LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – For the past century Americans have been constantly going off to somewhere in the far corners of the earth to fight a war. Nine times in all. Enough to give the U.S. the dubious distinction of cops of the world.
Although the nation prides itself on striving for world peace, the reality for the U.S. is there were always wars and there always will be wars with the resulting military casualties.
Given that, Lake County can only hope that there will always be individuals such as Bob Penny to ensure that the U.S. men and women who come back from the wars – sometimes damaged physically, sometimes psychologically – are properly treated.
Often Penny has seen veterans who weren't properly treated before they got to him.
Penny, who will retire after 20 years as a Lake County Veterans Service Officer on Tuesday, April 1, knows what mistreatment is like, not only because of his two decades of assisting war veterans but because he himself experienced mistreatment when he served with the U.S. Navy in Vietnam and came home a reviled anti-hero.
“We were physically spit on several times in the '70s,” Penny recalls. “We who were involved in Vietnam were the perpetrators, the bad guys.
“It was a message passed on from every guy who went home. As an individual my main reason for being here for this length of time is to give back to veterans who weren't honored during the time they were in the service.”
Penny says that although, like Vietnam, a majority of Americans came to oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, attitudes toward veterans of these wars have improved.
“Back during Vietnam people were against the war and the veterans,” he said. “Nowadays they're against the war with a lot of people saying, 'What the hell are we doing there?' But they're not against the veteran.”
Still, after seeing how Penny was treated, his son avoided the military. Conversely, it became the catalyst for Penny to do all he could to assist veterans for all these years. Seeing to it that they received the full measure of benefits owed to them.
“We're taking care of everybody in the military today because the Vietnam veterans were tired of being treated the way we were,” said Penny.
There's another reason Penny stuck with assisting military veterans over such a long stretch: the military wasn't.
“No, not at all,” he said in response to the question of whether the government is providing enough services to vets. “They just pass the veteran through and let the VA handle him.”
Ginny Craven, founder of of Operation Tango Mike, agrees with Penny.
“There's been a lot of brain injuries,” including post traumatic stress disorder, she said. “A lot of guys are coming home with injuries that are not visible. They need to be made a priority. We need to refocus our priorities and take care of those serving in our military before others.”
Penny saw combat and was injured while serving aboard a PBR (patrol boat, river) in the “Brown Water Navy” that plied the rivers and inlets of Vietnam. He still walks with a limp. But he walks proud.
“He's caring and very professional,” said Frank Parker, president of the United Veterans Council of Lake County, who has known Penny professionally for a decade. “He does everything in his power to make sure that the veterans know what they're doing when they apply for the benefits they've earned. He's just an outstanding individual.”
Craven, whose Operation Tango Mike organization sends monthly care packages to deployed troops, and has worked with Penny in coordinating welcome-homes and send-offs.
“He's tenacious,” she said. “When he goes to bat for (veterans) he really goes to bat. He never gave up on a case; he took them through the system.”
The toughest cases for Penny's were ones involving young veterans of 19 or 20 whose lives have been ruined by post traumatic stress disorder.
“Some of them were very severe and are just going from day to day trying to live and function, which is very difficult for them,” he said.
“They've been exposed to IEDs (improvised exposive devices) that have damaged their brains so bad they can't even take care of themselves anymore. There's nothing that's going to make that better. We give them money because of their disabilities, but they aren't able to function on their own again. They'll never be able to hold a job,” he said.
“There are treatments that help but nothing to get these people back to the way they were. It's very hard to take emotionally when you're dealing with that,” Penny added.
How does he, personally, feel about the U.S. military?
“I think it has a purpose,” he said. “Sometimes as veterans we feel that our military services are misguided and that, at times, maybe the legislators that guide the military. The purpose of what we do is not always for the purpose of what they state.
“So you wonder what their reason really is for going to war. Most veterans question why they're there.”
Email John Lindblom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .