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From Doc: Orange Walk - The End of the Road 2008 Print E-mail
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On July 28th, Bob Schuessler (Chicago, IL) and I teamed up with John Simpson (New Jersey) to visit the politicians and other people who could have a very positive impact on all we hope to accomplish in Vietnam in regard to our Agent Orange kids. Before setting off to see these men and women on Capital Hill, Bob and I made several copies of the news publications that covered our 1700 kilometer odyssey through Vietnam. We were able to drop these copies, as well as copies of our dvd showcasing our walk, to these people and their staffers. Among the offices and aides we spoke to were those of Senators Obama, Kerry, Graham, Inouye, Stabenow, Levin, Lugar, Durbin, Hagel, Webb and others. We were also very honored to meet with U. S Rep. Eni Faleomavaega of Samoa. Rep. Faleomavaega is the Chairman of Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment, as well as many other committees and subcommittees that show his interest in what we do here in Vietnam in regard to the kids affected with Agent Orange. He served in the US military in Vietnam during the war and expressed an big interest in our walk, the kids and all that we are hoping to accomplish. In addition to meeting with these esteemed members of the political arena in Washington, we were also honored to meet with the leaders of the National Vietnam Veterans of America, who also have been following our walk throughout Vietnam on the Internet. It was our honor to meet with each of these people, as well as to walk in so many historic places!

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Bob Schuessler in front of the Howard Johnson Motel and posing in his suit...
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Bob Schuessler and John Simpson look like just two more lobbyists on their way to visit the decision makers on Capital Hill!
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The Capital Building in a familiar view...
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Bob Schuessler, John Simpson and Doc Bernie Duff wearing the closest version of a suit he owns...hehe.
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John Simpson getting his paperwork together. Let's see, our first appointment is in The Russell Senate Office Building...
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Who could fail with such a team? Certainly not those of us in the Orange Walk group!!
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Men on a mission: John Simpson and Bob Schuessler (walking the walk!).
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Arriving at our destination, we all take a deep breath and enter into another world.
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In the Russell Senate Office building...
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Bob Schuessler and John Simpson downstairs in the Russell Senate Office building
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Bob Schuessler and John Simpson looking calm and cool in one of the Senate offices that we visited.
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Union Station in Washington, DC.
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Homeless in the Nation's Capital...
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Later on that evening, Bob, John and I were able to do some sight-seeing. We decided to visit some of the memorials that appealed to each of us. I'm sorry that some of these phots may be a bit fuzzy, but I am not the best nighttime digital photographer (actually, not the best in the daylight either! LOL). Anyway, here's what we saw:
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The Lincoln Memorial...one of my personal favorites!
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View of the Washington Monument with the Capital Building to it's side.
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Doc in front of the Vietnam War Memorial.
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Names on the Wall. This name is of James Klimo, a boyhood friend of mine who was killed in action as a helicopter door gunner in Vietnam while I was in Country. I never knew about Jim's passing until many years later, but now I am here to pay my respects to him and many others who lost their lives because of war. We are doing a "rubbing," or rather, Bob Schuessler did this one since it was higher than I could reach!! It is from 16W Line 30.
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Doc standing in front of "The Wall." After three visits, this was the first time I could actually get close enough to touch the memorial. Maybe it was the company I was with, or maybe it has been the walk I've been walking...maybe it was a combination. Still, I am happy to finally be here, among the living who pay my respects to all who have died.
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The Women's Vietnam Memorial.
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A place for thinking at The WWII War Memorial.
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The Korean War Memorial was one of my favorite war memorials in Washington, Dc, but after viewing it at night, I like it even more
 
From Doc: Orange Walk 2008 - In The US Print E-mail
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The Orange Walk USA magnify
The Michigan Orange Walk

