Contrary to protesters' claims, then and now, the Vietnam War did not begin without good reasons. However, a major difference is that there was no decent interval between the declaration of the end of the war and the collapse of the military and government in Afghanistan. Who is Jason crabb mother and where is she? Modern Warriors' hosted by Pete Hegseth returns with a new episode in honor of Veterans Day. Yes), Meet the Su-37 Terminator: Russias Forgotten Fighter Jet, Tulsi Gabbard Can Defeat Woke Extremism, the GOP Cant, Donald Trump Crushes Ron DeSantis in CPAC Poll. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. WebAs one Vietnam veteran writes: Vietnam vets were a bit crushed coming home. Some found it hard to get close to others because they had to hide that they killed in combat. The horrific actions of those that committed atrocities were widely shared on television, newspapers and magazines. Many described confronting a dark side of themselves that they did not know existed before they had killed in combat. At his inauguration in January 1961, President John Kennedy said, Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.. We were not honored, but were treated as the face of an unpopular war. Theirs was the Apocalypse Now war. One example: A 1967 Bucks County Courier Times article reporting that two sailors were spat on outside a high school football game by a gang of about 10 young men. Before Nord Stream Sabotage, VT RADIO: Exposing East Palestine Train Derailment Disaster with VTs Jack Heart, Dr. Fauci Admits COVID Shots Didnt Have A Chance Of Controlling The Pandemic, More Home Care Services Needed for Military Veterans, VA is Lying Facebook Group is Social Media Done Right, Pregnant Dog Found Starving to Death in Cage Needs Help to be Reunited With Marine Who Rescued Her, Healthy Eating Options More Accessible to Military Community through the Exchange, VT RADIO: Exposing East Palestine Train Derailment Disaster with VTs Jack Heart, Israels Illegal Violent Occupation: When De-Escalate Means Ramp Up, Citizen Kane Rupert Murdoch Openly Admits Fox News is Complete Bullshit. Politics. Why did people call the Vietnam Vets baby killers? Legal Statement. And we pray that those who left us and flew up to meet Their King They described how they felt after killing in combat and some opened up about hidden agonies. Its clear thathelping veterans work through their experiences calls for tremendous sensitivity, empathy and patience, said Purcell, assistant adjunct professor of social and behavioral sciences in the UCSF School of Nursing. These WANNABES did not want to be Vietnam Veterans when we went off to war and turned our homecoming into a lifes event that will never leave us. The new study, published in the October 2016 issue of Counseling Psychologist, further investigates the moral injury suffered by veterans who have killed and the stigma they carry. Later in the Vietnam War, Wynn spent nearly two months in military hospital after being shot in the chest - 8 out of the 12 men in his squad were killed or wounded on the same day. One of the sailors was stabbed. ", President Donald Trump bestows the nation's highest military honor, the Medal of Honor to retired Army medic James McCloughan during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, July 31, 2017. Homecoming: When Soldiers Returned from Vietnam Webthey were called baby killers because they would kill vietnamese children because they would try to kill them and themselves with grenades. Johnson was back in Texas, and the young men serving now were the baby killers. How to get a motorcycle license in vietnam? Your email address will not be published. What happened in the workplace when the soldiers returned home? The My Lai massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of violence committed during the Vietnam War. Wars are far easier to initiate than to conclude. Fatima Jaghoori is an Afghan refugee, a former U.S. Army medic who fought in Iraq, a Gold Star wife, and is now a student at Kansas State University. Anyone can read what you share. ------------------------------------------------------------ This younger generation that was welcoming home their generation of returning Veterans began to ask why the Vietnam Veterans were treated and greeted in the way they were when they returned home and thought this was wrong. This is a somewhat more serious subreddit compared to many others. James McCloughan, an Army medic who was awarded the Medal of Honor by former President Trump for rescuing wounded soldiers during the war, joined host Pete Hegseth in the episode along with several other veterans to detail their experience abroad and the hardships they faced upon their return to the U.S. "Vietnam veterans didn't talk about their war and about themselves," McCloughan recalls in the episode. The impact of their indifferent, if not hostile, reception was all the greater because they had assumed the responsibility of citizenship they understood was theirs. WebThe idea that Golub presentsthat those who sent us to Vietnam are the real baby killersescapes most Americans. Vietnam Veterans always felt we did the right thing when we answered the call to stop communism in South Vietnam, the biggest threat to global democracy in the latter half of the 20th century. Is vietnam veterans day an official holiday. Bob Feist, of Medina, is an Army veteran and a retired Navy pilot. American service members did not suffer defeat, even though most