The Metropolitan State College of Denver student newspaper, serving the Auraria Campus since 1979
Denver, Colorado
NEWS Student decals removed from Auraria parking page3
Volume 13, Issue 31
FEATURES Entertainment &The Arts past and present pages 10-11
June 14, 1991
SPORTS Volleyball Tourney comes to Auraria Campus page 12 ¡
Are the Desert Storm Veterans true heroes_? Todd Burgess Assistant Editor Today on Flag Day many Americans will pay tribute to the U.S. troops that served in the Persian Gulf, but a group of veterans questions whether these soldiers should be considered heroes. Students in Veterans Upward Bound, a program that helps veterans achieve their GED or prepare for college, said the flat terrain in Iraq and the technological superiority of the coalition forces made the Persian Gulf War a relatively easy one for American soldiers. "I worry about the soldiers," said Art Sims, a counselor for VUB who has 24 years of military experience. ''I'm afraid they will get big-headed. That wasn' t war." Sims said he is afraid that U.S. soldiers who fought in the war might get the impression that future wars will be as easy. But, he said, there are other countries with more military power and better leadership than Iraq. Anthony Atencio, a VUB student, agrees that in the future wars will be more difficult. "As war goes, this (the Persian Gulf War) wasn' tmuch ofone. As far as this one goes it was a walk on the beach, a walk through the park," he said. Sims said the VUB students monitored and discussed the developments in the Persian Gulflast semester and many were afraid of what would happen when the ground war started. "We did a lot of talking in here that in the ground war there would be a lot of casualties. I'm glad it
didn't happen that way," Sims said. Tony Smith, who was headed for combat duty in Vietnam but escaped when President Nixon called off the war, said that the soldiers are not to blame for being called heroes. They fought from the air and did well, he said. But, he sai~ the troops are getting too much attention. ''They joined the militarytodoajob," Smith said. "Pat them on the back. Don't give them a parade." Stephen Walker, a VUB student, said that the troops deserve the parades. In his mind all soldiers U.S. Military: The old guard meets the new. ClthyV1nSchwartz/TheMM-opolian are heroes, he said. Laurie Cathcart, an enlisted specialist at Fitzsimons Medical Center, and Jake Lindsay, program "I respect all solspecialist for Veterans Upward Bound, sit beneath their country's flag. diers," Walker said. "I respect the ones in the Vietnam "It helped the morale." jumped in and wanted to make War as well as I respect the ones in Steines said his father, a Viet- sure they didn't make the same the Persian Gulf." nam veteran, was shocked at how mistake," he said. DJ. Steines, a CU-Denver stu- well the Desert Storm veterans have But Sims thinks the parades are dent who served in the Persian been treated. going too far. He said the parades Gulf War, said that th.e soldiers in Jake Lindsay, a program spe- are really for the " big brass" and the Persian Gulf appreciate the cialist with VUB, said the parades that all the soldiers really want is a warm reception the American are a guilt-release for the Ameri- pat on the back and a beer. people have given them. During can public. He said AJnericans re• the war it helped knowing that alize how cruel they were to VietThe irony is that some of the Americans were behind them, he nam veterans and are now trying to soldiers returning from the Middle said. make up for it. East aren't old enough to legally "We heard. a lot about how Ed Roberts, a VUB student who drink. Being old enough to fight for people were really supportive of served six months in the Persian your country still won't get you a the troops and I think that helped Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war, beer when you are 20, according to everyone out there," Steines said. agrees. "The American people Steines. Cl
Student survives Scud attack rrodd Burgess Assistant Editor
While most of us saw American Patriot missiles destroy Iraqi Scuds on CNN, a CU-Denver student had an even better angle-He stood beneath a ScudPatriot collision. "It seemed like it blew up right over my head," said Dwain (D.J.) Steines Jr., 20, who was serving as a medical specialist in the Persian Gulf War. "At first (the Scud) sounded like a really fast plane going right over my head. I dropped down to my knees. I thought our barracks were bein,g attacked." After that first attack, Scud alerts became common but the fear remained, Steines said. Steines was sent to the Persian Gulf after training with the MSCD Army ROTC program. "I think the ROTC program really helped me a lot," Steines said. "It helped me deal with the pressures. We had some excellent captains that trained us like we might be going to war - and we might be going really soon." On November 12, Steines' National Guard unit was activated, forcing the sophomore to wit]Jdraw from his classes. When his unit was deployed to the Middle East, Steines said 400500 people lined the streets of Cortez,Colo. to say goodbye. During the war Steines drove an ambulance and treated injured soldiers, but the ones he helped only required minor care. It wasn't until the end of the war that the hard work began. Iraqi refugees mobbed Steines' ambulance in southern See ATIACK page 3