A closer look: Local veteran embittered by holiday’s festivities

Veterans Day is a celebration of those who served their country,
but one local veteran looks at the Nov. 11 holiday not with pride,
but bitterness.

“Veterans Day is nothing but a big drink fest,” said
Pete Klemer, a 57-year-old who fought in Vietnam.
“That’s the way it always ends up.”

Klemer has a unique perspective on the issues of patriotism and
military duty. Once a defender of his homeland, he is now homeless
on the streets of Westwood.

He scoffs at the celebrations that occur each Veterans Day,
saying they are foolish and trite.

“You have all these parades, which no one likes anyway,
because you have to dress up,” Klemer said. “The only
time you enjoy (a Veterans Day) parade is when you are in
it.”

Klemer is critical of the holiday despite his own history of
military service.

Klemer served two tours of duty in Vietnam as a corporal in the
Fourth Division of the Marine Corps. Fighting the Vietcong from
1969 to 1973, he witnessed atrocities he said permanently affected
his view of human nature.

Klemer recalled a particularly painful incident involving a
young Vietnamese girl who would come each day and ask the soldiers
for the chocolate from their rations.

“One day, she comes, as usual, and suddenly pulls a hand
grenade out of her skirt,” he said. “She killed herself
and all the soldiers around her.”

Klemer’s perception of the U.S. military was also forever
changed by what he saw in the heat of battle.

“Military intelligence is the best example of an
oxymoron,” Klemer said.

He described his supervisor, who Klemer believed epitomized the
ignorance and simplistic thinking he saw in the military
leadership. Frustrated by the condescending attitude of some of his
college-educated soldiers, the supervisor lashed out at his
troops.

“My supervisor said “˜Just because you have a college
education doesn’t make you any gooder than I
am,'” he recalled.

Klemer’s memories of America’s military futility in
Asia were rekindled by the current situation in Iraq.

“We’re creating another Vietnam (in Iraq),”
Klemer said. “The Iraqis hate us ““ even though we are
trying to help them.”

Klemer said he originally supported the ousting of Saddam
Hussein’s regime, and considered that operation a
success.

But the veteran is not as optimistic about the United
States’ prospects for establishing a new government in the
Middle East.

“We’re gonna lose again (in Iraq), just like in
Vietnam,” Klemer predicted.

Klemer has been living on the streets of Westwood for over a
year, but he does not blame his experiences in Vietnam for his
current situation.

After leaving active duty in 1973, Klemer attended California
State University Northridge and received a bachelor’s degree
in mathematics. He then worked as a math tutor for several
years.

But recent times have been difficult for the veteran, as
financial troubles have forced him into homelessness.

Still, Klemer remains optimistic about his future, although he
acknowledges a lack of concrete plans.

“I’ll just take (everything) as it comes,”
Klemer said. “I got a couple of people I know around here.
… I’m happy.”