why aren't Vietnam vets treated like ww2 vets?

Question

when ww2 ended it was marked by parades and celebration and the soldiers that came home were treated like the heroes they are. but different story with vietnam, why? did the hippies really turn the public against them?

actually I meant why wasn't there crowds of people welcoming them home?

again, I'm talking about the parades being thrown when ww2 vets came home but not when vietnam vets came home.

Answer 1

Do you have any proof that they were treated that much differently? WW2 was a World War and Vietnam was a police action; of course they are not going to get the same acclaim. They were not "spit upon" or anything like that....there is not one documented case of protesters spitting on Vietnam vets; it was a media story....an urban legend.

Answer 2

WW2 vets.... came home to a cohesive family based society. They worked their butts of and did not feel the need to cry about it. They did something for their country.

Korean War..... same thing. Returned to their lives after witnessing the worst war ever that America engaged in.

Vietnam... well our society changed dramatically and the hippies were at the forefront in a way. The returning vets deserved better.

This war leaving out the ones in between and all of those who sacrifice their lives even in peacetime....

Now it is not hippies it is democracts and liberals who find it fashionable to be antiwar. Those who have no understanding of history and other cultures. Those who get all of thier information from TV. But these were the same people who were promilitary right after 9-11 and forgot about it. When a school bus or something blows up they will be with the military again. But all in all most forget that there are many people keeping then safe and should be thankfull. But they won't again as I said until something happens.

Answer 3

I think some on here need to study history a little more. Many Vietnam vets were cussed at, spit on and called various names. And for any of you that think we lost this war, here's some info for you: we won every major battle there. We were pulled out because it was unpopular. To you that think it was a police action, I guess you just weren't there. The difference being between the two wars was a time in history. Americans were not politically correct then. They stood for what they believed in and supported the president and the American fighting man. When Nixon started bombing the North, The NVA was looking to move somewhere else. Then came all the protests, it gave them confidence, a reason again to fight and we left. Does this sound anything like today?

Answer 4

It comes down to Just War.

You ask a great question... unfortunately, I believe most of the answers here are incredibly simple-minded & "American-centric." They need to get a historical & analytical clue. Especially the answerers who blame liberal peace hippies, who really have no say when it comes to organizing victory parades.

Look at the evidence, and you'll see a pattern:
WW2 + First Persian Gulf War = parade
Vietnam = no parade
Iraq = probably no parade

WW2 was a just war. We saved the entire Free World, literally. Germany was invading other sovereign nations, and bent on World Domination. We were asked to go in.

Vietnam was NOT a just war. You can't fight for other people's freedom by force-feeding Democracy down their throats.... that's not heroically fighting for Freedom, that's arrogantly imposing Tyranny.... which is why the rest of the Free World was also AGAINST the US war in Vietnam.

This is exactly the SAME mistake we are making in Iraq (another war in which the rest of the Free World is against... what a coincidence??!!!). True Freedom means letting other people be free to live how they wish, whether they choose Democracy, Communism, or Theocracy. Live and let live.

We were NOT asked to go in to either Vietnam or Iraq, by those 2 countries OR the rest of the Free World. Another coincidence???? And then some Americans wonder why there are no parades or worldwide celebrations???

That's because neither Vietnam nor Iraq was invading other countries and bent on World Domination or Regional Supremacy. If Vietnam had been invading other sovereign nations in Asia, we would have stayed... and the rest of the Free World would have JOINED IN with us & HELPED. Then, there would have been victory parades..... just like the parades after the First Persian Gulf War when Iraq invaded Kuwait (notice how the rest of the Free World joined in on that war, too... another coincidence??!!). And notice how the rest of the Free World also backed us when we first went into Afghanistan.... another coincidence????

How come the rest of the Free World joins in sometimes, and other times not???? Is it because they're lazy? Stupid? Wishy-washy? Or perhaps... it's because they have better 3rd person perspective & could be right about which wars are more just????

And then these Vietnam vets don't understand why they were being spit on and cursed by peace-loving liberal hippies??? While spitting and cursing are obviously not respectful, their opposition to the war reflected the opposition of the rest of the Free World. The whole world probably wanted to spit on us.... just like now because of Iraq. Think about that. Maybe there's a good reason - good lord.

Both vets and hippies were misled and betrayed by the US government & military, which used the propagandistic marketing slogans of "Freedom", "Democracy," "Evil Communists/Terrorists" and "National Security" to persuade & brainwash the American populace in starting & supporting BOTH wars in Vietnam & Iraq.... again, what a coincidence that the US government always uses "Fighting for Freedom, Democracy, and National Security Against Evil" when it wants to go to war!!! (They really can't say anything else - think about it. This is why the next time these buzzwords are used, perhaps we should consider what the rest of the world thinks, instead of just blindly following our leadership. I mean, if you think leaders or bosses always have the best interests of their followers in mind, you are one politically naive individual.)

