sjynyc--You wrote "People who needed to be hugged and comforted and "healed".. were spat on instead."
Your point that the soldiers, who needed welcoming and care, got disrespect from some, due to those peoples' objection to the war, is valid, although probably most of the people objecting to the USA invasion of Vietnam understood that the soldiers were not the cause, didn't have the power, and were being exploited by the warmongers. (I'm speaking generally; of course there were US soldiers who committed atrocities, and there was less sympathy for them, though still awareness of the pressure for soldiers to obey orders, even really lousy ones.) In any case, the trope of returning soldiers being spat on by people was largely a myth, that grew from the popularity of the RAMBO movies, and took on a life of its own. That was not the form of expressing their disapproval of the conflict that most people used.
Multiplex: 100+ shows a day, NONE worth watching. John Sayles' latest: NO distribution. SAD.
reply
share
chicago85
9 years ago
That war was a watershed in American history. In WWII the average age of soldiers was 26. In Viet Nam it was 19. Many were draftees who didn't have the money to hide in college or graduate school. In WWII you came home to parades, bands, the GI Bill, political office. etc.
In Viet Nam you were flown over on airlines and sent into a meat grinder for one year. You could be fighting one day and within 48 hours standing on a street corner by yourself in the US. Here was no one to meet you except maybe your family. People didn't want to hear what you had been through either. Older veterans at the VFW and American Legion made remarks like "We won our war." "You guys will dilute our benefits at the VA"
The units lack cohesiveness with men coming and going constantly. Replacements were not always welcomed. Veterans had lost fiends and didn't want to get close in case you were killed too. Also your inexperience might get them killed.
Many of these young men didn't trust their officers either. They felt the officers were there for a year and wanted to build a reputation to enhance their military careers at the expense of the enlisted men. This led to incidents of fragging. A hand grenade might be rolled into your tent at night.
The US has not "won" a war since WWII. Korea was called a "police action" and is the longest truce in history. Invasions of Panama and Grenada went badly against weak countries. Vietnam produced 58,000 dead men and a quarter of a million crippled. I could go on but the upshot is this was politics and our soldiers fought with one hand tied behind their backs. There was no real effort to win. The enemy was allowed safe sanctuaries to mass for attacks against Americans then retreat back in their safe holds.
We now have an all volunteers army which allows most Americans to ignore what happens since there is no danger of a draft. Their idea of support is to buy a bumper sticker. The volunteer army is too small and has to be deployed repeatedly using national guard troops to fill the gaps. As a result their marriages fail and a lot commit suicide.
I don't know everything. Neither does anyone else
reply
share