Press J to jump to the feed. Maybe I am not seeing the entire picture here, and only what my stepfather, a Vietnam vet, has told me. WebDespite Sirota's contentions, Vietnam vets were a bit crushed coming home. As Americans became disillusioned by the war, some of their sons and daughters, siblings and friends continued to go to Vietnam. Welcome home from Vietnam Your email address will not be published. Soldiers came In the episode, the former service members recount harrowing scenes that stayed with them from their time abroad, but it was the return home for many of them that left them feeling wounded and betrayed. What is most heartbreaking is that so many were left behind in both countries who suffered at the hands of despotic regimes. I believe it just fit the narrative, especially since the Vietnam War was the first war where the press was able to come and go. But what is heartening is that great efforts were and are being made by veterans to evacuate people in the hope of giving them a better life. You can also access information from the CDC. In fact, there were16 parades, As an appendix, Dapin lists the battalions that participated, the number of One of the sailors was stabbed. Veterans Radio: Thank you David for your service to our veteran community. The theme for Welcome Home from Vietnam was a suggestion from one of the alumni members (an Iraqi War Vet) to honor our Vietnam Veterans for the upcoming March 29th commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the official ending of that war. But having been alive during that period myself, I certainly don't remember this as being any sort of widespread cultural phenomena. Johnson was back in Texas, and the young men serving now were the baby killers. There were a number of well publicized atrocities committed by the US military, and the general knowledge that the Vietnamese civilian population was suffering greatly. A human reaction to the crowds and returning Afghanistan and Iraq War Veterans by Vietnam Veterans could have been bitter and resentful, but those that fought in Vietnam wanted to make sure our returning warriors were respected and thanked for their service and for doing so rose above their own emotional and mental pain. And David Sirota is wrong about the history and policies of that war and about the treatment of returning military men and women ("The myth of the spat-upon war veteran," June 8). Soldiers came back from there only to be labeled as baby killers. WebLOVE, POVERTY, WAR AND Also by Christopher Hitchens BLOOD, CLASS AND EMPIRE: The Enduring Anglo-American Relationship A LONG SHORT WAR: The Postponed Liberation of Iraq WHY ORWELL MATTERS LEFT HOOKS, RIGHT CROSSES: A Decade of Political Writing (edited with Christopher Caldwell) LETTERS TO A YOUNG David: I can tell you this about my time with Operation Song, which I believe has been about seven or eight years at this point. McCloughan is credited with saving the lives of members of his platoon nearly 50 years ago in the Battle of Nui Yon Hill in Vietnam. One example: A 1967 Bucks County Courier Times article reporting that two sailors were spat on outside a high school football game by a gang of about 10 young men. Video was a collaboration between Two years later, the famous image was used on the cover art to Emile de Antonio's Vietnam War documentary film In The Year of the Pig. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais). I am not aware of many Vietnam vets who were not subjected to some disrespect, either personal or from the culture that called us "baby killers." I do not wish to have my record of service dishonored again. We cannot come to terms with the Vietnam War until we acknowledge the story of the generation who served there and understand the emotional complexity they confronted. Market data provided by Factset. Learn more. Welcome home Brothers and sisters, welcome home, CREDITS Edit, I think the use of Agent Orange has been criticized far more after the war, since it's effects have taken so much time to really come to fruition. When I was a younger man, I heard all of the I don't believe the use if Agent Orange was widespread knowledge during time, not that it was a secret. Why did people call the Vietnam Vets baby killers? This left little room in the Vietnam narrative for stories of courage and sacrifice. Doug Avery, a young medic in Dust Off, gives his perspective on the Vietnam War 46 years later. Then Other wars were identical, however, no one knew the carnage and damage of Allied bombers to French and German Civilians- AKA no one cared. CH: Often when in public, they are thanked by individuals for their service. Sharing this post with your friends through social media is a way of sending "kudos" to the Veterans Radio team and their guests. Yael Halon is a reporter for Fox News Digital. All rights reserved. New recruits for the Vietnam War being sworn in, in St. Paul, Minn. See how this article appeared when it was originally published on NYTimes.com. Joe has spoken at high schools and colleges for 25 years about PTSD, war and how not to treat returning veterans when they come home to America after fighting for their country. I've studied the history, and I've lived it. By April 30th, 1975 when Saigon finally fell to the communists, the Vietnam War was over for America but not the men and women that returned home. Winston Churchill, reflecting on the Boer War, understood it a century ago, and the Vietnam generation experienced it a half century ago. He also was part of a motorcycle club and was asked to start wearing the VietNam patch because not wearing it was upsetting members who weren't really ever in VietNam (they may have been "VietNam Era" veterans) but referred to themselves as VietNam veterans. Those born after the boomers may find it quaint to read about a president asking citizens to sacrifice, to pay any price. Nonetheless, their parents or grandparents, the baby boomers, will most likely remember a brief shining moment of energized promise and of unfulfilled dreams. Although not all veterans who have taken a life suffer guilt or mental health consequences, Maguen said the growing number of veterans seeking mental health services suggest that high numbers of veterans are experiencing moral injury. According to the National Vietnam Veterans Foundation, individuals falsely claiming to have served in the Vietnam War for those same statistics totaled 9,492,958 people! The Vietnam War came at a time when most American households had a TV set, and the news networks had the technology to send video back to North America very quickly. The only reason to not accuse a person of a misdeed is lack of evidence that person committed that misdeed. or redistributed. