More did than didn’t and I’ve never heard a moan about a parade

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Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

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Both had experienced long-haired stay-at-homers spitting on them in the arrivals lounge and general maltreatment over the years. Both were two of the kindest and most caring people I've ever met in my life, and I miss them both greatly.

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Fortunately not all Vietnam vets experienced the maltreatment. Depends where you lived and where you hung out. I would agree they never received the ticker tape parades like the World War II vets.

I arrived at Marine Recruit Depot Parris Island at the ripe old age of 17 in September of '66. I returned from VN in early 1968 & was stationed in So. California until I was discharged in 1970.

Having never been away from rural PA, I was really excited to get stationed in CA, and like most of the other out-of-staters, wanted to see the sights. There were a few times that we'd got odd looks, because we'd be the only ones around with short hair, but everyone just sort of got along. And when I was discharged in 1970 & returned to my home in a small town of PA, the vets were considered kind of special. I was just one of the lucky ones I guess.

Yep. My friends who joined the USMC never got any hassle after their tour in Vietnam. This was Chicago in 1967-1968. In fact they were greeted well and could not buy their own drinks for some time. One of my friends came back in a body bag. Remember that well.

A 1972 U.S. Senate study found that 94% of Vietnam veterans reported their reception by civilians their own age was “friendly”; only 3% reported their reception was “not at all friendly.” Vietnam veterans suffered from the memory of a hideous war.

LINK: https://www.humanities.org/blo...attle-after-the-war/

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
A 1972 U.S. Senate study found that 94% of Vietnam veterans reported their reception by civilians their own age was “friendly”; only 3% reported their reception was “not at all friendly.” Vietnam veterans suffered from the memory of a hideous war.

Yeah, the politicians & the Pentagon were hell on doing their studies back then. I was a door gunner on a Huey, and one of the studies I found said that the life expectancy of a door gunner was two weeks.

Like I said, I was one of the lucky ones, but I wouldn't trade my life experiences for anything. Hell, I was around in the 50's for the birth of rock n roll, the Happy Days of the 60's, Vietnam, the Cold War, etc. Not to mention a pretty eventful life since then.

I like to say, "I'm not at the end of my road yet, but when I get there, I can look back & say; That was a hell of a ride!"

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There were a few times that we'd got odd looks, because we'd be the only ones around with short hair, but everyone just sort of got along.

That is what I remember when I was in AIT at Ft Ord in 1967. I never saw anyone spit on or harrased in any way when we went to San Francisco one weekend. Later in 1969 when I was at Ft Bragg I went to the South Carolina beaches almost every weekend. My roommate married a college girl he met at the beach. I returned to the University of TN in Jan 1970. Veterans made up 75% of the Business school at that time.
My wife grew up in communist Russia with a physician mother who retired from the Russian army & a uncle who was a ranking paramilitary officer in Kamchatka. My wife stayed with him in 1970 finishing her senior year in high school. My wife believes that the Viet Nam war had a positive influence for democracy as the world wide Russian communist expansion was stalemated during that time.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

Both had experienced long-haired stay-at-homers spitting on them in the arrivals lounge and general maltreatment over the years. Both were two of the kindest and most caring people I've ever met in my life, and I miss them both greatly.

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Fortunately not all Vietnam vets experienced the maltreatment. Depends where you lived and where you hung out. I would agree they never received the ticker tape parades like the World War II vets.

All Vietnam and other Army vets who were flown into Travis AFB on their return home experienced maltreatment or, in a lot of cases, attempted maltreatment. I was there and saw it personally.

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Originally posted by Anush:

quote:

There were a few times that we'd got odd looks, because we'd be the only ones around with short hair, but everyone just sort of got along.

