I hope this isn’t the wrong time to talk about this subject, but I’ve always wondered. I’ve always heard that Vietnam Veterans were spit upon when they returned home. While I realize that the anti-war movement wasn’t all flowers and love, spitting on the veterans they were hoping to save doesn’t seem to jibe with the vibe, if you will. Has anyone ever heard of specific incidents where this occurred, or is it an urban legend?
Thanks.
A close family friend was a Vietnam vet, and not only did he recall being spit on when he returned from Vietnam in 1970, but I was permitted to read letters he wrote at the time to his then-girlfriend about what happened.
He had gotten the proverbial “million-dollar wound” – that is, he was wounded enough to be sent home. He was awarded a Bronze Star (with V-device) and a Purple Heart.
Three times, on his way home, through airports and then a bus trip, wearing his uniform, with medals, he says people spit at him and many more times, called him things - “baby-killer” comes to mind. Several other times, he says, people shook his hand and congratulated him. One old man in a wheelchair got in front of him and pulled himself to his feet to offer a shaky salute.
I gathered from talking to my friend that the spitters and name callers tended to be, so far as he could tell, anti-war, younger folks; the congratulators tended to be older and more neatly dressed.
This is, of course, anecdotal - but according to what I’ve read - and heard - from those that were there, “saving the soldiers” was more an abtract goal than a specific one. Of course, you cannot impute to a vast movement any particular set of beliefs; undoubtedly most peace protestors would never dream of spitting on another human being.
Similar to what we’re seeing today, though: the bad eggs get the attention. Many IMF protestors simply have a gripe with what they see as inhumane corporate actions - the few that wear masks and try to smash property get a disproportionate share of attention.
This is a duplicate thread, so I’m closing it and directing folks to it’s sister, here.
Bricker, if you’d like to repost that in the other thread, I’d appreciate it and I’m sure the rest of our readership would, too.