Spitting on Vietnam Soldiers

Ah yes, because America was so in danger after 9/11!

Turn off Fox, idiot.

 

Defending us = staying in our country
NOT going to third world countries to kill others.

the US military hasnt been used to defend us since pearl harbor. if i t hought for a second that my family, friends, or myself were in SERIOUS danger... your damn right I would defend them...

Instead of needing a massive military to defend 'me' from terrorism, I could simply leave the country and move to one which is not hated by the majority of the world.
Dilema solved... without massive military aggression too.

 

More than spit went around. My old man had bottles chunked at him coming into La Guardia. As the story goes he walked out with a busted nose but didn't fight back. Truth is he just wanted a damn hug and a hot cup of coffee from some friendly faces. Peace is a process of healing and that was not healing, it was only adding more trauma to some poor mans life. I'm sure they were proud of what they did to another human being.

 

That's a sad story, like I said... i dont think those which were drafted should have been spat on or physically abused at all. all of us have friends, family, who are in the military... when war happens, it effects us all... and we all handle things differently.
Surely most soldiers regret killing another human... even the ones that claim not to, im sure they do deep inside of their psyche.
Most people in the world just want to be happy and free... not many people have such blackened hearts... whether in america, or vietnam... im sure all anyone wanted was to be happy and be at home, safe and sound... which is precisely why we have to stop fighting these unjust wars for our government... we need to recognize when we are being used like pawns for foreign affairs, and say "NO" when asked to fight a war with no merit.

 

No, I wasn't there. Heck, I was just a kid at that point in time. But I do have friends that were there. They didn't want to be in that war. They came home to a country that turned their backs on them. I'm with Homebudz on this one. It's easy to sit back
and say what you would of done when you never had to live it. My father-in-law
was one of those soldiers that served during that time. He left his home sane and
when he returned,he had just about lost his mind. He became a hermit and went up into the mountains for 3 years. He became an alcoholic. When he gets really drunk
he sits and cries and cries. He has stated that he never would wish what he had to do or what he went through on anyone. It wasn't his choice to go and to me those who
spit on our soldiers weren't worth the spit that came out of their mouths.

 

if hippies spit on vietnam soldiers isnt that kind of hypocritical?

 

I never spat on nobody and there was always Canada.Accidently or on purpose war is waged by the soldiers.
As for Pearl Harbor,we provoked the Japanese into fighting with us orginally by blockading their ships.It was a fight we weren't prepared for...
as far as never spitting on nobody,i have to edit that a bit.You see i was in the back of this police cruiser one time and...talk about provoking somebody,look out!

 

My brother didn't come back from nam the same either. He drinks all the time and I have been with him when he has had flashbacks. He cries alot about it all. He also said that it was very hard to tell who the enemy was or wasn't. He told me that childern would be set up to kill them and you could never trust anyone. He also got demoted for saving 16 women who were in a dugout that collaped. That was the way it was. He went against orders to do so. Maybe you should go talk to some of the people who were there instead of beleiving evey thing you read. He was barely 18 years old. Screwed him up for life. All them soilders should have been treated like the ones from wwwII when they returned. They still have to fight the gov for bennefits. They owe them soilders big time still to this day.

 

Cool,
Regards to your brother and he sounds like a great guy (saved 16 women against orders? Outstanding!) But let's put this in historical perspective; Vietnam was the first Television War and wars have always been ugly business. I remember a nightly news report about a South Vietnamese patrol capturing a VC, beating the shit out of him and then shooting him off camera. The networks and even freelance journalists like Tim Page ( http://www.nkf-mt.org.uk/VN.Viet_Nam_history_Tour.htm ) were allowed to wander around the country and film whatever came up no matter what. Bad idea US military! And rest assured that nothing of the sort will ever happen again.
The net effect of all this in the middle of even a low intensity war like Vietnam was that the US civilian population had a massive nervous breakdown. Who did they blame? Well the easiest target of course-the guys hopping off the airplanes just back from the jungles. But US citizens just passing through the airport and spitting on vets as they deplane? Don't think so!
Just who was spitting on the vets as they got off the airplanes? The former Peace Movement activists deny any involvement up and down. A few stoned out "hippies"? Don't think so-the phenomenon was too widespread (and yes it happened A LOT). I cannot imagine that ANYONE walking around an airport in the politically charged sixties looking like he might spit on a vet that would not get the shit beat out of him/her by outraged security agents...
So what have we got here? A government Psyops operation? Far left elements very good at the spitting game? It would take someone with a lot more resources than I have got to get to the bottom of this mystery!
Still puzzling after all of these years,
Tundrahopper4

