Do Vietnam vet deserve respect ?

Question

This was posted on one of the questions I answered I couldn't belevive what I read...
pcpy.

I don't know if I would be included as I served in Viet Nam for 2 tours, once on the ground, once in the air. I know you're looking for the Gulf soldiers and I would imagine their experiences to be much different than mine.
Two tours in Vietnam and he asks if he can be included......
That scares me Pcpy Off course, you did two tours in a war...
Has the US goverment shamed Viet Vets so much they have to ask if they can be counted....
It doesn't matter if you were Drafted or joined up, You served your Country be proud Dude...
Show your respect for a Viet Vet show him we give a sh*t....

Answer 1

Wow, it is really great to hear these responses. When I was in the Army (1966 - 1969) I was literally spit on because of the Vietnam war. People at that time (my generation) did not view the war as anything except a mission of murder. Did I like the war, no but I enlisted because I loved my country and it was the right thing to do and my father served in WWII and Korea. When my father died in 1961 he told me to make him proud.
With the way the men who served in the military during the Vietnam war were treated, I never really felt that I made anyone other than myself proud, so I really do understand the reason that the other Vietnam vet would say that he did not know if he should be included.

Thanks to all for these supportive answers.

Answer 2

Nobody who is 39 fought in Vietnam. The war was over in 1973. If he is 39 y/o now he would have been 2 at the end of the war. All veterans deserve the same respect. WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Iraq/Afghanistan vets all contributed something. Some gave all, and some gave what they had. I think that the current veterans are treated much better than the Vietnam vets were treated. I am old enough to remember some of the Vietnam war. I was a kid back then, and my uncle went. I remember how some of the veterans were basically thought of as "crazy" or disgruntled. They weren't treated with very much respect from some people and portrayed poorly in the media. We have come a long way as a country in accepting military veterans. I am a veteran and a woman. Sometimes people question my military service as if they are surprised to see a woman veteran. I am glad that there are more women vets and we are being more accepted. I'm still stuck at the 39 year old Vietnam vet???????????? Yeah, right. I'm 42 and I am too young to have served back then.

Answer 3

Vietnam was a rotten war for the conscripts railroaded into it. I think the worst thing of all was that when they came home nobody wanted to know. After earlier conflicts such WW2 there was great local support, especially for those who had been crippled. Decades later the consensus is that, though it was technically 'lost', international communism ran itself into the ground and the Tiger Economies of South East Asia were the positive result of the USA's involvement in Vietnam. However, that was too late to be of much comfort to disabled Vietnam Vets.

Answer 4

Hell yeah you deserve respect. And an Oooh-RAH.

I'm not so sure the government shamed him as much as the peace people have. I believe there should be NO limit on the medical benefits any vet received as a result of injury at war.

That said, lots of documented reports of "peace" activists spitting on soldiers, the insults of the military by many in Congress... screw those guys.

American people know what you've done for them. The sacrafice, the passion, the true American GUTS that you have.

Stick your head up high, soldier. You all deserve honor and respect.

Answer 5

Of course they do. All military veterans deserve respect. The way some Vietnam vets were treated by our country after returning home was an absolute embarassment to our otherwise fine nation. Give Vietnam vets all the respect they deserve; it is long overdue.

Answer 6

The answer would depend on the question. If the question was "What is it like to be in combat in the desert?", then this answer would make perfect sense, as Viet Nam vets have no experience with desert combat. To be included in the 'survey', the vet would have to comply with the criteria set forth. If being in Viet Nam excludes that vet from the criteria set forth in the question, then his answer is logical, not deferential.

The question was apparently directed at Gulf War veterans, whose experiences were markedly different than those of Viet Nam veterans. We'd have to know the full context of the original question before we could decide if your point is valid or not (which I suspect it isn't). Personally, I think you're making an issue where there is none. You must be young, and therefore, hypersensitive to insult. I suggest you get a thicker skin, rather than trying to find insults behind every statement.

Answer 7

It is shameful the way Americans treated our soldiers returning from fighting in Viet Nam.

Americans were frustrated because our government wouldn't listen to our pleas to get out of Vietnam and end that God-forsaken war.

Shockingly, they took out their frustrations on these national heroes, sometimes right on the tarmac!

Do Vietnam Vets deserve our respect? You betcha!

Answer 8

One of the most shameful incidences in us history, all vets should be honoured, they did their duty, and the current presidential incumbent should make a point of doing so. They got a very raw deal all in all and even though i wasn't that old when the war was on i have seen enough films/history footage/listened to enough testimonies to understand that the US government owes these people an apology and any help that can be given.

Answer 9

YES you went over there because you felt that you need to
all of the "peace loving cowards" ran these are the ones that are living off of the government now because thy were injured by running when they were drafted I wish everyone that ran would be sent to Iraq better yet send them to Iran (I ran during the Vietnam conflict) they have no right to live in the U.S.A Nixon made a bad mistake when he pardon the draft dodgers

Answer 10

All vets deserve respect. While a handful committed atrocities, they should be seen as individuals--AND the incredible stress they were under should be taken into account. That's a separate issue from them being veterans, though. Anyone serving his or her country deserves our respect for that service.