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BAND OF BROTHERS SUPPORTS FELLOW VETERAN
ON TRIAL -- "We all fought for our country. We've
all been through the experience."
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http://www.mercurynews.c
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-------------------------
Band of brothers supports vet
on trial
By Patty Fisher
Mercury News
Alan Lubke fought in Vietnam more than 40 years ago, but he can't forget
the horrors. Murderous ambushes in the jungle, buddies who died. And
horrors that awaited him when he returned home — nightmares, nausea,
paranoia — that only alcohol seemed to ease.
Lubke, West Point class of 1961, retired Army lieutenant colonel and
 recovering
alcoholic, knows the awful terror of suffering from post-traumatic stress
disorder.
That's why he has joined a small, passionate group of U.S. Military
Academy alumni supporting Sergeant Binkley, class of 1997, who is on trial
for armed robbery in San Jose. During each day of the monthlong trial,
members of the band of brothers have been in Judge Linda Condron's
courtroom, watching intently and taking notes.
Lubke says he understands why Binkley, who became addicted to pain killers
in the Army and has been diagnosed with PTSD, took an unloaded service
revolver to a Mountain View Walgreen's in the middle of the night three
years ago and demanded prescription drugs.
"I know about PTSD," he said. "I know about the pain."
Lubke wants Binkley to get treatment. But it's more likely that he'll get
a prison term instead.
Facing 12 years
Last week, a jury convicted Binkley of armed robbery, and he could get at
least 12 years in prison. This week his attorneys are trying to convince
the same jury that he was insane at the time of the robbery and should be
sent to a mental hospital instead.
I wrote about Binkley in March, when his parents were hoping a plea
bargain would keep him out of prison. They noted that their son had
 no
criminal record and had been diagnosed with PTSD after seeing mass graves
excavated in Bosnia and killing a boy in Honduras.
He never would have become a drug addict, they said, if the Army had
properly treated the hip injury he suffered while stationed in Honduras
instead of just giving him Percocet to ease the pain.
He had suffered horribly. They had called the police when they found the
stolen drugs, hoping to get help for him.
But the district attorney didn't buy Binkley's story. At trial, he was
painted not as a hero or a victim but as a liar and a manipulator who was
disciplined in the Army, made up stories about his service record and
refused treatment for his hip and his addiction. He wasn't injured in the
line of duty, prosecutor Deborah Medved said, but during an off-duty
escapade on a beach in Honduras.
Why they support him
It's true that Binkley's service record was not exemplary and he didn't
receive an honorable discharge. So why would guys like Lubke, a decorated
war hero who led the first all-American ground unit in Vietnam, stand
behind this young man? Because Lubke understands that the toll war takes
on a soldier isn't necessarily in proportion to the glory of the deeds.
Heroes aren't the only ones who suffer from PTSD.
"We all fought for our country," he said. "We've all been through the
experience."
And West Point grads know that Binkley's situation is all too common.
Thousands of veterans are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering
from PTSD, addicted to drugs or alcohol and prone to violence. Accustomed
to carrying weapons, they are caught in Californian's tough "use a gun, go
to prison" laws.
A new state law requiring all returning service men and women to be
screened for PTSD is a step forward, the veterans say. Some states are
considering setting up separate courts to handle veterans' cases.
That's why Lubke and several other West Point grads are in court, day
after day. They are there not only for Binkley but for all the other
veterans facing similar situations, defending their brothers who defended
our country.
Contact Patty Fisher at
pfisher@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5852.
-------------------------
posted by Larry Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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