Carefree Truth
Issue #531, November 25, 2016
MC Ted Dimon introduced keynote speaker Joseph Brett. Mr. Brett is currently a board member of the Veterans Heritage Project and a Past President of the Scottsdale Sister City Association. He has served as a board member of the Harvard Club of Phoenix and Secretary of the Arizona- Kazakhstan Foundation. He is the creator and co- host of a radio show and podcast called “Front and Center,” as well as Executive Producer of two veteran-centric films at the Scottsdale Community College Film School.
Prior to moving to Arizona in 1994, Mr. Brett was project manager for public administration programs in Central and Eastern Europe, Kharkov, Ukraine and Almaty, Kazakhstan. He was also a Project Assistant for the Harvard Institute for International Development, based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
He earned a Master of Public Administration degree (MPA) from the Harvard Kennedy School, with a focus in International Development. He also earned a MS Degree in Secondary Education Administration from the State University of Minnesota and holds permanent teaching and administration certifications in New York State.
Mr. Brett was born and raised in Watertown, New York, graduating from Watertown High School and St. Bonaventure University, where he lettered in Soccer and Baseball. He earned a BS in Economics. He also received an ROTC commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army.
Upon graduation he served two years of active duty including one tour in Vietnam with the 108th Artillery Group, Dong Ha. There, he flew as an aerial artillery observer & forward air controller along the DMZ, from the South China Sea to Laos and into North Vietnam. His call sign was Sundowner Yankee.
Among Lt. Brett’s awards are the Bronze Star Medal, 20 Air Medals, the Army Commendation Medal and Air Crew Wings.
Prior to Mr. Brett’s international work, he held appointed positions in New York State Government, including Regional Director of the Department of Economic Development and Executive Director of the Temporary Commission on Dioxin Exposure (Agent Orange). In addition, he was a founding member and first President of the Capital District Vietnam Veterans Association.
Mr. Brett is proud to be on the Board of the Veterans Heritage Project (VHP). They "adopted" him in 2010. He was asked to lecture in Barbara Hatch's high school classes and she interviewed him. A few weeks later, he got an envelope in the mail from Mrs. Hatch filled with letters from her students. Each student expressed what they had gleaned from his teaching and what it meant to them. He and his wife cried. The program has been a true joy for Mr. Brett, an example of taking that unexpected fork in the road that was talked about earlier in the day.
Students have been an integral blessing in his life. The events leading him to stand at the podium in front of us began in Kazakhstan with an 8th grade student. The week before, he had been at the Vietnam War Memorial where, as a certified Park Ranger, he had been a docent. He had marched at the dedication of the Memorial. He learned a lot about the fabric of America doing etchings of the names and giving them to families. As Mr. Brett was leaving the Memorial, he stopped at the kiosk where they were selling lapel pins, one of which bore the insignia of his disbanded unit, which he had not seen previously, so he bought the 4 remaining pins.
A week later, on Thanksgiving Day, Mr. Brett was in Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan, heading a delegation. After shaking off the jet lag, they were taken to a State farm and vineyard. After learning about the wines and cognacs made there, they sat down for a meal with all the wines and cognacs placed in front of them. He jokingly called it "terrorism by hospitality". After the head of the State farm welcomed them, it was Mr. Brett's turn to speak as the head of their delegation.
Mr. Brett had quit drinking in 1987, but here he was not just expected to drink, he was expected to DRINK. All the veterans were doing shots of vodka. He explained to the interpreter that, while in Vietnam, he got shot at with the AK 47 rifles they made so well that he can't drink with them anymore, and he requested mineral water. It rippled through the gathering that Mr. Brett was a Vietnam veteran. He raised a glass of his "awful mineral water", saying it was a pleasure to be there and that they had been kept apart far too long by the Cold War. Long may there be peace and friendship between our 2 great peoples and countries; then he saluted and toasted.
The next speaker was a Cossack with a big glass of vodka. While they were getting their picture taken shaking hands, he said he was also a Vietnam veteran, but on the other side. He was a Soviet advisor. Mr. Brett asked him what he did there. He said he was shooting down airplanes. Mr. Brett exclaimed, "I was in those airplanes!" and asked why he was trying to shoot him down. The Cossack replied, "I wasn't trying to shoot you down. I just wanted you to come down and have a drink with me!" "He nailed me good. The last time I had a drink, I was trying to out-drink the Marine Corps in Vietnam. And this Cossack nailed me."
