"VIETNAM IS A FOCUS FOR VETERANS DAY." And the ship anchored in the Tonkin Gulf There were protested in San Diego and Okinawa they had rocks thrown and they were spit on. In 1998 sociologist and Vietnam veteran Jerry Lembcke published "The Spitting Image: Myth, Media and the Legacy of Viet Nam." Franklin, Ben A. 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. But it is true that many people did not respect a person's choice to serve his/her country in those years...and had no reservations about expressing their displeasure. Chapel Hill, N.C: U of North Carolina Press, 1993. While there's little doubt that some Vietnam vets in uniform were spat upon during those turbulent years, no proof exists that antiwar protesters were the spitters. The debate in society was about the war, and veterans were as much a part of that debate as everyone else, if not more so. A video I put together in my history class about the 1960's, it is about how veterans were treated during and after the Vietnam war. Were veterans spat upon as they returned from serving in Vietnam? Very rarely. It Was America Versus North Vietnam. The phenomenon of vets being spit on seems to be largely anecdotal so I'm not sure I can faithfully speak to its veracity. He has pictures of the protests and a medical note about having to get stitches from getting hit with a rock by protesters. College students spit and throw beer bottles at veterans April 23, 2015 April 23, 2015 Twice a year Panama City Beach welcomes our wounded heroes into the community for the Warrior Beach Retreat, but an event aimed at honoring our nation’s veterans took a different turn at their hotel. One of my uncles even changed into regular clothes whenever he could and he wore a wig to escape the negativity that he constantly received. Appy, Christian G. Working-class war: American combat soldiers and Vietnam. This is a somewhat more serious subreddit compared to many others. For further discussion on how sourcing works in this subreddit, please consult this thread. If you would like to volunteer to help us update and maintain this section, please send email to Bill McBride . Most soldiers drafted after 1968 were antiwar even before they went … Yet there is also a lot of comprehensive evidence that these stories are urban myths, and that soldiers … While outright harassment of Vietnam veterans almost certainly did happen, mistreatment of Vietnam veterans was usually a lack of recognition-- a perceived amnesia about the sacrifices made by veterans. The … Vietnam veterans were often unwelcome at Veterans Day parades. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Far from spitting on veterans, the antiwar movement welcomed them into its ranks and thousands of veterans … Veterans were not a monolithic group. Things have really changed in this country and the vast majority are very pro-military now, so this all may seem very odd to you now. Those who opposed the war, and there were thousands, were welcomed with open arms by the antiwar movement, becoming a leading force in the country as Vietnam Veterans … As much of the American public perceived the war as a failure, there existed a general desire to "forget" the war. (Flickr/Creative Commons)Investigations have been launched at two universities over accusations that fraternity members taunted wounded war heroes, urinated on an American flag, and spit on a wounded veteran and his … Would you start a physical confrontation with a trained killer who you believe is also a war criminal? A soldier, fresh from Vietnam duty, wearing his uniform, gets off the plane at an American airport, where he is spat upon by "hippies." They were told that they would be spat on. He recounts a study of 495 news stories on returning veterans published from 1965 to 1971. Please read the rules before participating, as we remove all comments which break the rules. What did they say? Likewise, at the 1985 ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in New York, Mayor Koch calls the lack of previous recognition for Vietnam vets a "terrible injustice" and refers to Vietnam veterans as a "lost generation.". He also said it wasnt like that every day it only seemed to happen when a Nuclear powered ship was pulling into port. If you have any first-person accounts (it happened to me or I saw it happen) of returning Vietnam vets being spit on, please click below where it says, "Click to submit your own comments," and tell us about … Last week, both the New York Times and U.S. News & World Report reprised the horrific accounts of Vietnam War protesters spitting on returning servicemen. In the 1986 Veterans Day ceremony at the Vietnam Memorial, one speaker argued against a perception that "the cause for which we fought was not worthy of your lives." Stories of spat-upon Vietnam veterans are bogus. What have you guys heard? Once Australia had withdrawn from the war in 1973, even the conservative side of politics distanced themselves from the war, leaving the military, especially the conscripts, feeling badly used. U.S. Army. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts, Moderator | Shipbuilding and Logistics | British Navy 1770-1830, specifically what we are looking for in an answer. That study shows only a handful (32) of instances were presented as in any way antagonistic … Lots of people fee that they are free from consequence and act accordingly. 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. I think if some people tried that now, they would be attacked. That is how most of us saw this. Yet there is also a lot of comprehensive evidence that these stories are urban myths, and that soldiers were not spat upon, and that these stories were created and circulated by the Right Wing. And a few years after the war ended I joined the military, and got caught in a protest group, and had people mob my car and I had a shake thrown on my wind shield. And for the men who served in Vietnam and survived unspeakable horrors, coming home offered its own kind of trauma. I don't know if anyone spat on them, but it was true that when in uniform they were engaged in conversation by opponents of the war, which, by 1971, was the great majority of the population. We will either remove it or have someone update it this year (1999). Gross, Jane. During the Vietnam War, Australian army and navy men were told to not wear their uniforms when on leave back home. And, as for Mr. Olbermann, the point is not whether the social science research collected in Jerry Lembcke's book "The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam" is correct and that no evidence exists of returning veterans being spit upon, but how most of these men were treated after the war. Homecoming: When the Soldiers Returned From Vietnam is a book of selected correspondence published in 1989. I have heard a lot of stories from people with relatives and grandfathers who were veterans that allege that they were spat upon, treated badly or were held in contempt by the public when they have gotten back. Yes, some people in the hippie/peace movement would try to find soldiers dressed in uniform and yell at them, throw things, and insult them. To your comment, I'm a combat veteran myself and dickheads would regularly walk up to me and try to pick fights or say dumb things to me when I was about. And remember that the whole population can't be characterized by the actions of a few. Many vets will tell you it happened, and others will tell you that they never saw anything close to it. Another speaker noted, "For a long time we were forgotten. They took a bus from the base for protection as the Dept. The stories were usually very specific. New York Times. Whether or not this was the case, they all believed it. Web. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. The "spitting" part is a sadly common story, specifically the fact that anti-war protesters/hippies were waiting at airports to spit on veterans returning from combat. I am sure some of the protests were about the war it self but i can only speak to what I have seen from his Navy box and the protests near the Naval bases. Veterans in the United States Senate. That's not true. Stories of spat-on veterans began proliferating in the U.S. media in 1990 as the country ramped up for the first Persian Gulf War. The only contemporary accounts we have of spitting was during the Republican convention in 1972. I am so glad people's attitudes toward the military has changed. 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