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A Proud Disabled Veteran's Battle For Justice
Against His Own Law FirmJohn "Jack" Cunningham always wanted to serve
in the Marines and serve he did. He grew up watching patriotic films on television about the heroism of America's overall
military in World War II; his older brothers served in the military: one in the US Army, the other in the Navy. Eventually,
his dream of serving in the Marines came true and he went to boot camp at Parris Island (famous for its depiction in Kubrick's
take on Vietnam Full Metal Jacket). After his training, at the age of nineteen Jack was sent to California where he received
orders from the Combined Action Program (CAP): he was to go to special training school in Da Nang. Jack had watched war movies
when he was younger but this wasn't a movie on tv; this was Vietnam. Although at 19 years old, the New York City boy thought, he knew so much, he was about to learn so much more.
Jack knew the battle was going to be intense, but he didn't know it was going to be as intense, when he came
home. The CAP unit served round the clock in Vietnamese villages where they defended
the villagers from guerrilla attacks. They were nicknamed "the Peace Corps volunteers with rifles" but the truth
was far more ominous: CAPs were killed almost as soon as they were replaced. The tiny units
consisted of only a handful of Marines and a U.S. Navy Corpsman per village and attacks
were often. The U.S. Navy Corpsman was there for caring for the Marines,
but also the daily, long line of Vietnamese villagers needing regular health care.
The Marines, including Jack, helped with bandaids and giving babies soapy baths. Any complex health
condition, the villager would be sent to a Marine base by helicopter or Jeep.
For the young, Americans supplying the health care, it was like a new TV episode of Mash
everyday. No Vietnamese peasant was ever turned away without health care. At first
the CAPs consisted of Marines who volunteered for the units, but as more and more horrifying stories
of violence, brutal conflict, and high casualties began to spread, Marines had to be assigned.
Jack was assigned to the Duc Duc resettlement
village where conflict almost immediately greeted him. There were many times where death
was certain- times that many of us who have never been in the heat of battle could never
understand. There is no question of his and the other CAPs bravery. Unfortunately, stories of Cap units stretched
far too thin beating the odds and saving the lives of villagers are hardly told. Far more people
know of the tragedies like the massacre of My Lai village where it was the atrocities of
the US army rather than the many stories of those like Jack's. The village his unit defended had a population
in the thousands while, with the exception of a handful of villagers who fought alongside the
Americans, there were just on average of eight marines and as few as four at any given
time. The confusion of which villagers were sympathetic to the US forces and which were
sympathetic to the Communists created a situation rife with paranoia. There were constant rumors of
communists infiltrating the village. Communications between the CAPs and the villagers was often mangled by language
barriers. Enemy propaganda circulated constantly exploiting the CAPs obvious vulnerabilities.
Jack was
wounded three different times in and around his village of Duc Duc. He received one
Purple Heart, because the other two wounds were minor. During one of his units daily
patrol's, he stepped on a large booby trap that never exploded. During one intense combat action outside the
village, Jack's buddy George Dros of Burlington Flats, NY credited Jack with saving his
life and that of two other Marines, when Jack intentionally made himself a target for
Viet Cong terrorists in order to save his three buddies. Many times,
Jack's worst moments weren't during heat of battle but the rare times of calm when he could actually process what
was going on: the fear of attacks at any moment and the paranoia that the enemy might be
hiding amongst the same people he was trying to protect. Beyond that was the bigger picture:
he didn't know who he was fighting or why he was fighting. His generation was divided
between those who had their doubts but didn't voice disrespect and those who protested violently.
In May 1970, the shooting deaths of four anti-war protesting students at Kent State made this same mental conflict
even worse as the line between countrymen and enemies blurred even further. This extreme stress and pressure at such a vulnerable
time left a permanent impression on Jack. The fact that the local communists had a bounty
on each of the Americans heads. The uncertainty of enemy attacks, the frustration
with the treatment of his own countrymen, and- most importantly- the confusion over what the ultimate goal
was with the war created the perfect storm in his head. Added to this, Jack's unit was shocked to
find a Viet Cong tunnel that contained, $5,000 in American green currency, $3,000 in military
currency, and- most painful of all- boxes of clothing donated by students from the Berkley
University in California. Students the same age as Jack were protesting and supporting
the very enemy killing off marines and Vietnamese peasants left and right. As small a gesture as the clothing was, it was
the worst stab in the back Jack could have ever gotten from his peers back home in America.
