BAND OF BROTHERS SUPPORTS VET ON TRIAL

Alan Lubke fought in Vietnam more than 40 years ago, but he can't
forget the horrors. Murderous ambushes in the jungle, buddies who
died. And horrors that awaited him when he returned home - nightmares,
nausea, paranoia - that only alcohol seemed to ease.

Lubke, West Point class of 1961, retired Army lieutenant colonel and
recovering alcoholic, knows the awful terror of suffering from Post
Traumatic stress Disorder.

That's why he has joined a small, passionate group of West Point
alumni supporting Sargent Binkley, class of 1997, who is on trial for
armed robbery in San Jose. During each day of the month-long trial,
members of the band of brothers have been in Judge Linda Condron's
courtroom, watching intently and taking notes.

Lubke says he understands why Binkley, who became addicted to pain
killers in the Army and has been diagnosed with PTSD, took an unloaded
service revolver to a Mountain View Walgreen's in the middle of the
night three years ago and demanded prescription drugs.

"I know about PTSD," he said. "I know about the pain."

Lubke wants Binkley to get treatment. But it's more likely that he'll
get a prison term instead.

He's facing 12 years

Last week, a jury convicted Binkley of armed robbery, and he could get
at least 12 years in prison. This week his attorneys are trying to
convince the same jury that he was insane at the time of the robbery
and shobe sent to a mental hospital instead.

I wrote about Binkley in March 2008, when his parents were hoping a
plea bargain would keep him out of prison. They noted that their son
had no criminal record and had been diagnosed with PTSD after seeing
mass graves excavated in Bosnia and killing a boy in Honduras.

He never would have become a drug addict, they said, if the Army had
properly treated the hip injury he suffered while stationed in
Honduras instead of just giving him Percocet to ease the pain.

He had suffered horribly. They had called the police when they found
the stolen drugs, hoping to get help for him.

But the district attorney didn't buy Binkley's story. At trial, he was
painted not as a hero or a victim but as a liar and a manipulator who
was disciplined in the Army, made up stories about his service record
and refused treatment for his hip and his addiction. He wasn't injured
in the line of duty, prosecutor Deborah Medved said, but during an
off-duty escapade on a beach in Honduras.

Why they support him

It's true that Binkley's service record was not exemplary and he
didn't receive an honorable discharge. So why would guys like Lubke, a
decorated war hero who led the first all-American ground unit in
Vietnam, stand behind this young man? Because Lubke understands that
the toll war takes on a soldier isn't necessarily in proportion to the
glory of the deeds. Heroes aren't the only ones who suffer from PTSD.

"We all fought for our country," he said. "We've all been through the
experience."

And West Point grads know that Binkley's situation is all too common.
Thousands of veterans are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan
suffering from PTSD, addicted to drugs or alcohol and prone to
violence. Accustomed to carrying weapons, they are caught in
Californian's tough "use a gun, go to prison" laws.

A new state law requiring all returning service men and women to be
screened for PTSD is a step forward, the veterans say. Some states are
considering setting up separate courts to handle veterans' cases.

That's why the Lubke and several other West Point grads are in court,
day after day. They are there not only for Binkley but for all the
other veterans facing similar situations, defending their brothers who
defended our country.