Spitting on Vietnam Soldiers

This is definitely an urban myth. Despite what Homebuds says (was that a quote or did you really get spit on dude?) If so why did you fly into O'hare? Military flights go to military bases in almost all cases. 90% of vietnam vets claimed they were warmly welcomed home, many taking up the anti-war cause alongside the hippy protesters. So why would we spit on Vets? It was the returning tide of discontent veterans & their horrific stories & injuries that turned middle America against the war.

In fact the big protests were staged at INDUCTION CENTERS where those being drafted or volunteering were definitely targeted. These were widely reported in the media. There was no way for protesters to get onto military bases to greet/spit upon anyone.

It's always possible a few people got spat upon, but no organized spitting was ever reported in the news media. There is NO RECORD of this happening.

 

On the OTHER hand, we should be remembering the many, many times peaceful protests were met by force, and not just by the police, but by the National Guard (after what they did at Kent State, I believe spitting would've been justified), by regular army units (Chicago DNC 1968 - where many heads were split by soldiers and police) and even civilians like construction workers (NYC - 1968 I think).

Spit doesn't match Split heads. Sorry.

And the way the demonstrators were treated in NYC in the run up to the Iraq war shamed America once again. And once again WE WERE RIGHT to protest this Nam II BEFORE it began.

And once again our protests were ignored until the caskets mount and the bombs continue unabated. This is peace in the mideast?

Where was our democracy then, and where is now that we need it more than ever?

Once again our "great" leaders have failed us.

 

That's interesting (if true), mimosa. Cause I was wondering who these individuals are who meet a soldier who just came back from war, who might've killed a few people, who could even be crazy or drug addicted now, and spit on them. That seems a crazy act in itself, and possibly dangerous. Just to make a political point to a stranger?

Since there are no records of ORGANIZED spitting, it had to be spontaneous acts of protest by a wide range of individuals (since it seems EVERY GI is telling this story). And since in this case it wasn't a typical dirty hippie dude, one can only conclude that a LOT OF AMERICANS from many walks of life DIDN'T SUPPORT THE WAR.

It wasn't "fucking hippies", but any AMERICAN with conscience about the horrors that the US military inflicted upon the Vietnamese people who may have felt like spitting on soldiers. You cannot believe the hatred that filled many hearts in those days. And the frustration of millions who protested for 10 years without much change in policy.

Imagine what people would be thinking if this war in Iraq continued THAT long with violence ESCALATING each year. Cause that is what happened in 'Nam and is happening now in Iraq.

This whole scenario is nearly an exact replay of the Vietnam War. And the end is as predictable to those of us who were there for 'Nam, as it was before this war started.

Those who don't learn the lessons of history are doomed to relive them, and obviously there's a few generations of American who didn't learn shit. Unfortunately they happen to STILL be leading the country down the shit tubes.

 

Do you also wonder how these kids felt about the napalm bombs that were dropped on them? This picture is worth a million words.

 

Once the horrors we were inflicting upon the Vietnamese were brought home on TV and in the courtroom (My Lai massacre), added to what uniformed enforcers (police & military) were doing on American streets to protesters, respect for those in uniform hit an all time low.

It seemed few if any were willing to break ranks (they were brainwashed not to) and say enough is enough and refuse to participate in the war or suppressing dissent.

It was the return of Vietnam Veterans that really caught mainstream America's attention. The fact that so many of them threw away their medals and came to protests in wheelchairs and shared their stories that finally America understood the true nature of its activities in Vietnam.

By keeping so many Iraqi veterans in uniform if not in Iraq itself, the government has cleverly minimized the ability of these soldiers to speak freely about what is going on there. In addition they've censored images from the battlefields and carefully kept the media embedded under their thumb that we aren't getting the full story from Iraq.

I doubt Iraqi veterans will be treated so badly in the US cause we don't have soldiers on the streets bashing protesters this time around (just the police). Also there was no draft this time, so the American military volunteers/mercenaries can't complain so loudly about their service.

It was sad that the Vietnam Vets weren't treated better, (Iraqi vets have it even worse in some ways I think), but remember:

WE LOST THE VIETNAM WAR!!!

Soldiers from lost wars don't get heroes welcomes!

And governments that start and lose senseless wars based on lies will fall and be disgraced too.

It just unfortunate that several generations were not taught the lessons of Vietnam properly.

And the military recruitment propaganda machine managed to convince those generations that it was a great idea to sign up. They've now paid for their ignorance of the history of America.