They rode together in the van on the way back, and Mr. Brett remembered that he had the lapel pin from the Memorial. He gave it to the Cossack, explaining that it was his unit's insignia, but that now it was a heart, and that meant love and peace. The Cossack said he knew what that meant, and gave him a kiss on each cheek, Cossack style. Mr. Brett said they were both lucky to have survived their situations. The Cossack responded, "All the world's a stage, and we are merely actors." Shakespeare is not what Mr. Brett had expected in Kazakhstan from the descendents of Genghis Khan.
Mr. Brett saw him a few days later and asked how he liked the pin. Kazakhstan is a place that values oral history, the passing down of stories from one generation to the next, as is done by the VHP. The Cossack said he had given it to his daughter, who was in the 8th grade. She took it to school and told everyone about the pin that was given to her father by a former enemy who's now a friend here to help us. He was stunned, dumbfounded, by the affect that this 8th grade student he'd never met had on him. It guided his life and brought him here to be with us at the Carefree Veteran's Day event.
His next stop was Kharkov, Ukraine. It was 1992. The wall had just fallen in 1989, so this was all new and no one was sure if they were enemies or friends. A journalist asked if Mr. Brett had any anecdotes about his time in Eastern Europe. He related the story about the Cossack who wanted him to come down and have a drink with him. They loved it. It got on the front page of the newspaper. He realized that the pin had given him entree into this community, and that he was bonding with, of all people, veterans. "We get it. We are brothers. It is a universal story."
Back in the U.S., Mr. Brett prepared to give a tour of Washington, D.C. to 13 of the people from Kazakhstan and 13 from the Ukraine that he had met while in their countries. They were visiting D.C. and their respective sister cities, Tucson and Cincinnati. So, he ordered 100 of the lapel pins. The tour itinerary included the Supreme Court, Congress, the Library of Congress, the FBI (the KGB did not allow visitors, so he thought they would get a kick out of this). He also took them to the National Archives, where the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are enshrined. He explained to the visitors that those in military or government service do not swear allegiance to any bible, monarch, czar, or president; they pledge alliance to the flag, swearing to protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies both foreign and domestic. That was pretty significant for them.
On the last night they were there, he took them to the Vietnam War Memorial, where he had been a docent. He took them to the apex, and explained that the Memorial had been designed by an Asian who was an architectural student at Yale University, so it looked different than other memorials in both this country and in theirs.
It is unique, and one of the most visited in Washington, D.C. and in the country because it evokes emotion. At the apex, it starts in 1959 on the East Wall with the first man killed in Vietnam, and goes out to May 25th, 1968. Each time the alphabet is repeated, it represents a new day. They are listed according to the date they were killed. Each recycling of the alphabet is a new day of death. It picks up on the West Wall in May of 1968 and is brought back to the center, where the last man killed is joined with the first. It is Buddhist imagery. Life through death is reflected. The Memorial points to the Washington Monument to the east and to the Lincoln Memorial to the west, completing the circle of the plaza.
Mr. Brett told his visitors that it is up to us, now that we have met and spent time together, to be instruments of peace. He gave each one a lapel pin. All were former military men. Everyone was in tears, and the passersby were transfixed by the scene. Former enemies were reflected in the Memorial apex. A former Soviet Colonel hugged him and was crying. The Col. said, "Every soldier should be a veteran." Mr. Brett was stunned. Former enemies met, and everybody "got" it. All veterans everywhere know what it means to sacrifice, to put duty above self.
He thought that was the end of his journey. What could possibly be better than this? Back at the hotel, all were wearing their pins at dinner and bragging about being in "Joe Brett's unit". After dinner, they retreated to a room Mr. Brett had stocked with liquor, and they all opened up to him. One said, "We have no hope, we have no future." He had been involved in putting down the uprising in Poland, and was ashamed of what he did and saw there. The Col. who had hugged Mr. Brett earlier put his hand on this man's shoulder and said, "How can we be lost when we're in America talking about such things?" This made Mr. Brett personalize the idea of reaching out to others from different cultures. There is a bond there that he hopes can be used for good. And it all started because of a student.
He saw students at the Carefree Veteran's Day event who have grasped and internalized from our veterans what it means to serve. Other cultures look to their veterans the same way. Maybe 100 to 200 years ago, Native Americans sat in this sacred sundial spot, their elders and warriors spreading their myths and traditions to their children. The ability to unite with students is magical, tangible. You can see it in their eyes; it transforms their lives. They look for the other fork in the road. This is true here and elsewhere. Mr. Brett felt honored to speak for VHP. There is not a false note. It is holistic and valuable to share stories.
