So, welcome home from Vietnam yeah, welcome home 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 just for you. Learn more. 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. Joe is a Vietnam Combat Veteran, having served 26 months in the Republic Of South Vietnam, 10 months with Company A, 27th Combat Engineers, 28 August 1968 to June 1969, and 16 months as a crewchief/doorgunner with the 240th Assault Helicopter company on UH-1C Hueys, the Mad Dog Gunship Platoon from July 1969 to 22 October 1970. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais), Vietnam veterans chronicle their stories from abroad and their difficult return home in new Fox Nation episode. Most importantly, today she is a key member of Shona ba Shona, an organization dedicated to helping Afghans escape to safety. You can listen to her describe her life and work with the 12th Sergeant Major of the Army, Jack Tilley, on his Your Mission Continues podcast. She and fellow veteran and founder of Shona ba Shona, Jason Ghormley, describe their experiences and the work they are doing to help Afghan refugees. They were not a band of rebellious fraggers assassinating their officers or marauding killers piling up body counts of the innocent in a haze of marijuana smoke. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Written in Collaboration with Operation Song Writer David Kent and the Operation Song Alumni. 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. Shira Maguen, PhD, UCSF associate professor of psychiatry and mental health director of the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System Integrated Care Clinic, which treats Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, said these emotional scars sometimes last for decades. The image of Americas Vietnam Veteran improved drastically starting in 1980 with the debut of a new television show, MAGNUM, P.I. 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. For many of these veteranssome of whom may already suffer from post-traumatic stress (PTSD)the guilt, shame, anger and isolation they suffer compound psychological trauma related to their war experiences. 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. It has been the most rewarding songwriting I have done in my life, because we are dealing with real stories and real lives. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Partially because the Vietnam war saw far more coverage of war crimes committed by americans than other wars, for example, see the massacres of My Lai and My Khe when a company of US infantrymen killed, raped and mutilated their way through over 500 people (according to the vietnamese government, american sources claim 347 total dead and wounded but only account for the actions committed in My Lai.). Although not all veterans who have taken a life suffer guilt or mental health consequences, Maguen said the growing number of veterans seeking mental health services suggest that high numbers of veterans are experiencing moral injury. So it was a "damned if you and damned if you don't" situation. Because they had to endure so much pain and even felt abandoned by the their own people and country, more than 100,000 Vietnam veterans (the actual number would be even much higher) committed suicide after the war, which is nearly two times the number of soldiers had died in Vietnam. What saved me was the U.S. Navy Mistake? 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. Press J to jump to the feed. When I was a younger man, I heard all of the V2: Modern Warriors' hosted by Pete Hegseth returns with a new episode in honor of Veterans Day. Your email address will not be published. Story tips can be sent to yael.halon@fox.com. 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. It was shameful, it was ugly, it was rude I joined the Air Force in 76 and was stationed just outside San Francisco. Fox Nation's "Modern Warriors" returned on Tuesday with a new episode that chronicles the sacrifices and personal accounts of decorated Vietnam veterans who dedicated their lives to service on behalf of the United States. Author: Why Post date: 2 yesterday Rating: 4 (285 reviews) Highest rating: 3 Low rated: 2 Summary: A New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Few could have anticipated the duration and cost of this commitment. 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. Every American can help. In 1968, the chant from protesters was Hey, hey, L.B.J. They described how they felt after killing in combat and some opened up about hidden agonies. This along with the use of napalm that probably also pushed the negative public image.Compare that with the heavily directed media coverage of the Gulf war 1991. 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. To the protesters and critics, by 1967 the troops had become objects of pity for serving on a dangerous assignment in a cruel and unjust war. Welcome back where you belong 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. ", 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. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Its genesis was a controversial newspaper column of 20 July 1987 in which Chicago Tribune syndicated columnist Bob Greene asked whether there was any truth to the folklore that Vietnam veterans had been spat upon when they returned from the war zone. Magnum, P.I. To hear the heartwrenching and inspiring accounts of the decorated veterans featured in the new episode of "Modern Warriors," join Fox Nation and watch it today. I am not aware of many Vietnam vets who were not subjected to some disrespect, either personal or from the culture that called us "baby killers." 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. He recalled that when he returned home from serving in Vietnam, veterans were called baby killers and other names. Starring Tom Selleck. 