 

My understanding is that yes, there were occurences of returning vets being spat on and called baby killers, but they weren't that common. When it did happen it drew attention. Most of us who opposed the war had sense enough not to blame the soldiers but the government. Naturally, in any movement you're going to get a few fanatics.

NOW, All of you who thought it was in some way justifiable to spit on Vietnam vets, let me ask you this: how much more successful was the anti-war movement with the contributions of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War? They gave a legitimacy to the movement that no one who hadn't fought could ever give it. Some of us treated them like they were the enemy when they turned out to be our best allies.

What we need now is a growing movement of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

 

Homebudz you have my profound respect also.

I'm astounded by the rather naive and ignorant comments on this thread.

 

hey purplesage,
I know this is off the subject. Just can't help myself. Your twins were born on my b-day. congrades.

 

I direct my everlasting hatred at anyone who spits on our soldiers. They're fighting for you out there. They enlisted of their own free will. What the fuck would make someone want to spit on them?

 

Newo,
The first million bucks I make will result in teams of investigators being sent out on this one. As in "Just who was actually spitting on returning Vietnam vets in the seventies?"
Tundrahopper4

 

Huh? What?! Obviously you're just being a smartass, but to clarify, I don't give a damn who it was spitting on returning vets, nor do I want to know. They know who they are and they have to live with it. I just hope they wish they could take back their actions.

 

Thank you so much, my dear friend! What a magical day your birthday was for us! A very happy (and slightly belated) birthday to you.

 

Newo,
"Who were these spitters, where did they come from and what was their motivation?" Coming home from a war is a pretty vulnerable state to be in and how was it my good freind -- was hocked on right off the airplane? Was this a random event or something more insideous? What I am saying is that I suspect a black op on this one.
Tundrahopper4

 

you could name one cool and the other luke.Twins cool.

 

I don't ever hear about how many 'boys' we lost over there or how 'the innocent' had bombs straped to them or guns hidden under their clothes to kill us. And how would you tell them apart as they all look the same.
All this bullshit over our military. Did any of you stop for a second and think what would happen if we didn't have military. Those little third world countries, backed by China would come over and take our country, killing all of us.
The gov. as fucked up as it is does not just say, well it's four o clock and I'm bored so lets start a war. It's not civilians that start wars, we just have to deal with them. There have been wars since man first walked the earth. No one likes war but I would hate to think what would happen to us if we didnt have defence.
I never spit on a solider, most of them turned hippie or biker when they got home. As far as I know and I was there in the protests. We were wanting our boys to come home, not so we could spit on them, but so they didn't have to kill or be killed.
All wars are hell, people get killed in all of them, even the innocent.

 

My first thought... why spit when you can hand out flowers? I mean.. why such hatred while protesting for peace? It seems just sooooo hypocritical?

As for the soldiers who went to Vietnam.. it's very very easy for us young ones to say now 'I would've gone to Canada or do jail time'.. yeah right.. ever heard about social pressure? And how do you think people that did jailtime instead of 'helping their buddies in Vietnam' were treated by the rest of the inmates? Yes, ignorance definately comes to mind when I read some of the responses here.

Each vietnam-veteran has to deal with his experience and decisions himself.. none of us can point fingers.. I think I can only say that the truth is that no soldier really wants war. Maybe at first, they think of it as exiting, but as soon as they hit the frontline or see their first friends die.. it's over with the boyish excitment.

There are a lot of reasons why people join the army.. or respond to drafts. For some it's the only way of making a decent living.. supporting there family.. or escaping an abusive family situation. It may be the individual soldiers who kill.. but the goverment is the killing machine.. and that's where the problem lies.