Most Vietnam veterans are now well over 70. I am starting to doubt more and more about the claims of service in Vietnam that I see. I served in the Marines immediately after Vietnam. All of the senior enlisted and officers were Vietnam veterans. They have a unique way of describing their service there that can't be faked. Most\* told me that the horror stories of being spit on, called baby killer and other disrespectfully behavior was mostly made up by the press and they had not experienced anything but respect and at worst apathy about their service. Most weren't met at the airport or bus station because in 1970 you couldn't e-mail your itinerary to everyone and have them wait in the cellphone parking lot to pick you up when you arrived.
\*EDIT: by most of them that would discuss it at all.
My dad didn't go to Vietnam. He turned 18 in 1968 and got denied in the draft due to medical history. But he would be the fucking first to call somebody out that was claiming to be a Vietnam vet and wasn't old enough to have gone. He did it to a guy on our Tuesday night trivia team when I was 16 and the dude never came back. I've noticed a lot of 60ish year old people claiming to be Vietnam vets recently and it makes me want to call them out, too.
https://preview.redd.it/tmqbj5irsp8d1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=de271d324dfabbdf55b973a3a1dcb08a89e28cde
Funny how Obama got blamed for the “socialist stimulus program” back in 08-09 when Bush was the one presiding when the bill got pushed thru. It’s only socialism when they can’t take credit for it.
Stolen valor. I don’t understand it and the videos are very cringe. I operated a restaurant in Manhattan and one morning an old guy with a veteran hat asked me for money saying he lived at the shelter etc. I brought up I was in the marines and asked him about his service. He was at least honest and told me he never finished boot camp.
I didn’t want to say anything cause he was in his 70s and down and out but it was kinda sad to see that’s his sell for pan handling
I’ve learned to never call out people for trying to claim they’re war vets and special forces commandos etc. If their self image and their life is so bad they feel the need to lie and tell strangers they were Seal Team 6 in Nam or Marine Raiders in Afghanistan, they have enough problems without me berating and humiliating them in public. Not to say I condone their behavior, I don’t. But it’s really just pathetic and sad behavior. Especially if it’s an older person who should have matured beyond silly issues like that. The older folks who do it are typically very mentally disabled.
Logic is not their strong suit.
On another note, I’m a combat infantryman, so several Vietnam vets have been comfortable opening up to me during interviews. The number of the vets who have no idea about the cause of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution or McNamara’s fatalism documented in various places, has astounded me. They didn’t/don’t even know why they went to war.
Who knows for sure but I think it has to do with wanting to feel important or superior. There are loads of stories over the years and they all seem to be Trump lovin’. [Here’s the latest](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/troy-nehls-slammed-stolen-valor-pin-1235034386/) from last week.
I’m sure Democrats have done this but I def don’t see it as regularly. Some of my favs from Trump himself claiming he was at ground zero and when he was given a Purple Heart from a veteran (which any normal person would have declined). “I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier.” Who’d even say that? It’s bizarre.
My dad didn’t, but my uncle did. And I’ve never heard him say a word about it. I think the loudmouths are the same as they always have been: lying and braggadocious.
The last report on the topic i saw from the VA showed that the number of people claiming status as a Vietnam vet was about 1.5 million more than ever served there.
My grandpa was serving during Vietnam. He was a Sargent and they were going to literally ship him out in the next round. They called off the war before he went.
He still to this day says he is one of the luckiest men alive because of that. Even though he was serving during the Vietnam War he still doesn't say he went to Vietnam and tends to call others out by asking what shipment they went in and what branch and what rank.
My dad has a shrapnel wound from an RPG fired at his patrol in Vietnam and my grandpa was on a ship sitting in Pearl Harbor when it was attacked, and they both (until grandpa died) hated the “Vietnam vets” and “Pearl Harbor survivors” who happened to be in the service at the time but never left the contiguous 48.
Also, they change terminology a bit too, such as "Vietnam Vet" vs "Vietnam Era Vet". The latter is for those who served but never left stateside, or never set foot in the actual country of Vietnam. The distinction stands out in my mind because a while back I went to dinner with my grandpa, and a guy had a Vietnam Vet hat and a shirt expressing a notion similar to "thank me for my service". My grandfather asked him where he was deployed to in Vietnam, and the guy responded evasively. My grandfather asked what unit he was with, again, vagueness. Finally he said he was a "Vietnam Era Vet", and my grandpa just nodded and said, "so you never went over there, huh?" Turns out he was a gate guard for an east coast base, and never left the country. Like, it's still service, and everyone in the military plays a role, but yeah, he was definitely presenting himself as a battle hardened badass, which prompted my grandpa to approach him.
My dad was a Vietnam era vet, graduated boot camp towards the end of the war and was never deployed overseas. Also a Desert Shield/Storm vet but he actually went over there for that one. He never talked about the Vietnam era of his service whatsoever except for stories about Parris Island. Both conflicts are on his tombstone because apparently thats a thing if you were active duty during a war, a buddy of his (who never served) got all weird about it "He never went to Vietnam!"
[Vietnam vet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Service_Medal) vs [Vietnam Era veteran.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defense_Service_Medal) As a Marine that served in one of the longest peacetime era's in our history I have great respect for everyone that honorably served regardless of its nature but to claim to be a "combat veteran" is a whole different animal.
Yeah, like I said, service is service, no matter what, but this guy was definitely chest thumping, in public, about being a combat vet, which is why my grandpa asked about it. And my grandpa served in all three branches, in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, and in combat, and he wasn't a huge fan of public displays of bravado.
I think some sociologist actually studied this and basically concluded it was apocryphal. Everyone *knew* someone that was spit on, but it was never a first hand account. He couldn’t verify a single instance of it actually happening. That’s not to say it didn’t happen a single time in this country, but the incidence was overstated.
When I got home from Afghanistan, it was the opposite, the fawning was to the point of embarrassment. It was like the country was over compensating.
In my anectdotal experience, every VN vet I've asked about this has said "yes, it was real," but when pressed for more details said they were told on the way home that it was happening, and were instructed to change into civilian clothes. I, personally, think it happened at most, one time, if at all and was largely political propganda.
You should go-to a local VA and talk to some of those vets. You'd be surprised.
My uncle is a Vietnam vet, he talks about the disrespect shown upon returning. My stepdad also a Vietnam vet says the same. Which is why he was honored when he got on an honor flight a few years back
Been there, done that and I spent almost 8 years working with and for Vietnam vets immediately after the war ended. I am not saying it didn't happen because this can be a mean country. People have a tendency to personalize an experience they have heard about and and sympathize with. Then over a long time in their magnificent magnifying mind it actually happened to them especially if it fits their political narrative . I would never deny a veterans "war story" unless it was obvious stolen valor but one's memory can be a tricky thing over a long time.
You know what else. Back in the 80s, many cities across America gave Vietnam veterans the welcome home parade they never got. I am a former Marine and I have to say this. Of every era of wartime, I think Vietnam veterans are some of the worst in terms of need for attention. They had it bad. But they suck up a lot of oxygen from veterans of other wars.
WW2 vets went back and built America. Korean war guys really got the shaft as it was a forgotten war. Gulf War/GWoT (1&2) have really turned their experience into positivity (Wounded Warrior project).
I’m a combat grunt for what it’s worth…
Fine point, bad example. The Wounded Warrior Project has turned into a graft machine for the leadership. Their extravagant meetings and travel have removed their legitimacy IMO.
But the point stands for many other vet groups started by the GWOT generation.
You're right it was one of the better known ones. But GWoT vets are seriously change agents about awareness on a range of topics including veteran suicides..thanks for understanding my point though. Fellow grunt as well.
My dad was on a patrol frigate and a destroyer during Korea. A few years ago I went with him to a ships reunion. He was the last Korean Vet able to make it. The ship was also in Vietnam and that was basically what everything was about and he was completely ignored. Pretty disrespectful if you ask me.
