What is the main reason rumors continue about Vietnam Veterans (Late 60s early 70s being spit upon?

Question

STORIES ABOUT spat-upon Vietnam veterans are like mercury: Smash one and six more appear. It's hard to say where they come from. I found nothing. No news reports or even claims that someone was being spat on.

What I did find is that around 1980, scores of Vietnam-generation men were saying they were greeted by splitters when they came home from Vietnam. There is an element of urban legend in the stories in that their point of origin in time and place is obscure, and, yet, they have very similar details. The story told by the man who spat on Jane Fonda at a book signing in Kansas City recently is typical. Michael Smith said he came back through *Los Angeles* airport where ''people were lined up to spit on us."

Like many stories of the spat-upon veteran genre, Smith lacks credulity. GIs landed at military airbases, not civilian airports, and protesters could not have gotten onto the bases and anywhere near deplaning troops. Why did the Veterans make up these stories?

Answer 1

Not many people have called me a liar and walked away unscathed. Ask Hanoi Jane. I am Mike Smith, and I am the Marine who spit in that traitor's face.

We landed from Vietnam on a military base, but we had to use civilian air facilities to get home. We were warned when we landed that we were not to wear our uniforms off base because of ignorant asses like you who wanted only to denigrate our service. I was spit on at the L.A. airport. I don't really care if you choose to believe it or not, but I will not sit by and let you slander my brother veterans.

If you would like some insight into truth, check these articles :
http://www.leatherneck.com/ezine/authors/3/Mike-Smith

My question to you is this : Why do drug-addled hippies refuse to understand the truth?

And, by the way, REMF does not stand for Rear Echelon Military Forces.

Answer 2

Hey man, I returned from Vietnam in 1971. I was flown into Travis AFB in California, told to remove my uniform if I was to catch a flight out of San Fransisco International. I didn;t and yes, I was spat on by people my own age (19). The protesters who were glorified as peace loving hippies in the 60's & early 70's.
You ask if the media never reported anything like that, well, gee, I guess it just ain't so then.

You see, I couldn't catch a military hop to Cleveland.

Answer 3

First, all those stories happened before the internet, so probably never made it onto the web.

Second, the people that got spit on probably won't glorify the event by telling it.

Third, I doubt the people that did it will fess up to it now that they have kids and grandkids. (If their drug use didn't burn those brain cells.)

I know the US Army posted an SOP for dealing with it, that said Military members in uniform where forbidden from assaulting protestors that spat on them, because they were trying to instigate uniformed personel into fighting to use as anti-war propaganda. I've read it somewhere in my military career.
And yes, you are correct about service members returning from most overseas deployments landing at military bases. But our plane stopped in England and Bangor, Maine at civilian airports on the way back from Iraq, finally ending at our military airbase. In Bangor, the Local VFW came out on a stormy October night to greet us and thank us, it made quite an impression.
One point, liberal news media outlets that did run stories probably twisted the truth into "baby-killing soldier attacks non-violent protestors at airport" Reputably news outlets probably didn't run those stories at all, so as not to glorify the incidents. Not to mention the fact that there were so many other newsworthy events unfolding, a minor airport scuffle probably never made it to the newsroom.
Like a lot of painful memories that wars create, no one probably wants to remember how vicious ignorant people can really be. Our generation is much lazier, they can protest on the internet.

Answer 4

Eurudite you definitely aren't.

Here's one who can be very specific. May 4, 1968. San Fransisco International Airport main concourse. Sitting at a bar open to the concourse minding my own business when a couple in beads and filth walked up and screamed "Baby Killer" and spat. An airport cop grabbed them and hauled them away before I could do anything.

Additionally, there were protesters routinely hanging at the gate to Travis AFB yelling and waving signs at busses from the Aerial Port to SFO.

Stick that one in your pie hole.

Answer 5

i'm very happy this replaced into stated. My uncle replaced right into a radio guy in Denang. In severe college he replaced into scouted by way of college and expert soccer communities. His maximum suitable buddy joied the Marines so my uncle went with him. He gained greater understand for going to Vietnam than he ever did for being soccer movie star. I asked him as quickly as though he regretted going to war over enjoying professional soccer and he reported "I did the main awesome ingredient, i could no longer et my buddy bypass without me." He now works on the production line at a Pepsi bottling organisation.

Answer 6

I hope you arent asking this just to stir up everyone.
Here's a quote from an Australian Vietnam Vet:-

"GEORGE DEGRASSI: I come home by plane and as I came out of the doors of the Sydney Airport I got a bucket of blood thrown at me.
And I guess that that is one of the things I found very difficult to deal with."

A lot of servicemen returned home on commercial flights to mainstream airports.

I'm pretty sure that Vietnam Vets werent allowed to march in our Australian ANZAC Day marches for many years. Hopefully someone else can confirm that.

These people went to war and did their duty. There are horrors in EVERY war, Vietnam was no different. We must respect the servicemen for what they did to defend our countries interests by risking their lives.There can be no greater sacrifice. THANK YOU to all the servicemen and women out there, past and present. Good on you mates.

Answer 7

How many more times are you going to ask this question? It seems all you have time to do is bash Viet Nam veterans and the marines. Your just a troll and when the spitting was going on you were probably at the head of the line.

Answer 8

When my brother came home, he was flown into a base on Hawaii via military flight. He was then flown commercially, into SFO, which was, at that point, at the height of the Haight-Ashbury, Hippie, war-protesting movement. He was spat upon and had food thrown at him. It didn't make the news as an offense on him, it made the news as an oo-rah for the protest movement.

Answer 9

When I returned home from deployment my wife and family had put up banners welcoming me back just outside our home. Next morning when I went outside I saw that someone had torn them down and deficated upon them. My grandfather who is a WWII and Korea vet was brought to tears when he heard that because he to had been insulted more than once by people who didnt agree with his profession throughout the ages. Do I believe that all of the veterans had faced that specific form of descrimination, no, not by any means. Some faced much worse and in front of their families no less. Dont question what you yourself have not faced.

Answer 10

"...GIs landed at military airbases, not civilian airports, and protesters could not have gotten onto the bases and anywhere near deplaning troops..." Plain and simple H-O-G-W-A-S-H..!

Your profile says you've been in the military, but from this question I wonder who's military it was because you sure don't know diddly-squat about ours.