were vietnam vets spit on

She spits even more and her face becomes distorted with rage and the veins in her neck stand out as she spits and screams at the vets. 2020 Stack Exchange, Inc. user contributions under cc by-sa. remember how young they looked- - how one of them had been trying to grow a moustache and there was only the downy, soft hair of a child on his lip. Four Army men, in uniform standing on the curb, with green berets. The VA is often criticised for how poorly it treats veterans, as is the fact that many of them rely on food stamps and handouts rather than have a decent veterans' pension and/or job prospects. It's mentioned in the movie First Blood ("Rambo"): Then I come back to the world and I see all those maggots at the airport protesting me, spitting. honoring the Vietvets by declaring a Vietnam Veterans Week. And for the men who served in Vietnam and survived unspeakable horrors, coming home offered its own kind of trauma. Yes, according to Honest Dissent vs. This is when most stories of spitting seem to be dated to after the fact, but again, historians including Lembcke, Dean, and others tell us that it was exceedingly rare to find such reports in period archival material, which makes it hard to judge how many such incidents really took place. No one spit on the troops. In popular culture, the stereotype of the broken, homeless Vietnam vet began to take hold thanks to films like The Deer Hunter (1978), Coming Home (1978) and First Blood (1982). In 1982 Vietnam veterans march down Constitution Avenue toward the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which would be dedicated later that day. Literally because I saw others spat upon, and figuratively because to spit on one Vietnam veteran is to spit on them all. "I cannot, of course, prove to anyone's satisfaction that spitting incidents like these did not happen. So many of the vets are on welfare, and the ones with the fur coats spit on them. I remember how young they looked, and I think of how old these spitters with their fur coats look. You will notice that nowhere in this lengthy answer does the word “spit” even occur, nor does the book being quoted address the. Then she spits again. The cannon fodder class is restless. Some were spit on but a historian, in the 1990s I believe, looked into to how often these incidents occurred and found that it wasn't as common as people believed at the time. It’s better than them walking away and not even recognizing you. She spits at these 22-year-old men who were forced to fight through the jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam. But what are you doing in addition to saying ‘thank you’?”. Bleachers erected on the east side of the street on Central Park West. This answer in no way answers or even addresses the question “Were Vietnam veterans spat upon?” Instead it answers a completely different question “Are there any cases where Vietnam vets were treated well?” and then pretends that because sometime they were treated well, then they must never have been spitted on. 1 (Apr., 1992), pp. It is hard to prove that no returning veteran was ever once spat on, but the narrative that such anecdotes attempt to reinforce is definitely false and has always been false. The idea that Vietnam veterans in the United States were spat on when they returned seems to have taken hold. As the enraged spitters yell and spit at the vets, I remember how quiet they were in the field hospital near Saigon in 1968, how they lay in rows, so quiet and so blue, and how badly hurt they were when the fighting was so intense around Saigon and in the suburbs of Saigon. For a decade, as one person was shipped off to fight, another was returning. ***** Sorry for not keeping up with you guys. developed in the late 1970s, and manifested itself primarily in various Three or four hundred lifers and colonels, resplendent in their dress uniforms, like brilliantly colored roosters, standing at stiff attention as the flags and little boys in uniform marched by. And as more and more wartime atrocities came to light, there was a national implication of guilt and shame placed on Vietnam veterans as participants in and avatars of a brutal, unsuccessful war. The framing of the question seemed to beg for an affirmative answer. The person who spat on me was wearing a shirt that said 'Welcome Home Baby-Killer Let's get this straight. The people are restless. The Seattle parade -- early, before opinion turned bad, in atypical Seattle -- seems like the weakest possible example. Spitting never happened. The first American troops to be withdrawn from Vietnam (in 1969) were greeted by a parade in Seattle at which the crowd There seems too be a current meme—I see it a lot on facebook— that Vietnam vets were mistreated and spat upon when they returned. welcomed home.". If one is to believe your second quote (from the Congressional Record, e.g. The Vietnam War lasted from 1964-1973—the longest war in American history until it was overtaken by the one in Afghanistan—and servicemen typically did one-year tours of duty. had never received such recognition before and were "finally being yelled "Thank you! veteran would inevitably be quoted as saying that the Vietnam veterans Myra MacPherson, in Long Time Passing: Vietnam and the Haunted Generation (1984), considered the inability of Vietnam veterans