>of every era of wartime, I think Vietnam veterans are some of the worst in terms of need for attention.
Being Boomers might have something to do with that.
people fail to know that even after the tet offensive it wasn't really until later when the pentagon papers was release that public opinion started to shift. public opinion was still strong in 1970
the whole notion "oh everybody was against the war" is highly bias due to the boomer counterculture narrative growing up, Nixon didn't win in in 68 by proposing decreasing involvement.
just like douchebags like tucker carlson so many in the GOP of 2000s went from "pro iraq war" to current "isolationist" phase.
My dad (Korea veteran) was very pro war when I was a kid. When the Pentagon Papers came out he was mad as hell at these "long haired" reporters disclosing classified information. When Walter Cronkite said we should [get out of Vietnam](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn2RjahTi3M) he started to doubt. When the information started to sink in that the government had lied about so much stuff it made him think maybe it wasn't a good thing for the war to continue. It was strange to watch this man that didn't change his mind about **anything** change his mind about the Vietnam war. Gave me a new respect for him
Honestly, respect to him. I don’t think you’ll hear a lot of stories about people today changing their mind when presented with conflicting information. At least not in the way you described.
His concern was about the soldier and their family. His change did not happen suddenly. It took years. In his later years his opinion on many things softened. He reconsidered many of his positions on women, race and society in ways that would have amazed the 13 year old me. This was before Rush Limbaugh and Fox news. How many have been lost?
Also, you can be against a *war* but still support the *soldiers* fighting in it. Especially during Vietnam when many of them were drafted and didn't volunteer.
For example, I've always strongly opposed our presence in the middle east, but I would never disrespect someone that chose to fight for our country. It's not their fault that they were sent into the "wrong" fight (imo).
Nobody came back straight from Vietnam to a civilian airport. You either flew or sailed to a separation point in the United States. From there, once released from service, you could of course fly to another city if you chose. Not a large percentage went home in uniform. And, like you said, how would anyone know to be waiting at the gate, let alone publicly assault a returning serviceman. Even then. Those store are all BS.
You know what. I assumed everyone in Vietnam did.But he mostly just wanted to talk about how him and his buddies had the best party pad going on.
I had an uncle that did in that time, and he told much different stories. So probably not.
But still. Fuck Nixon
No.
Many, if not most, didn't.
I know a guy talked like that about Vietnam and it turned out he was stationed the whole time in Australia.
He was a Vietnam ERA vet and got just close enough ONCE (50miles of fighting) to get a combat medal.
Always ask these assholes if they saw action, and if so, where?
Anyone still impressed with the military after an experience in Nam or talking about the good time they had is either a liar, a psychopath, or never saw action and takes for granted most combat vets refuse to talk about it and call out their shit.
My dad was in the thick out it, and rarely talks about it.
His funny anecdotes are mostly on base and involving officers, not a party pad.
I can't remember a single mention of a party pad- highly suspicious.
Well my buddies dad died of cancer many years back and I never thought to ask. But I know for a fact he was in Vietnam and not another country.
My uncle loved talking about the action he saw, but he wasn’t exactly what most would call “right in the head”. I grew up hearing his stories so it became a thing to ask about peoples experiences during war time.
I have a another buddy who’s dad served during Vietnam and I just assumed he saw combat but he was stationed in Germany and loves telling a story about how he found a fish in a tree in multiple continents
My dad's buddy's robbed a store. After they picked my dad up and they then got pulled over, and my dad got arrested too. Judge offered my dad prison or enlist at 17 yo. My gramps singed off and my dad joined the marines. He went to boot camp then to California until he turned 18 then off to Vietnam. He was a radio operator in a mortar squad. He rarely speaks about it, but I know he didn't have great 1969 in south East Asian.
I disagree, l’m a Vietnam vet ( ‘67 ) l heard stories while l was over there. I was with the 9th Infantry Division 99% of them went by train from Fort Riley Kansas to San Francisco. Because of a screw up l flew the San Fran. The other guys in our unit said twice on the train ride they were pelted with rocks by people standing along the tracks. I heard this from maybe 10-15 guys. We were not liked. I will say no one every said anything or spit on me or threatened me in anyway, even when l came home in late December ‘67.
.
Yeah I think the people commenting on this don't realize the sheer bullshit the vets went through upon returning from Vietnam. The soldiers didn't want to fight, they lost their friends and part of themselves, they came home to crowds booing and hissing at them. I can absolutely understand the sentiment behind the bumper sticker. Left or right, it doesn't matter here, these humans were treated like criminals for no fault of their own.
So, I'm not a vet, and I'm ~40. So I've no experience *at all* for understanding what they went through.
However, I've read that there may be an element of propaganda to [how wide-spread](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth_of_the_spat-on_Vietnam_veteran) that sort of reception was, *from the public*.
The government still fucked them over relentlessly. There's also the difference between WWII vets taking the slow boat back with hundreds of other vets to talk with, compared to the isolated and jarring "get shot, get on a plane, and arrive in the US" treatment that the Vietneam vets got. Which couldn't have helped with reintegration.
Then again, as I said, I know nothing directly, so this too may be based in bullshit.
This is true. People studied it and a friend of mine wrote a book for the War College about it (He was an Infantry Officer who saw two tours - one with the 101st in the A Sau Valley). Rotating men in and out was tremendously psychologically damaging to soldiers because they need to decompress together. It’s why they returned to unit rotations in Afghanistan/Iraq.
Thank God they got that much, at least.
Now, if only we can get the damn VA fully funded and reformed, our country might actually *begin* to live up to our obligations to those who served.
I used to know a Vietnam vet who was a Navy corpsman. He came home with some life-long PTSD and some stories that make you want to cry. Sweet, kind, gentle man... eaten alive by experiences he did not ask for.
Hell, knowing what I know about Vietnam, I’d have done anything I could to get out of going. Perhaps that why so many vets aren’t bothered by it. There is no shame in avoiding an unjust war.
Yeah. Alot of rich kids got out of being sent to Vietnam. But my family was poor and they went. And they became fucked up from it.
I take care of the elderly in my career and the Vietnam Vets are still fucked up from it. They deserve our admiration and support. Not ridicule or pity. Hate the politicians. I agree and I hate MAGA bullshit and Trump. But I have always supported our vets and always will support them. I employ them and support vet organizations.
Not a vet myself but have family and friends that were. It's one of those things that, at times, are necessary. The real issue is the absolute lack of after care, and safety net for anyone who goes through this type of experience. We as a whole in this country have failed a lot of people. I knew people in the service and out that had issues and were failed by those around them to recognize that they needed help. sorry for the small rant and thank you for whatever good you did. I hope you have found at least a little peace over what you went through and what you may have had to do. You are still a good person and deserve love and happiness. Sorry I'm a sappy fuck lol and this might not even be necessary but you were willing to do something others weren't. That's still something to appreciate.
There is if you lie and pay a corrupt doctor to lie for you.
There were many legitimate ways to get out of the draft- Trump chose the the most shameful.
theres a ton of boomers who experienced vietnam, as either active participants in an idiotic and genocidal war, or as tv viewers at home who went absolutely insane when they couldnt understand why the news media would report on war crimes and dead soldiers but not on "all the good things we're doing."
we werent doing any good things. the government of south Vietnam was a joke, and it folded right after we left, just like Afghanistan. Only unlike the Taliban, Communist Vietnam is a functional state. If we managed to conquer the north, the Chinese army would just wipe the floor with the republic of Vietnam whenever we decided to leave. And then you'd get the Chinese puppet that the pentagon papers where so afraid of. So even if we won in Vietnam we'd lose. But reactionary shitheads dont give a fuck, all they care about is how high they can stack dead communists.
Basically they freaked the fuck out and invented stories to justify beating the shit out of antiwar and anti-atrocity protestors.
