People back then blamed the military even though MANY really did NOT want to be there. The American public back at home for the first time see the horrors of the war in every living room in the U.S., ranging from dead civilians, to napalmed victims, to the devastating nature of the U.S. troops fighting after being there for years. He would tell me when he came back to america he was called a coward and was mocked by his neighbors. The liberal wing won the right to use the VVAW … Still, that is separate from how the soldiers were treated. Vietnam veterans were already ostracized for fighting in the war by many Americans and this feeling increased the invisible barrier between America and its Vietnam veterans. There was a generational gap that translated into “dawning of the age of Aquarius”. This award-winning film demonstrates the role soldiers and veterans played in the anti-Vietnam War movement. The soldiers were placed in an impossible situation- the Viet Cong would come in at night and threaten to kill the inhabitants of a village if they didn't allow them to plant booby traps, stash weapons and supplies. Now, fifty-three years later, VVAW is still going strong-- continuing its fight for peace, justice, and the rights of all veterans. Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Inc. (VVAW, Inc.) is a national veterans organization that was founded in New York City in 1967 after six Vietnam vets marched together in a peace demonstration. Everyone has a different view on the topic. If American soldiers go into the village assumed to be friendly, the VC would often shoot them out of the huts or kill them with grenades. By Walter Dean Myers. Get your answers by asking now. PTSD was NEVER considered as a REAL problem. Americans thought it was none of their business to interfere in a matter in Vietnam. Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Teaching the Vietnam War: Beyond the Headlines, Camouflaging the Vietnam War: How Textbooks Continue to Keep the Pentagon Papers a Secret, June 30, 1966: Fort Hood Three Release Public Statement on Vietnam Refusal. So there was a lot of killing going on. You can sign in to vote the answer. Draft cards burned in solidarity with David Miller. As the war progressed into its fourth year, a number of soldiers who had been wounded in Vietnam brought to light the poor treatment of injured veterans when they returned to American soil, which further drove protests against Vietnam. Hate the War, Respect the Warriors; and 2.) Two lessons were actually learned from Vietnam, and I think only two: 1.) Our troops were barely adults in unfamiliar territory being shot at...most of whom never wanted to be there. Winter Soldier Investigation: Eary in 1971, the Vietnam Veterans against War sponsered an event to out the out the crimes that American soldiers were being told to commit in Southeast Asia. The US Government used these soldiers to fight a war they knew was a lost cause- Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon all knew that Vietnam was a quagmire. Even in a "bad" war, it's not the soldiers who are to blame, it's the policy makers. The war that the U.S. fought in Vietnam was a war against a people who had been trying to free their country from foreign domination for many decades. When the boys returned home, they were booed & some were even spit on. 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 … The group was organized to give voice to the growing opposition to the escalating war in Vietnam among people in the military. 100 pages. The Vietnam War had LESS support than our involvement in Iraq & Afghanistan put together. It was part of a larger regional conflict as well as a manifestation of the Cold War. They can be slow, creeping things, like cancer. Our way of life was under a slow, creeping threat by Communism. Although there were many anti-war groups at the time, The Vietnam Veterans Against the War seems to have gathered more attention from the FBI than most others. Vietnam veterans were not welcomed home by parades and celebrations because the U.S. lost the Vietnam War. Eight lessons about the Vietnam War, Daniel Ellsberg, the Pentagon Papers, and whistleblowing. Sophisticated picture book on one soldier’s patrol in Vietnam, for upper elementary. 2) The enemy in Vietnam knew their terrain and jungles very well and they blend into civilian population to avoid being targeted or use them as human shields; this caused the American soldiers to overreact and unable to tell the difference between combatants and civilians. My grandpa was a Vietnam veteran he passed away last year I have his dog tags and a picture of him and his friends when they landed in Vietnam along with all his medals. Are high school sports in need of radical reform? On June 1, 1967, the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) was founded in New York after six Vietnam vets marched together in a demonstration for an end to the war. After a contested election in 1978 and a lawsuit between feuding parties, the energies of both sides were diminished. While new U.S. history textbooks mention the Pentagon Papers, none grapples with the actual import of the Pentagon Papers. 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 This was partly due to the logistics of the never-ending conflict. It was also the first time America failed to welcome its Veterans back as heroes. NOBODY said thank you for serving. Why does the USA celebrate Thanks giving when the British founded them only to celebrate Independence Day? To the contrary, one of the hallmarks of the period's anti-war movement was its support for the troops in the … They did not make policy, and they should have been treated as heroes. We grew rapidly to a membership of over 30,000 throughout the … why do people disagree with vietnam war controversial; why america opposed to the vietnam war; americans disagreed on the vietnam war involvemnt; why were americans so against the war in vietnam; why were so many people against vietnam war; why were some people agreeing with the vietnam war It was terribly unfair to those soldiers to do that. Would a squad of WW1 German or British machine gunners be able to hold out the swarming savages breaching the hole in the western wall of ? The Fort Hood Three issued a public statement about their refusal to be sent to Vietnam. Still have questions? 