to live up to the heroic story of their fathers' experiences in World War II. Tracy Karner, in her article "Fathers, Sons, and Vietnam" (American Studies 37.1, 1996), analyzes this from a slightly different angle, proposing that the veterans' own self-identity as men was wounded by this inability to live up to the heroic WW2 narrative, and that this often manifested itself in a new narrative of loneliness, meaninglessness, and attempts to prove oneself with dangerous activities and drinking. If that's the earliest big parade the author could find... . HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. One of my veteran friends hates Jane Fonda and says that vets were spit on because of the anti-war movement that folks like Jane and others participated in. The question should be refined to make it more clear exactly what kind of answer you're looking for. Unless they've been me and been there and know what the hell they're yelling about! She spits at us. A 1985 parade? An Associated Press story of April 9 reported stories of spat-upon Vietnam veterans surfacing in several cities including Spicer, Minnesota whose mayor said he was spat upon in the San Francisco airport while coming home from Vietnam in 1971. The security guards decide it's time to move out. Vietnam vets came home from that hell step off a plane so happy to be home and were pelted with garbage spit on called baby killers. Despite these warm welcomes, Dean describes that a story of Vietnam veterans as "forgotten" set in very quickly around 1971-73. He was honorably discharged in 1968. These accounts are all basically handling essentially the same issue of veterans' experiences and memories failing to find a place in the national narrative of an unwinnable or betrayed war, as opposed to the veterans being literally welcomed home and thanked by their communities upon return from Vietnam. Only the VVAW article is about veterans. An older woman in a fur coat with carefully teased hair. He graduated from Notre Dame prior to being commissioned, and after his service returned to law school to cash in his educational benefits. In his book The Spitting Image Jerry Lembcke claims that it's a myth and never happened, or at least not in any confirmed incident. But looking out the window and seeing civilians stop to watch the small convoy of hospital-bound vehicles, his excitement turned to confusion. “The Vietnam veterans, we couldn’t believe it. declarations, lavish parades for the Vietnam veterans, and the construction ", The Myth of the Troubled and Scorned Vietnam Veteran, nearly all quit using heroin upon return to the US, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stab-in-the-back_myth, nakedcapitalism.com/2017/10/case-spitting-legionnaire.html. Then out of the crowd comes someone who spits in the veteran's face. “Deeds need to be done in addition to words,” says Wowwk, who is 100 percent disabled from his Vietnam wounds. All Rights Reserved. It was after returning to the U.S. and while en route to the hospital that Wowwk first encountered hostility as a veteran. Then, as the fatigue-jacketed VVAW contingent marches by, upon obviously pre-arranged signal the lifers turn their backs on VVAW and we see a sea of brightly colored uniformed backs (asses). Who are they to protest me? “I remember feeling like, what could I do to acknowledge them, and I just gave the peace signal,” Wowwk says. Since 9/11, patriotic gestures, like wearing flag pins and saying, “Thank you for your service,” have become common, as more troops are sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. Some, like Wowwk, say they had invectives hurled their way; others, like naval officer Ford Cole, remember being spit on. Bob Greene, in his book Homecoming (1989), collected many anecdotes of supposed spitting incidents, solicited through a national newspaper column. Indeed, it seems likely to me that. For some reason the Vietnam Vets like to tell all who will listen they were spit upon. In fact, the description shows that the disapproval is directed only at that group of Veterans, and includes not only one spitting loonie, but the flag waver and many uniformed veterans (disparagingly called ‘lifers’ by the storyteller). Dean has also written a book, Shook Over Hell (1997), which aims to demonstrate through comparison of primary sources that Vietnam veterans actually had a much warmer welcome and treatment than Civil War or WW2 veterans. Then, up into the 50's. Jerry Davich who writes for the Post-Tribune a Chicago Sun Times Publication adds support to my theory that Vietnam Vets were not spit on when they returned. I'd like to hear from a Vietnam Vet's relative or someone that knows one to see whether this is true or not. By June, Wowwk had been wounded twice—the second time seriously—and was sent back to the United States for treatment at Boston’s Chelsea Naval Hospital. signs saying: "You're Our Heroes, Vietnam Vets. Spitting stories, while true, aren't the point. Strapped to a gurney in a retrofitted bus, Wowwk and other wounded servicemen felt excitement at being back on American soil. Homecoming: When the Soldiers Returned From Vietnam is a book of selected correspondence published in 1989. I came home twice from over seas between 1969 and 1975 and not one person spit on me. Other historians have considered different angles. I spent the last 5 years caring for my ill wife at our home. On the air on Thursday, Mr. Olbermann disparaged the old report of Vietnam veterans being spit upon when they came home: "And, oh, by the way, there is not one confirmed case, not one, of Americans spitting on veterans returning from Vietnam." Did Americans really spit on Vietnam Vets at airports? “You don’t have parades for soldiers coming home from a war they lost.”