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Made us question why we ever joined the fight Despite U.S. economic support and military advisers, the French lost the ensuing Vietnamese independence struggle and withdrew from all of Indo-China. Eighteen were Vietnam veterans and eight were deployed in Iraq. Editorial Guidelines and Publishing Standards. WebWhy were Vietnam vets treated badly when returning home? According to cultural historian M. All Rights Reserved en.trandaiquang.org - 2023. Greene believed the tale was an urban legend. "Homecoming: When the Soldiers Returned From Vietnam is a book of selected correspondence published in 1989. On Wednesdays Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy broadcast on Nashvilles Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am the duo took a call from a Vietnam era veteran named Ben, who clarified the statement made by Nathan Phillips regarding his service as Vietnam veteran times was Those Vietnam Veterans fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq enhanced their individual respect and admiration as Vietnam Veterans, and the rest of us at home that had served in Vietnam benefited from their service all these years later. Vietnam veterans were treated in despicable ways by Americans from being spit on to being called baby killers. The accepted number of Vietnam Veterans that served are between 2.7 million and 3.3 million men who also includes about 10,000 women. I've always suspected that the spitting and the "baby killer" insult (re: the movie 'Rambo', for instance) were largely myth, although I would guess that a few incidents must have occurred. Maguens earlier researchsupported by the Veterans Health Research Institute-NCIREhas linked killing in combat with PTSD, depression and suicide. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Americans might wonder why we should help refugees. Few could have anticipated the duration and cost of this commitment. It may have happened a few rare times, but there is no legitimate documented cases where Veterans coming home were ever called baby killers or spit on. ", President Donald Trump bestows the nation's highest military honor, the Medal of Honor to retired Army medic James McCloughan during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 31, 2017. However, a major difference is that there was no decent interval between the declaration of the end of the war and the collapse of the military and government in Afghanistan. To the protesters and critics, by 1967 the troops had become objects of pity for serving on a dangerous assignment in a cruel and unjust war. We are still seeing the effects play out in Afghanistan. Written in Collaboration with Operation Song Writer David Kent and the Operation Song Alumni. One veteran put it this way: All I knew is I hurt inside and I didnt know why, you know? It includes top-ranked graduate schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy; a graduate division with nationally renowned programs in basic, biomedical, translational and population sciences; and a preeminent biomedical research enterprise. With no idea of what was waiting for you back in your home town People did "support the troops" during Vietnam, they just differed on the issue of the justification for the war. But even those who came home in one piece were met with trauma some were spit upon, yelled at or called "baby killers." Hello my family in Afghanistan they are dangerous I am living in United States sometimes me and my kids went to the church and take pictures with my American WebVietnam veterans recall being 'spit at,' labeled 'baby killers and drug addicts' upon return home It was the return home that left many Vietnam veterans feeling wounded and That movie bore as little relation to the conduct and experience of the Vietnam War as South Pacific did to World War II except the latter was kinder to those serving. Why weren't those soldiers, such as WWII, Korean, and Gulf War vets,, called 'baby killers' too? Other people being guilty of your misdeeds does not make you innocent of your misdeeds. How to get a motorcycle license in vietnam? Most veterans said that killing was the most challenging war experience to talk about, but it was the topic they were asked about most frequently by others. Ukraine War Anniversary: UN and China Work for Peace, Devilish Zelensky, Kiev Hid Its Dead Soldiers in the Ravines. It doesn't help that a lot of men claimed to be VietNam vets who weren't. I cannot tell you how many songs I have written since joining the program, my guess is somewhere between 50 and 100. He and his family escaped from Cambodia after surviving the Killings Fields and refugee camps in Cambodia and Thailand. Author: Why Post date: 2 yesterday Rating: 4 (285 reviews) Highest rating: 3 Low rated: 2 Summary: A in '68 came the My Lai massacre spit on troops coming home and call them baby killers. To hear the heartwrenching and inspiring accounts of the decorated veterans featured in the new episode of "Modern Warriors," join Fox Nation and watch it today. UC San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. Contrary to protesters' claims, then and now, the Vietnam War did not begin without good reasons. Thanks! American service members did not suffer defeat, even though most of us felt defeated. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.