That is what I remember when I was in AIT at Ft Ord in 1967. I never saw anyone spit on or harrased in any way when we went to San Francisco one weekend. Later in 1969 when I was at Ft Bragg I went to the South Carolina beaches almost every weekend. My roommate married a college girl he met at the beach. I returned to the University of TN in Jan 1970. Veterans made up 75% of the Business school at that time.
My wife grew up in communist Russia with a physician mother who retired from the Russian army & a uncle who was a ranking paramilitary officer in Kamchatka. My wife stayed with him in 1970 finishing her senior year in high school. My wife believes that the Viet Nam war had a positive influence for democracy as the world wide Russian communist expansion was stalemated during that time.

If nothing else, I think the one lesson that our leaders SHOULD HAVE learned from our Vietnam experience is this:

Before sacrificing the nation's youth in any armed conflict, you need to:
1. Define a concrete, achievable goal.
2. Be willing to use whatever manpower & materials needed to achieve that goal.
3. And once that goal is achieved, pack up & go home.

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Yeah, the politicians & the Pentagon were hell on doing their studies back then

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LOL I suspect you are correct. They probably just asked Kissinger and called it a day.

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Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

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Yeah, the politicians & the Pentagon were hell on doing their studies back then

^^^^^^^^^^^^
LOL I suspect you are correct. They probably just asked Kissinger and called it a day.

Or MacNamara.

^^^^^^^^^^^
Yeah Good old Bob.

A "documentary" showing how disgusting McNamara really was is called the "Fog Or War".

YEah. I saw it. Worth viewing.

Opinion piece from The Wall Street Journal.
===========================

Vietnam War Veterans Deserve an Apology

By Jerry C. Davis

Point Lookout, Mo.

The Vietnam War ended with the signing of the Paris Peace Accords on Jan. 27, 1973. More than 50,000 Americans were killed in the war, and hundreds of thousands were wounded. Many who served weren’t properly welcomed home. Veterans often were advised not to wear their uniforms lest they become targets for mistreatment. Some were cursed, spat on and worse.

These great Americans deserve an apology.

Vietnam veterans often had trouble getting jobs. I learned this firsthand. When I became a college president in 1977, it was hard to find any reference to military service on applicants’ résumés. This saddened me, as my two brothers had served honorably. I changed the hiring approach at the institutions I led, and Vietnam veterans ended up being some of the best employees I hired over the next 45 years.

Most Americans know the treatment of Vietnam veterans was wrong. Soldiers don’t start wars. They are sent on our behalf by our representatives in Washing-ton. They fight and die for us. Those who wear this country’s uniform in any war always should be respected.

At the College of the Ozarks, we have the Knight Center for Patriotic Education, which seeks to carry out a patriotic goal: “to encourage an understanding of American heritage, civic responsibilities, love of country, and willingness to defend it.” The center accomplishes this with classes (including in military science), events, convocations and publications. It also boasts the Patriotic Education Travel Program, which pairs students with veterans on trips to battlefields where the veterans fought, in North Africa, Italy, Germany, France, Hawaii, Japan, Vietnam and elsewhere. I went on four of these trips during my 34 years as president of the school and watched the students’ respect for the veterans grow as they began to understand the sacrifices made. The program has sent a total of 53 students and 37 veterans to Vietnam.

There aren’t many colleges that try to pass on a love of country to new generations. But several organizations have stepped up to help those who served on our behalf, such as Samaritan’s Purse, Wounded Warriors and Tunnel to Towers. Schools and colleges need to step up, too. As National Vietnam Veterans Day approaches on March 29, the American people should speak as one voice before the Vietnam veterans fade into history. H.J. Res. 59, introduced by Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a combat veteran, represents, on behalf of the American people, an apology to Vietnam veterans and their families for how many were treated during and America was divided then, and it is divided now. This resolution, which is 50 years overdue, acknowledges this stain on American honor. It would serve as a message to young people, as well as a reminder to all citizens of this country, that “e pluribus unum” is more than a motto.

Mr. Davis is chancellor of the College of the Ozarks.

LINK

My father had some involvement with the Paris peace accords, 50 years ago he flew on Linebacker II missions.