WORK PROPOSAL WOULD ASSIST VETERANS COUNTY PLAN TO BE CONSIDERED.

Byline: SUE DOYLE Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES -- Army veteran Joe Domke considers himself one of the lucky ones.

After taking a bullet to the knee, he was sent home to recuperate. Eventually he returned to his career at Florida's Cape Canaveral as an aerospace engineer -- the same job he had before he was drafted.

Now retired, the 69-year-old Canyon Country man knows other veterans never recovered from their experience and some never worked again.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will consider a motion to develop a program that would help veterans find entry-level employment within the county's 37 departments, from public safety to public works.

Domke said the motion would help other veterans.

``If they could have jobs when they return, it could help them,'' Domke said. ``And it could help their families. It's not just one person here.''

If approved, the Department of Human Resources of Los Angeles County will be directed to create a program that would hire veterans as interns for up to 12 months in certain hard-to-fill jobs, where they'd earn 75 percent of the traditional salary.

Today's hot job market has lured many qualified people away from county positions. At the qualifying for employment.

Through the program, veterans would gain work experience in fields such as social work, nursing, law enforcement and clerical, said Mike Henry, director of Human Resources Los Angeles County.

When the internships end, veterans could then be qualified to take the Civil Service exam for permanent positions.

With more than 2.5 million veterans, California is home to the country's largest population of people who once served in active duty, according to U.S. Census Bureau reports from 2000.

Nationwide today there are about 26.4 million veterans, with those who served in Vietnam making up the largest constituency at 8.4 million.

Some coming out of the services today are finding the transition from war to work smoother than in the past, as more businesses are connecting with the military and hiring those who serve.

Companies like Southwest Airlines, Sears, John Deere and soon the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department have job programs with the Army. In these cases, the employers are looking for people with certain skills, from mechanical to financial, and make a point to hire from the Army.

``They stay in contact and when they get out -- boom. They have a job interview and a good shot at getting a job,'' said Gregory Becker, public affairs chief for the Army's Los Angeles Recruiting Battalion.

While some veterans like Domke encourage the county's hiring, others are wary of continued service to the government after serving in the military.

When he flew home from Vietnam, 59-year-old Michael Humburger said he and other Marines arrived at San Francisco International Airport and were dropped off at the cargo area -- far away from the main gates where they would face crowds of people who were unhappy with the war.

The Newhall man returned to his old job in the motion picture industry where he worked as an interior decorator, a position far removed from politicians, policy-shapers and the country's executive branch. He said he would never work for the government again.

``I wouldn't want to deal with it, because it's the government,'' he said. ``When I came back from Vietnam, society shunned me.''

sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) - Vietnam veteran Joe Domke on possible county program to help returning vets

(2 -- color) - Vietnam veteran Michael Humburger on the idea of working for the federal government again