This piece is an intimate look into a family, especially the son-in-law Dereyk Patterson, dealing with the war trophy of a veteran. It is a story not often heard, with Veterans day arriving and the current war in Iraq raging, we must wonder if this practice is being repeated with the bones of dead Iraqis, or vice-versa. Are the bones of dead American soldiers sitting in a box in some Vietnamese village, or an Iraqi town? It is an engaging piece that sheds light on a topic rarely discussed.
I found this story very intriguing. First we have a son coming to terms with his fathers life and trying to understand one of his fathers prized possessions; a skull and femur bones brought back from Viet Nam, carefully preserved for years. I was interested in hearing this piece to see what it might reveal about a person who takes the bones of another human and keeps them. Human bones, were they war trophies? Can they be anything else? I wondered what Dereks late father thought of each time he was with "his bones". Unfortunatley no one in the family ever asked him why he'd taken the bones.
For me, this story also was also profoundly personal. As a Native American I have on occasion had people contact me about the Indian bones they have in the garrage or basement and ask me what to do with them. I always ask them where they got them and why they kept them. I can't say that I've ever been given an answer that has helped me understand this practice.
In this case, I like it that Derek tries to do the right thing and return them to their homeland where some family may be longing to give them a proper burial. Perhaps, this piece may prompt some listerners to repatriate the bones of our ancestors, as Derek points out, there may be a family waiting for their relative to come home.
While this story may be disturbing to some listeners, I think the producer did a good job and it brings into the open a topic that deserves some deliberation.
This is an intriguing and somewhat gruesome tale that reverberates now amid the ravages of war now. The practice of taking the bones of war enemies goes back to theft of Native American dead residing in modern day museums. But Deryk Patterson attempts to right the wrong of his father who stole the bones of a Viet Cong soldier. His effort leads him to question and makes some sort of sense about the reasons behind his father's actions. Can we ever understand the actions of a soldier in a war and the most horrific of violence? Was his father a hero? If so how could he take the remains of a human being as a souvenir of war? Producer Karen Brown does solid work here raising questions and offers several perspectives. A timely piece with the election and the discussion of "war heros" and current war we're in right now. I wonder how many "enemy" bones are out there sitting in American homes from wars past. There is a host intro that would need to edited out but this piece would work well on local news magazines.
Comments for Vietnam Bones
Produced by Karen Brown
Other pieces by Karen Brown
Rating Summary
3 comments
Whit Richardson
Posted on November 07, 2004 at 06:57 PM | Permalink
Review of Vietnam Bones
This piece is an intimate look into a family, especially the son-in-law Dereyk Patterson, dealing with the war trophy of a veteran. It is a story not often heard, with Veterans day arriving and the current war in Iraq raging, we must wonder if this practice is being repeated with the bones of dead Iraqis, or vice-versa. Are the bones of dead American soldiers sitting in a box in some Vietnamese village, or an Iraqi town? It is an engaging piece that sheds light on a topic rarely discussed.
Peggy Berryhill
Posted on October 24, 2004 at 02:41 PM | Permalink
Review of Vietnam Bones
I found this story very intriguing. First we have a son coming to terms with his fathers life and trying to understand one of his fathers prized possessions; a skull and femur bones brought back from Viet Nam, carefully preserved for years. I was interested in hearing this piece to see what it might reveal about a person who takes the bones of another human and keeps them. Human bones, were they war trophies? Can they be anything else? I wondered what Dereks late father thought of each time he was with "his bones". Unfortunatley no one in the family ever asked him why he'd taken the bones.
For me, this story also was also profoundly personal. As a Native American I have on occasion had people contact me about the Indian bones they have in the garrage or basement and ask me what to do with them. I always ask them where they got them and why they kept them. I can't say that I've ever been given an answer that has helped me understand this practice.
In this case, I like it that Derek tries to do the right thing and return them to their homeland where some family may be longing to give them a proper burial. Perhaps, this piece may prompt some listerners to repatriate the bones of our ancestors, as Derek points out, there may be a family waiting for their relative to come home.
While this story may be disturbing to some listeners, I think the producer did a good job and it brings into the open a topic that deserves some deliberation.
Dmae Lo Roberts
Posted on October 05, 2004 at 11:45 AM | Permalink
Review of Vietnam Bones
This is an intriguing and somewhat gruesome tale that reverberates now amid the ravages of war now. The practice of taking the bones of war enemies goes back to theft of Native American dead residing in modern day museums. But Deryk Patterson attempts to right the wrong of his father who stole the bones of a Viet Cong soldier. His effort leads him to question and makes some sort of sense about the reasons behind his father's actions. Can we ever understand the actions of a soldier in a war and the most horrific of violence? Was his father a hero? If so how could he take the remains of a human being as a souvenir of war? Producer Karen Brown does solid work here raising questions and offers several perspectives. A timely piece with the election and the discussion of "war heros" and current war we're in right now. I wonder how many "enemy" bones are out there sitting in American homes from wars past. There is a host intro that would need to edited out but this piece would work well on local news magazines.