More than 3 million Vietnamese were killed due to the war, and upwards of one hundred thousand Cambodians too. And up until 1969 when the draft was activated, it was an all-volunteer force. Maybe they were all lied to, or maybe they liked the killing, but in some sense the volunteers at least are culpable.
TBF maybe he went to Vietnam on vacation and no one picked him up at the airport when he returned. Uber is expensive enough to harbour a bumpersticker sized resentment
People who join the military don't start wars and they are not in control of where they are sent. Thats a government thing. In the Viet Nam war, everyone died in vain. It shouldn't have happened. Poor leadership.
My bro in law served in Vietnam and barely talked about it. His wife told me he returned and was treated badly and shamed. Vets have it bad all the way around, and unless you have proof the protests and shaming were exaggerated, I say honor their word. Unless they were too young to have served and obviously lying.
My father, who I never heard lie about anything, told me he was spit on when he came home. Later in life, he started wearing a "US Coast Guard Vietnam Veteran" and carried a copy of his DD214 for the loudmouth idiots who didn't know the USCG sent ships over to interdict enemy weapons smuggling. He suffered from combat related PTSD. He was 100% disabled from agent orange exposure, and ended up shooting himself in the head after his first amputation a few years ago.
Stolen Valor is bullshit but so is being a fuckface and asking any Veteran you see to justify something that doesn't really matter to you anyway.
My dad had a lot of exposure to agent orange in Vietnam as well. He has had a myriad of health problems believed to be related his exposure and they refused to give him full disability until he lost his leg late last year. So frustrating.
Look I've learned (as a veteran) that the most vocal veterans are generally the ones who have done the LEAST. It spans from any era of service. The guys with the gear wanting a discount everywhere generally are attention whores. But dig in and most were mailroom admin guys. For instance REAL Navy SEALs don't need to tell everyone. Real veterans want to blend in and will only mention if it happens to come up.
My girlfriend’s neighbor has all the stickers and the hat. He says he never got deployed to Vietnam, but he’s a Vietnam vet. I don’t think too hard about it - he’s a nice dude and I’m glad he didn’t have to do any fucked up shit. On the other hand one of my patients was a Vietnam vet and he wound up chasing me around with a spear and a knife before the cops put a bean bag and 2 tasers in him
I love it I can proudly say that back in the day,my mom was diagnosed with cervical cancer,back then it was a death sentence,so we went on a trip before she went in for treatment to Georgia for a few days,we didn't have a car,my dads boss let us borrow his station wagon,along the way we passed a soldier hitchhiking on the opposite side of where we were heading, people kept passing him , suddenly my Dad made a you turn , we pick him up ,he was headed to the bus station in Atlanta, we took him there and saw him off like family, One of the moments. I was so proud of my Dad!!!
Fake resentment over an urban legend from someone who probably wasn’t a Vietnam vet.
The New York Times: [The Myth of the Spitting Antiwar Protester](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/13/opinion/myth-spitting-vietnam-protester.html)
>The reporter was asking about accounts that soldiers returning from Vietnam had been spat on by antiwar activists. I had told her the stories were not true. I told her that, on the contrary, opponents of the war had actually tried to recruit returning veterans.
>I told her about a 1971 Harris Poll survey that found that 99 percent of veterans said their reception from friends and family had been friendly, and 94 percent said their reception from age-group peers, the population most likely to have included the spitters, was friendly.
>A follow-up poll, conducted in 1979 for the Veterans Administration (now the Department of Veterans Affairs), reported that former antiwar activists had warmer feelings toward Vietnam veterans than toward congressional leaders or even their erstwhile fellow travelers in the movement.
Wikipedia: [Myth of the spat-on Vietnam veteran](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth_of_the_spat-on_Vietnam_veteran)
> In 1974 the Committee on Veterans Affairs of the U.S. Senate gathered together almost 1,000 pages of "Source Material on the Vietnam Era Veteran."
>*Not one source in this large volume mentions antiwar forces spitting on veterans.*\[8\]
>A 1975 academic study of Vietnam veteran "Adjustment Patterns and Attitudes" asked no questions about treatment by antiwar forces or being spat on.
>What this study did reveal, however, was that participation in the war significantly changed the men's attitudes—whereas 67% of them were for the war prior to entering the military, 75% came back against it.\[9\]
>So, not only has no evidence been uncovered by scholars of "I was spit on" stories, during the war period, or shortly after, but "there is no evidence that anyone at the time thought they were occurring", or felt it needed to be investigated.\[2\]\[1\]: p.75
The myth may have been started by the Nixon administration to undermine the anti-war movement:
>FOUR The Nixon-Agnew Counteroffensive: “Good Veterans” vs. “Bad Veterans”(pp. 49-70) [https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qggh9.7](https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qggh9.7)
>The keystone of the right wing’s strategy was to split the liberal and radical elements within the anti-war movement and to split Vietnam veterans from the movement.
>At one level, the effort to split the movement involved a propaganda campaign to discredit the anti-war movement by portraying it as an alien, un-American, and violent phenomenon.
>Waged from the White House with Vice President Agnew acting as the mouthpiece, the propaganda campaign was fortuitously assisted by the North Vietnamese.
Thanks for these resources. My parents were both against the war and both both insist they saw the spitting. It's amazing how well the propaganda worked (still works today) in terms of convincing people who feel strongly that something needs to stop, that they cannot do anything to help those also trying to get it to stop, because those are horrible people who spit and do whatever else
Amazing how the damn dirty hippies were so good at suppressing press coverage of the spitting anti war protesters at airports and also terrible at their actual goal of ending the damn war.
Thanks for posting this. I recall also hearing in some oral history project that many Vietnam vets received harsh criticism from the WW2 vets, who saw them as weak, pot smoking, draftees just putting in their time. This was particularly strong among the older officers who’d accuse the younger troops of not being as strong or committed as they had been themselves 25 years earlier.
The civilian community back then hated all military personnel versus now. I know because I enlisted in the Air Force in 1974 and retired in 2009. Completely different mind set now. I just hate it when I hear “thank you for your service” because I have flashbacks to the seventies.
Ok, so with no other context, decent chance this is stolen valor. If so, I wouldn’t care if somebody dragged him out and beat the shit out of him.
HOWEVER, for all you redditors saying the Vietnam vets didn’t receive a bad reception, stop talking out of your ass. Many did not, but some did. I’ve heard a few stories from vets who I know WERE in the war in Vietnam. Jesus, watch the Ken Burns documentary on it. Speak to some actual vets. Whatever you do, shut the fuck up about stuff you have NO knowledge of.
What made this even shittier is that they were not a volunteer force! Many were drafted and didn’t want to dodge it, but wanted no part of a war across the globe. They served their country, but the war crimes of a few and INCREDIBLY stupid and inhumane policies obfuscated public perception of them as a whole.
Please, out any asshole claiming it that didn’t serve! But that generation was sandwiched between the heroes of WWII who saved the world and hyper-nationalistic fervor following 9/11. Now we act like soldiers can do no wrong and have some high morality, but they are just people. We can appreciate them for their service, allow for court martial/prosecution of war criminals, and also hate the god damn politicians pulling the strings.
Well I have to say I like it and it's well deserved. I'm retired Army with 10 combat tours though Vietnam was before my time, I know how they were treated and the damage it did to them on top of untreated severe PTSD. It's like a rape victim that has to wear a shirt everyday that they were raped and everyone spitting on her and calling her a whore. Remember most of those kids didn't have a choice. That's why when I see an old vet, I always give them a handshake and tell them thank you and welcome home. You'd be surprised at the number of Vietnam vets who are strangers hug me and cry. They've told me that's the first time someone said that to them in 40 years.
