was wondering why?

Question

I was alway's wondering year's ago when the vietnam vet's went to war and came back why were they treated badly? compared to now when our soldier's come back.

Answer 1

The biggest problem was the draft. The war itself was unpopular and a great many that opposed the war were of draft age. They demonstrated loudly and long.The demonstrations became more and more outrageous as the opposition grew. Opposition grew not only against the war but against all military in general. There were many urban legends about returning soldiers being spat upon, etc. According to what I have read and experienced, this did not happen and cannot be verified. There was clearly no great respect for those of us returning though. That was very clear. Even now old VN vets greet one another with "Welcome home" because outside of family and friends we did not receive a welcome when we first came back.

At the end of Gulf War I, I was on an airplane that landed in Charlotte, NC. The pilot came on the intercom and asked for us to remain seated and allow some returning veterans to get off the plane first. The passengers applauded while they filed out. I sat in my seat and tears ran down my face as I recalled my homecomings from that war.

**Edit**
I believe that one of the reasons the soldiers/sailors/airmen of today are treated with more respect is that the nation as a whole is ashamed of how the VN and for that matter the Korean War vets were treated upon returning home after such unpopular wars. Note: I said "one" reason, not "only" reason.

Answer 2

It's really simple: people blamed the vet's for the war. This idea was reflected in the music of the time, songs like Universal Soldier and Bring the Boys Back. A lot of people actually believed that the only reason we were at war was because the service men were willing to fight. If they would "just say no" then the war would have to end!

Then there was the propaganda against the guys who came home. First, because the fought an "immoral" war, then they must be "immoral" people. Then it was said that the vet's were were rapists, drug addicts, and baby killers.

This was tough on the vet's, many of whom were teenage draftees. Girls wouldn't date them, employers wouldn't hire them, and other students would shun them if they went back to school.

Many vet's calmed up and wouldn't tell people they had been to Vietnam. Some lied and said they had been in the Peace Corps, or had left the country to avoid the draft.

Answer 3

Bottom Line - - - PR - - - Public Relations. Unlike the Vietnam War, the Iraqi War has been stage managed and air brushed to near perfection. Vietnam was a confusing morass, American blundered into an 'escalating conflict,' in a place no one had ever heard of for a cause that was ephemeral as best.

The Invasion of Iraq was presented as a Heroic endeavor to topple the Evil Emperor Saddam Hussein (So Dam Insane) a man whose misdeeds had been on American's minds for Decades. There was also a lot of ballyhoo about 'nuuqweear wep ons of mass destruction,' and so American Soldiers were saving America from certain anihilation. Coupled was a lingering desire for vengeance for 9/11 and anyone with a Moslem name was a fair target (except in Illinois the Land of Lincoln where voters heroicaly voted for a man named Obama).

Also American Soldiers were finally recognized for being valuable viable members of American Society. This will PO many people but up to the Vetnam war service in the military was viewed as a dumping ground for misfits - - - the army accepted high school drop outs & deviants with the idea that serving as soldiers would transform them, and often did. America's Modern Army has declared itself free from defects, anyone with less than a GED is kept out as are those openly practicing acts against trhe Evangelical Christian tenets that govern America. Therefore all Americans are assured that their fighting men & women are noble & heroic and worthy only of respect.

And PR has effectively seperated the American Soldier/Sailor/Etc from their superiors. During the Vietnam Era the fighters were seen as part of the problem, blindly killing in the name of 'the establishment.' Modern PR has made it clear that soldiers are serving heroically & well no matter how badly their superiors in Washington DC utilize them. This disconnect from Soldiers and Superiors in cruial to understanding the difference between then and now.

Also during the Vietnam era families were rarely profilled. Now families are up front and center. It is hard to hate a soldier when you have a mental image of a five year old child sufferring by osmosis all that 'mommy or daddy' must endure. The increased presence of Women has also made a difference. During Vietnam men were 'pigs' and could be spat upon. In spite of Equality most people treat women with more respect and are less quick to rip them a new one.
Peace-----------------------

Answer 4

The Vietnam War was the first war that the media caused the USA to lose, just as they are trying to make the US lose the Iraq war by only reporting negative things, and obsessing over those negative things.

Because the media presented certain events in a certain way it suggested that American servicemen in Vietnam were rapists and murderers, not men, mostly conscripts, doing a job they were ordered to do regardless of their own personal feelings. The equation was that the war was "immoral" so the soldiers were also immoral.

In a perfect world there would be no war, but a perfect world requires perfect people. To the best of my knowledge, there are none. Wars may be immoral but sometimes they are less immoral than the alternative, which is to allow organizations such as Al-Qaeda or dictators like Saddam to hold sway over millions of innocent people.

I DO know guys who were spat on and insulted when they returned from Vietnam. Some claimed that they were stationed in Korea and never actually fought in Vietnam, others that they remained Stateside in order to be able to get jobs and be accepted into society.

Thankfully, in the present era, the troops are respected as professionals doing a difficult job, just as many civilians have to do things they do not particularly enjoy.

Because I am from a military family I know of many military personnel who believe that the American media is determined that the USA lose in Iraq and cut and run as they were ordered to do in Vietnam. That is why the media continually reports only on the negative events and does not bring to the public's attention that the vast majority of military personnel in Iraq are not shooting or being shot at but are helping build schools, organize transportation systems, and get businesses up and running so that the civilian population can begin to lead a normal life.

Whenever I run into military personnel returning from Iraq or Afghanistan I shake their hands and thank them for their service to our country and I know other people who do the same thing. Also if I run into them at coffee shops or airport snack bars I try to pay for their meal or drink as a small token of my appreciation for their courage and willingness to do a job that is very necessary but undesirable to most of the populace.

Too many people do not seem to understand that the events of September 11, 2001 was a harbinger of things to come.
The War on Terror is NOT just a slogan, it is a reality. Those who refuse to believe this do so at their peril.

Answer 5

We will never allow anyone to be treated as badly as the Vietnam soldiers were treated. The liberals persecuted them. They cared only about themselves and not about what these men went through. It was one of the darkest moments in our history. The libs will eat their young if it will get them air time. It also helps that most level headed Americans can see what our country has to lose if terrorists win and I am not sure that they could see that in Vietnam.

Answer 6

Some of us made the mistake of thinking that the soldiers who served in Viet Nam agreed with what we were doing there, which most of us were against. I think it was mostly people who didn't know anyone who was fighting there.

It was a very volatile time when all of society was changing and I think a lot of people just didn't realize what they were going through, even though it was on the evening news every single night.

I do wonder what the sociologist say about it all.

Answer 7

The media had painted the American soldier as a guy involved in a senseless war; a guy that killed babies; and a guy that bombed innocent villages.
The men and women returning from Iraq are not portrayed as such.
~

Answer 8

I believe (I'm a foreigner) that the people didn't support the war and over time stopped supporting the troops

Answer 9

Wow, great question. I dont have an answer but wanted to let you know this is a good question.:)