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. They found his refusal to do the same offensive. Most citizens now respect Vietnam Veterans in America. The Gulf war starting with the build-up of troops, weapons and supplies in August of 1990 with Operation Desert Shield, and then combat operations called, Operation Desert Storm, from January 17, 1991, until February 28, 1991, had two high ranking generals planning and carrying out the tactics that were Vietnam Veterans. Other spitting incidents were reported by Pulitzer Prize winners Max Frankel in the New York Times (November 1969) and Carl Bernstein in the Washington Post (May 1970). I had been getting lied to half the time, he said. What did the Nazis begin using gas chambers instead of mobile killing units and shooting squads after a while. We were not honored, but were treated as the face of an unpopular war. Losing limbs, and losing best friends, losing half your sanity Spitting stories, while true, aren't the point. I cannot tell you how many songs I have written since joining the program, my guess is somewhere between 50 and 100. There's a book named "The Spitting Image" by Jerry Lembcke that lays out the facts. Many veterans feared that, if they talked about killing, they would be judged or mischaracterized by other peoples notions of what it means to be a combat veteran, Purcell said. Joe graduated from Cuyahoga Community College in 1982 with a Associate Of Arts Degree and from Cleveland State University in 1986 with a Bachelors Degree in Psychology; he also accumulated 12 hours of graduate work at Cleveland State. Conners decked him. Those born after the boomers may find it quaint to read about a president asking citizens to sacrifice, to pay any price. Nonetheless, their parents or grandparents, the baby boomers, will most likely remember a brief shining moment of energized promise and of unfulfilled dreams. We were not honored, but were treated as the face of an unpopular war. WebAs one Vietnam veteran writes: Vietnam vets were a bit crushed coming home. Although the history of the past 50 years is complex, it's fair to observe that the spread of communism has been contained. The study was based on focus group and individual interviews with 26 war veterans who had killed or believed that their combat actions caused the death of others. And he espouses that post-traumatic stress disorder was an invention of the government to garner support for the war. He has served the U.S. around the world including multiple assignments in support of ministering to Special Forces troops in three Special Forces Groups. thought we had no business being in to start with. According to cultural historian M. All Rights Reserved en.trandaiquang.org - 2023. And David Sirota is wrong about the history and policies of that war and about the treatment of returning military men and women ("The myth of the spat-upon war veteran," June 8). WebAnswer (1 of 6): Its a hateful name to call any veteran, and even today, Id be careful calling a Vietnam Vet that name to his face. You were filled with painful memories from the things you had to see, Required fields are marked *. According to the National Vietnam Veterans Foundation, individuals falsely claiming to have served in the Vietnam War for those same statistics totaled 9,492,958 people! Maguens earlier researchsupported by the Veterans Health Research Institute-NCIREhas linked killing in combat with PTSD, depression and suicide. Lembcke is an avowed socialist and has tried to use incomplete or dishonest research to lend credence to his government-as-pro-war conspiracy theories, to use the 9-million-plus Vietnam-era veterans as anti-war pawns. You look at WW2 for example they French wanted to be liberated from German control and helped where they could, I am sure in Germany bad stuff happend especially when the Soviets invaded. What's the story behind Minneapolis' smaller houses with huge front yards? Mistakenly kill a civilian and push the populace into the hands of the Viet Cong or kill a Viet Cong before they got you. Mr. Schultz served in the U.S. Army as an artilleryman operating howitzers in Vietnam from February 1969 to April 1970. WebThey wernt. 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.. 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. WebOne of the Vietnam veterans, Ed Barick, 73, a retired truck driver who lives in San Diego, served as a US army engineer from 1964-67 and returned to a nation that was deeply The researchers urged the public and health care workers to allow veterans to express themselves to help them work through these conflicts. Of all the tropes about the Vietnam War, one stands out far above the rest in American memory: It was the baby boomers war. 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. WebThe idea that Golub presentsthat those who sent us to Vietnam are the real baby killersescapes most Americans. It was searching for elusive enemy forces while encountering Vietnamese civilians who just wished the Americans would leave and the war would end. It was a direct result of the 1945 Yalta Conference, where Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill agreed to abandon the Vietnamese (who had helped defeat the Japanese in World War II) and give all of Indo-China back to the French. How much money does leasinging a factory cost in vietnam? WebA persistent but unfounded criticism leveled against those who protested the United States’s involvement in the Vietnam War is that protesters spat upon 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. The baby boomers who were of military age and eligible to serve in Vietnam, but chose to protest and disrespect Vietnam Veterans, never wanted to be associated with the patriotic and brave men and women who chose to serve. 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. A couple were actually spit on. Thirty three veterans gave interviews on various topics relating to Vietnam including: basic training, the trip to Vietnam, being in the field, helicopter and aircraft stories, support groups, the Vietnamese, and their general thoughts on the war and the country. 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. Why Is Assange in Jail and Not Seymour Hersh? Vietnam ended up divided. 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WebBut, unlike their Nazi counterparts, U.S. soldiers could be redeemed: By confessing atrocities, the Vietnam veterans, once denigrated as "baby killers," were able to Greene believed the tale was an urban legend. The only reason to not accuse a person of a misdeed is lack of evidence that person committed that misdeed. McCloughan is credited with saving the lives of members of his platoon nearly 50 years ago in the Battle of Nui Yon Hill in Vietnam. Montana-Class Battleships Would Have Been Powerhouses, Nitro Express: Worlds Most Expensive Bullet ($149 a Round? You got blamed for Vietnam instead of the ones who sent you there 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. This younger generation started to say, thank you to the Vietnam Veterans in their community, and that helped to enhance the image of the Vietnam Veteran that was maligned and lied about by those from their generation that did not want to serve their country. All rights reserved. If there is evidence that person committed a misdeed, then they must be accused of that misdeed, and there can not be any justification for not accusing them. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Why were people angry about the Vietnam War memorial? Vietnam veterans were treated in despicable ways by Americans from being spit on to being called baby killers. Vietnam vets were raised in a society that honored veterans. 