(05-17-2015, 11:49 AM)Bmoreblitz Wrote: Great post Zona! I commend those vets. They didn't get the respect that we get today. They were spit on, cursed at, assaulted, shamed We have an all volunteer Service today but many in that era were drafted or voluntold.

One of the most shameful things from then was how a lot of soldiers returning home were treated. Protest and "spit" on the ones that sent them over their if need be, but not on the guys that had no say in it. I never for the life of me understood that, and I am thankful the younger generations nowadays are much more aware of this than back then.

Some aspects of that time period have been over-sensationalized through the years.

There were incidents where vets returning from Vietnam were spit on by protestors. But there were only a few of those incidents. And the circumstances of those incidents were never reported. Were there heated confrontations that led to this? Probably. Were the people doing the spitting former Vietnam vets too? Possibly.

We get this impression that there were hordes of hippies waiting at every airport to yell and spit on soldiers flying back from Vietnam who were just minding their own business. That just wasn't the case. It was a few incidents by a few extremists. And we generally don't know all of the circumstances. 2.6 million vets served in Vietnam between 1965 and 1973. The vast majority did not get spit upon. They were welcomed by their loved ones and driven home from the airport for leave. A few days later, they would head out for their next duty assignment or to find a civilian job.

The fact is that life here in the U.S. was pretty much the same as always and the war and the war protests were a sideline. People sat around their TV's and watched "Batman" or "Green Acres" or "Land of the Giants", etc. They went to work or school everyday. The war was something they heard about occasionally in the news broadcasts. In short, it was pretty much the same as life has been for us here during the Iraq War and during Afghanistan.

Only a minority percentage of our military was sent to Vietnam. The majority were in CONUS or in Germany. Of that minority sent to the theater, approximately 50% were around combat. Of the soldiers sent to Vietnam, only 25% were draftees (http://history-world.org/vietnam_war_statistics.htm). One in four. This may surprise some of you. But we did have a lot of people who volunteered to go. The idea of going to fight was somewhat popular among a generation whose fathers had fought in "The Good War".

It was, in fact, the whole memory of WWII that created problems for some vets. The WWII generation didn't understand why we "just didn't invade North Vietnam and get it over with!". Like Korea, there were no parades or celebrations because there was no victory. Many former soldiers became disillusioned. What had they fought for over there? Many began exploring the counter-culture.

The counter-culture itself is something that is a bit misunderstood today. Vietnam was just one of the things which created the counter-culture. Civil rights, women's rights, abuse of authority, etc. were also important issues to many in this group. And the group ranged from Timothy Leary to Muhammad Ali to Joan Biaz. It was a pretty diverse group with diverse goals. Some wanted drugs. Some wanted peace. Some wanted rights. But the media tended to lump them all into the same group and call them 'hippies'. It was only a small portion of the country. Woodstock was a big event, true. But most 'hippies' never saw it outside of the news. Eventually, "hippies" actually became a big sell to the media and marketing.

They need to make a good Vietnam FPS. Last one was BF Bad Company 2:Vietnam.

My only question is, What the hell was "Land of the Giants"?

(05-19-2015, 10:18 AM)michaelsean Wrote: My only question is, What the hell was "Land of the Giants"?

Bengalzona you live in Surprise AZ? My great Aunt lives there.

(05-20-2015, 12:47 AM)packerbacker Wrote: Bengalzona you live in Surprise AZ? My great Aunt lives there.

Yes, sir. I live in Surprise. Is your great aunt in one of the big 55 and older communities like Sun City?

We have some great place names out here: Happy Valley, Carefree, Paradise Valley, Surprise, El Mirage, etc. We have a town named Buckeye because people from Ohio originally moved there. We have a town named Peoria because people from Peoria, IL moved there. We have a town named Goodyear because Goodyear used to have a big cotton plantation there during the war.

(05-21-2015, 01:10 AM)Bengalzona Wrote: Yes, sir. I live in Surprise. Is your great aunt in one of the big 55 and older communities like Sun City?

We have some great place names out here: Happy Valley, Carefree, Paradise Valley, Surprise, El Mirage, etc. We have a town named Buckeye because people from Ohio originally moved there. We have a town named Peoria because people from Peoria, IL moved there. We have a town named Goodyear because Goodyear used to have a big cotton plantation there during the war.

I am not sure where she is at there. I have never been Down there but I would love to go. My parents go down there every year. A matter of fact she is coming here to visit us next month.

"If we don't fight communist in Vietnam then we will be fighting them in the streets of America."

My dad swore this country would never fall for that line again. Then 40 years later.

"If we don't fight Al Queda in the middle east we will be fighting them in the streets of America."

(05-29-2015, 12:10 PM)fredtoast Wrote: "If we don't fight communist in Vietnam then we will be fighting them in the streets of America."

My dad swore this country would never fall for that line again.  Then 40 years later.

"If we don't fight Al Queda in the middle east we will be fighting them in the streets of America."

Well they did sorta kill 3000 Americans right above the streets of America.

The biggest thing about the Vietnam War was the US policy of rules of engagement. We didnt want China to enter the war on the side of North Vietnam (even though they were "secretly" supplying men, arms and advisors), so the US instituted a policy of not entering certain zones. These "off limits" areas made it easier for the enemy to make quick strikes, then retreat to places the US soldiers werent allowed to follow. It even extended to the air war where the US planes had to turn back at a certain latitude. That policy really hamstrung our soldiers, cost lives and ultimately was one of the major reasons we lost that conflict.