of us felt defeated. Ukraine War Anniversary: UN and China Work for Peace, Devilish Zelensky, Kiev Hid Its Dead Soldiers in the Ravines. Your email address will not be published. The abuse of vets was real but it rarely was more than verbal abuse. Many veterans wanted to avoid any reminders of their combat experience, and they turned to alcohol or isolated themselves from others. The Gulf War American Forces marched in New York City to a very well deserved ticker tape parade and were so magnanimous to allow the Veterans of the Vietnam War to march with them. WebMore than 58,000 made the ultimate sacrifice, and hundreds of thousands more were injured physically, psychologically, or both coming back to a nation which spat upon them or called them baby killers. It was indeed a painful chapter in American history. What is most heartbreaking is that so many were left behind in both countries who suffered at the hands of despotic regimes. With a brilliant left flank maneuver around Iraqi military forces, General Schwartzkopf and the highly motivated and courageous Americans and Coalition Forces encircled the Iraqis and liberated Kuwait. All rights reserved. They were not a group of mutinous draftees, although many were drafted, and if they did not begin their tour disillusioned by their war, they most likely concluded it with that view. Reached the golden shores of Heaven, and could hear those angels singin, CH: Mr. Schultz and Mr. Noyes both said they were called baby killers when they came back from Vietnam. Over 10 million boomers served in the military, some 40 percent of the males of their generation. VT RADIO: Alternative Foreign Policy Talk, Khazarian Mafia at War: The Jewish Oligarch Who Planned the Terror, Russias Future Predicted by Well-Known Christian Saints, Most Front-Line Ukrainian Soldiers Killed Within 4 Hours, How Russia managed to survive Western sanctions, How War Began The Genesis of NATOs Coup in Ukraine , From Global Warming Denial to Holocaust Denial, On this day in 1940, Woody Guthrie writes This Land Is, Former U.S. President Carter to Hospice, Will Pariah Trump Attend State, Dr. Fauci Admits COVID Shots Didnt Have A Chance Of Controlling. What's the story behind Minneapolis' smaller houses with huge front yards? Winston Churchill, reflecting on the Boer War, understood it a century ago, and the Vietnam generation experienced it a half century ago. Posted by Dale Throneberry | Feb 28, 2023 | Music, Vietnam War | 0 |. So, welcome home from Vietnam yeah, welcome home Crime: The unmistakable driver of Chicago's election results, Something isn't right just ask the kids, Readers Write: Dakota language, student debt, Minnesota's 'trifecta' state government, Supreme Court conservatives would block student loan forgiveness but have hit a snag, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve: Ruling is a powerful lift for transgender rights, Tom Emmer: The era of woke government is over, The demise of 'Dilbert': Scott Adams merely said what white America has long done. just for you. Sergeant Major El Sar is now the Command Chaplain Sergeant Major for the U.S. Army Japan. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The entitled elite who used the term baby killers against us re-purposed the term from World War I, when the English used it to refer to what the German use of zeppelins did over English cities. Civilians, including mental health professionals, have an opportunity and an obligation to better understand veterans experiences and to join them in confronting difficult truths about the violence of war, its meaning and its consequences, they stated in the paper. There was more civilian anger directed at Vietnam Vets than any other conflict in our history, hence the name calling, Primarily due to it being the first televised war. For More Information: www.OperationSong.org. He has written well over 100 songs for veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghan wars and Gold Star children and surviving spouses. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. In Minnesota and across the nation, executives are grappling with alarming operating losses. Thanks! The spitting on veterans was just a small part of the overall feeling of lost honor, but it was real, contrary to Sirota's article, which appears to borrow heavily from a review of a book written by socialist and war protester Jerry Lembcke. Why weren't those soldiers, such as WWII, Korean, and Gulf War vets,, called 'baby killers' too? Feel free to submit interesting articles, tell us about this cool book you just read, or start a discussion about who everyone's favorite figure of minor French nobility is! Its detractors perceived it as a monument to defeat, one that spoke more directly to a nations guilt than to the honor of the war dead and the veterans, describing it as the black gash of shame, the degrading ditch, and a wailing wall for draft dodgers and New Lefters of the future. 