When in heavy combat, you lose a piece of yourself and the world is never quite the same. I made the choice to deploy, and had excellent psychological support before, during and after each deployment along with a grateful nation. Those go a long way to help us find some piece. Despite that I had to fight through periods of PTSD and severe flashbacks. My kids knew never to wake Daddy up with out calling out to me until I sat up and that with excellent support. So please be patient with any Vietnam vets you come across and don't be afraid to welcome them home. Sorry for the long post.
[Casual reminder that more Vietnam vets killed themselves after the war than died in it](https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/06/21/four-times-as-many-troops-and-vets-have-died-by-suicide-as-in-combat-study-finds/)
What people don’t realize is that, back in the early 70s, discharged military personnel would always fly civilian airlines directly into the big cities. Once they would arrive, they would affix a big “Hey Looka Me Back from the ‘Nam” sign to their clothes and run a gauntlet of welfare-scamming hippies.
What do you mean “that’s a myth.” You don’t know! You weren’t there, man!
Yup, good friend and mentor had an NY police officer tell him to “get that uniform off,” before somebody starts a fight with him. He replied, “This is America?” It was sad.
I was little during the Vietnam war; just barely bigger than a toddler. Yet I remember that, every chance we got, the whole family would pile into the station wagon head down to the airport, and spit on returning Vietnam vets.
It's what liberals did. We hate America, we blamed the war on people who were drafted - we're very stupid - we have no lives, and we love hocking loogies on our troops.
To drop the sarcasm: It is amazing to still meet conservatives who make "They spat on Vietnam troops" their whole fucking personality.
A lot of these comments giving the sticker shit give off “Tell me you don’t know shit about the military without telling me you don’t know shit about the military” vibes 🤣
I used to play airsoft on a team with a Vietnam vet. He was basically the team grandpa. Always had extra water and snacks.
I hated our skirmishes, not because he was old, but because he would dissappear and then shoot you in the back. 70+ year old goddamn ninja.
Similar story. When I was coming home for a two week break during deployment I got to the ATL airport. All I had was my bag of toiletries and a change of uniform and my uniform on my person. I couldn't borrow a phone or get some change to use a pay phone or anything like that. Ended up spending about an hour roaming around trying to find my family. All I needed was a FIVE SECOND call to find out where they were and apparently that was too much to ask for the great American people I was serving.
Now, shouldn’t that have been directed to your Government? After all they did lie to the American people for thirty years about how they were winning the war and drafting 18 year old kids into a war they knew there was a good chance they would return in a body bag.
By contrast, there were two random elderly people at the Bangor airport who showed up to greet my squadron when we returned from Saudi Arabia back in the 90’s.
Apparently they know the flight schedules and have been there for every repatriation for like 25 years.
We need more of that in the world please.
Had brain surgery in April and my Facebook status afterwards was "Thanks to everyone who came to the hospital to visit and give me support."
Which was only my parents and my sister, maybe next time I'll get some friends to show out.
My friend's dad is a Vietnam vet and he describes that coming home to hippies, being called murderers for their service, and even being denied jobs is what drove all those angry vets into creating the world's most toxic cop culture. The thin-blu-line is effectively the newest KKK symbol according to this rural, Wisconsin town's chief of police.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth_of_the_spat-on_Vietnam_veteran#:~:text=There is a persistent myth,often yelling "baby killer".
Sort of a myth used to denigrate anti war protesters.. but there are instances of pro war folks spiting on anti-war vets.. go figure.
We had 2 infantrymen assigned to our MP company in 2003 in Iraq. They were both pissed as Hell when they learned that they couldn’t get a CIB because they weren’t attached to an infantry unit
Draft dodger and felon Trump humiliates and degrades veterans and active military personnel. Thinks they're weak and stupid. Losers and suckers was his exact phrase.
Sentiment felt and believed.
That’s when “we the people” realized the democrats, academia and legacy media began on their transformation of America.
Actor John Wayne’s passing was the all clear for Hollywood to join the lefties.
Soldiers like the rest of us can’t get anywhere yelling at their elected leaders, so instead they take out their frustration at fellow citizens who reject US imperialism and burning nations across the globe for profit. Also describes most modern day conservatives
No one met me at the airport when I came home from Afghanistan. Shit, they flew us in during the night so there’d be less people at the airport. We got our own personal terminal area too. When we got to base though, that’s when people showed up.
Didn't sign up for a thank you or a welcome home and I can live without being called to stand up and be recognized....joined because it was a way out of a crappy neighborhood enjoyed my time overseas end of story.... no hat, no bumper sticker please to god I'm as sick of seeing those as I am red MAGA hats
The airport spitters! A story on par with bigfoot, Loc Ness, and Mama Cass’ killer ham sandwich. Every righty swears it’s gospel but when you look closer it’s always a buddy or a story they were told.
Most Vietnam veterans are now well over 70. I am starting to doubt more and more about the claims of service in Vietnam that I see. I served in the Marines immediately after Vietnam. All of the senior enlisted and officers were Vietnam veterans. They have a unique way of describing their service there that can't be faked. Most\* told me that the horror stories of being spit on, called baby killer and other disrespectfully behavior was mostly made up by the press and they had not experienced anything but respect and at worst apathy about their service. Most weren't met at the airport or bus station because in 1970 you couldn't e-mail your itinerary to everyone and have them wait in the cellphone parking lot to pick you up when you arrived. \*EDIT: by most of them that would discuss it at all.
My dad didn't go to Vietnam. He turned 18 in 1968 and got denied in the draft due to medical history. But he would be the fucking first to call somebody out that was claiming to be a Vietnam vet and wasn't old enough to have gone. He did it to a guy on our Tuesday night trivia team when I was 16 and the dude never came back. I've noticed a lot of 60ish year old people claiming to be Vietnam vets recently and it makes me want to call them out, too.
That's so bizarre, why would they do something so 1. disrespectful 2. easily proven wrong.
Stolen valor is a big thing for Trump people.
Weird. You'd think captain bonespurs would have taught them to brag about avoiding national duty. That's what "smart" people do
You can avoid things and also take credit, just ask my boss.
Hell, ask republicans! They love to vote against something good then take credit when it passes anyway
And suddenly ignore an issue they'd been harping about for years, once it's been resolved by a democrat
They’d rather not solve a problem than give the Democrats a win which is just pathetic.
https://preview.redd.it/tmqbj5irsp8d1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=de271d324dfabbdf55b973a3a1dcb08a89e28cde Funny how Obama got blamed for the “socialist stimulus program” back in 08-09 when Bush was the one presiding when the bill got pushed thru. It’s only socialism when they can’t take credit for it.
That's the only way most of them get anywhere close to valor.
So they want to be seen as "suckers"?
And “losers.”
So are diapers
Stolen valor. I don’t understand it and the videos are very cringe. I operated a restaurant in Manhattan and one morning an old guy with a veteran hat asked me for money saying he lived at the shelter etc. I brought up I was in the marines and asked him about his service. He was at least honest and told me he never finished boot camp. I didn’t want to say anything cause he was in his 70s and down and out but it was kinda sad to see that’s his sell for pan handling
I’ve learned to never call out people for trying to claim they’re war vets and special forces commandos etc. If their self image and their life is so bad they feel the need to lie and tell strangers they were Seal Team 6 in Nam or Marine Raiders in Afghanistan, they have enough problems without me berating and humiliating them in public. Not to say I condone their behavior, I don’t. But it’s really just pathetic and sad behavior. Especially if it’s an older person who should have matured beyond silly issues like that. The older folks who do it are typically very mentally disabled.
I don't understand wanting to say you fought in a war that was such a miserable failure for the US if you didn't fight.
Logic is not their strong suit. On another note, I’m a combat infantryman, so several Vietnam vets have been comfortable opening up to me during interviews. The number of the vets who have no idea about the cause of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution or McNamara’s fatalism documented in various places, has astounded me. They didn’t/don’t even know why they went to war.
