“In my childhood the only exotic, exciting, beautiful things that my mother shared with me were her military times. She was a WAC, and she met my father in the Philippines. She told me about the South Pacific, about serving with MacArthur, about New Guinea and Australia.” So begins a short article Army Captain David Christian dictated to writer Margot Achtereerg in 1981, more than 30 years ago. Captain Christian, at that time, had been named the most highly decorated veteran of the Vietnam … [Read more...]
From the jungles of Vietnam to rescue at Delancey Street
The Reverend James M. Lamb, clinical supervisor over substance abuse treatment at Varner Prison in Grady, Arkansas, and at one time associated with San Francisco county jails and San Quentin state prison in California, discovered alcohol and drugs when he was 15. They took control of him for the next 29 years. Lamb, who wrote, “The Power to Change,” a book about addiction and recovery, is writing a second book, “The Revelation of Power,” focusing on biblical tools for recovery along … [Read more...]
Vet Overcomes Addictions, Rides with “Stroker” Wiggs
When “Stroker” Wiggs, the “Bandido” bike rider who became a Christian minister, died in January in Little Rock, Neal Benschoff lost a dear friend and role model. Benschoff, also a former member of an outlaw biker group that terrorized the countryside was, like “Stroker,” a Vietnam War veteran. Thanks to inpatient care at Fort Roots, a Veterans Administration (VA) facility, and regular attendance at 12-Step meetings, Benschoff has been clean and sober for 12 years now. He is also being treated … [Read more...]
New Court Helps Veterans get a Fresh Start
On a mid-December afternoon, Sixth Circuit Judge Mary S. McGowan convened Little Rock’s new Veteran’s Treatment Court (VTC) on the third floor of the Pulaski County courthouse, the second of its kind in Arkansas and one of about 40 nationwide. The mission of the VTC program is to promote recovery and rehabilitation from substance abuse and mental health issues and when successful, which is most of the time, damaged lives and broken families are restored and society benefits. On the docket in … [Read more...]
