Honored by the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation   2005 Torch for Tomorrow Award,  November 10, 2005 Dorrin Exford “Being nominated for this award by a Vietnam Veteran is especially rewarding, but actually winning it, when so many others have done so much, is humbling and beyond belief! Following my life’s passion has taken me down so many roads. Some of them have been personally heart wrenching, many have been challenging, but all of them have brought me closer to understanding my life’s purpose.” - Dorrin Exford

Dorrin Exford and actor Chris Noth, of Law and Order and Sex and the City.  Noth was Master of Ceremonies for the 2005 Torch for Tomorrow Awards

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Profile of Dorrin Exford

Dorrin Exford has spent most of her adult life helping veterans and their families to effectively deal with the impact of war on their lives together.

Milestones:

1969-Member of “Mothers for Peace:” with membership medallion inscribed with the words “War is not Healthy for Children and Other Living Things.”

Fourth Grade discussion and writer’s group:  to help children express their fears about having fathers in Vietnam. They wrote to other students’ fathers and eventually created a whole community of outreach and good will.  It became the foundation of a model she still uses with families today who struggle with the impact of war on families,

High School Counselor:  and for the next thirty five years has been working with children and families helping them deal with problems related to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and psychological scars from Vietnam.

1986-Married a Vietnam combat veteran: PTSD took a toll on her entire family.

She knew there was another side to the story that Hollywood, the media and military recruiters were not discussing, one that was playing out every day in her own home.  With the help of the Veterans Education Project, a veterans group based in Amherst, MA, she brought veterans into the classroom to tell their stories and to reveal the realities and long-term consequences of war.

is a  documentary film in the early production stage about veterans, their families and the long lasting impact of war’s experience.

2004 Trip to DC to interview families at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall:  That experience has inspired her to pass on the lessons she learned to our newest generation of veterans, who will be facing their own challenges of PTSD as they return from Iraq and try to make the transition from soldier to family member.

The film and a companion discussion guide will provide some of the seminal lessons learned from families of the Vietnam War experience.  The project’s goal is to examine what works and (what doesn’t) with the newest generation of veterans and their families who are struggling with the impact of war on their lives together.

April 2005 Trip to Vietnam:  with veterans who were returning to Vietnam for the first time since their experience at war. They shared their combat experience with Dorrin as they walked the ground where their battles took place.

On April 30^th (the 30^th anniversary of the war’s end) she celebrated with the veterans on top of the REX Hotel in Vietnam. It was a dramatic and wonderful experience for all, but for Dorrin, it brought much new understanding about a country and a war, for which she only knew through the very limited sharing of her Vietnam veteran.   

The documentary, Beyond the Wall, will follow five families, as they share their stories of the challenges they face together, in the aftermath of war. The final family profiled, is the Lucy family of Belchertown, MA, whose son served in Iraq. After his return from Iraq, he took his life in the family cellar. His dad found him hanging by a garden hose, surrounded by family pictures on the floor. In the center was a letter asking them to understand that the pain of war was far too great. The family is working hard to pass on the lessons they have learned to other veterans and their families. 

Beyond the Wall, and the companion discussion guide will be designed to be used by family counselors, as well as independent families.  It will be distributed at Veterans Administration Veterans Centers throughout the US.  The film also is being considered as part of the media presentation material for the Veterans Education Center being constructed at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall site in DC.  The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) is a co-sponsor of the project.

 Jan Scruggs, Esq., Founder and Executive Director of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund:

“As the War in Iraq continues, there is an emerging urgency to understand how the trauma of war impacts not only the veteran but the people who come in and out of their lives. This film needs to be made so that families have a road map by which to navigate the many turns in the road that appear without warning, as the challenges of war continues to affect our veterans and their loved ones.”

The Veterans Education Project (VEP) of Amherst: also is the non-profit fiscal sponsor of Beyond the Wall, enabling tax-deductible donations to the film project.  Three area Vietnam veterans who speak in area schools through VEP—George Williams (Northampton), Al Miller (Montague) and Gordon Fletcher-Howell (Amherst)—and their families will be among those profiled in the documentary.  The members of the family of the late Marine reservist and Iraq veteran Jeffery Lucey of Belchertown to be interviewed for the film also are VEP speakers.

VEP Director Robert M. Wilson.

“It is exciting for all of us at VEP to be involved in Dorrin’s ambitious and timely project. The hard-won lessons of coming back from Vietnam to home, family and civilian life have enormous relevance to today’s generation of war veterans and their loved ones. We feel it is an honor to be able to work with Dorrin to share those vital lessons with a national audience.”
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Please visit the documentary site at www.beyondthewalldocumentary.org. 

Dorrin’s work has touched thousands of families, helping them get beyond the emotional pain of war’s impact. She has carried the torch for peace for well over forty years.

There are also two other 2005 Torch for Tomorrow award recipients. For their stories please go to http://vvaf.org/torch-for-tomorrow-nomineee.html

Award Winners Lana Noone-Historian and Vietnam Babylift; Kien Pham-Executive Director of the Vietnam Education Foundation; Bill Belding-President and CEO of Vietnam Veterans of American Foundation (VVAF); Dorrin Exford-Co-producer of documentary "Beyond the Wall" Bob Muller-Past President & CEO and currently Chair of the Board of Directors of VVAF.  AWARD CRITERIA Award recipients must be a private citizen or a veteran of Desert Storm, the Iraq War, and/or conflicts in Afghanistan and others areas around the world and: Demonstrate passion, vision, courage, perseverance, and integrity towards humanitarian good Be motivated by idealism Have taken a personal and public stand, as a role model and advocate, to pursue humanitarian ideals in areas of post conflict Awards are presented annually in up to four categories Humanitarian work by a Veteran of Desert Storm Humanitarian work by a Veteran of the war in Afghanistan Humanitarian work by a Veteran of the War in Iraq Humanitarian work by a private citizen Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation 1725 Eye St., NW Washington, DC 20006