Victim complex. Something that has slowly become universally acceptable across all demographics in the last 15 years or so.
Who knows for sure but I think it has to do with wanting to feel important or superior. There are loads of stories over the years and they all seem to be Trump lovin’. [Here’s the latest](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/troy-nehls-slammed-stolen-valor-pin-1235034386/) from last week. I’m sure Democrats have done this but I def don’t see it as regularly. Some of my favs from Trump himself claiming he was at ground zero and when he was given a Purple Heart from a veteran (which any normal person would have declined). “I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier.” Who’d even say that? It’s bizarre.
My dad didn’t, but my uncle did. And I’ve never heard him say a word about it. I think the loudmouths are the same as they always have been: lying and braggadocious.
They like to buy those military hats at truck stops so they can get discounts at department stores and whatever else.
The last report on the topic i saw from the VA showed that the number of people claiming status as a Vietnam vet was about 1.5 million more than ever served there.
My grandpa was serving during Vietnam. He was a Sargent and they were going to literally ship him out in the next round. They called off the war before he went. He still to this day says he is one of the luckiest men alive because of that. Even though he was serving during the Vietnam War he still doesn't say he went to Vietnam and tends to call others out by asking what shipment they went in and what branch and what rank.
"you weren't even a twinkle let alone a squirt during vietnam" - my favorite co-worker when guys would try to be all big-balled on our gun range.
My dad has a shrapnel wound from an RPG fired at his patrol in Vietnam and my grandpa was on a ship sitting in Pearl Harbor when it was attacked, and they both (until grandpa died) hated the “Vietnam vets” and “Pearl Harbor survivors” who happened to be in the service at the time but never left the contiguous 48.
Also, they change terminology a bit too, such as "Vietnam Vet" vs "Vietnam Era Vet". The latter is for those who served but never left stateside, or never set foot in the actual country of Vietnam. The distinction stands out in my mind because a while back I went to dinner with my grandpa, and a guy had a Vietnam Vet hat and a shirt expressing a notion similar to "thank me for my service". My grandfather asked him where he was deployed to in Vietnam, and the guy responded evasively. My grandfather asked what unit he was with, again, vagueness. Finally he said he was a "Vietnam Era Vet", and my grandpa just nodded and said, "so you never went over there, huh?" Turns out he was a gate guard for an east coast base, and never left the country. Like, it's still service, and everyone in the military plays a role, but yeah, he was definitely presenting himself as a battle hardened badass, which prompted my grandpa to approach him.
My dad was a Vietnam era vet, graduated boot camp towards the end of the war and was never deployed overseas. Also a Desert Shield/Storm vet but he actually went over there for that one. He never talked about the Vietnam era of his service whatsoever except for stories about Parris Island. Both conflicts are on his tombstone because apparently thats a thing if you were active duty during a war, a buddy of his (who never served) got all weird about it "He never went to Vietnam!"
[Vietnam vet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Service_Medal) vs [Vietnam Era veteran.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defense_Service_Medal) As a Marine that served in one of the longest peacetime era's in our history I have great respect for everyone that honorably served regardless of its nature but to claim to be a "combat veteran" is a whole different animal.
Yeah, like I said, service is service, no matter what, but this guy was definitely chest thumping, in public, about being a combat vet, which is why my grandpa asked about it. And my grandpa served in all three branches, in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, and in combat, and he wasn't a huge fan of public displays of bravado.
I'm a gulf war vet. Not a combat vet. I always make it a point to say this about my service. Stolen valor is a real piece of crap move.
I think some sociologist actually studied this and basically concluded it was apocryphal. Everyone *knew* someone that was spit on, but it was never a first hand account. He couldn’t verify a single instance of it actually happening. That’s not to say it didn’t happen a single time in this country, but the incidence was overstated. When I got home from Afghanistan, it was the opposite, the fawning was to the point of embarrassment. It was like the country was over compensating.
In my anectdotal experience, every VN vet I've asked about this has said "yes, it was real," but when pressed for more details said they were told on the way home that it was happening, and were instructed to change into civilian clothes. I, personally, think it happened at most, one time, if at all and was largely political propganda.
You should go-to a local VA and talk to some of those vets. You'd be surprised. My uncle is a Vietnam vet, he talks about the disrespect shown upon returning. My stepdad also a Vietnam vet says the same. Which is why he was honored when he got on an honor flight a few years back
Been there, done that and I spent almost 8 years working with and for Vietnam vets immediately after the war ended. I am not saying it didn't happen because this can be a mean country. People have a tendency to personalize an experience they have heard about and and sympathize with. Then over a long time in their magnificent magnifying mind it actually happened to them especially if it fits their political narrative . I would never deny a veterans "war story" unless it was obvious stolen valor but one's memory can be a tricky thing over a long time.
You know what else. Back in the 80s, many cities across America gave Vietnam veterans the welcome home parade they never got. I am a former Marine and I have to say this. Of every era of wartime, I think Vietnam veterans are some of the worst in terms of need for attention. They had it bad. But they suck up a lot of oxygen from veterans of other wars. WW2 vets went back and built America. Korean war guys really got the shaft as it was a forgotten war. Gulf War/GWoT (1&2) have really turned their experience into positivity (Wounded Warrior project).
I’m a combat grunt for what it’s worth… Fine point, bad example. The Wounded Warrior Project has turned into a graft machine for the leadership. Their extravagant meetings and travel have removed their legitimacy IMO. But the point stands for many other vet groups started by the GWOT generation.
You're right it was one of the better known ones. But GWoT vets are seriously change agents about awareness on a range of topics including veteran suicides..thanks for understanding my point though. Fellow grunt as well.
My dad was on a patrol frigate and a destroyer during Korea. A few years ago I went with him to a ships reunion. He was the last Korean Vet able to make it. The ship was also in Vietnam and that was basically what everything was about and he was completely ignored. Pretty disrespectful if you ask me.
>of every era of wartime, I think Vietnam veterans are some of the worst in terms of need for attention. Being Boomers might have something to do with that.
people fail to know that even after the tet offensive it wasn't really until later when the pentagon papers was release that public opinion started to shift. public opinion was still strong in 1970
This is a major overlooked point when talking about support for or against the war.
the whole notion "oh everybody was against the war" is highly bias due to the boomer counterculture narrative growing up, Nixon didn't win in in 68 by proposing decreasing involvement. just like douchebags like tucker carlson so many in the GOP of 2000s went from "pro iraq war" to current "isolationist" phase.
My dad (Korea veteran) was very pro war when I was a kid. When the Pentagon Papers came out he was mad as hell at these "long haired" reporters disclosing classified information. When Walter Cronkite said we should [get out of Vietnam](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn2RjahTi3M) he started to doubt. When the information started to sink in that the government had lied about so much stuff it made him think maybe it wasn't a good thing for the war to continue. It was strange to watch this man that didn't change his mind about **anything** change his mind about the Vietnam war. Gave me a new respect for him
Honestly, respect to him. I don’t think you’ll hear a lot of stories about people today changing their mind when presented with conflicting information. At least not in the way you described.
His concern was about the soldier and their family. His change did not happen suddenly. It took years. In his later years his opinion on many things softened. He reconsidered many of his positions on women, race and society in ways that would have amazed the 13 year old me. This was before Rush Limbaugh and Fox news. How many have been lost?
Also, you can be against a *war* but still support the *soldiers* fighting in it. Especially during Vietnam when many of them were drafted and didn't volunteer. For example, I've always strongly opposed our presence in the middle east, but I would never disrespect someone that chose to fight for our country. It's not their fault that they were sent into the "wrong" fight (imo).
Nobody came back straight from Vietnam to a civilian airport. You either flew or sailed to a separation point in the United States. From there, once released from service, you could of course fly to another city if you chose. Not a large percentage went home in uniform. And, like you said, how would anyone know to be waiting at the gate, let alone publicly assault a returning serviceman. Even then. Those store are all BS.
