervous and racked up," said Louis Errico, who spent more than
three years in captivity in the Philippines from April 9, 1942 to Aug. 26, 1945.
"The noise, it's like a flashback."
"I try to go someplace that is quiet," said Leonard Parente, who was in
captivity for seven months after being captured in the Battle of the Bulge.
"Even the last thunderstorm we had scared me. I was diving under the bed."
Errico and Parente are among 30 ex-POWs in a therapy group that meets weekly
to help former World War II captives cope with their anguish. The group, which
was started in 1984, is run out of the Brooklyn VA Medical Center.
Since the group first began, the psychological conditions of the ex-POWs in
it have improved dramatically, said Laura Palmer, who runs the group.
"At first, they sat here in silence," Palmer said. "They couldn't talk."
For most of the men, the group was the first place they had discussed their
experiences in depth. Many of them had not even been able to talk to their
families about their captivity, Palmer said.
"I tried to shut it out, put it into the background," said Michael Perkel, a
pilot who was shot down and held for 9 months in Germany. "I didn't know that I
had a problem until I came here."
During the group's weekly meetings, the men discuss their problems and ways
to deal with them. For example, many of the men had trouble sleeping after the
bombing of the World Trade Center because of the traumatic memories it evoked.
But the group has evolved into more than just a therapy session. In 1986,
members of the group founded the American Ex-POW Brooklyn Key Chapter, a
veteran's service organization. The chapter has raised more than $ 30,000 for
the Brooklyn VA Medical Center in the past two years.
Although the men in the group still have physical scars from their captivity,
such as blindness and limps, they all say the worst scar is the psychological
pain they have had to endure.
Soldiers tortured Colecronio Lao, who was held captive in Leyte, Philippines,
from May 23, 1942, to April 15, 1943. Lao, who now lives in Brooklyn, was
fighting with the Philippine Army.
"I said to myself, 'If I have to give up my life, so be it,' " said Lao,
whose arms and legs were chained and who was put in solitary confinement and
starved. "I would not squeal."
After almost a year in captivity, Lao escaped. "I made friends with some
sentries," he said. "The Japanese were humans, too."
While in captivity, most of the men's weight dropped to less than 100 pounds.
They were forced to eat cats, rats, snakes and bugs for nourishment. But even
after they were freed, they said, their lives never returned to normal.
"Ninety-nine percent of us had serious drinking problems after we got out,"
said Michael Cunningham, an infantry machine gunner who was held in captivity
for seven months after being captured at the Battle of the Bulge.
"The alcohol used to pacify us temporarily," said Cunningham, who still has
frequent flashbacks, "but then later, after you wake up, it's all back again."
Peter Leone, who was held from November 1944 to September 1945 in Romania,
said the therapy group has changed his life. Leone, a Brooklyn native who lives
in Gravesend, used to move wildly and hit his wife in his sleep.
"I was a real nervous breakdown until I came here," said Leone, who ran away
from his wife and children several times over the years. "I would flare up. I
couldn't take it any more." He is now back with his wife.
Even though his condition has improved greatly since he joined the therapy
group, Leone - like the others in the group - cannot escape his past.
"I still get hot every now and then, and can't control it," he said. "I want
to forget, but I can't."
Staff Writer
