Quote Originally Posted by Dubbag View Post
Becaused they were f u c k e d over by the peace and love brigade...Ass holes.
Whilst I certainly don't agree with the way in which many of the returning vets were treated by the peace&love brigade, it was the government that really shafted them not the hippies or the peace movement. They got them into the war in the first place and then did little to support them afterwards.

Vietnam was increasingly being seen as a non justifiable war and as the first real "tv war" its horror and the more unsavoury aspects of US involvement became more widely known. The US had so many problems on the domestic front at the time such as the riots and Civil Rights movement and these all impacted on how the war was viewed. The government narrative was being seen through, the military failures becoming clearer and the draft for an unpopular war to be avoided. Many vets-such as Ron Kovics-would also eventually join the movement to end the war.

America has had to live with the spectre of Vietnam and maybe, because it was not seen as a justifiable war, unlike WW2 vets for example, those who served in it were not treated well. At the end of the day though, the vast majority of these young men were drafted and had no choice taking part in a war not of their making and should have been treated and looked after far better.