A follow up to Frank: A Vietnam vet

In November 1981 public television aired a one-hour program that was carried by most of the public television stations in the U.S.A. The program was a Portrait of a Vietnam Veteran. Along with the airing of the program went the hope that stations would have telephone operators who were themselves Vets or counsellors in the various studios to answer telephone calls form other Vietnam veterans who might want or need to call and talk about the horror that was Vietnam for them.In our case we had the telephone operators but we also taped another program that we broadcast following the national program. We filled a theatre with veterans and psychologists and wives and friends of veterans; we had them all screen the Frank: portrait of a Vietnam Veteran program and then talk about their experiences. The Follow-Up tape is the result of that taping. The participants were told they could say anything—use any word—and we promised them we would air their views as they expressed them. This page is edited for brevity’s sake from a little over an hour live taping.This program is part of a continuing series called Seven Dirty Words, the purpose of which is to air biased, one-sided, controversial, dissenting views. It fills a need and fulfils a requirement that televisions stations in the United States air the views of all voices.It is significant that there is no other television series of its kind in the North American continent. It is also significant that it is a very popular series in our state and is applauded by viewers representing any and all socio-economic groups, ideologies, and values.