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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
BY RICHARD CURREY
The notion of leading a local VVA chapter and helping to
build it into a vibrant force in the organization was not
part of Randy Wright’s personal agenda in the late
summer of 1971. Fresh from the Vietnam War as an Army platoon
commander, Wright was intent on becoming a lawyer.
“I
got out of the Army in August and started law school at the
end of that month,” Wright said. “To call
law school a culture shock would be a gross understatement.
I was totally absorbed in readjusting to civilian life, succeeding
academically, becoming an attorney, and building my practice.”
Along
the way, however, Wright’s thoughts returned
to his days as a 1st Lieutenant with the 3rd Bn., 21st Inf.,
196th Light Infantry Brigade, in the Tam Ky area west of
Chu Lai and later in the Que Son Valley west of Danang. “Back
here at home I watched the progress of the war and the impact
of the antiwar movement, and at the same time saw the neglect
and abuse of Vietnam veterans. I started to wonder if I shouldn’t
play a more active role if there wasn’t something I
could do. I wanted to see if I could make a difference.”
In
the early 1980s Wright investigated veterans’ organizations.
He looked into the VFW and American Legion but wasn’t
happy with what he found. “Both were still dominated
by World War II vets and, at least in my community, were
indifferent or patronizing to Vietnam vets.”
When the
young lawyer tried a meeting of VVA’s Detroit-based
Chapter 9, he liked what he saw and heard. He joined and
went on to serve on several committees. Wright was soon elected
to the Chapter 9 Board of Directors and became Chapter President
in 1983. “Between 1983 and 1985 we grew Chapter 9 from
less than 200 members to about 800 members. And we created
a new chapter headquarters building that taught me a great
deal about what can be achieved in a community and on behalf
of veterans.”
The campaign to reclaim and restore an
abandoned and decaying building in downtown Detroit is illustrative
of Randy Wright’s
focus, as well as the entrepreneurial, negotiating, and organizational
skills he brought to VVA. The building, which formerly housed
a restaurant, was purchased by Chapter 9 before Wright was
president. The aim had always been to create the chapter
headquarters on that site, but the project was stalled and
the building remained shuttered.
After Wright became president,
he mobilized the chapter’s
energies and directed efforts that sparked widespread community
support. “We received tremendous volunteer and financial
assistance from labor unions, the Association of General
Contractors, and other community groups,” Wright said. “We
had a campaign theme: We Are All Vietnam Veterans. We took
back the streets in that neighborhood, pushed out the drug
dealers, and launched a revitalization of that entire section
of urban Detroit. A local television special was even produced
about the project.”
If the new Chapter 9 Headquarters
invigorated a failing sector of the city, it also helped
to redefine the notion of community service by a group of
veterans that had seen itself stereotyped in film and television
as the “tripwire generation,” sold
to the rest of America as a band of freaked-out, ready-to-snap
men hovering on the borders of society. Wright recalls many
of the TV police shows of the period where the bad guys were
all too often Vietnam veterans. The rationale and merits
of the war were under fire, and its veterans were misunderstood. “Or,” as
Wright recalled, “more often we were simply ignored.”
Under
Wright’s leadership, Chapter 9 helped to change
public perception of Vietnam veterans, challenge stereotypes,
and make an authentic difference in the life of a city. “It
was very gratifying,” Wright said, “when we were
able to host the 1985 National Convention. I saw—and
I know others did, too—the power and influence of grassroots
efforts.”
One of the highlights of that convention was
the appearance of Jim Armstrong on the Convention floor and
in its meeting rooms. In addition to his Chapter 9 responsibilities,
Wright was serving as VVA National Committee Chair for Prison
Initiatives. Armstrong was president of the incarcerated
VVA chapter at Jackson Prison. “Jim and I negotiated
his release to attend the Convention. He was accompanied
by two armed guards who volunteered for the duty, and I’m
pretty sure they were Vietnam vets, too,” Wright said. “Jim
did a great job and provided great leadership for the vets
at the prison. The warden really appreciated his work and
responded to our request accordingly. Bringing Jim out to
represent incarcerated vets and join his brothers on the
outside was truly memorable.
“It was around this time
that I was invited to serve on the VVA National Board of
Directors.” Elected originally
by the existing board to fill a vacancy, Wright was elected
for a full term at the next convention. “I had been
able to demonstrate leadership and organizational skills
at the local level, and it was my privilege to bring my organizational,
business, and legal skills to the National BOD level. Even
more important, perhaps, was my willingness to be led as
well as lead.”
It was as a BOD member that Wright was
introduced to international outreach and policy. He found
himself grappling with some of the pivotal issues that have
faced this generation of veterans, including POW/MIA concerns,
Agent Orange, Amerasian children, and the delivery of medical
supplies to Vietnam despite the American embargo.
“I
have such tremendous respect for everyone I worked with at
VVA. I learned a great deal from everybody I encountered,” he
said. “It was VVA that helped shape work I’ve
continued to do as a board member of Search for Common Ground,
an organization committed to Track II diplomacy, which is
negotiation and conflict resolution offered by non-government
resources and individuals.”
Randy Wright will turn 61
in August, and he’s not slowing
down. He maintains a busy law practice in Birmingham, Michigan,
where he is general counsel to many corporations in the United
States and abroad. He is a member of the Alternative Dispute
Resolution Sections of both the American Bar Association
and the Michigan Bar. He also is a member of the Board of
Trustees of the Birmingham Education Foundation, which works
with the Birmingham Public School District in seeking projects
that promise to enhance learning for all students but cannot
be funded without private support.
In 2002 Wright took time
out from this formidably busy life to travel back to Vietnam
with his 18-year-old son. “I
walked trails I had once walked in full combat gear, with
my platoon, over 30 years ago. I looked ahead to see a kid
about the same age as my guys were when we were here as soldiers,
except this time I was looking at my son. It was eerie.”
Wright
characterizes the return to Vietnam as “amazing,
totally awesome,” and credits the trip with allowing
his son to come to a greater understanding of the war and
its costs. Many of these insights later fueled a father-son
presentation at Wright’s son’s high school.
But
the trip did something else for Randy Wright, cementing his
belief that veterans of all wars and all generations must
maintain their ties. “Stay in touch with your
brothers in arms,” he said. “Join a veterans’ organization.
There will always be a common bond between you that non-vets
will envy but they will never comprehend.”
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2011, Vietnam Veterans of America. All Rights Reserved. 8719 Colesville Road, Suite 100, Silver Spring, MD 20910