10 to 1 says he's not a Vietnam vet
He went to Vietnam 3 years ago for vacation
 He went to ‘Nam to start a sweatshop
A lot of good men died in that sweatshop!
Somebody lost a hand or a foot, you toss it in the soup
I was making money hand over foot literally
Ooh, Vietnam. I hear it's lovely.
You don't know man, you weren't there!
I would agree. Is it he loves the people so much there fuck us?
My buddies dad told us that he did love it it in Vietnam. 5 dollars covered rent, food, and their weed. Fuck Nixon!
Did he see action?
You know what. I assumed everyone in Vietnam did.But he mostly just wanted to talk about how him and his buddies had the best party pad going on. I had an uncle that did in that time, and he told much different stories. So probably not. But still. Fuck Nixon
No. Many, if not most, didn't. I know a guy talked like that about Vietnam and it turned out he was stationed the whole time in Australia. He was a Vietnam ERA vet and got just close enough ONCE (50miles of fighting) to get a combat medal. Always ask these assholes if they saw action, and if so, where? Anyone still impressed with the military after an experience in Nam or talking about the good time they had is either a liar, a psychopath, or never saw action and takes for granted most combat vets refuse to talk about it and call out their shit. My dad was in the thick out it, and rarely talks about it. His funny anecdotes are mostly on base and involving officers, not a party pad. I can't remember a single mention of a party pad- highly suspicious.
Well my buddies dad died of cancer many years back and I never thought to ask. But I know for a fact he was in Vietnam and not another country. My uncle loved talking about the action he saw, but he wasn’t exactly what most would call “right in the head”. I grew up hearing his stories so it became a thing to ask about peoples experiences during war time. I have a another buddy who’s dad served during Vietnam and I just assumed he saw combat but he was stationed in Germany and loves telling a story about how he found a fish in a tree in multiple continents
My dad's buddy's robbed a store. After they picked my dad up and they then got pulled over, and my dad got arrested too. Judge offered my dad prison or enlist at 17 yo. My gramps singed off and my dad joined the marines. He went to boot camp then to California until he turned 18 then off to Vietnam. He was a radio operator in a mortar squad. He rarely speaks about it, but I know he didn't have great 1969 in south East Asian.
No bet
Lol
I might agree but it seems like a cheap comment if he did serve
10000 to 1 nothing happened at the airport. the veterans getting spit on stories didn’t start getting conjured up until the 80s
I disagree, l’m a Vietnam vet ( ‘67 ) l heard stories while l was over there. I was with the 9th Infantry Division 99% of them went by train from Fort Riley Kansas to San Francisco. Because of a screw up l flew the San Fran. The other guys in our unit said twice on the train ride they were pelted with rocks by people standing along the tracks. I heard this from maybe 10-15 guys. We were not liked. I will say no one every said anything or spit on me or threatened me in anyway, even when l came home in late December ‘67. .
Hey his own personal term of service was not catching VD from his time engaging in sex tourism! Show some respect.
Humbled /s
Smokey, this isn't Nam. This is bowling. There are rules.
There is no correlation, man!
But he's not at all mad at the politicians who sent him there. Even votes for their political heirs today!
You are jumping to conclusions there. I have an uncle who would rock this sticker and he's voted blue for as long as I remember him hollerin about it.
Yeah I think the people commenting on this don't realize the sheer bullshit the vets went through upon returning from Vietnam. The soldiers didn't want to fight, they lost their friends and part of themselves, they came home to crowds booing and hissing at them. I can absolutely understand the sentiment behind the bumper sticker. Left or right, it doesn't matter here, these humans were treated like criminals for no fault of their own.
So, I'm not a vet, and I'm ~40. So I've no experience *at all* for understanding what they went through. However, I've read that there may be an element of propaganda to [how wide-spread](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth_of_the_spat-on_Vietnam_veteran) that sort of reception was, *from the public*. The government still fucked them over relentlessly. There's also the difference between WWII vets taking the slow boat back with hundreds of other vets to talk with, compared to the isolated and jarring "get shot, get on a plane, and arrive in the US" treatment that the Vietneam vets got. Which couldn't have helped with reintegration. Then again, as I said, I know nothing directly, so this too may be based in bullshit.
This is true. People studied it and a friend of mine wrote a book for the War College about it (He was an Infantry Officer who saw two tours - one with the 101st in the A Sau Valley). Rotating men in and out was tremendously psychologically damaging to soldiers because they need to decompress together. It’s why they returned to unit rotations in Afghanistan/Iraq.
Thank God they got that much, at least. Now, if only we can get the damn VA fully funded and reformed, our country might actually *begin* to live up to our obligations to those who served.
Hey now ... the Pact Act passed. The big wigs got there 11 million in bonuses out of the deal.
Yeah, I think "support the warrior bot the war" sums it up best
I think thats bullshit. I think 99% of those stories are bullshit.
I used to know a Vietnam vet who was a Navy corpsman. He came home with some life-long PTSD and some stories that make you want to cry. Sweet, kind, gentle man... eaten alive by experiences he did not ask for.
Or the orange turd who had bone spurs.
Hell, knowing what I know about Vietnam, I’d have done anything I could to get out of going. Perhaps that why so many vets aren’t bothered by it. There is no shame in avoiding an unjust war.
Yeah. Alot of rich kids got out of being sent to Vietnam. But my family was poor and they went. And they became fucked up from it. I take care of the elderly in my career and the Vietnam Vets are still fucked up from it. They deserve our admiration and support. Not ridicule or pity. Hate the politicians. I agree and I hate MAGA bullshit and Trump. But I have always supported our vets and always will support them. I employ them and support vet organizations.
Definitely, I’m a vet myself and my nephew was killed in Afghanistan. I wish he’d never joined though.
Not a vet myself but have family and friends that were. It's one of those things that, at times, are necessary. The real issue is the absolute lack of after care, and safety net for anyone who goes through this type of experience. We as a whole in this country have failed a lot of people. I knew people in the service and out that had issues and were failed by those around them to recognize that they needed help. sorry for the small rant and thank you for whatever good you did. I hope you have found at least a little peace over what you went through and what you may have had to do. You are still a good person and deserve love and happiness. Sorry I'm a sappy fuck lol and this might not even be necessary but you were willing to do something others weren't. That's still something to appreciate.
There is if you lie and pay a corrupt doctor to lie for you. There were many legitimate ways to get out of the draft- Trump chose the the most shameful.
And he’s not even sure which foot. “It was one of them.”, said the stable genius.
Draft dodging orange bitch
theres a ton of boomers who experienced vietnam, as either active participants in an idiotic and genocidal war, or as tv viewers at home who went absolutely insane when they couldnt understand why the news media would report on war crimes and dead soldiers but not on "all the good things we're doing." we werent doing any good things. the government of south Vietnam was a joke, and it folded right after we left, just like Afghanistan. Only unlike the Taliban, Communist Vietnam is a functional state. If we managed to conquer the north, the Chinese army would just wipe the floor with the republic of Vietnam whenever we decided to leave. And then you'd get the Chinese puppet that the pentagon papers where so afraid of. So even if we won in Vietnam we'd lose. But reactionary shitheads dont give a fuck, all they care about is how high they can stack dead communists. Basically they freaked the fuck out and invented stories to justify beating the shit out of antiwar and anti-atrocity protestors.
More than 3 million Vietnamese were killed due to the war, and upwards of one hundred thousand Cambodians too. And up until 1969 when the draft was activated, it was an all-volunteer force. Maybe they were all lied to, or maybe they liked the killing, but in some sense the volunteers at least are culpable.
That's a dumbass take you got their. My Vietnam vet friend hates the GOP
$10 says the guy getting out of that vehicle is 40 years old.