4 Fox Nationprograms are viewable on-demand and from your mobile device app, but only for Fox Nation subscribers. My dad was a vet during the war, but was always stationed in the US. Not likely. Matthew Israel It was searching for elusive enemy forces while encountering Vietnamese civilians who just wished the Americans would leave and the war would end. Again, according to the National Vietnam Veterans Foundation, the figures of people claiming to be Vietnam Veterans, serving in-country, for the 2000 census count was 13,853,027. Market data provided by Factset. You kind of like to in the back of your head and hope it would go away. and political warfare. How many kids did you kill today? But by late 1969, when Americans learned of the atrocities committed against an estimated 600 civilians at the village of My Lai, some protesters focused on those who were serving in Vietnam, not as victims but as willing participants in their cruel and unjust war. "When we came home, some of us were spit at. I've studied the history, and I've lived it. Even though the WANNABE now wants to steal our valor, they cannot, because we will expose them for what they are, WANNABEs, hypocrites and liars! The anti-war movement had extensive outreach programs towards veterans and active duty personnel which would be impossible if they were as hostile as commonly believed. Many Americans blamed Vietnam Veterans for the loss of the war even though all the main American combat forces had been brought home as of March 1973. WebDespite Sirota's contentions, Vietnam vets were a bit crushed coming home. That movie bore as little relation to the conduct and experience of the Vietnam War as South Pacific did to World War II except the latter was kinder to those serving. That was a good, well documented reply. Joe has spoken at high schools and colleges for 25 years about PTSD, war and how not to treat returning veterans when they come home to America after fighting for their country. One major drawback for the returning Vietnam Veteran, most of them came home alone, not with their units, and were easy targets of hostility, disdain, and disrespect for the groups of war protesters gathering at our Nations airports and other areas returning Veterans dis-embarked. I don't believe the use if Agent Orange was widespread knowledge during time, not that it was a secret. Zippo, burning down people's homes in small towns (villages). As we reflect on American military history on this Veterans Day we can draw a simple parallel between our attempts at peace with honor in both Vietnam and Afghanistan. Throughout it all, though, Vietnam Veterans maintained our dignity, patriotism and formed a bond of brotherhood and sisterhood that is SECOND TO NONE to any other group of Veterans from any era! Since then a thank you for your service culture has arisen that has all but eliminated public displays of disdain and disrespect. David: I can tell you this about my time with Operation Song, which I believe has been about seven or eight years at this point. Four students were shot and killed by the Ohio National Guard while attending a protest after the events in Cambodia. The idea that the anti-war movement was hostile towards Vietnam veterans is a myth. Vietnam veterans were treated in despicable ways by Americans from being spit on to being called baby killers. U.S. Army Sgt. Soldiers came back from there only to be labeled as baby killers. My Lai framed the image that for too many retrospectively described the Vietnam generation. In 2004, the VA called the house and said because of Agent Orange, I was welcome at the VA and I went and still there. Conners decked him. Soldiers called Baby Killers during the Vietnam war? Made us question why we ever joined the fight But we took it out on you, and now its time to make things right V1: On the TV, in the papers, you were treated so unfair You got blamed for Vietnam instead of the ones who sent you there Some folks called you baby killers, called you monsters and worse I was not a baby killer. Vietnam veterans are again doing what they did in the 1970s and helping their fellow veterans from Afghanistan to aid, evacuate, and integrate refugees who are at great risk. It seems many in our country now want to be Vietnam Veterans even though they never stepped foot in that country. WebWhy were Vietnam vets treated badly when returning home? Why were people angry about the Vietnam War memorial? I am not aware of many Vietnam was an unpopular war where 58,200-plus combat soldiers were killed and more than 300,000 were wounded. Due to high publicity from television coverage. As Churchill wrote, The Statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events. He argued, Let us learn our lessons., https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/opinion/the-baby-boomer-war.html. WWII Medalist James Conners was unable to avoid a particularly obnoxious man yelling, "Killer, killer, killer." They found his refusal to do the same offensive. To the average U.S. soldier, it was very difficult to distinguish between who was a civilain try to eck out an existence and a Viet Cong rebel. Within a few years, they quickly passed it along to their children. Yael Halon is a reporter for Fox News Digital. And number two, they probably wouldn't believe you anyway if you told them what you saw, and what you experienced. Some folks called you baby killers, called you monsters and worse Since then a thank you for your service culture As Americans, we have a collective guilt over the way our Vietnam veterans were treated. These brothers/sisters did not live to see the attitudes in this country about Vietnam Veterans change, and personally, a WANNABE is showing disrespect, dishonor and trying to steal the valor ofthese brave men and women when the WANNABE claims to be a Vietnam Veteran! Their leaders did not, although they were seldom honest about this. Doug Avery, a young medic in Dust Off, gives his perspective on the Vietnam War 46 years later. Take that in conjunction