When I Come Home

By Derrick Lafrance

The story of war and its effects on loving families was shared last week with local veterans who also lived that life.

An eye-opening Vietnam era documentary called "When I Come Home" was presented at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino and Resort with local veterans, many of whom identified with the characters in the movie, in attendance.

The film focused on the Stoddard Family of Mineville, New York. That family had a strong military background but one particular family member – Marcus Stoddard – was the main focus.

He went off to Vietnam and was killed in action. But the story dealt with his plans to come home and the closeness of the rest of his family.

The movie begins in Moriah and the nearby town of Port Henry where the family lives. The first part was about the town, the Stoddard's growing up in the late 1950's and their connections to the community. The lighthearted film then turns darker with a recruiting video and President Lyndon Johnson talking about the Vietnam war. There were five young men from the town of Moriah who lost their lives and that is part of the movie.

The theme of the movie is Stoddard's plans for post-Vietnam life and coming home. He had found a can of Schaefer beer and he put it in the rafters of a garage where he worked. Then he shipped out and was going to drink that can when he returned.

The next part of the movie was Stoddard's life on the battlefields and the letters home. Those letters were narrated in the movie by Marcus Stoddard's nephew, Brian, who was in attendance at the Casino showing.

Footage of the Vietnam conflict was shown with Brian Stoddard's voice reading the actual letters from Marcus on the battlefields. These were opened recently and had been sealed for the past 50 years. He talks about his daily routine, beautiful scenery, food and the horrors of combat. He also describes his plans about returning to Moriah, the theme of the movie.

Sometime after the Memorial services the family went in search of this can of beer which Marcus had hid and it was found to be opened, and the mystery is no one claimed to have opened it.

That garage has been since turned into a Historical site.

Members of the Stoddard family were at the Casino showing including Brian's brother Michael.

Jim Hughes was a producer of the film and he said back in February of this year they had the premiere at Port Henry, which is about an hour's drive from Plattsburgh, and making the trip was American Legion Post 1479 member Andy Cook. Cook had extended an invitation to Hughes to come to Akwesasne to show the film at the Casino and they accepted. They were also given a tour of Akwesasne by Cheryl Jacobs and Cook.

"We are extremely flattered and appreciative of the opportunity to be here. We toured the reservation and surrounding community. We really appreciate what we saw and embraced the history they shared with us," said Hughes.

Peter Garrow was the Master of Ceremonies and he gave a presentation on First Nations involvement in the war effort. He told of how native people had joined the military from the Civil War to the present. He also talked about stigmas and how native servicemen and women were treated after they returned home.

"There were many Native Americans who fought on either side of the American Civil War. More recently this warrior spirit is present on the battlefield of the Great Wars, Korean War, Vietman War and most recently in the Middle East. These numbers are staggering as they volunteered for the Great Wars even though indigenous people were not considered citizens and not considered for the draft," said Garrow.

He illustrated a story about Elder Ernie Benedict from Akwesasne who refused to be drafted into the United States Army. He was imprisoned for three years in the early 1940's until Eleanor Roosevelt took up his cause and pardoned him. After he was free, he then enlisted in the army, driving home the fact that native people will volunteer on their own when not forced.

Garrow also talked about how differently Canada and the United States treated natives who served and came home.

"Historians have stated First Nations people have been treated as equals on the battlefield but not at home. Many native people who have returned home lost their status which was a Canadian policy stigma, hard to erase even today," said Garrow.

Lands were taken away for the war effort and after the war that land was given to non-native veterans. There was a contrast between Canadian policies and American policies in which the United States treated the Natives better by reinstating their status, but they still lost some lands because of the war.

The contributions of women in the armed services was recognized at the Casino movie as Cook had the female service members in the audience stand and be acknowledged.

"They are a vital part of any military operation, they wanted to do this and we congratulate all women veterans," said Cook.

Another showing of the film "When I Come Home" will be on Mountain Lake PBS throughout the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.