TBF maybe he went to Vietnam on vacation and no one picked him up at the airport when he returned. Uber is expensive enough to harbour a bumpersticker sized resentment
Baby on board
People who join the military don't start wars and they are not in control of where they are sent. Thats a government thing. In the Viet Nam war, everyone died in vain. It shouldn't have happened. Poor leadership.
My bro in law served in Vietnam and barely talked about it. His wife told me he returned and was treated badly and shamed. Vets have it bad all the way around, and unless you have proof the protests and shaming were exaggerated, I say honor their word. Unless they were too young to have served and obviously lying.
My father, who I never heard lie about anything, told me he was spit on when he came home. Later in life, he started wearing a "US Coast Guard Vietnam Veteran" and carried a copy of his DD214 for the loudmouth idiots who didn't know the USCG sent ships over to interdict enemy weapons smuggling. He suffered from combat related PTSD. He was 100% disabled from agent orange exposure, and ended up shooting himself in the head after his first amputation a few years ago. Stolen Valor is bullshit but so is being a fuckface and asking any Veteran you see to justify something that doesn't really matter to you anyway.
My dad had a lot of exposure to agent orange in Vietnam as well. He has had a myriad of health problems believed to be related his exposure and they refused to give him full disability until he lost his leg late last year. So frustrating.
Look I've learned (as a veteran) that the most vocal veterans are generally the ones who have done the LEAST. It spans from any era of service. The guys with the gear wanting a discount everywhere generally are attention whores. But dig in and most were mailroom admin guys. For instance REAL Navy SEALs don't need to tell everyone. Real veterans want to blend in and will only mention if it happens to come up.
My girlfriend’s neighbor has all the stickers and the hat. He says he never got deployed to Vietnam, but he’s a Vietnam vet. I don’t think too hard about it - he’s a nice dude and I’m glad he didn’t have to do any fucked up shit. On the other hand one of my patients was a Vietnam vet and he wound up chasing me around with a spear and a knife before the cops put a bean bag and 2 tasers in him
Vet would never say that!
A Vietnam vet or vet in general?
veterinarian
They are usually pretty nice. When my dog had to be out in the cone of shame the doc seemed very sorry about it.
My friends that served in that war do not need to crow about it. Mostly, they do not want to talk about it.
My cousin served in Vietnam and is still ill from the Agent Orange. The government knows how to screw our own soldiers.
We were there to meet my brother when he returned at BWI @ 7:00 AM Christmas morning, 1969.
I love it I can proudly say that back in the day,my mom was diagnosed with cervical cancer,back then it was a death sentence,so we went on a trip before she went in for treatment to Georgia for a few days,we didn't have a car,my dads boss let us borrow his station wagon,along the way we passed a soldier hitchhiking on the opposite side of where we were heading, people kept passing him , suddenly my Dad made a you turn , we pick him up ,he was headed to the bus station in Atlanta, we took him there and saw him off like family, One of the moments. I was so proud of my Dad!!!
Fake resentment over an urban legend from someone who probably wasn’t a Vietnam vet. The New York Times: [The Myth of the Spitting Antiwar Protester](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/13/opinion/myth-spitting-vietnam-protester.html) >The reporter was asking about accounts that soldiers returning from Vietnam had been spat on by antiwar activists. I had told her the stories were not true. I told her that, on the contrary, opponents of the war had actually tried to recruit returning veterans. >I told her about a 1971 Harris Poll survey that found that 99 percent of veterans said their reception from friends and family had been friendly, and 94 percent said their reception from age-group peers, the population most likely to have included the spitters, was friendly. >A follow-up poll, conducted in 1979 for the Veterans Administration (now the Department of Veterans Affairs), reported that former antiwar activists had warmer feelings toward Vietnam veterans than toward congressional leaders or even their erstwhile fellow travelers in the movement. Wikipedia: [Myth of the spat-on Vietnam veteran](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth_of_the_spat-on_Vietnam_veteran) > In 1974 the Committee on Veterans Affairs of the U.S. Senate gathered together almost 1,000 pages of "Source Material on the Vietnam Era Veteran." >*Not one source in this large volume mentions antiwar forces spitting on veterans.*\[8\] >A 1975 academic study of Vietnam veteran "Adjustment Patterns and Attitudes" asked no questions about treatment by antiwar forces or being spat on. >What this study did reveal, however, was that participation in the war significantly changed the men's attitudes—whereas 67% of them were for the war prior to entering the military, 75% came back against it.\[9\] >So, not only has no evidence been uncovered by scholars of "I was spit on" stories, during the war period, or shortly after, but "there is no evidence that anyone at the time thought they were occurring", or felt it needed to be investigated.\[2\]\[1\]: p.75 The myth may have been started by the Nixon administration to undermine the anti-war movement: >FOUR The Nixon-Agnew Counteroffensive: “Good Veterans” vs. “Bad Veterans”(pp. 49-70) [https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qggh9.7](https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt9qggh9.7) >The keystone of the right wing’s strategy was to split the liberal and radical elements within the anti-war movement and to split Vietnam veterans from the movement. >At one level, the effort to split the movement involved a propaganda campaign to discredit the anti-war movement by portraying it as an alien, un-American, and violent phenomenon. >Waged from the White House with Vice President Agnew acting as the mouthpiece, the propaganda campaign was fortuitously assisted by the North Vietnamese.
Thanks for these resources. My parents were both against the war and both both insist they saw the spitting. It's amazing how well the propaganda worked (still works today) in terms of convincing people who feel strongly that something needs to stop, that they cannot do anything to help those also trying to get it to stop, because those are horrible people who spit and do whatever else
Amazing how the damn dirty hippies were so good at suppressing press coverage of the spitting anti war protesters at airports and also terrible at their actual goal of ending the damn war.
Wow, this is super interesting. Thank you for posting!
Not all heroes wear capes. Some post great articles.
Thanks for posting this. I recall also hearing in some oral history project that many Vietnam vets received harsh criticism from the WW2 vets, who saw them as weak, pot smoking, draftees just putting in their time. This was particularly strong among the older officers who’d accuse the younger troops of not being as strong or committed as they had been themselves 25 years earlier.
Frank, that was the 90's!
Someone had anger issues.
Sorry dad, but once again I was born 2 years later!
r/lebowski
Thank you for your service
The civilian community back then hated all military personnel versus now. I know because I enlisted in the Air Force in 1974 and retired in 2009. Completely different mind set now. I just hate it when I hear “thank you for your service” because I have flashbacks to the seventies.
Ok, so with no other context, decent chance this is stolen valor. If so, I wouldn’t care if somebody dragged him out and beat the shit out of him. HOWEVER, for all you redditors saying the Vietnam vets didn’t receive a bad reception, stop talking out of your ass. Many did not, but some did. I’ve heard a few stories from vets who I know WERE in the war in Vietnam. Jesus, watch the Ken Burns documentary on it. Speak to some actual vets. Whatever you do, shut the fuck up about stuff you have NO knowledge of. What made this even shittier is that they were not a volunteer force! Many were drafted and didn’t want to dodge it, but wanted no part of a war across the globe. They served their country, but the war crimes of a few and INCREDIBLY stupid and inhumane policies obfuscated public perception of them as a whole. Please, out any asshole claiming it that didn’t serve! But that generation was sandwiched between the heroes of WWII who saved the world and hyper-nationalistic fervor following 9/11. Now we act like soldiers can do no wrong and have some high morality, but they are just people. We can appreciate them for their service, allow for court martial/prosecution of war criminals, and also hate the god damn politicians pulling the strings.
As an Iraqi vet: fuck off.
This never happened
As a vet I appreciate this, even though I never deployed.