with the usage of child soldiers by the north vietnamese (a practice the south shared) and you can see where the people took that image from. Do Sleep Medications Increase Your Chances of Dementia. I'm just a little skeptical as why would people attack random enlisted men when there's a draft? Untill several years latter of course, now the veterans of Vietnam are respected as well WW2 Veterans were greated with parades. A later publication that did specifically focus on what greeted returning Vietnam veterans is. V2: Bipartisan. Those boomers in uniform were more blue-collar and minority than their generational median, but they were not some marginal part of it, nor were they the only ones to fight. It's myth, like most myths, that's gained traction through incessant repetition powered by Vietnam veterans own guilt and shame over what they did in Vietnam, their failure to win that was seen as so shameful by the American public and an attempt to bury the facts of the US armed forces' collapsing morale at the end of the war. WebUS personnel were in Thailand for 10 years, so closed to 300,000 served there, not just 3-5000. also, according to DCAS-Vietnam Conflict Extract File, dated April 29, 2008, the Those Vietnam Veterans fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq enhanced their individual respect and admiration as Vietnam Veterans, and the rest of us at home that had served in Vietnam benefited from their service all these years later. Eighteen were Vietnam veterans and eight were deployed in Iraq. COMMENTdocument.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a144447f3c8e4143cfddcc0024396068" );document.getElementById("ee4d823118").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. These children of World War II veterans learned their responsibility to serve when called or to volunteer before being called. We need to remember that it was the South Vietnamese government that lost their war, not the much-maligned American soldier. CH: I've always suspected that the spitting and the "baby killer" insult (re: the movie 'Rambo', for instance) were largely myth, although I would guess that a few incidents must have occurred. friend and some information about Christian video life to put my social media You got blamed for Vietnam instead of the ones who sent you there Send this article to anyone, no subscription is necessary to view it, 'Moonshot' CNA program trained hundreds. Any American who wishes to honor veterans of Vietnam can make a difference today and contribute to the various organizations that are helping Afghan refugees. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. WebSecretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III honored Vietnam War Veterans during a ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Islamic terrorists attacked on 9/11/2001, and then President George Bush ordered the American Military, the best in the world, to respond and air strikes were carried out against the cowards that had trained in Afghanistan and killed innocent civilians with four hijacked airliners in New York City and Washington, DC. The anti-war movement didn't even condemn Lt. Calley of the My Lai massacre infamy, seeing him as a scapegoat while his commanding officers walked free (in the event, Calley served something like two days in jail for murdering 22 people). I do not wish to have my record of service dishonored again. The girls arent linin up to kiss you like the end of WWII He lives with his best friend, his wife, and they have 34 rescued cats, 7 rescued dogs. At the age of nearly two and three Lan-Dinh and Danielle Ngo experienced the fall of Saigon with their family. They were among the last to make it to Tan Son Nhat air base for evacuation. WebVietnam veterans. And what made it even worse was how it ended Powerful, often unshared, memories remain. People did "support the troops" during Vietnam, they just differed on the issue of the justification for the war. For meand I think most others returningwe transported in a civilian airplane, that landed on a military base, which would have greatly restricted civilians from being where they could protest against us. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homecoming:_When_the_Soldiers_Returned_from_Vietnam. These Vietnam Veterans continued to do the same when the Iraq War started, and as our fellow countrymen and countrywomen began to return to American shores. WebProtests led by students and hippies raised awareness about the atrocities of the Vietnam war. The Vietnam War was a conflict that lasted from 1959 to 1975, and involved the United States, South Vietnam, North Vietnam, and the National Liberation Front. I joined the Air Force in 76 and was stationed just outside San Francisco. Joshua Smith, 82nd Airborne Divisions 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, talks to group of Afghan children during a combined patrol clearing operation in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, April 28, 2012. New recruits for the Vietnam War being sworn in, in St. Paul, Minn. See how this article appeared when it was originally published on NYTimes.com. You grabbed your things and left the transport, hit your knees and kissed the ground The soldiers in Vietnam were largely drafted. