Art from the past

This picture was found behind and old painting and sent to me recently. It was done by a woman named Soo'ti while I was in Danang in 1971.

Greetings and Welcome...

As a singer songwriter and Vietnam veteran, I have been honored to meet many extraordinary men, women and children, affected by war's callous nature.  I have written many songs about them, since I tend to write autobiographically.  Agent Orange, a chemical defoliant used in Vietnam has brought havoc directly to my family.  Both of my kids were born with multiple birth defects, as have my grandchildren.  I sang about them on a nationally televised PBS Vets special in 1985 and again on HBO's" Welcome Home Concert" in 1987, singing my Agent Orange song "Hurting More."  We combat veterans have to deal with many stressors but along the way I learned that there are strengths as well.  As you move around my website you will find my writings of prose and poetry, my recordings (six to date) and an art gallery of my paintings.

I have sung for many veteran organizations over three decades.  Early on in my families struggle, we met and worked for many years with Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Inc., The First Vietnam Veteran Organization formed in 1969, by five Combat Vets.  In 1979 they were in the forefront - walking point on Vietnam Veteran issues like Agent Orange, PTSD, Discharge Upgrading and most other issues concerning Vets. I recall one National Agent Orange Conference in Washington D.C., in 1981. Three bus loads of Vietnam Veterans and supporters from Wisconsin and Illinois came together for meetings with Agent Orange Victims International, to plan a national strategy on the Agent Orange issue. None of us were well off financially, but one evening we got together and I sang my songs for them.  Music critics had not been kind to me to me at that time. They misunderstood my motives and my music. But those vets that night at American University in Washington D.C. understood my meaning, my terminology and my point of view. These VVAW Folks took up a collection totaling $62.75, and told me it was for my First recording...  Their faith in me and in my music was instrumental in the success I would later achieve.  There were many stories that I felt needed to be told - so those who sacrificed the ultimate would not be forgotten or become among the disappeared.  Telling these stories through music is something that I have been blessed to do....  I am grateful to all of my Family, Fellow Veterans, Wives and Kids.

My contact with defoliants in Vietnam was exacerbated by repeated, Long Term, Chronic re-exposure to pesticides from lawn chemicals, bug killers, and anything else that had pesticides in it.  Those poisons accumulated in my body and one day my body began to shut down.  I became very ill in 2003, like so many other Veteran friends I‘ve known. 

With the Unconditional Love, Care, and Healing Medicine, of Sukie Alexander, my Irish wife of 35 years, I pulled through while scores of my brother and sister veterans died as a result of Agent Orange...  My wife nursed me back to a semblance of health and we moved away from the city and it's thousands of users.

I couldn't play my guitars or perform for almost three years.  That was when I started painting. I was trying to turn a gigantic stressor into a fortified strength!  You can browse through my art gallery on this site and I do add paintings now and then.  I am extremely fortunate to have a family that never gave up on me... Along that path there were songs written and stories told.  You will find them here at Booneytunes. I have my recordings set up so you can listen to a couple of songs from each CD.  I change songs now and then, too, so listen in...
Again, Thanks for Checking out my Site!

Just one more thing, I know you value your life, and the lives of your children and Grandchildren.  Avoid pesticides and herbicide usage and exposures. There are alternatives to Pesticides that are safe for all of us!  Your neighbor could be me, my brother or sister Veteran or their children - just trying to survive...

Hoabihn
Jim Walktendonk