Amos

How long have you lived in North Chicago?

I lived a little bit further north, in Beach Park, which is up by Zion– for eight years. And then I moved down here a few years ago. I originally moved here from Chicago. I'm a veteran, and I was diagnosed with liver cancer. I was on chemotherapy at Jesse Brown VA Hospital in Chicago and they thought that it would be best for me to transfer up here to the federal health care facility because they had better doctors and better treatment for that particular liver cancer. I kind of liked that the pace up here is a little quieter. Chicago was a little too rambuctious for a man of my age. So I decided to settle in this area. 

Plus I work for the VA. I've worked for the VA in Chicago, and so I just transferred and started working up here. I'm a substance abuse counselor, and currently I'm a part time student at Dominican University here in Grayslake at University Center of Lake County– in social work. Gerontology, which is dealing with the elderly. The plan is to deal with addiction, which is becoming a big problem among the elderly. They're abusing prescribed medications, and a lot of them are turning to alcohol. And the big really big problem is with the gambling now– gambling is classified as a legitimate addiction. Casinos are targeting the elderly every month– on the first they get their checks they send their buses to housing complexes, giving them coupons to get into the casinos where they just milk them for their savings, and their checks. The elderly may not have a lot of excitement in their life, and the casinos know that. So before you know it, they're hooked on the slot machines– and before you know it, they've lost everything. It's predicted that over 65% of the elderly over 60 years old will have some kind of an addiction; gambling or drugs or alcohol– so I plan to deal with the elderly with addiction problems, especially since I'll still be joining the ranks of the elderly, myself.

You look young to me! How old are you?

I'm 65 years old. I'm a Vietnam veteran.

If you don’t mind me asking, what was your job in Vietnam?

I was in combat in Vietnam. Actually, I was I was in headquarters battalion. But everything in Vietnam was combat– it was the first guerrilla war. And no matter what your job or MOS [military occupational specialty] was in Vietnam, will find yourself engaged in the combat in some kind way. I was not infantry man. And I was The Marine Corps, but yet I still got shot The bullet was never removed, because it's in a sensitive area,  and the surgeon had a very complicated decision, and they decided to leave it there and let the fatty tissue grow around it. So it's there forever as a reminder.

My job was actually to put toe tags on the KIAs, those killed in action, keeping inventory. So, I was there in the field, doing doing that– reading dog tags, and–

That's a really difficult and not happy job. And now you're taking on working on another difficult situation. Many people of retirement age want to slow down. What makes you want to take on such a difficult thing?

It's the path I was directed in. I was drafted. That's how I wound up in Vietnam and you're old enough to know many Vietnam veterans had problems, issues, not to mention the unpopularity of the war and what they faced when they returned. Post traumatic stress disorder and addictions. I was one of those. Fortunately, I, I got some help at the VA and I was able to recover after so many years. 

You are a success story. 

If you want to call it that, yeah. But I was also inspired by the medical team that worked with me to work in this field. And so I began to work with Vietnam veterans with issues.And I've been doing this ever since. I don't look forward to full retirement because I'm one of these individuals that I need something to do. I plan to reverse the slow-down a little bit. Thinking about taking on the challenge of writing a book,

Writing a book! About? 

About incorporating my life experiences into my military experience.

What would you say you’re most proud of?

Other than the fact that I've survived to be part of the 21st century? I'm proud of the fact that I've accomplished some things– I've accomplished much more than I thought possible. I've had a lot of help. And I'm most proud of the fact that I've managed to overcome some issues. Some demons– that were not so easy to.

What’s the best and simplest advice you have for someone be fighting similar demons or many difficulties as you’ve had?

I would say, don't be reluctant to reach out and ask for help. Many, many of us are reluctant to ask for help, when that's the thing that we need. I know I was one of those individuals.

It's just not part of the American way. It's not part of our culture. We're rugged individualism. Somehow we think it's an indication of weakness to need or ask for help. Women don't have a problem with it, right? Men? We have a problem with it. And it's a deadly problem, because we'll take it to the grave. And once you realize that, and you deal with that, you'd be surprised how beneficial it can be to ask for help, accept help, and overcome whatever issues you're facing. If you can do that, nine times out of 10 you'll be okay.

Edited and condensed, this conversation took place in 2016.