On July 19th, we kicked off our Michigan Orange Walk from the City Hall in Whitehall. Our hopes were to meet here and then travel South along Whitehall Road and into North Muskegon, ending up at Veterans Park. This was a 13 mile walk, which was not a long walk for Bob and I, but a good hike for anyone who hadn't been practicing...and that covered nearly every other walker. As with all of our walks to date, we had people joining us along the way, as well as those who dropped off during the day. Still, we had several walkers who completed the entire distance and all were very supportive of what we are doing with the kids of Vietnam who are affected by Agent Orange.
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The walkers wait for 7 am to begin our walk from the Whitehall (MI) City Hall to Veteran's Park in Muskegon, Michigan. This walk is scheduled for 13 miles.
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Doc talking to one of the early walkers. Check out those sexy shorts that I am wearing! Woo woo!
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Posing with the Orange Walkers on Michillenda Road in Whitehall, Michigan.
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The Orange Walkers take a break at Subway in Dalton, Michigan.
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My daughter, Bekah, and her friend Dawn taking a break at Subway during our breaktime.
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Doc says hi, while waiting for our break to end.
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Arriving at the day's finish. This is Veteran's Park in Muskegon, Michigan (USA).
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Posing at the Korean/Vietnam Memorial at the end of our walk, July 19, 2008.
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The Chicago Orange Walk
The following Saturday, on July 26, 2008, we walked 15 miles through the Windy City of Chicago. The day was sunny and mild, perfect for taking a stroll through town with a great bunch of people!
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We met at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Facility in downtown Chicago to begin our walk at around 8 am. Once again, we were joined along the way by several people, many of whom had been listening the previous day to our interview on National Public Radio
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Taking off from the Jesse Brown VA Medical Facility, our Chicago walk begins!
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Our first glimpse of the Chicago skyline!
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The first part of our walk took us through some older sections of the city. Here, everyone got to know one another and found out that there were many things in common among them...including the fact that we all feel a special connection to those who suffer from the effects of Agent Orange!
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Our first break was once again at a Subway. Maybe we should have them sponsor us next time!
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Walking through many quaint little neighborhoods in Chicago.
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Stopping in "Little Vietnam" for lunch, we located an extremely good Vietnamese restaurant, making things even more special for each walker! In speaking to some of them later, many had returned with their families to this same place later in the week!
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Making our way over to the Lake Michigan leg of our walk, a couple bid us farewell after walking with us for a while after lunch.
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A short time later, we decide to pose for a few pics before proceeding onward.
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Soon we found ourselves walking closer to the beach area. We knew we were headed in the right direction when we walked upon a couple of sunbathers...rather "doggy" looking as they may have been!
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Life could not have been better when we walked upon this sight of "Flip" and "Flop," though.
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John found these sights irresistable, so he decided to capture them for all time!
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Even the seagulls seemed to enjoy these sights along the Chicago beach!
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...still watching!
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Our final break of the day. About 20 minutes to go!!
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Moving along the beach we saw many sights...
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One walker had to leave us because of prior committments, but she was very thankful to have joined us for the Orange Walk in Chicago!
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John says let's get moving! My body is getting sore!! LOL! (not really, but it certainly LOOKED like that was what he was thinking!)
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On the other hand, Buddy seemed happy...as always!
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...and Chad had that, "aw shucks" look about him.
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Well, Bob just seemed HAPPY!
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--but John was right and we had to get back to our walk! Almost there now...just a stroll through town now!
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Whew...what a pace at the end!
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And here we are at the end!! Woo woo!!!! We made it!
 
From Doc: Orange Walk 2008: Back Home and the “End of a Marvelous Journey!” Print E-mail
Orange Walk: Back Home and the "End of a Marvelous Journey!" magnify

Bao Anh and I returned home last night, culminating a journey through an enchanted land with magical people. As each member of the Orange Walk team has repeatedly stated, “this has been the trip of a lifetime!”

I must apologize for being unable to post a blog during our sojourn in Ha Noi, but I was both unable to link up with any kind of Internet service and even if I had been, we were far to bust from the moment we rose to the time we were able to lay our heads down on soft pillows each night. To say that we were exhausted would be a huge understatement, since the people of Ha Noi really rolled out the “red carpet” for our team. Though I’m sure that I will be unable to recall everything that we did while in Ha Noi, I will give it my best effort, complete with associated pictures (as always).

We actually arrived on the outskirts of the city on May 30th, but opted to wait until the following day to officially walk into town (a Saturday). We wanted to be seen by as many people as possible and then to coincide the arrival at Hoa Binh Village with International Children’s Day on Sunday. This also allowed others to join our walk if they chose to do so…and many did! It was very moving to see all of the bright orange t-shirts all moving along up the streets of Ha Noi toward our destination.

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As we decorated our trailer for the walk into Ha Noi, a young boy of about seven or eight years of age approached me and I suspected he may be looking for one of our orange balloons. Instead, he reached up and handed me a small amount of money (about 30 cents in US money). For this boy, it was a lot of money, since he came from a very poor side of the city and obviously wasn’t something he and his family had a lot of. Still, as he looked me into the eyes and said, “Dioxin,” I knew that he was giving all he could to kids he felt had it much worse than he did in life. Our trek has seen much of this type of thing, but it always brings a lump in my throat when I experience it first hand. As soon as he handed me the money, he went running off without so much as a thank you.

Rejoining us on our final two days of walking were Peter and Van. Both walked earlier segments of the trip but were gracious enough to make the final portion of the walk. Van joined us with her sister, Thao (both from Saigon) and Peter is an Aussie citizen residing part of the year in Nha Trang with his girlfriend, Loan. We were also joined by many university students on Sunday, as we walked from downtown to Hoa Binh Village. It seemed as if we were also doing media interviews constantly as our walked neared its conclusion.

Doc gets a hug from Van and Thao as they prepared to return to Saigon.

