Tito Melara |
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The US Government Failed Us
Interviewer: Could you talk about your experience with cancer and how it related to the war and Agent Orange?
Tito: I’m sure that a lot of guys that were exposed to the spraying of that Agent Orange in the forest over there, the wooded area to clear the path, those guys were really affected by it. I contracted cancer about 30-35 years after the war, and they still think that my cancer has nothing to do with that, but I think it does. However, as for the studies they have done they say that nobody in my family has cancer, or cancer at all. I’m the only one, and of course I was exposed to that. Not directly like a lot of guys did, but we showered with the water, they get it from the rivers. We cooked with the same water, and that affected us differently. A lot of guys got different disease coming from that Agent Orange, I heard. Cancer especially is one of them, and I got cancer in 2002, and I went through the treatment, and thank God I’m here, talking with you guys.
So, it’s in remission now and they took care of it. The treatment I went through took care of it. So, but I’m still looking in to see if I’m eligible for some kind of a compensation, you know from it… but I haven’t got any results yet. Although, I go to the VA, you know, the Veteran’s Hospital, for some kind of health issues and stuff like that, but I still don’t have any full benefits that I think I should have, along with a lot of other guys. So, for their part, I think the government kind of failed us, a lot of us. Speaking for myself, I think they could do better than that. They could, but I guess they are trained to do the best they can, and the thing we need to do is just ask to keep from playing along, and keep on asking whoever, whatever we need to do. So that’s where I am right now, that’s my position right now.
Object Description
| Profile of | Tito Melara |
| Title | An Immigrant's Experience in Viet Nam |
| Profile bio | Tito Melara was born in El Salvador on January 4th, 1945. In the midst of 1960's liberation conflicts in El Salvador, Tito decided to move to the United States to pursue an education. During the process of his immigration to the United States in 1965, he was served with a draft notice. He did not yet speak English, and experienced great difficulty integrating into American culture. Immediately prior to his transfer to Basic Training, he married his love, Virginia, also adopting her 12 children. In October of 1968, he deployed to Viet Nam. During his time overseas, Tito was stationed in Ben Hoa, Phu-Bai, and Hue. He says that the one thing that sustained him in absence of his family was the ability to read and write letters. In 1969, Tito returned to the United states. Since his deployment in Viet Nam, he has experienced numerous health issues related to the war, including an almost-fatal bout with cancer. He has yet to find resolution with what happened during the war, but leads a very happy life in Fields Landing, California. |
| Profiler bio | Christopher Orenic and Danielle Then are USC students participating in the research project via an American War in Viet Nam course. |
| Subject |
Vietnam Vietnam War draft citizen VA cook |
| Profiled by | Orenic, Christopher; Then, Danielle |
| Profile date | 2014-02-15 |
| Geographic subject (city or populated place) | Huế; Hue; Fields Landing |
| Geographic subject (county) | Humboldt |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Geographic subject (country) | El Salvador; Vietnam, USA |
| Coverage date | 1965 |
| Publisher (of the original version) | http://anotherwarmemorial.com/tito-melara/ |
| Type |
images video |
| Format | 1 image; 4 video files (00:14:08); 3 transcripts |
| Language |
English Spanish |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Part of collection | An Other War Memorial -- Memories of the American War in Viet Nam |
| Filename | melaratito |
Description
| Profile of | Tito Melara |
| Title | The US Government Failed Us |
| Format | 1 transcript, 1p. |
| Filename | melaratito-vid3_tr3.pdf |
| Full text | The US Government Failed Us Interviewer: Could you talk about your experience with cancer and how it related to the war and Agent Orange? Tito: I’m sure that a lot of guys that were exposed to the spraying of that Agent Orange in the forest over there, the wooded area to clear the path, those guys were really affected by it. I contracted cancer about 30-35 years after the war, and they still think that my cancer has nothing to do with that, but I think it does. However, as for the studies they have done they say that nobody in my family has cancer, or cancer at all. I’m the only one, and of course I was exposed to that. Not directly like a lot of guys did, but we showered with the water, they get it from the rivers. We cooked with the same water, and that affected us differently. A lot of guys got different disease coming from that Agent Orange, I heard. Cancer especially is one of them, and I got cancer in 2002, and I went through the treatment, and thank God I’m here, talking with you guys. So, it’s in remission now and they took care of it. The treatment I went through took care of it. So, but I’m still looking in to see if I’m eligible for some kind of a compensation, you know from it… but I haven’t got any results yet. Although, I go to the VA, you know, the Veteran’s Hospital, for some kind of health issues and stuff like that, but I still don’t have any full benefits that I think I should have, along with a lot of other guys. So, for their part, I think the government kind of failed us, a lot of us. Speaking for myself, I think they could do better than that. They could, but I guess they are trained to do the best they can, and the thing we need to do is just ask to keep from playing along, and keep on asking whoever, whatever we need to do. So that’s where I am right now, that’s my position right now. |
| Archival file | Volume3/melaratito-vid3_tr3.pdf |
