'On the Dark Side of Heaven, Eternally at War'

DAYTON--For Captain Robert "Gene" Lathrop, USMC, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, the written word was his choice of therapy, according to author Jeanette Vaughn.

Vaughn was in Dayton last month with Lathrop's sister, Susan Hirst, for a presentation and book signing at the Delany Room. The event was hosted by the Dayton Memorial Library in honor of Veteran's Day.

Vaughn's book, "Eternally at War," chronicles Lathrop's years growing up in Dayton, his time as a fighter pilot in Vietnam, and the long post-war battle he had with the effects of PTSD. It is one of two books Vaughn has written after researching Lathrop's journals, manuscript, and oral interviews, which are archived at the Texas Tech Vietnam Center and Archive in Lubbock, Tex. Vaughn also collaborated with Lathrop on "The Dark Side of Heaven," which is a book of poetry about his experiences in Vietnam.

Lathrop, a 1960 graduate of Dayton High School and a 1965 University of Idaho School of Forestry graduate, served as an A-4 Skyhawk pilot for VMA 311 during the Vietnam War. Flying the scooter as part of VMA 311, he completed over 275 missions. His squadron completed 54,625 sorties, dropping more than nine million bombs one year after the Tet Offensive.

Lathrop believed he was complicit in the cover-up of the March 16, 1968 My Lai Massacre, an event he never came to terms with.

"It was one of my napalm missions," he wrote. "I was one of the two pilots involved in napalming the villages of My Lai."

"I could see this guy was really bothered by the incident and what he was asked to do," Vaughn said.

A year after Lathrop's death in 2012, his wife, Joy, who lives in Sutherlin, Ore., agreed to let Vaughn use material from her husband's journals, and from his interviews with a PTSD researcher at Texas Tech University, for her book, if she devoted one third of it to the effects of PTSD on his family and friends, Vaughn said.

"She believes this story resonates just as much today with our younger vets as it did with him," Vaughn said.

Claustrophobia, anxiety, depression, excessive rumination, distorted thinking, the inability to relate to loved ones, and the desire to always be on the move, were characteristic of Lathrop's odyssey with PTSD.

Speaking to Dr. Verrone at Texas Tech in 2004, Lathrop said, "So you can see the worst things. You got to put it out of your mind and go fly another mission . . . Battle fatigue and PTSD cause a change in personality. Your adrenaline goes sky high, and so your tendency is to run away or if you're the type of person that charges and attacks, you'll probably destroy the enemy.

"You don't get afraid anymore. You get mad, and if you stay that way long enough, it's irreversible. You get mad and you stay mad and you stay aggressive, so when you come back to society, you don't get afraid anymore, when somebody confronts you, you're going to turn on them and attack them. . . A lot of people came back and fought that with drugs. A lot of people ended up in the pen, and a lot of people ended up like myself, holding it in, and ended up with PTSD," Lathrop told Dr. Verrone.

Hirst, Lathrop's sister, told the audience that as a little boy, Lathrop had tons of energy. He was a reader, he was self-directed, and he spent all of his time outdoors. Lathrop was also fascinated with history. He was a thespian, and he was involved in track and field, she said.

She said that he was gifted both mentally and physically, and he was a little bit mischievous.

"Early on, he established a self-imposed pathway through his interest in the military and track and field, and he was a fine story teller," she said.

Lathrop built a barn, with living quarters, on six acres at Dumas Station. He would travel to Dayton from his home in Sutherlin, Ore., twice a year, to write, Hirst said. She said that he was often seen riding his horse, Solomon, around town, and visiting with old friends.

DHS Classmates Becky Smith Leventis, Judy Beatty, Loralee Startin, and Garie Moton, who were at the presentation, all agreed that Lathrop was "quite a character".

To obtain copies of "The Dark Side of Heaven" or "Eternally at War," visit Amazon books. Or for signed copies, contact ageviewpress at: Info@ageviewpress.com, or by phone at: (972)734-3901 or online at: http://www.ageviewpress.com.

Proceeds from the sales of the books go to the Vietnam Veterans of America, Vaughn said.