On June 2nd, we were all invited to have dinner with the Chairman of the Committee on Youth, Vo Van Thuong, and a group of other dignitaries in Hanoi. Each of us felt that this was a huge honor, since he is one of the government’s most powerful men and he has pledged to support all of our future Orange Walk efforts here in Vietnam. He has stated on numerous occasions that he has followed our walk from the beginning and has been deeply touched by what we have done to raise awareness to the plight of the children affected with Agent Orange.

 
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The following day, the team spent a few hours at VTV-4 being interviewed for a program that will air later this month around the world. The team spent a few hours being interviewed by a very professional staff at VTV and I hope everyone will watch it at the end of this month.

Before boarding a flight back to Saigon (no, we didn't walk back!), we were invited to meet with a group of university students who are planning to ride bicycles from Hanoi to Saigon for some input on what they should expect along the way. We were very surprised (and honored) when we saw around 350 students waiting for us and lining the route to the meeting. They presented us each with bouquets of flowers and really made us feel special during our time with them. Such energy! They sang songs and many spoke about our accomplishments with the walk. Totally awesome!

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The Next Steps...

So what is next, you might ask? Well, first we must drop by the place where it all began on April 5th. Within the next few days, Bao Anh and I will be stopping by Hoa Binh Village in HCMC to visit the kids and the staff where we had hoped to begin our walk just over 2 months ago. Since we had not received our actual "permit" to walk at that time, we were not allowed to officially begin here, but we still have a great love for everyone there and plan to try it all again next March and this time, have a permit in hand. Later on this month, I will be returning to the US for my son Matt's wedding and a week later, my nephew Johnny's wedding. I will be busy with thess, as well as continuing on with our Orange Walk while there. Orange Walk member Bob Schuessler and I will be walking two more walks totalling 30 miles in Michigan and near his home in Chicago. We hope to be joined by veterans of the war, as well as by anyone who would like to show their support for what we do. Finally, we will take all that we have seen, heard and photographed on to Washington, DC, where we hope to influence a few politicians in regard to AO and the lives it continues to affect, both here in Vietnam, the US and around the world.

I would like to take this time to say thanks to my team of Orange Walkers. Without each of you, this walk would never have made it! I am so amazed how each person seemed to lift and empower the person walking beside them and it is my hope that we will continue walking side by side forever. I would also like to thank the people of Vietnam for graciously allowing us to share the most spectacular beauty...and in helping us to discover your "hidden charm" for all that it is. Thanks to each of you who sent messages of encouragement, walked a portion of the walk, sent donations, wrote about us in the media and to ALL of the kids who suffer from the effects of Agent Orange, or the families who struggle to make it one more day...you are NEVER alone! We will be back and our numbers are increasing!

Now, as I sip on my first cup of coffee since returning home and get ready to get this left arm of mine x-rayed one more time (Bao Anh keeps insisting on it!), I think back on 1700 kilometers from beginning to end. WE DID IT! WE DID IT!!!!!

 
From Doc: Orange Walk 2008 - WE HAVE ARRIVED IN HA NOI!!!!!! Print E-mail

My Internet connection is rotten, but for those of you who would like to walk into Hoa Binh Village on Sunday morning (and I hope it is ALL of the people who are in Ha Noi!!), we are located at The Royal Hotel (on 20 Hang Tre Street in the Old Quarter). Sunday morning, you can meet us at 8 am at Guom Lake on the Old Quarter side near the temple. I think the distance we'll be walking is only around 5 kms and we'd love for everyone to join us. As we walked into town this morning, people were waving, blowing kisses and wishing us well, an awesome welcome we thank everyone for!

Well, we need to find a WIFI so I can send this our real quick!! LOL.

 
From Doc: Orange Walk 2008 - AO Family Visits in Ninh Binh Print E-mail
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As our journey continues and the heat and dust the rain and mud and even self pity sneaks it's way into my mind, I ask the inevitable question of who this all matters to. A reporter asked me in an interview today if there have been people who have not been as accepting as others and the answer, of course, was yes. We have been yelled at, sworn at, the females in our group have been called whores and tramps and even grabbed a time or two. Many times, there have been motorbike drivers who have aimed their speeding bikes at us and repeated a time or two by those driving trucks. Yes, unfortunately, this has happened in increasing numbers and combining that with an arm that has denied me sleep and throbs with each step, I do ask myself that question. Today, the team took an extra day to visit families affected with Agent Orange and it was precisely the prescription we all needed, or at least those of us whose enthusiasm may have been waning a bit. The following will hopefully answer any questions any of YOU may have as to why we walk the walk. Anything that people could say, or do to us could never compare to the challenges that these children AND their families face each day of their lives. Thank you all for allowing us into those lives and the HONOR to walk on your behalf!
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The leader of VAVA in Ninh Binh. He was a very gracious host and it is easy to see that this man truly believes in what he is doing. In many cases, they pay for the government testing which is required to verify if a person is affected with AO. They also build houses for the very poor who suffer from AO.
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