Mr. Dimon told the audience that if they haven't seen the
Vietnam War Memorial, "Put it in your bucket. It's everything Joseph told us about."
https://vimeo.com/192124545
Issue #531, November 25, 2016
MC Ted Dimon introduced keynote speaker Joseph Brett. Mr. Brett is currently a board member of the Veterans Heritage Project and a Past President of the Scottsdale Sister City Association. He has served as a board member of the Harvard Club of Phoenix and Secretary of the Arizona- Kazakhstan Foundation. He is the creator and co- host of a radio show and podcast called “Front and Center,” as well as Executive Producer of two veteran-centric films at the Scottsdale Community College Film School.
Prior to moving to Arizona in 1994, Mr. Brett was project manager for public administration programs in Central and Eastern Europe, Kharkov, Ukraine and Almaty, Kazakhstan. He was also a Project Assistant for the Harvard Institute for International Development, based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
He earned a Master of Public Administration degree (MPA) from the Harvard Kennedy School, with a focus in International Development. He also earned a MS Degree in Secondary Education Administration from the State University of Minnesota and holds permanent teaching and administration certifications in New York State.
Mr. Brett was born and raised in Watertown, New York, graduating from Watertown High School and St. Bonaventure University, where he lettered in Soccer and Baseball. He earned a BS in Economics. He also received an ROTC commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army.
Upon graduation he served two years of active duty including one tour in Vietnam with the 108th Artillery Group, Dong Ha. There, he flew as an aerial artillery observer & forward air controller along the DMZ, from the South China Sea to Laos and into North Vietnam. His call sign was Sundowner Yankee.
Among Lt. Brett’s awards are the Bronze Star Medal, 20 Air Medals, the Army Commendation Medal and Air Crew Wings.
Prior to Mr. Brett’s international work, he held appointed positions in New York State Government, including Regional Director of the Department of Economic Development and Executive Director of the Temporary Commission on Dioxin Exposure (Agent Orange). In addition, he was a founding member and first President of the Capital District Vietnam Veterans Association.
Mr. Brett is proud to be on the Board of the Veterans Heritage Project (VHP). They "adopted" him in 2010. He was asked to lecture in Barbara Hatch's high school classes and she interviewed him. A few weeks later, he got an envelope in the mail from Mrs. Hatch filled with letters from her students. Each student expressed what they had gleaned from his teaching and what it meant to them. He and his wife cried. The program has been a true joy for Mr. Brett, an example of taking that unexpected fork in the road that was talked about earlier in the day.
Students have been an integral blessing in his life. The events leading him to stand at the podium in front of us began in Kazakhstan with an 8th grade student. The week before, he had been at the Vietnam War Memorial where, as a certified Park Ranger, he had been a docent. He had marched at the dedication of the Memorial. He learned a lot about the fabric of America doing etchings of the names and giving them to families. As Mr. Brett was leaving the Memorial, he stopped at the kiosk where they were selling lapel pins, one of which bore the insignia of his disbanded unit, which he had not seen previously, so he bought the 4 remaining pins.
A week later, on Thanksgiving Day, Mr. Brett was in Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan, heading a delegation. After shaking off the jet lag, they were taken to a State farm and vineyard. After learning about the wines and cognacs made there, they sat down for a meal with all the wines and cognacs placed in front of them. He jokingly called it "terrorism by hospitality". After the head of the State farm welcomed them, it was Mr. Brett's turn to speak as the head of their delegation.
Mr. Brett had quit drinking in 1987, but here he was not just expected to drink, he was expected to DRINK. All the veterans were doing shots of vodka. He explained to the interpreter that, while in Vietnam, he got shot at with the AK 47 rifles they made so well that he can't drink with them anymore, and he requested mineral water. It rippled through the gathering that Mr. Brett was a Vietnam veteran. He raised a glass of his "awful mineral water", saying it was a pleasure to be there and that they had been kept apart far too long by the Cold War. Long may there be peace and friendship between our 2 great peoples and countries; then he saluted and toasted.
The next speaker was a Cossack with a big glass of vodka. While they were getting their picture taken shaking hands, he said he was also a Vietnam veteran, but on the other side. He was a Soviet advisor. Mr. Brett asked him what he did there. He said he was shooting down airplanes. Mr. Brett exclaimed, "I was in those airplanes!" and asked why he was trying to shoot him down. The Cossack replied, "I wasn't trying to shoot you down. I just wanted you to come down and have a drink with me!" "He nailed me good. The last time I had a drink, I was trying to out-drink the Marine Corps in Vietnam. And this Cossack nailed me."
They rode together in the van on the way back, and Mr. Brett remembered that he had the lapel pin from the Memorial. He gave it to the Cossack, explaining that it was his unit's insignia, but that now it was a heart, and that meant love and peace. The Cossack said he knew what that meant, and gave him a kiss on each cheek, Cossack style. Mr. Brett said they were both lucky to have survived their situations. The Cossack responded, "All the world's a stage, and we are merely actors." Shakespeare is not what Mr. Brett had expected in Kazakhstan from the descendents of Genghis Khan.
