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American Morning

Interview With Vietnam War Veteran Jim Mayer

Aired September 03, 2003 - 07:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: American casualties in Iraq have increased dramatically since the 1st of May. That's when the president declared that major operations were over. The number of U.S. troops wounded in action has been overshadowed by the number of soldiers killed over the past four months.
Jim Mayer lost both of his legs during the Vietnam War. For more than a decade now, he's been volunteering at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and recently he's been spending his time visiting with wounded soldiers returning from Iraq. Jim Mayer is our guest this morning live in D.C.

Good to see you, sir. Good morning to you.

JIM MAYER, VIETNAM WAR VETERAN: Good morning.

HEMMER: Why do you think it is that we hear so little about the injured in Iraq?

MAYER: Well, I would just speculate that I think we hear the most about, and rightfully so, those who are killed in action. I think we don't hear that much about those who were with them and were injured in the same incidents.

HEMMER: Do you believe that's because of the number of injuries that are occurring? "The Washington Post" yesterday says it's on average 10 Americans a day.

MAYER: I think it's more a matter of policy of how they release the information. All I know is what I see as a volunteer at Walter Reed and at Bethesda Naval. Right now at Walter Reed I've never seen so many amputees as I have since 1991.

HEMMER: Is that right?

MAYER: Yes.

HEMMER: That goes over 12 years. What do they ask you?

MAYER: Well, their questions range kind of like where they're at in terms of their injury. You know, it's kind of like how I used to think when I was blown up. First, it's like in their enduring stages or their suffering stages, their surgeries, their pains, am I going to make it through today? And it's a lot of questions about how to live in the hospital and how long am I going to be in the hospital? That quickly kind of gets to what we've been trained to call reconciling. What's the extent of my loss, what do I have left and what are the possibilities in life afterwards?

HEMMER: How can you comfort them, Jim?

MAYER: Well, I try to do it in terms of what they say they need, but it generally hits kind of three areas. First, I try to be a companion. I try to be a helper, and then I try to be a friend. And I think I also try to translate whatever they're going through to what my own experience was, and let them know that they're doing a faster recovery than I did.

HEMMER: How is that?

MAYER: Well, kind of twofold. I think military medicine has advanced even more from -- my life was saved. I really shouldn't have lived when I was injured in Vietnam. That's still true for the military today, but they're saving limbs that should have been amputated because they're so good and so quick.

The second thing is I can only ascribe it to, in today's Army and in the Navy and in the Marine Corps, everybody seems to be in a lot better physical shape. They seem to be able to translate their savvy professional skills, if you would, into their own rehab, so they get better fast.

HEMMER: Tell me about the men and women you meet on a personal level. How do they strike you?

MAYER: Well, I mean, the first thing that comes to my mind is they bring out -- when you get to know them, immediately you have an intense sense of admiration. If we would take a measure of America's future by our youth that I have met, we have a great future as a country. They are highly motivated. They are professional. And they're mature beyond their years.

So, their average age that I'm seeing them in is like 20 to 24, sometimes as young as 18. I sometimes believe I'm talking to a person that's 10 years older.

HEMMER: Is that so?

MAYER: Yes.

HEMMER: How many of these people would you say want to go back and join their unit?

MAYER: You know, that's another difference than compared to my Vietnam experience. I'd say almost 70 percent want to stay in, and they strongly identify with their unit. I know one who went back on an artificial limb to requalify for his job as a mortar crew gunner.

HEMMER: Wow!

MAYER: Yes.

HEMMER: Thanks for sharing, Jim. I know they call you the "milkshake man" down there because of your history for bringing milkshakes to those who need it. So, a great story. Thanks for sharing, and best of luck to you, OK?

MAYER: Thank you so much.

HEMMER: Much appreciated.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired September 3, 2003 - 07:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: American casualties in Iraq have increased dramatically since the 1st of May. That's when the president declared that major operations were over. The number of U.S. troops wounded in action has been overshadowed by the number of soldiers killed over the past four months.
Jim Mayer lost both of his legs during the Vietnam War. For more than a decade now, he's been volunteering at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and recently he's been spending his time visiting with wounded soldiers returning from Iraq. Jim Mayer is our guest this morning live in D.C.

Good to see you, sir. Good morning to you.

JIM MAYER, VIETNAM WAR VETERAN: Good morning.

HEMMER: Why do you think it is that we hear so little about the injured in Iraq?

MAYER: Well, I would just speculate that I think we hear the most about, and rightfully so, those who are killed in action. I think we don't hear that much about those who were with them and were injured in the same incidents.

HEMMER: Do you believe that's because of the number of injuries that are occurring? "The Washington Post" yesterday says it's on average 10 Americans a day.

MAYER: I think it's more a matter of policy of how they release the information. All I know is what I see as a volunteer at Walter Reed and at Bethesda Naval. Right now at Walter Reed I've never seen so many amputees as I have since 1991.

HEMMER: Is that right?

MAYER: Yes.

HEMMER: That goes over 12 years. What do they ask you?

MAYER: Well, their questions range kind of like where they're at in terms of their injury. You know, it's kind of like how I used to think when I was blown up. First, it's like in their enduring stages or their suffering stages, their surgeries, their pains, am I going to make it through today? And it's a lot of questions about how to live in the hospital and how long am I going to be in the hospital? That quickly kind of gets to what we've been trained to call reconciling. What's the extent of my loss, what do I have left and what are the possibilities in life afterwards?

HEMMER: How can you comfort them, Jim?

MAYER: Well, I try to do it in terms of what they say they need, but it generally hits kind of three areas. First, I try to be a companion. I try to be a helper, and then I try to be a friend. And I think I also try to translate whatever they're going through to what my own experience was, and let them know that they're doing a faster recovery than I did.

HEMMER: How is that?

MAYER: Well, kind of twofold. I think military medicine has advanced even more from -- my life was saved. I really shouldn't have lived when I was injured in Vietnam. That's still true for the military today, but they're saving limbs that should have been amputated because they're so good and so quick.

The second thing is I can only ascribe it to, in today's Army and in the Navy and in the Marine Corps, everybody seems to be in a lot better physical shape. They seem to be able to translate their savvy professional skills, if you would, into their own rehab, so they get better fast.

HEMMER: Tell me about the men and women you meet on a personal level. How do they strike you?

MAYER: Well, I mean, the first thing that comes to my mind is they bring out -- when you get to know them, immediately you have an intense sense of admiration. If we would take a measure of America's future by our youth that I have met, we have a great future as a country. They are highly motivated. They are professional. And they're mature beyond their years.

So, their average age that I'm seeing them in is like 20 to 24, sometimes as young as 18. I sometimes believe I'm talking to a person that's 10 years older.

HEMMER: Is that so?

MAYER: Yes.

HEMMER: How many of these people would you say want to go back and join their unit?

MAYER: You know, that's another difference than compared to my Vietnam experience. I'd say almost 70 percent want to stay in, and they strongly identify with their unit. I know one who went back on an artificial limb to requalify for his job as a mortar crew gunner.

HEMMER: Wow!

MAYER: Yes.

HEMMER: Thanks for sharing, Jim. I know they call you the "milkshake man" down there because of your history for bringing milkshakes to those who need it. So, a great story. Thanks for sharing, and best of luck to you, OK?

MAYER: Thank you so much.

HEMMER: Much appreciated.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.