He felt that his buddies and him were being betrayed by those who should have been supporting
them. Jack felt very a lone. He wondered how World War II veterans felt,
when they were battling in their war. On July 17, 1970, Jack was part of a five Marine patrol
outside his village that got pinned down and surrounded for hours. Another CAP Team from another village
had to come to their rescue. However, it too got pinned down. Marine helicopter
gunships and two Navy F-4 fighter jets came and bailed out both CAP Teams. In August 1970, an
event would occur that would never leave him the same again. After switching patrols one evening with another
marine, a surprise attack would result in his replacement losing his legs then dying from the blood
loss. The tragic death would be one that stood out amongst the many other bloody incidents
during Jack's time in Vietnam. In his mind, he was at fault rather than the enemy.
If he hadn't switched patrols, the other man would be alive. Jack would remain haunted
by the death long after he was safe from the daily horrors of the war. Around the time of the death, Jack would receive
news and clippings that the Vietnam War memorial in his hometown had been vandalized twice
by protesters. The anti-military protesters attacked by night like communist, Viet
Cong terrorists the names of the town's eight Vietnam War dead with tar and black paint.
Already bitter, this information served to only rub more salt in Jack's wounds. Many
of today's patriots would almost feel the pain, he was under. WHY... Conditions worsened when word began to spread
that the CAPs were going to pull out of the area. The villagers felt betrayed and their
relations with the Marines cooled considerably. Night watches consisted of constant wakefulness
leaving Jack and his Marine buddies perpetually exhausted. Any wrong move meant death; any wrong action
meant further ostracizing from the villagers. His very sanity became a delicate tightrope as the extreme
conditions weighed down everyone around him. Finally, President Nixon announced the withdrawals
of the troops freeing Jack from his torment. He left in February 1971 but leaving the battlegrounds
would be bittersweet. A few months later in March and April, successive Viet Cong attacks
destroyed to complete ashes the Duc Duc resettlement village killing hundreds of the same villagers Jack
had previously been tasked to protect. Jack returned to the United States with the
memories of the war, and stupid questions of how many babies he was forced to kill and
did he ever have to burn his village down, but as time went on, they seemed to fade away. There were some events
in the future that would create even more emotional turmoil: the fall of Saigon in 1975 would be
especially painful as he recounts how he felt when he learned the news: "A lot of
sadness and a lot of anger, even rage. I felt everything was a pure waste." To put
the 1975 fall of Vietnam into perspective, just thirty years before America was celebrating the
triumphant victory of the Allied forces against the Axis. Now, nearly forty years after the fall, many veterans
of the Iraq War know a similar bitterness when the country they fought to liberate fell
into the hands of ISIS. Life began to slowly go back to normal. Jack settled in New Jersey, started a
family, and began a career running computer systems. His experience with the military proved to be useful
for him as he became increasingly more successful. By the 1980s, life was good for Jack. He was thought
highly of by his peers and was responsible for several employees. Jack begun to think of
his team of computer programmers and analysts as his own CAP Team. His Subscriber
Data Processing Team were now his buddies. The job was somewhat stressful but he handled
it well before things began to change unexpectedly in 1985. In 1980, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was added to the DSM-III by the American
Psychiatric Association. PTSD has since become closely associated with veterans from Vietnam
and for good reason: 31% are believed to suffer from it. While the severity of the condition
can vary from patient to patient, it can be debilitating for those who have it worst. PTSD
can manifest itself in minor ways for years as anxiety or intrusive flashbacks with very little
effect on a patient's day to day life. Sometimes, years can pass before it causes serious issues as was the case
with Jack, who began to experience serious problems around 1985 but managed to keep working
for sometime while his condition slowly deteriorated. Using federal Veterans
Administration's (VA) medications and therapy to cope, Jack carried on with life as usual, but
with each year his memories weighed him down further. Finally, in 1989, he was no longer able to work. It is common
with many who suffer from PTSD- like sufferers from severe forms of anxiety or depression-
to become chronically unemployed due to the difficulties their condition imposes on them.
In this day and age, there is far more leeway for someone with a mental illness to get
help and recognition. In 1989, however, many people's knowledge of PTSD came from movies like First Blood where
the main character John Rambo suffers from a psychotic break due to his experiences in Vietnam.