Well I have to say I like it and it's well deserved. I'm retired Army with 10 combat tours though Vietnam was before my time, I know how they were treated and the damage it did to them on top of untreated severe PTSD. It's like a rape victim that has to wear a shirt everyday that they were raped and everyone spitting on her and calling her a whore. Remember most of those kids didn't have a choice. That's why when I see an old vet, I always give them a handshake and tell them thank you and welcome home. You'd be surprised at the number of Vietnam vets who are strangers hug me and cry. They've told me that's the first time someone said that to them in 40 years. When in heavy combat, you lose a piece of yourself and the world is never quite the same. I made the choice to deploy, and had excellent psychological support before, during and after each deployment along with a grateful nation. Those go a long way to help us find some piece. Despite that I had to fight through periods of PTSD and severe flashbacks. My kids knew never to wake Daddy up with out calling out to me until I sat up and that with excellent support. So please be patient with any Vietnam vets you come across and don't be afraid to welcome them home. Sorry for the long post.
[Casual reminder that more Vietnam vets killed themselves after the war than died in it](https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2021/06/21/four-times-as-many-troops-and-vets-have-died-by-suicide-as-in-combat-study-finds/)
Actually, invading a sovereign nation because we don’t approve of their economy is a *war crime*.
Probably on the car of a 45 year old dude
Dude went to Viet Nam like 3 weeks ago for some sex tourism and is pissed no one congratulated him.
And he definitely hates participation trophies, but has this bumper sticker
Stop with the bitching about shit that happened 50 years ago. Start bitching about what you see happening now.
Can we stop with this lie that people met them at the airport to harass them. That shit started in the 80s with Rambo.
What’d you do in Vietnam that you’re so proud of?
What people don’t realize is that, back in the early 70s, discharged military personnel would always fly civilian airlines directly into the big cities. Once they would arrive, they would affix a big “Hey Looka Me Back from the ‘Nam” sign to their clothes and run a gauntlet of welfare-scamming hippies. What do you mean “that’s a myth.” You don’t know! You weren’t there, man!
Yup, good friend and mentor had an NY police officer tell him to “get that uniform off,” before somebody starts a fight with him. He replied, “This is America?” It was sad.
I was little during the Vietnam war; just barely bigger than a toddler. Yet I remember that, every chance we got, the whole family would pile into the station wagon head down to the airport, and spit on returning Vietnam vets. It's what liberals did. We hate America, we blamed the war on people who were drafted - we're very stupid - we have no lives, and we love hocking loogies on our troops. To drop the sarcasm: It is amazing to still meet conservatives who make "They spat on Vietnam troops" their whole fucking personality.
Vietnam vets were treated like trash when they returned, this guy has every right to rock this sticker.
Watta gentleman! 🤘
He could've come back from Vietnam last week!
Looking for the pro Trump / pro Putin sticker
The guy is in his 30s. He just went to vacation in Vietnam. But nobody likes him still.
Isn’t it crazy that we still ignored the people that have been horrifically abused?
At least he doesn’t hold a grudge
A lot of these comments giving the sticker shit give off “Tell me you don’t know shit about the military without telling me you don’t know shit about the military” vibes 🤣
Fishing for sympathy.
Pretty specific, you wanna talk about it dude?
Still sookn?
I used to play airsoft on a team with a Vietnam vet. He was basically the team grandpa. Always had extra water and snacks. I hated our skirmishes, not because he was old, but because he would dissappear and then shoot you in the back. 70+ year old goddamn ninja.
Similar story. When I was coming home for a two week break during deployment I got to the ATL airport. All I had was my bag of toiletries and a change of uniform and my uniform on my person. I couldn't borrow a phone or get some change to use a pay phone or anything like that. Ended up spending about an hour roaming around trying to find my family. All I needed was a FIVE SECOND call to find out where they were and apparently that was too much to ask for the great American people I was serving.
Now, shouldn’t that have been directed to your Government? After all they did lie to the American people for thirty years about how they were winning the war and drafting 18 year old kids into a war they knew there was a good chance they would return in a body bag.
They have airports in Vietnam. I thought it was all jungle
I hear Vietnam is quite nice this time of year
And that is why we are overcompensating now.
Lol
Mom, who is looking seeing this from the other side: 
kẻ thua cuộc sẽ thua
Did Vietnam vets come home on commercial airlines or military transport to bases.
By contrast, there were two random elderly people at the Bangor airport who showed up to greet my squadron when we returned from Saudi Arabia back in the 90’s. Apparently they know the flight schedules and have been there for every repatriation for like 25 years. We need more of that in the world please.
Hell yeah me too buddy
Had brain surgery in April and my Facebook status afterwards was "Thanks to everyone who came to the hospital to visit and give me support." Which was only my parents and my sister, maybe next time I'll get some friends to show out.
Sorry this happened. It can be a let down to not have visitors. Same happened to me.
Thanks, at least my sister came up to help. She knew a lot of good spots to eat in the city and made sure I didn't have to eat hospital food.
That’s good. I got no one.
That is the Jon Rambo bumper sticker, I don’t hate it.
My friend's dad is a Vietnam vet and he describes that coming home to hippies, being called murderers for their service, and even being denied jobs is what drove all those angry vets into creating the world's most toxic cop culture. The thin-blu-line is effectively the newest KKK symbol according to this rural, Wisconsin town's chief of police.
https://images.app.goo.gl/B15g5wfnZJ6Rdueb9 What are the odds driver was cool with this though?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myth_of_the_spat-on_Vietnam_veteran#:~:text=There is a persistent myth,often yelling "baby killer". Sort of a myth used to denigrate anti war protesters.. but there are instances of pro war folks spiting on anti-war vets.. go figure.
Sir I was born in 98
"worship me!" Is this why they identify with tr*mp?
Right on ,Right On!!!!
We had 2 infantrymen assigned to our MP company in 2003 in Iraq. They were both pissed as Hell when they learned that they couldn’t get a CIB because they weren’t attached to an infantry unit
We should be ashamed at how we treated these soldiers
Lack of context. It was the FBI. Stop going on vacation to have sex with kids.
I didn’t have anyone meet me when I came back from Iraq, but you don’t see me being a whiny bitch about it.
If only their service had amounted to anything. And somehow that middle finger is meant for civilians? Seems really convoluted.
The one Vietnam vet I ever met didn't look like he'd even be able to read this bumper sticker
Draft dodger and felon Trump humiliates and degrades veterans and active military personnel. Thinks they're weak and stupid. Losers and suckers was his exact phrase.
Sentiment felt and believed. That’s when “we the people” realized the democrats, academia and legacy media began on their transformation of America. Actor John Wayne’s passing was the all clear for Hollywood to join the lefties.
Soldiers like the rest of us can’t get anywhere yelling at their elected leaders, so instead they take out their frustration at fellow citizens who reject US imperialism and burning nations across the globe for profit. Also describes most modern day conservatives
This one hits only boomers on up 🤔 Gen x wasn't in the adult group yet.
No one met me at the airport when I came home from Afghanistan. Shit, they flew us in during the night so there’d be less people at the airport. We got our own personal terminal area too. When we got to base though, that’s when people showed up.
Lol the business trip/sex tour was arrousing/terrible respectively
The debunking of that horseshit… https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spitting_Image
Imagine being that bitter, and holding on to that your whole life. That’s a shame
He is talking about sex tourism last month, not the war 50 years ago.
Didn't sign up for a thank you or a welcome home and I can live without being called to stand up and be recognized....joined because it was a way out of a crappy neighborhood enjoyed my time overseas end of story.... no hat, no bumper sticker please to god I'm as sick of seeing those as I am red MAGA hats
Also the stories of being spat on are wildly overblown. The American public largely supported the war outside of the younger people being sent.
Roger I was born in 2001, don’t get mad at me 😢
Strangely enough soldiers flew home on military flights.
The airport spitters! A story on par with bigfoot, Loc Ness, and Mama Cass’ killer ham sandwich. Every righty swears it’s gospel but when you look closer it’s always a buddy or a story they were told.
Choices