About VWAM

Vets With A Mission began in 1988.

It was the vision of Bill Kimball, a Vietnam Veteran who served with the 1st Cavalry as a Mortarman during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Bill’s overwhelming desire was to see Vietnam Veterans return to Vietnam to help in the rebuilding of a country that suffered immense destruction to its infrastructure and its effect on its citizenry. After an exploratory trip to Vietnam in 1988 it was clear that we needed to do more. We began under the guidance of Bill Kimball and a small group of Veterans, to form a not-for-profit society that would begin humanitarian projects in Vietnam. In later years Chuck Ward would take over Bill’s position as Executive Director to run the daily operations of VWAM. Chuck and his leadership have continued to establish VWAM as a humanitarian organization respected by the Vietnamese Government and medical professionals from every section of Vietnam.

The first official trip back to Vietnam as a veterans group was in January of 1989.

The government of Vietnam assigned a project to us in Ho-Chi Minh City, Polio Orphanage #5. The orphanage was managed by a Catholic nun, Sister Jean Marie. It was our first project and we were to focus on this orphanage for the next several years. Prior to us coming along side Sister Jean Marie the polio orphanage was in a pitiful state of disrepair. The children were using outdated crude braces to walk. The therapy pool was dry with broken and missing tiles everywhere. The well that supplied the pool with water, as well as the main water supply to the orphanage were not working and had been abandoned years prior to our involvement. We believed that God had sent us to this orphanage to bring healing both to the physical grounds and those who had no other chance but the safety of the walls that surrounded the Polio Orphanage #5. We as veterans were all humbled by the humility and dedication of Sister Jean Marie and her staff of sisters that helped her care for and feed the many Polio children of her Orphanage.

First VWAM team back to Vietnam 1989.

We, as well as the staff shed many tears as we worked together to bring hope and supplies to “the least of these” that God had placed us in the midst of. It was not unusual to see a tuff former Marine with tears in his eyes holding one of these children in his arms. All of us were brought to a new measure of meekness and humility. In the midst of all this suffering and emotional baggage the moniker for Vets With A Mission was birthed.

2 Cor. 5: 18 – “All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”

What God began in us in those early years of VWAM has not faded nor tarnished in our hearts. It is still the main “THING” of VWAM. It is our heart’s desire to see the people of this country know that former enemies can come together in forgiveness and reconciliation to each other. Our purpose and our prayer is that they can come to the understanding that we can be reconciled not only to former enemies but to our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

We strive to accomplish this through the compassionate, humanitarian efforts of people who desire to rise above the tried political arguments and unnecessary apologetics concerning our involvement in the war.

What we do:
Vets With A Mission has a variety of projects.

We work to establish Clinics and Rehabilitation Centers and have currently built twenty five rural health stations in Vietnam. We offer medical training programs and work with the local doctors to help improve their level of education and skills in the medical profession. We provide medical supplies and equipment to the clinics we've built as well as existing clinics. We work with local churches providing Bibles and Christian literature, funding church repairs, and supporting their outreach efforts, which includes Christian medical teams that reach out to those who are unable to get proper medical care. Through Vets With A Mission these medical teams can give hope to the increasing number of addicts and HIV/AIDS victims in Vietnam.

If you would like to review the ongoing projects that VWAM has done from 1989 till 2010 please click on our Projects Link for further information.

Thank you for taking the time to read about VWAM and our ongoing work in this beautiful country Vietnam.

>> 2012 – 2013 Directors and Advisors for Vets With A Mission