If anything, both groups should have been spitting & cursing the US government and military leadership - although the hippies tried that, and it didn't work, which is why they turned their frustration onto the vets, who still believed in the leadership. We all need to inform ourselves with What's Really Going On the next time we are being led to wars like pigs to the slaughterhouse to duke it out with people who never attacked us 6,000 miles away.... our tax dollars, votes, and other people's lives are at stake whenever we engage in military action.

Neither Vietnam nor Iraq are just wars.... and since we also happen to be losing, they are both considered "mistakes" (although you'll never hear our leaders making any apologies for devastating other people's countries)... and NOT moral lapses of judgment, which they ARE. They are not Just Wars, and they are not considered Just by the rest of the Free World. How ironic that Americans, supposedly the freest and most democratic loving people in the world, can't see this.... but the rest of the Free World does.

We Americans are so used to not giving a damn about what other people in the world think, always thinking we're the Good Guys & the Heroes, always right and just, and since we're militarily the most powerful and #1, we always think we can win anyway, whether the cause is just or not. And then we wonder why we have a reputation for arrogance & Imperialism????

In the future, we Americans should probably start considering the opinions of the rest of the Free World before we embark on wars. It could very well be that 5.7 billion people could be right. It's always wise to listen to the advice & perspectives of friends & allies, instead of just stubbornly, suicidally charging into foreign countries 1/2 way around the world with guns ablazing.

Any American who can't, or worse, DOESN'T WANT to consider the possibility that America might not always be right about wars, but blindlessly supports every American military action around the globe... is a mindless, propaganda drugged, irresponsible, uninformed, extremely dangerous, borderline-fascistic idiot. By giving the government & the military the support it needs to engage in wars, these passive, uncritical citizens become the greatest threats to world peace today.

Answer 5

I was an infantry paratrooper in the Vietnam war. I was actually spit on in Ohare Airport back then. Now I am sick and for the first time in my life I went to the VA for medical help. My drug cost is over half of my income and I thought the VA would help. They spit on me too. If you didn't use VA medical by Jan. 2003,
you no longer can get help. They said they shouldn't even be talking to me. The irony is I have friends with excellent insurance that use the VA because their drug co-pay is a few bucks cheaper. I max out my drug coverage by June and can't get help. I don't think the hippies have anything to do with it this time. The only medical I can get is hospice and I might have to use it soon.

Answer 6

I think that the answer to this one is simple and obvious - We won WWII hands down, and those parades and celebrations were for the conquering heroes who were victorious, and saved the world from fascism. We lost the war in Vietnam, so nobody back then was going to give anyone a parade for that. Yeah, I think it's shameful the way our 'Nam vets were treated when they came back - it wasn't their fault that the war was lost - it was actually lost in D.C. by the politicians like Johnson and MacNamara. They just did their duty as best they could.

It's a sad fact but true, America loves a winner and hates what it perceives as losers. Even if you did your best and believed in what you fought for, you are tainted because you fought in a war that was lost and America was disgraced. Time has helped that somewhat, but Vietnam vets are still not given the respect they deserve, and that's why.

Answer 7

Vietnam was very unpopular. WW2 was very popular. One of the differences was we won the Big one. We didn't do that well in Nam.

It was a different time also, there was the peace movement, drugs were starting to take a bigger role in America, and after WW2 and Korea, we were ready for peace.

The youth at the time, were better educated, and a lot of them thought that they were too good to serve their country and that the freedoms they have, they deserved.

I was one of them, to a point, but when it came time to serve, I was right there for them. Good, bad, or whatever, it is my country and I'll stand up for her.

I have seen the newsreels of the way our boys were treated when they came home, mostly it was good, but there were instances, mostly in California, where they were looked down upon.

Luckily, things have changed, there is no more draft, and the people are volunteers, and even though Iraq is unpopular, our guys are not looked down upon for serving.

Answer 8

This is mainly due to the fact that WW2 was perceived by the American people as a need to due thing. All Americans knew what was at stake during this war, it was almost entirely excepted. But Nam was more difficult, more protested and mainly hated by the American people. So there was almost no love or feelings for those soldiers. I don't know how or why it happened in the manner it did. But this is my opinion.

Answer 9

Because of the same Cowardly, Traitorous Hippie Liberal types that are doing the same thing, today..Protest the war but support the troops.HOGWASH!!!!! Can't do both.
Then the Left Leaning Media...all of them that only want to show stuff tha stirs emotion and discontent.Those things equal Rating, airtime and advertising,$$$$$$$$$$$$
As for being treated like criminals, I can attest to being spat upon, called a murderer, Baby killer and other not so nice names.When I came home, my CO told us not to wear uniforms, so we could get through the airport without being accosted.
Yea,,,,Support the Troops, Stop the War,..my Veteran ***....Going down the same road, I feel terrible for our soldier's that will face that same miserable crowd of Cowards and Traitors. that we did.

Answer 10

A lot of the WW2 vets are dead now, and most of the vietnam vets are still alive... Typically we treat the dead differently than we treat the alive people... You don't think we should start boxing up all the vets and burying them, do you? Im a vet, and I would be against being buried before I die.