PTSD veterans had been stereotyped as crazy and able to snap at any time. This belief caused
many of sufferers to remain in the shadows because of the fear of being ostracized for
their shortcomings. Far to often, brave and honorable veterans with PTSD were judged for the false
and weak images of the stigma of PTSD. Thousands took their own lives, because of it. While Jack did seek
help, he didn't get better. Twice he would be hospitalized at VA facilities in 1986;
both times, he was sent gifts and support by his employees and friends. He seemed to have
good support but in 1989, the memories of friends' deaths during the war created intense survivor's
guilt. This, along with life's stresses, created the perfect storm. Oftentimes, those with PTSD will
not experience worrisome symptoms until they've gone through an extended illness like
pneumonia or influenza; others won't have symptoms until they enter a period of extreme
stress like having issues at work or with family. With Jack, his own thoughts became his worst
enemy. As the memories started flooding back into Jack's head, he could no longer function. Jack would continue
in this way until 1996 around the time of the birth of his fifth child. He had to be hospitalized
for nearly four months because of PTSD which obviously caused problems in his personal
life. As his mental state tore him apart, his domestic life caused him further pain. In 1999, Jack's
wife filed for divorce. The divorce suit would be only the beginning of Jack Cunningham's struggle for
justice as lawsuit after lawsuit exposed the corruption of the New Jersey justice system. To handle his divorce suit, Jack hired a locally,
well-known, law firm out of Morristown, New Jersey, Maynard & Truland, LLC. He paid
them a retainer check, which they cashed within two days and expected a routine handling
of his case, but things only fell apart from there. Deadlines were missed and Jack's needs
were ignored. For whatever reason, the firm was grossly inadequate in their handling of the divorce suit even allowing
for it to enter into default; a fact they neglected to tell Jack until it was too late.
On the way out the door to visit his older sister in a NYC hospital, who was getting a
major operation for lung cancer, he was notified by mail from family court that he was
now in divorce default for no activity on the case. The misrepresentation given by the firm was so poor that
Jack's own ex-wife wrote to the courts complaining about their woeful behavior saying that
Jack was, for all intents and purposes, representing himself. All that the firm managed
to do was overcharge him an extra $25.00 an hour over the contracted rate that they
had agreed on. What made it ever more disgracefully, interesting was that right in the Maynard
& Truland law firm's own printed Invoice was that they were billing Jack for their own Divorce Default
removal. Jack was rightfully angry over how he had been treated and took his case to the
New Jersey Supreme Court local, State Attorney Ethics Committee. This would lead to even further
problems for Jack since a partner of Maynard & Trudell actually served on the Ethics board: Robert Correale.
This Robert Correale was the same lawyer who was supposed to serve on Jack's behalf
in court but never once spoke and was obviously unprepared. Cunningham soon faced an enemy
far more stealthy and far more cruel than that of the Viet Cong decades before. He was
now going to take on the cold, faceless courts of New Jersey and, later, the Federal justice system. The first response
Jack received from the State Ethics Committee was one that simply stated he should get
a different attorney. This, of course, was far from satisfactory: what about the horrible
representation Jack received by the law firm and, by extension, Robert Correale? A document, sent by Correale
to the same Ethics committee that he was on the board of, defended his law firm. The ethics violations
that Jack alleged were to be investigated by- of all people- Robert Correale! In any other setting, this would be considered an extreme
violation of the legal system. However, it was permitted. A series of questionable events
would occur which illustrates the grave injustices that Jack has faced for over a decade.
Correale would use his influence on the Ethics committee to remove himself from blame and,
later, many court recordings related to a future law suit (mentioned below) "disappeared" before they could
be officially transcribed. Finally, if that weren't enough, Correale mocked Jack's
struggle with PTSD and brought a lawsuit claiming that he owed his law firm an additional
$2,000. The judge handling the law suit threw the
suit out but not before adding that Jack had gathered enough evidence to warrant another
lawsuit. These remarks could not be recovered when Jack was preparing for his counter suit. How all of
this occurred seems like a wild conspiracy that could only be pure fiction but it's all true and it plagued
Jack daily. Already reeling from a divorce and his ongoing struggles with PTSD, he had
to deal with the bureaucratic nightmare of the New Jersey legal system. He was all alone
in this fight just like so many times thirty years before in his CAP unit in Vietnam.
Soon, though, Jack wouldn't be alone.
Many are familiar with the Marine Corps motto: "Semper Fi" which stands for "Semper
Fidelis" a Latin term meaning "always faithful". Indeed, the Marines were
always faithful to Jack as a number of the Marines he served with in the past- and a number
of other vets who learned of his struggle- reassured him that he was NOT alone in his fight.
For thirteen years, Jack led a letter writing campaign that went all the way up to then-governor James Mcgreevey who
had the Office of Attorney Ethics to state that if Robert Correale were to use his position
on the State Ethics board to investigate Jack's case it would be an ethics violation.