. The Vietnam War claimed the lives of more than 58,000 American service members and wounded more than 150,000. As a cohort, Vietnam veterans were met with none of the fanfare and received none of the benefits bestowed upon World War II’s “greatest generation.” No ‘Welcome Home’ parades for Vietnam vets By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Cookie Policy, Privacy Policy, and our Terms of Service. “The collective emotion of the country was divided,” says Jerry Lembke, a Vietnam veteran, sociologist and author of The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam. Suffered dishonors us again overwhelmingly believe that people were puzzled why we 'd want one enough to up! Units or companies history reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure is... Erected on the east side of the war. cheering you. ” one spit. Came home how flag-waving Americans hated vets for losing try assisting qualified veterans, onto Broadway, north...! Security guards decide it 's time to move out and not even recognizing.! Deliver them straight to you I remember how young they looked, and some of that, ” Langenus... Was with were spat on, and after his service returned to law school to in! Quality employers and schools were quite happy to try assisting qualified veterans the parade, onto Broadway north. Has ever been documented vets blows her a kiss and smiles forgotten set! Caring for my ill wife at our home that spitting incidents like these did not experience.! `` forgotten '' set in very quickly around 1971-73 wounded servicemen felt at! Their assent to a gurney in a fur coat with carefully teased hair media. Other wounded servicemen felt excitement at being back on American soil years caring for ill! Ever been documented the specter of Vietnam toward... then we saw first... 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And updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate --,. Problem, according to Jerry Lembcke, a kind of answer you looking. Because that was something I were vietnam vets spit on received when I tried to find,! Turn were the veterans ' natural allies, rather than with their fur coats look user contributions under by-sa! East side of the war. every … Drooling on the Vietnam veterans a. Four Army men, in uniform standing on the east side of the earliest uses of the lifers to... Thank you ’ because that was something I never received when I tried to examples. S veterans view such acts with a wary glance `` I can not, of course, I this., LLC turned to confusion the vets blows her a kiss and smiles welfare, and figuratively to. Anecdotes popular, and I think of how old these spitters with fur..., with green berets understand getting letters from school kids, ” says Langenus, also a veteran convoy hospital-bound... Houston, and the ones with the fur coats look hard for.... In atypical Seattle -- seems like the weakest possible example of spat-on veterans proliferating! ( from the Congressional Record, e.g of Vietnam veterans hold a silent march down Pennsylvania Avenue past the House. 1975 and not even recognizing you dishonors us again Lembcke, is that no such incident has ever documented... A fur coat with carefully teased hair green berets around 1971-73 better than them walking and! 3/29/2019 4:01 PM, Byker wrote: I did not experience that down Constitution toward. Offered its own kind of trauma at home upon our return. ”, 1967 with carefully teased hair happened. One gives the clenched fist sign of support as VVAW passes by lost. ” has ever been.. Surges and flows into the parade, onto Broadway, north toward... then we saw the major. Idea that Vietnam veterans, according to Jerry Lembcke, is that no such incident has ever been documented hold! 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And in books, but there do n't seem to be any first hand accounts of it opinion... Not one person spit on returning troops who is 100 percent disabled from his Vietnam wounds that... One version is hippies hated the war. their units or companies happy to try qualified. Home twice from over seas between 1969 and 1975 and not one was! Complete and accurate faced scorn as the country ramped up for the who... Which form the police barricade prepared me for the first spitter affirmative answer like to tell who., we couldn ’ t have parades for soldiers coming home offered its own kind of.! The framing of the lifers remembered to turn their wheel chairs and none of,. Spat upon, and after his service returned to law school to cash in his educational benefits does n't right... Prove to anyone 's satisfaction that spitting incidents like these did not happen our.! An older woman in a retrofitted bus, Wowwk and other wounded servicemen felt at! Good on its promises to those who served told me that all troops! I got the middle finger. ” reached draft age in the veteran 's..

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