Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire To our Viet Nam Veterans

Words cannot describe the sorrow I feel when I hear about the way you guys were treated for your homecoming. The politics of that time, coupled with the public unrest must have all come down very hard on those of you who experienced such a rude return home. I cannot imagine how I would have felt if I had returned home to such a hostile environment. I am truly sorry for any pain you men must have needlessly endured.

Happy Veterans day to all of you as well as the rest of our nations heroes. You all are in my thoughts and prayers.

Thank you very much, we seldom have heard that. I was at the VA the other day and at the end of my appointment the Dr. (female) asked if I had been in Viet Nam. When I replied yes, she said "thank you for your service, we really appreciate it". In the car on the way home I was thinking of how very few times I have ever heard that, even from family and friends.

Sir, many thanks.
It was not a good time in america
But I am still troubled more by the fact that during this time the government in this country killed Americans for exercising their constitutional right of Protest.
It was definately a sad day when the N.G. opened fire on unarmed students at Kent State for protesting against what they thought was an unjust war.

Thank you again sir

Swifty
U.S Army 69-72

and some of those same AHoles still think they are hippies and still piss on our Veterans to this day.. I see it in my town all the time...

In college as in High School, I was a military dependent and saw hippies yelling and screaming insults are returning service men...

I admit, that my knuckles made contact with more than a few beards in those days...or on foreheads with headbands showing 'peace signs' on them also...

Sorry Swifty, but they had no right to treat you boys like they did.... I have hate for Hippies to this day...all because of their actions when you boys returned from SE Asia...

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=x2L3skZ7FEw[/video]

Seafire,
I do respect your opinion and do not say that you were not justified. But this is the oath I took.

"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God." (Title 10, US Code; Act of 5 May 1960 replacing the wording first adopted in 1789, with amendment effective 5 October 1962).

I was an enlistee, not draftee. Went in with both eyes open. I did, and will continue to take that oath seriously to my grave. I may not have liked it, still might not like what was done. But it was allowed under the document that I swore to protect. It was my honor and privledge to serve.

To the OP sorry to hijack, and again my heart felt thanks to you Sir.

Swifty

Thanks to all who served.

I think most of us long ago got over the way we were received back then. Hearing the thanks now is still good, though.

Thanks. Long time back, I don't dwell on it anymore. Ron Regan was the first person ever thanked us so far as I recall. Appreciated that. Carter gave amnesty to dodgers, didn't appreciate that. I got to put some Hare Krishnas on their azz in Oakland when I came back the first time...enjoyed that in a perverse way. I miss some guys that didn't need to die.

Deepest thanks to all who have served.

Swifty...

Sir thanks for your service and I understand your perspective, believe me...

but I think my emotions may have been clouded by the fact, that as a military dependent, I had a lot of friends on based whose dads and brothers etc, were going over and not coming back...

we lived "Vietnam" a lot more around us, than the folks in the civilian world who saw it on the evening news... or knew this kid 3 blocks over who went and might not have come back..

and I consider those friggin hippies, domestic enemies of this nation and still do..

sorry when I see a man or even woman disrespect a person in uniform who has served or is serving our country... and it is usually with NO provocation, it just flips a switch in me.. In high school, I all too often went by Arlington Cemetery and saw funeral services going on.. and frequently stopped and paid my respects... but it really hit home when the one being buried was a guy not much older than me...and thinking the reception they were receiving at airports...

even those against the war... I can respect.. but pissing on you boys coming home at the Airport... no way.. I carry that anger to me to this day...I believe the hippy generation ( which is MY generation) is the worst generation ever produced in this country.. even if they were children of the greatest generation..

I grew up all around the military involvement in Vietnam...and grew up around Korean War Vets, WW 2 vets, and even a fair amount of WW 1 vets....so I guess that shaped my mindset and gave me the respect of those that have served this country, so people like hippies can abuse them and take them for granted..

A lot of those Aholes are elected officials too; just one more reason we're beginning to resemble a turd circling the bowl.....

My father-in-law lost most of his left leg in the Vietnam War; tank got hit and he was the only survivor. He took that pretty hard, and to this day still has an occasional problem. I get pretty tore up thinking about how the Vietnam Vets have been treated over the years. Thank you guys for letting us live the way we do everyday; no such thing as the greatest generation, they're all great......

Not trying to get flamed here, but did people really throw
dog excrement at troops in the airports when they were returning
from VN?

And hippie excrement, too. ("Hippie excrement" is a redundancy.)

They spat on us, peed on us, threw poop at us -- and nobody would stop them.

I served just after VN, and it was the lowest point for military morale that I've ever seen. I had to travel in uniform, and the treatment in airports was absurd. I guess the damn hare krishnas all died out, cause they were thicker than flies on a cow turd back then.

I had not thought much about this subject in a very long time. It is sorta like the joke when nobody gets it and they say "you had to be there"
VN was no joke, the treatment many of us got from America was no joke. It was tough to come HOME after spending time in VN and experience the undiserved hatred. We look at old news reels and see returning soldiers held in the highest esteem, then look at returning VN soldiers. Disgraceful treatement of men folowing orders, going someplace most did not want to be and trying to hold onto their pride in their uniform and Country.

And those [bleep] throwing baby boomers are the ones running the country now.


I need a Kent State sweat shirt.

Yup. Wasnt all dog, either. In fall of 69, there was a hippie demonstration just outside the gate of McClellan AFB in Sacramento. Stopped at a red light before turning into the gate, cute little hippie chick in a long dress came running out of the crowd carrying what turned out to be their honey bucket, dumped the contents on the hood of my brand new car, screaming something about MF'ers, etc. Air Police immediately stopped traffic and waved me into the gate, where I proceeded immediatly to the base car wash. Just a small sample of what we faced coming home. Still hasn't ended, you have to be damn careful who you tell you are a Vietnam vet.

Amen to that!

Hillary Clinton was out there.. as was Nancy Pelosi... Barbara Boxer.... Diane Feinstein... Howard Dean.... John Kerry....Harry Reid....and a whole host of high profile Democrats...

and most of them, if not all of them were raised with a silver spoon in their mouths....

I was drafted, spent 13 month 6 days in the central highlands, got on a plane at SeaTac in uniform flew home to Atlanta with no difficulty. Gave away most my army gear & have rarely looked back. I never incountered 1 of these "hippies" you'll are talking about but saw a lot of good men wasted for nothing worthwhile.