84 min. Americans seem to have accepted the idea that the war is winding down, at least for Americans, and they have also allowed the bodies, which were once used by a President for statistics to prove that we were winning this war, to be used as evidence against a man who followed orders and who interpreted those orders no differently than hundreds of other men in South Vietnam. This group had been founded in 1967 by six veterans. Teaching Activity. Before the invention of the TV, you have to pay money to see the newsreels so it was not widely accommodate to the public. It was in April of 1971 that VVAW held its first national demonstration to protest the war in Vietnam. It publishes a twice-yearly newsletter, The Veteran; this was earlier published more frequently as 1st Casualty (1971–1972) and then as Winter Soldier (1973–1975). People who maligned those soldiers should be ashamed, still now, 50 years later. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. I had teachers in the late 70's/early 80's who were Vietnam vets and hated the Vietnamese. During much of the Vietnam War the American public was lied to about the progress (or lack of it) of the war, and the Tet Offensive (won by the U.S.) was the moment that the American public realized the war was not what the President and the Pentagon said it was. It was almost impossible for them to find jobs. No Draft- one of the main reasons a draft was never considered in the wars since 911 is they draw out protesters and increase opposition to war. 2013. By Harvey Richards. Anywhere from 70,000 to 300,000 Vietnam veterans committed suicide upon their return. It all started in 1967, with six Vietnam veterans marching together in a peace demonstration. The Vietnam Veterans of America group recognize, welcome and label anyone who served during the Vietnam era as a Vietnam veteran. The event lasted three days, while bringing together over 100 veterans in Detroit, Michigan. Teaching Activity. How do you think about the answers? For many of the American Veterans of the war, the wounds of Vietnam will never heal. What if ww1 had it's own Blitzkrieg (using cavalry instead of tanks, and artillery instead of air strikes)? They did not make policy, and they should have been treated as heroes. They didn't know who the enemy was. So you can either "hope for the best" and slowly die, or at some point realize the threat and take up the knife. The demonstration was named "Operation Dewey Canyon III" (Dewey Canyon I and II were secret operations into Laos that were never reported to the American people). Vietnam was a valid, necessary, and ultimately effective war, brought on by another country's aggression against the US ultimately, and we stepped up and took action. They didn't want to be there, they just had to be or stepped up and did what was needed by their country. Why is America now averaging over 3,000 deaths per day from covid? Wikimedia Commons Faced with the reality that his hopes were fading fast, Kerry did what every upcoming savvy politician would do: he joined the spineless “America is Evil” crowd, turning against his fellow vets. It wasn't a nice place and the situation wouldve had a detrimental emotional and physical toll on our boys over there. So they did that and a bunch of flower sniffing teenagers jumped right on the bandwagon and started yelling babykillers at our soldiers - forgetting that these same "babies" were running up and tossing grenades into their helicopters. But then, as now, it's tempting for the journalists to make big splashy features of the occasional "atrocity", which occur every hour somewhere in the theaters of war, and use that to sensationalize and whip up public furor over a thing rather than more objectively report the news. Explore these pages; see what we've done, what we do, and why we do it. People reacted as though it was UNAmerican to have served there & took it out on those returning home!!! In the early 1960s, most Americans would have viewed the conflict in Vietnam as a minor proxy war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Vietnam was a valid, necessary, and ultimately effective war, brought on by another country's aggression against the US ultimately, and we stepped up and took action. Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) condemns in no uncertain terms the bombing of Sharyat airbase in Syria six days ago by Donald Trump’s administration. By David Zeiger. It was organized to voice the growing opposition among returning servicemen and women to the still-raging war in Indochina, and grew rapidly to a membership of over 30,000 throughout the Kerry, a 27 year-old Army veteran with three Purple Hearts and a Silver Star, appeared before the Committee in 1971 as a representative of Vietnam Veterans Against the War. The hippies protested the war because they resented the draft, not because of some moral outrage over the war. Vietnam Veterans Against the War demonstrate As a prelude to a massive antiwar protest, Vietnam Veterans Against the War begin a five-day demonstration in Washington, D.C. reasons that some americans opposed the vietnam war. When we came home we found that people didn’t see us as heroes, since we really hadn’t done anything people needed us to do. As a result, some American soldiers took their anger on the civilians who allowed (forceful or not) the enemy to plant booby traps. Vietnam had been divided into North and South Vietnam, and American officials resolved to prop up the government of South Vietnam as it fought against a communist insurgency