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Her father was killed by the Taliban for helping American NGOs escape to Pakistan in the 1990s. Edit, I think the use of Agent Orange has been criticized far more after the war, since it's effects have taken so much time to really come to fruition. Even Medal of Honor recipients were abused and "spat upon as 'monsters'," according to the head of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, WWII medalist Thomas J. Kelly. The baby boomer generation grew up in the world of the 1950s, a world of duck and cover drills in schools in preparation for a nuclear attack, of reminders of the threat posed by Soviet and Chinese Communism, of the fear of the near-inevitability of war, and of their obligation to serve in this war. The episode release comes as Fox Nation dedicates November's content to honoring those who've served as part of the platform's "Patriots Month" initiative in commemoration of Veterans Day. 2023 The Regents of The University of California, University Development & Alumni Relations, Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital and Clinics, Killing in War Leaves Veterans with Lasting Psychological Scars, Study Finds, Screen Time Tied to Suicide Risk for Tweens But Dont Panic, Out of Adderall? Few could have anticipated the duration and cost of this commitment. I had been getting lied to half the time, he said. Many Vietnam Veterans, including this writer, tried college but the anti-Vietnam Veteran attitude that prevailed at that time on college campus made many of us turn on backs on higher education. Greene believed the tale was an urban legend. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais). Sir, thanks for your service and 20 years of sacrificial loved for our beloved country. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, There are myriad veteran organizations committed to helping refugees just as their Vietnam veteran brothers and sisters did and continue to do today. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Welcome back where you belong.you know there shoulda been a ticker tape parade What is the answer punchline algebra 15.1 why dose a chicken coop have only two doors? All Gave Some. flower shop killing, Stillwater officers shoot, kill suspect at apartment complex, 'We play whack-a-mole': Growing medical needs stress suburban fire departments, Two Harbors residents renew 20-year fight to block project on Lighthouse Point. Homecoming was later criticized by those who did not believe that Vietnam veterans had been spat upon. Why Is Assange in Jail and Not Seymour Hersh? With Whalen out, what's left behind for Gophers women's basketball? Before VT Nuclear Education: The Beirut Nuclear Coverup, The Hidden History of the Incredibly Evil Khazarian Mafia. We are still seeing the effects play out in Afghanistan. Maguen and the studys first author Natalie Purcell, PhD, who directs the Patient Centered Care Program at the SFVAHCS, have initiated research, outreach and model therapies for veterans with moral injury. Some early history of U class on Dakota language. Thank you. Press J to jump to the feed. More people probably knew Lt. William Calley, the man in charge at My Lai, than knew the name of any other combat officer who served in Vietnam. Web3.Why were U.S. Talk to both a Vietnam and Afghan veteran and they will tell you about their service with their allies and the relationships they built through their experiences fighting a common enemy and their desire to ensure the safety and well-being of those they fought with and fought for. As a matter of fact, the most successful songs I have written outside of Operation Song In other words for the country music market, have been based on real life stories that happened to me or people I know, so when every song that you write, as in the Operation Song program, is based on a real life story, there is always meat on the bone, and substance to work with. In his purported study, Lembcke's sampling was not random, it was statistically insignificant, and he stated that stories of spitting first surfaced in the 1980s. Welcome home Brothers and sisters, welcome home, CREDITS It was shameful, it was ugly, it was rude How you were treated by the country you defended, So heres a song. 50th Anniversary of the End of the Vietnam War, 21 December 2014-Christmas in the Military, National Vietnam War Museum in Texas PLUS CPT Thomas Stempky Gunship Platoon Leader in Vietnam, Tim OBriens Vietnam & Phil Weitlaufs War Dog Memorial, Welcome Home from Vietnam PLUS Legion Logistics and Dave Bray USA, Navy SEAL Sarraille Everyday Warrior and Senator Peters on the PACT Act, Reluctant MOH Recipient Bellavia and Jason Jones, NVBDC and MPVA with 2023 AUTO Act Info, Whiskey On Your Stone & All Present and Accounted For, Dave Bray USA Rock n Roll Patriot, Songwriter and Performer, Nick Wilson, Chief Revenue Officer, Legion Logistics. There were controversies about the memorial, but the disagreed upon concerns were addressed then settled, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is one of the most visited sites in our Nations Capitol today. By the spring of 1967, most American soldiers being killed in combat had been born in 1946 or after. It was a time of fear, but also an era of national confidence and of individual obligation. So when President Kennedy proclaimed at his inauguration that the torch had passed to a new generation, his World War II generation, it was a torch that few held very long. Isolation was a common theme, as many veterans felt civilians could not understand or relate their experiences. An overwhelming majority of Vietnam veterans served honorably and bravely.