Home Local News Veterans share substance abuse struggles at Dobbins Heights service

Veterans share substance abuse struggles at Dobbins Heights service

Air Force veteran Graylin Covington speaks about his time during the Vietnam War, struggles with addiction and work with the VA during a service at the Dobbins Heights Community Center. See more photos below. Photos by William R. Toler - Richmond Observer

DOBBINS HEIGHTS — The rigors of war can take a toll on the mental health of a veteran.

It’s an experience Graylin Covington, the guest speaker at Friday’s Veterans Day service at the Dobbins Heights Community Center, knows all too well.

Covington was born in Hamlet and raised in New York during his early years, but was sent back to Richmond County to live with relatives. He graduated from Hamlet High School and went to Pembroke College on a basketball scholarship.

However, Covington said he “got mad” following the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War and decided to leave college and enlist.

Covington said he had planned to join the Marine Corps, but was told to go into the Air Force since his test scores were high.

After reaching the rank of staff sergeant, Covington left the Air Force and returned to Hamlet in early 1976.

“I didn’t realize how sick I was when I left from overseas,” Covington told the small crowd. “I didn’t know the emotional trauma and the depression and everything I had experienced.”

Covington said he fell into drinking and taking drugs and was in and out of prison.

Records with the N.C. Department of Adult Correction show Covington was convicted multiple times from 1980-1999 in Richmond, Moore and Cumberland counties on charges ranging from writing worthless checks to common law robbery.

“I got sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Covington said, so he entered a treatment program in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2000 “and got myself together” — which led to a job with Veterans Affairs.

Covington retired from the VA as an IT manager and now has a contract with the federal government housing veterans who are homeless and dealing with substance abuse issues.

“I know about substance abuse … that’s what we were exposed to,” Covington said.

He also encouraged other veterans to seek help if they needed it, saying that the VA is better than it used to be.

As Covington and another veteran brought a memorial wreath in front of the podium, Willie Dawkins shared his experience.

Willie Dawkins talks about his struggle with alcohol after coming home from Vietnam.

Dawkins, wearing a jacket bearing the emblem of the U.S. Army’s 25th Infantry Division, said he served in Vietnam from ‘69-’71, seeing a year of combat during that time.

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“When I came home, I had PTSD,” Dawkins said. “No one knew what it was back then … but now I get help for it.”

Dawkins added that he has other issues stemming from the military’s use of Agent Orange.

“It took me 25 years to finally get home,” Dawkins said. “When I first came home, I was drinkin’ a lot. I had to stay in the house for a whole year and get my nerves together. I drunk all the time, I stayed drunk just about every day — until one day I got caught driving drunk.”

After that, Dawkins said he went to the VA in Fayetteville for three months — and he’s been sober ever since.

“The story of the veteran, it resonates … because we all know veterans,” said Town Clerk and Mayor Pro Tem Tyre Holloway. “…we don’t know the hardships that veterans go through.”

Holloway said part of the town’s annual service is to “open up the channels of communication so we can help each other.”

“It’s about understanding the veteran’s situation,” Holloway continued, “and from our perspective, how can we help the veteran get back to normalcy.”

Holloway said it’s a task that town leaders and residents take seriously.

“Because we are family,” Holloway said. “At the end of the day, we lean on each other.”