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. Her father was killed by the Taliban for helping American NGOs escape to Pakistan in the 1990s. Its not that there Vietnam War was more horrific than other modern wars, but it was filtered far less effectively which stopped civilians from maintaining our willful blindness to its effects. Webthey were called baby killers because they would kill vietnamese children because they would try to kill them and themselves with grenades. A human reaction to the crowds and returning Afghanistan and Iraq War Veterans by Vietnam Veterans could have been bitter and resentful, but those that fought in Vietnam wanted to make sure our returning warriors were respected and thanked for their service and for doing so rose above their own emotional and mental pain. Hello my family in Afghanistan they are dangerous I am living in United States sometimes me and my kids went to the church and take pictures with my American I was infantry, in the field, fighting the most misunderstood and unpopular war in American history. The biggest factor, as far as I can tell, was television. WebAnswer (1 of 2): I served with the USMC in Vietnam in 1966.1967 and when I got home, I didnt want anything from anyone, because I had my life and all of my parts too. This meant that video of combat casualties and the horrors of war played out in living rooms every evening. 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. When Vietnam veterans were called baby killers and spit on upon returning home why didn't they hit the people doing it? WebShare 120 views 11 months ago Vietnam Veteran Sergeant Romo describes the unfortunate event of civilians calling him "Baby Killer." I do not wish to have my record of service dishonored again. It was the echo of that call, just a few years later, that motivated hundreds of thousands of young men to enlist for Vietnam, for the chance to ensure the success of liberty and many others back home, at least at the outset, to support the fighting. There are myriad veteran organizations committed to helping refugees just as their Vietnam veteran brothers and sisters did and continue to do today. Understanding this is essential: Those with responsibility to send the young to war need always to consider the enduring consequences of war and the human cost of undertaking this action. Meaning they had no choice but to go. I had the honor of serving with him in 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Okinawa and I know him to be a great American. This left little room in the Vietnam narrative for stories of courage and sacrifice. Russian Forces strike Ukrainian Armys Electronic Intelligence Center in Kiev Region. In the era when the North Vietnamese invaded the South, the world was facing Russian colonialism, the spread of communism, nuclear arms, the Cuban missile crisis and other threats to world peace. This show, for the first time, featured a Vietnam Veteran in a positive manner, and not as the typical drug-crazed lunatic, or the psychotic killer the left wing liberals of Hollywood seemed to relish portraying up until this time. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The abuse of vets was real but it rarely was more than verbal abuse. You can also leave more detail in a comment section below the "Related Posts" section. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. WebVietnam veterans recall being 'spit at,' labeled 'baby killers and drug addicts' upon return home It was the return home that left many Vietnam veterans feeling wounded and Although more than 50% of the songs I have written, you could call country, in style, I have also done rock numbers, blues numbers, bossa nova, and one big band Andrew Sisters style song which we produced with a full horn section and three female singers. WebOther people being guilty of your misdeeds does not make you innocent of your misdeeds. 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. It is our honor to serve those who have served in the United States Armed Forces. We need to remember that it was the South Vietnamese government that lost their war, not the much-maligned American soldier. is officially recognized by the Smithsonian Institute being the first television show to reflect this positive image and Vietnam Veterans, and their families are grateful. All rights reserved. My car (with a military base sticker) was "egged." The theme for Welcome Home from Vietnam was a suggestion from one of the alumni members (an Iraqi War Vet) to honor our Vietnam Veterans for the upcoming March 29th commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the official ending of that war. Despite Sirota's contentions, Vietnam vets were a bit crushed coming home. Like refugees before them in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, there are many Afghans who need to be given the opportunity to live in freedom. Look up Agent Orange, it has effects on fetal development, not sure if that's why, but it's my guess. Kelly recounted how about 200 anti-war protesters showed up one year to harass the Medal of Honor recipients at their annual dinner. Short- and long-term remedies are essential. 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. Being asked about killing left many veterans feeling anxious, isolated and even angry because most felt that someone who did not serve in war could not possibly understand what it was like to kill.. The myth is also wielded as a cudgel to browbeat anti-war public opinion with shouts of "support the troops!" Some folks called you baby killers, called you monsters and worse How to get a motorcycle license in vietnam? This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Other people being guilty of your misdeeds does not make you innocent of your misdeeds. Officials say they can't, Xcel's plans for big EV charging network in state spark strong opposition, After pandemic hit, cultural groups hope for boost from state, Innocence Project takes up case of man convicted in Mpls. That sounds, unbelievable, but it is very believable to me having come upon many of these WANNABES since the attitude in this country has done a complete turn around about Vietnam Veterans by many citizens. General Colin Powell and General Norman Schwartzkopf did not want a repeat of the debacle that was caused by the politicians in Congress when all of South Vietnam fell to the communists. It seems many in our country now want to be Vietnam Veterans even though they never stepped foot in that country. My dad was a vet during the war, but was always stationed in the US. It's not like they had a choice to even join. My Lai framed the image that for too many retrospectively described the Vietnam generation. David has been writing in Nashville for more than 25 years and for Operation Song for more than eight years.