This was a small victory for Jack but he went on. His letter writing campaign did not die
down but he continued for justice. He would write to Governors Richard Codey, Jon Corzine, and the current Governor
Chris Christie but there has still not been Justice. To handle his divorce suit, Jack hired Maynard & Truland, LLC and informed
them in detail that he was PTSD disabled from heavy combat in the Vietnam War. He signed
their contact, paid them a agreed upon retainer check that the law firm cashed within three
days and expected a routine handling of his case, but things only fell apart from there. Because of no of action
from the law firm, deadlines were missed and Jack's needs were ignored. For whatever reason,
the firm was grossly inadequate in their handling of the divorce suit even allowing for
it to enter into default; a fact they neglected to tell Jack until it was too late. The
representation given by the firm was so poor that Jack's own ex-wife wrote to the courts complaining
about their woeful behavior saying that Jack was, for all intents and purposes, representing himself. All
that the firm managed to do was charge him an extra $25.00 an hour that they had agreed
on. Jack was rightfully angry over how he had been treated
and took his case to the local, New Jersey State Supreme Court Attorney Ethics Committee. This would lead to even
further problems for Jack since a partner of Maynard & Trudell actually served on the
same Attorney Ethics committee: Robert Correale. Robert Correale's law firm's website
listed Correale as not only being on the same committee, but listed Correale as their Vice-Chairman.
This Robert Correale was the same lawyer who was supposed to serve on Jack's behalf in court
but never once spoke and was obviously unprepared. Cunningham soon faced an enemy far more stealthy and far more
cruel than that of the Viet Cong decades before. He was now going to take on the cold,
faceless courts of New Jersey and, later, the Federal justice system. The first response
Jack received from the State Ethics Committee was one that simply stated that he should get a different
law firm. This, of course, was far from satisfactory: what about the horrible representation Jack received
by his law firm and, by extension, Robert Correale? A document, sent by Correale to the
same Ethics committee that he was on the board of, defended his law firm. The ethics violations
that Jack alleged were to be investigated by- of all people- Robert Correale! In any other setting, this
would be considered an extreme violation of the legal system. However, it was permitted.
A series of questionable events would occur which illustrates the grave injustices that
Jack has faced for over a decade. Correale would use his influence on the Ethics committee to remove
himself and his law firm, Maynard & Truland from blame and, later, many court recordings related to a future
law suit (mentioned below) "disappeared" before they could be officially transcribed.
Finally, if that weren't enough, Correale mocked Jack's struggle with PTSD and
brought up a lawsuit claiming that he owed his law firm a further $2,000. The judge handling the law suit threw the
suit out but not before adding that Jack gathered enough evidence to warrant another lawsuit. These
remarks could not be recovered when Jack was preparing for his counter suit. How all of
this occurred seems like a wild conspiracy that could only be pure fiction but it's
all true and it plagued Jack daily. Already reeling from a divorce and his ongoing struggles with PTSD,
he had to deal with the bureaucratic nightmare of the New Jersey legal system. He was all alone in this fight
just like so many times thirty years before in his CAP unit in Vietnam. Soon, though, Jack wouldn't be alone. Many are familiar
with the Marine Corps motto: "Semper Fi" which stands for "Semper Fidelis"
which is Latin for "always faithful". Indeed, the Marines were always faithful
to Jack. A number of the Marines he served with in the past- and a number of other vets who
learned of his struggle- reassured him that he was NOT alone in his fight. For thirteen years, Jack led a letter writing
campaign that went all the way up to then-governor James Mcgreevey who had the Office of
Attorney Ethics to state that if Robert Correale were to use his position on the State
Ethics board to investigate Jack's case it would be an ethics violation. This was a
small victory for Jack but he went on. His letter writing campaign did not die down but he continued for justice. He would
write to Governors Richard Codey, Jon Corzine, and the current Governor Chris Christie
but there has still not been justice. Recently, in an even more bizarre twist, Robert Correale
was cleared of any wrongdoing despite obvious perjury and malpractice although the case
is now being taken to federal courts.
Jack's life has not been all bad, though. He remarried and has been with his wife Joan
for fourteen years. He and his ex-wife Alice- who herself recognized the overwhelming odds Jack is up against- remain
on friendly terms. He now resides in Sussex, New Jersey and is something of a local celebrity.
His family only grew both in strength and in numbers during Jack's legal battles: he
has five children and three step-children along with nine grandchildren. He continues his
therapy for PTSD and has managed to keep ahead of his mental struggles. In February of this year, Jack finally
received even more support for his efforts when a veterans foundation agreed to connect him to a team
of pro bono lawyers for his future federal court case. There is no argument
about Jack's heroic military service. His actions were above and beyond the line of duty and he should
be recognized for it rather than discredited as a crazy old man. The VA's motto comes from the words
of Abraham Lincoln: "To care for him who shall have borne the battle" and these
words should influence all of our attitudes to the soldiers who have returned home with
even greater personal struggles in their future. Should our government- who swore to take on the
responsibility of caring for every last soldier living or dead- be allowed to throw Jack to the curb? His story
is just one of many other struggles that veterans have been forced to face , and it's
a grave injustice that we can allow this to happen in this great country. So ask yourself
this Veteran's Day: Should outrages like these be covered up and forgotten, or should
they be used to open our country's eyes so our country's finest can be helped in the future?
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