Poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the Vietnam Veterans of America. His searching verse was read at the 1984 dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Born Stephen R. Mason in Brooklyn, New York, to musician parents, he moved around the country in his youth. He joined the United States Army in 1960 and went to Vietnam six years later, returning to the United States in 1967 determined to go back. The Army sent him to officers' training school with the promise of another Vietnam tour. He rose to the rank of captain; but in 1969, with no second tour in Vietnam, left the Army. Divorced, blaming the breakup on combat post-traumatic stress disorder, he spent almost two decades brooding in a Washington, D.C., ghetto before remarrying and turning to poetry. As he struggled throughout his life to make sense of his year of combat duty in the Vietnam War, poetry became his method of expression. His poem "The Wall Within" was presented at the 1984 dedication of the Vietnam Memorial and was read into the Congressional Record. He also published three well-received books of poetry: "Johnny's Song: Poetry of a Vietnam Veteran" (1986), "Warrior for Peace" (1988) and "The Human Being -- A Warrior's Journey Toward Peace and Mutual Healing" (1990). His overriding commentary was "The truth is, that the only message I've taken from war is peace."
Poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the Vietnam Veterans of America. His searching verse was read at the 1984 dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Born Stephen R. Mason in Brooklyn, New York, to musician parents, he moved around the country in his youth. He joined the United States Army in 1960 and went to Vietnam six years later, returning to the United States in 1967 determined to go back. The Army sent him to officers' training school with the promise of another Vietnam tour. He rose to the rank of captain; but in 1969, with no second tour in Vietnam, left the Army. Divorced, blaming the breakup on combat post-traumatic stress disorder, he spent almost two decades brooding in a Washington, D.C., ghetto before remarrying and turning to poetry. As he struggled throughout his life to make sense of his year of combat duty in the Vietnam War, poetry became his method of expression. His poem "The Wall Within" was presented at the 1984 dedication of the Vietnam Memorial and was read into the Congressional Record. He also published three well-received books of poetry: "Johnny's Song: Poetry of a Vietnam Veteran" (1986), "Warrior for Peace" (1988) and "The Human Being -- A Warrior's Journey Toward Peace and Mutual Healing" (1990). His overriding commentary was "The truth is, that the only message I've taken from war is peace."
Bio by: Fred Beisser
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