I have read many times about the horrible reception that most Vietnam vets received when they returned to America after completing their tour of duty. (Being spit on, called baby killers, etc.) This seems counter-intuitive to me, mainly for the reason that this behavior would most likely result in a severe ass-kicking of the offending person by the pissed-off returning Vietnam vet. Also, I have never seen any photos or video footage of this disgraceful behavior. I guess my question is: did this behavior really occur and if so, how widespread was it?
A book called “The Spitting Image” by Jerry Lembke challenges that idea.
http://www.providence.edu/polisci/affigne/students/vietnam/vietpaper.htm
Earlier thread: question for Viet Nam veterns
As per their usual tactics, the reactionaries played the spitting tale for all it was worth, and then some.
Years ago, Chicago journalist Bob GReene (yeah, the guy recently disgraced by reports he had an affair with a teenage girl) wrote a book on this very subject. He too was skeptical of the stories about hippies spitting on vets (his take: you think a Green BEret fresh from the jungle is going to stand there meekly when a scrawny hippie spits on him?).
His book on the subject was called “The Homecoming: When the Soliders Returned from Vietnam.”
I suppose every Viet Nam veteran has his own account of hiow he was treated after coming home. If SOME resent the way they were treated, it has a lot to do with a misperception of how things were in previous wars. It’s become conventional wisdom that, “After World War 2, veterans got marching bands and ticker tape parades. Viet Nam vets, however, were derided and cursed at.”
In reality, of course, most elderly WW2 vets I’ve known laughed at the idea they were greeted with parades and banquets. Most of them gave variations on the same story:
I got my discharge, got on the bus, and arrived home late at night. When I got home, my Mom gave me some dinner, and I went to bed. Next morning, my parents said, "Well, you’re going to have to find a job. " So, I went back to the factory/store/wherever I used to work at, got my job back, and went about my life.
None of the WW2 vets I knew expected or got any special treatment. As one put it, “Sure, I fought in the war. But so did practically EVERYBODY my age. Nobody thought I was a hero. In those days, vets were a dime a dozen.”
I hate it when people take things too literally. It smacks of them (in this case, Bob Greene) being stupid.
No one suggested that every (or even most) WW2 vets were given ticker tape parades… but their return in general (or more accurately, V-E and V-J days) was a glorious celebration, and they were welcomed back with open arms, and parades were given in major cities in their honor. By contract, Nam vets got very little respect, and were often looked down upon by many in their generation who didn’t go (mostly those who stayed at university and protested the war - they were the same age and these were the people they would be around).
It has very little to do with what happened after they got off the boat and immediately saw a parade or spitting hippies. It may have happened in another city, or 2 years later, but the tone of their reception was quite different.
One should also keep in mind that some of servicemen coming back were in the anti-war and other social movements of the time.
I wasn’t welcomed back with tickertape, but I can’t say I was mistreated either. There are two incidents that stand out in my mind though.
The first was upon my arrival at Travis AFB. There was an older gentleman lining up the off-loaded duffel bags. He was standing next to mine when I found it. He shook my hand and said, “Thanks son, and welcome home”.
The second happened about six months after I’d been home. I stopped at a Denny’s to have coffee with some of my friends. By this time I had let my hair and beard grow and was riding my Triumph, Bonneville. I was also wearing my army field jacket and a pair of my jungle boots. As I got off of my bike, some guy, a patriot no doubt, came over to me and said, “You long haired punks don’t have the right to wear those military coats, and I oughta kick your ass and rip it off of you”, or something like that.
Well, that’s another type of behavior that would also most likely result in a severe ass-kicking of the offending person by the pissed-off returning Vietnam vet. I had every intention of kicking his ass and was well on my way when my friends pulled me off of him. After they had us separated and explained to him that I had come to own that field jacket the hard way, he apologized to me.
So that was my homecoming.
Thanks to all who posted for their illuminating answers. As far as I can conclude, isolated instances of being spat upon and cursed probably happened, but not nearly to the extent that some would have you believe. I especially appreciate the responses from those who were in Vietnam and would know better than anyone else.