Helping veterans heal, grow after war
Coalition, mother of slain soldier want to pair farmers with troops returning from Iraq


Nadia McCaffrey at a Sebastopol rally in March. Her son, Patrick, is one of three from the Petaluma Guard killed
in Iraq. MARK ARONOFF / The Press Democrat  

By GUY KOVNER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT





Nadia McCaffrey knows the sorrow of war firsthand.
Her son, Army Sgt. Patrick McCaffrey of Tracy, was killed in Iraq in June 2004, and a year later the Pentagon
admitted he and another California National Guardsman, 1st Lt. Andre Tyson of Riverside, had been killed by
Iraqi civil defense officers attached to their patrol.
They served in Iraq with Petaluma-based A Company of the Guard's 579th Engineer Battalion, which suffered a
third casualty -- Sgt. 1st Class Michael Ottolini, a Sebastopol hay truck driver, killed by a roadside bomb.
About 20 North Bay members of the 579th Engineers are about to leave for a year-long tour in Iraq, following a
farewell ceremony Thursday at New Jersey's Fort Dix.
McCaffrey, a French-born hospice caregiver-turned-antiwar-activist, wants to make sure they have help and good
care when they get back.
On Sunday, McCaffrey, will unveil her latest initiative at a public meeting in Petaluma. It's a campaign to place
psychologically scarred veterans in jobs and the healing environments of small farms.
The Farmer-Veteran Coalition, backed by about 20 agricultural and veterans organizations, will be described at a
meeting from noon to 3 p.m. at Elim Lutheran Church, 504 Baker St., Petaluma
"Our vision is to help farmers and help veterans," said Linda Speel of Farms Not Arms, a year-old antiwar group
founded by West Coast farmers with an office in Petaluma.
Also on board is Sebastopol-based California Farm Link, which seeks to put young people, immigrants and
veterans on ranches in need of workers.
"There's something really healing for people when they get their hands in the dirt and grow things to eat," said
Farm Link's Linda Peterson.
McCaffrey thinks farm work might be an ideal prescription for some of the hundreds of thousands of veterans
battling mental demons from Iraq and Afghanistan.
About 1.6 million men and women have served in the two countries, and a Pentagon Task Force Report found
that 38 percent of soldiers and 50 percent of National Guard members have come home with mental health
issues ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to brain injuries.
A lawsuit filed last month by two veterans advocacy groups accused the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of
"shameful failures" in dealing with PTSD and other war injuries.
McCaffrey said she's heard scores of horror stories, often from vets themselves who have experienced explosive
rage, hallucinations and blackouts.
Many are going undiagnosed and untreated, she said. "The VA tells them they are OK and they believe it,"
McCaffrey said.
Chris Murphy of Nice served on McCaffrey's patrol team in Iraq and said he came home with post-traumatic
stress disorder. "The mind is a scary place," said Murphy, who credits counseling -- prompted by his family --
with enabling him to regain mental balance.
But many soldiers do not get help, either unwilling to admit they have a problem or convinced they can deal with
it alone, Murphy said. He now plays guitar in a rock band, Faded at Four, opening for Kid Rock at Konocti on
Sept. 1.
Farm labor could be a match for ailing veterans, giving them a schedule and a sense of purpose, Murphy said.
McCaffrey sees her coalition as a clearinghouse for various veterans services.
"We need to let the veterans know we are here for them," she said.
You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com.
Last changed: Aug 25, 2007 © The Press Democrat.
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Helping veterans heal, grow after war