supported by North Vietnam. Of course it is. Troops stationed in Vietnam often sympathized with the antiwar movement back home. The Americans would come in, find these things, often after encountering the booby traps and taking sniper fire. That's why America hasn't seen the 60's-style protests anymore. By Rev. The American and allied forces were portrayed (by the media) as drugged-up blood thirty baby killers. In the mid-1970s the shrinking VVAW was riven by a struggle between radical and liberal members. This was emphasized by no less than John Kerry (yes, our present Secretary of State) who blatantly lied before Congress about "massacres" and "atrocities" committed by the troops. It's terrible to stick your hand into someone's hemorrhaging wound too, in a traffic accident, but you do what is necessary. about the active role soldiers and veterans played in the anti-Vietnam War movement. Picture book. The fact that a decorated and loyal veteran could oppose the very war he had fought in, just like the existence of organization, was disturbing to a lot of … It was held in Washington DC from April … 2005. By the Zinn Education Project. Article. 2005. Join Yahoo Answers and get 100 points today. Still, that is separate from how the soldiers were treated. This incident unfortunately shattered the "good guy vs bad guy" image the American people havr for decades and gave an ignition to those who protested the war and now extended their hatred against the U.S. soldiers who fought there. The group was organized to give voice to the growing opposition to the escalating war in Vietnam among people in the military. I cannot tell you truly why they weren't welcomed home. During the fall 1969 Moratorium mobilizations, combat troops on patrol near Da Nang wore black armbands in solidarity with the protests. He told me all Vietnam veterans were not wanted back why? As both a Vietnam veteran and a member of the anti-war movement, Lembcke knew this criticism ran counter to what he personally experienced and witnessed. Government records reflecting initial fears about the United States government's true motivations for involvement were made public in the early 1970s, … Approximately 2,700,000 American men and women served in Vietnam and it was the first war in which the US failed to meet its objectives. The Vietnam War (Vietnamese: Chiến tranh Việt Nam), also known as the Second Indochina War, and in Vietnam as the Resistance War Against America (Vietnamese: Kháng chiến chống Mỹ) or simply the American War, was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. Right or wrong be damned; it was about getting elected. Source: Public domain. Treatment of Returning VeteransWW2 veterans were respected by the public, Vietnam veterans and were looked down upon by the public, mostly because the media was where it shouldn't have been. Did Neanderthals bury their dead or just let them lay around . And forgetting that while this was their contribution, others were there fighting and dying to preserve their country and lifestyle. The … The VVAW, through open discussion of soldiers’ first-hand experiences, revealed the truth about the nature of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia. Like you, I served in Germany during the Vietnam era and I've always called myself a Vietnam era veteran. The Vietnam War would kill nearly 60,000 Americans, wound more than 150,000 Americans, and leave more than 23,000 U.S. soldiers permanently disabled. Each person was given time to tell of their experiences in Vietnam. So the protesters tried to call the American soldiers murderers and baby killers, and there are too many stories of veterans being mistreated to dismiss them. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 3 pages. It was organized to give voice to the growing opposition among returning servicemen and women to the still raging war in Indochina. The TV changed all of that. Many people were against it because there was no sense that the United States could win. October 22, 1972, San Francisco Veterans Day Parade. Most Vietnam veterans were draftees, not volunteers. Congressional leaders reach $900B coronavirus relief deal, Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine shots leave warehouses, Cheese and red wine could boost brain health, Izzard praised for embracing feminine pronouns, Struggling Americans fear stimulus won't be enough. This was the first "living room" war, where we saw images of death and atrocity on the evening news, over dinner. Protests against the Vietnam War did not start when America declared her open involvement in the war in 1964.America rallied to the call of the commander-in-chief and after the Gulf of Tonkin incident it became very apparent that few would raise protests against the decision to militarily support South Vietnam. By Bill Bigelow. We’d been lied to and used. Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Inc. (VVAW) is a national veterans' organization that was founded in New York City in 1967 after six Vietnam vets marched together in a peace demonstration. Veterans protesting war. 3) Atrocities were being revealed to the American public by the news media which happened to be highly exaggerated; one of the significant ones was the My Lai Massacre where U.S. soldiers rounded up hundreds of civilians then massacred them by one by one each second, including women and children. War always is. It's like they blame on the soldiers who actually had no say in politics and were doing what the government told them to do, instead of the government that actually manage politics as well as choosing which country they were ordered to deploy. Even in a "bad" war, it's not the soldiers who are to blame, it's the policy makers. Kerry then turned to the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Invasions of other countries are not always slam bam blitzkriegs. Click for more photos and information. 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