Vietnam veteran Kevin Burns survived conflicts at home and abroad, thankful for 'life-changing' help
Denis Hamill
Tuesday, November 2nd 2010, 4:00 AM
Next week, on Veterans Day, I'll think about my pal Kevin Burns.
Kevin's whole life has been a battle. From the tough streets of Brooklyn, to the jungles of Vietnam, to postwar homelessness in Oakland, to a running battle with Hepatitis C and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and finally to amazing success in the real estate wars of California, Kevin has fought every day.
He also lost a sister at Cantor Fitzgerald on 9/11.
A skinny, street-smart character with a lazy right eye, Kevin was my class clown partner at Holy Family School in Park Slope.
Somehow, we graduated, and Kevin went to Grady High and I went to John Jay High, and we grooved together through the '60s.
Then I went to CUNY, and in 1969, Kevin got drafted. He failed the eye test.
"The right eye was rated 20-200," he says. "Legally blind."
But it was 1969, and Kevin had a heartbeat, and the Selective Service would've taken him if he had one leg.
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Vietnam veteran Kevin Burns
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