Mr. Brett saw him a few days later and asked how he liked the pin. Kazakhstan is a place that values oral history, the passing down of stories from one generation to the next, as is done by the VHP. The Cossack said he had given it to his daughter, who was in the 8th grade. She took it to school and told everyone about the pin that was given to her father by a former enemy who's now a friend here to help us. He was stunned, dumbfounded, by the affect that this 8th grade student he'd never met had on him. It guided his life and brought him here to be with us at the Carefree Veteran's Day event.
His next stop was Kharkov, Ukraine. It was 1992. The wall had just fallen in 1989, so this was all new and no one was sure if they were enemies or friends. A journalist asked if Mr. Brett had any anecdotes about his time in Eastern Europe. He related the story about the Cossack who wanted him to come down and have a drink with him. They loved it. It got on the front page of the newspaper. He realized that the pin had given him entree into this community, and that he was bonding with, of all people, veterans. "We get it. We are brothers. It is a universal story."
Back in the U.S., Mr. Brett prepared to give a tour of Washington, D.C. to 13 of the people from Kazakhstan and 13 from the Ukraine that he had met while in their countries. They were visiting D.C. and their respective sister cities, Tucson and Cincinnati. So, he ordered 100 of the lapel pins. The tour itinerary included the Supreme Court, Congress, the Library of Congress, the FBI (the KGB did not allow visitors, so he thought they would get a kick out of this). He also took them to the National Archives, where the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are enshrined. He explained to the visitors that those in military or government service do not swear allegiance to any bible, monarch, czar, or president; they pledge alliance to the flag, swearing to protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies both foreign and domestic. That was pretty significant for them.
On the last night they were there, he took them to the Vietnam War Memorial, where he had been a docent. He took them to the apex, and explained that the Memorial had been designed by an Asian who was an architectural student at Yale University, so it looked different than other memorials in both this country and in theirs.
It is unique, and one of the most visited in Washington, D.C. and in the country because it evokes emotion. At the apex, it starts in 1959 on the East Wall with the first man killed in Vietnam, and goes out to May 25th, 1968. Each time the alphabet is repeated, it represents a new day. They are listed according to the date they were killed. Each recycling of the alphabet is a new day of death. It picks up on the West Wall in May of 1968 and is brought back to the center, where the last man killed is joined with the first. It is Buddhist imagery. Life through death is reflected. The Memorial points to the Washington Monument to the east and to the Lincoln Memorial to the west, completing the circle of the plaza.
Mr. Brett told his visitors that it is up to us, now that we have met and spent time together, to be instruments of peace. He gave each one a lapel pin. All were former military men. Everyone was in tears, and the passersby were transfixed by the scene. Former enemies were reflected in the Memorial apex. A former Soviet Colonel hugged him and was crying. The Col. said, "Every soldier should be a veteran." Mr. Brett was stunned. Former enemies met, and everybody "got" it. All veterans everywhere know what it means to sacrifice, to put duty above self.
He thought that was the end of his journey. What could possibly be better than this? Back at the hotel, all were wearing their pins at dinner and bragging about being in "Joe Brett's unit". After dinner, they retreated to a room Mr. Brett had stocked with liquor, and they all opened up to him. One said, "We have no hope, we have no future." He had been involved in putting down the uprising in Poland, and was ashamed of what he did and saw there. The Col. who had hugged Mr. Brett earlier put his hand on this man's shoulder and said, "How can we be lost when we're in America talking about such things?" This made Mr. Brett personalize the idea of reaching out to others from different cultures. There is a bond there that he hopes can be used for good. And it all started because of a student.
He saw students at the Carefree Veteran's Day event who have grasped and internalized from our veterans what it means to serve. Other cultures look to their veterans the same way. Maybe 100 to 200 years ago, Native Americans sat in this sacred sundial spot, their elders and warriors spreading their myths and traditions to their children. The ability to unite with students is magical, tangible. You can see it in their eyes; it transforms their lives. They look for the other fork in the road. This is true here and elsewhere. Mr. Brett felt honored to speak for VHP. There is not a false note. It is holistic and valuable to share stories.
Mr. Dimon told the audience that if they haven't seen the
Vietnam War Memorial, "Put it in your bucket. It's everything Joseph told us about."
https://vimeo.com/192124545
Front and back of the VHP display boards
Photos by Herbert Hitchon
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list. Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.
Photos by Herbert Hitchon
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list. Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.