treated badly is just a myth/urban legend?
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Manowarman — 10 years ago(May 20, 2015 06:31 AM)
You obviously do not know your history, as this happened a LOT. Did every single protestor show up and do this to every single returning soldier - well no. But it DID happen to many of them, and this is even documented in many historical Vietnam history documentaries and by countless interviews by soldiers and even some of their family members who were there with them.
Many of these fiascos were organized by the likes of Jane Fonda, and I quote her "spit in the faces of those baby-killers". Was she being literal when she said that - who knows. But people sure took her that way. She has since "kinda sorta" apologized for all the crap she pulled back in the early 70's, but the facts still remain she was a traitor, bordered on committing treason, and only skated everything because of her celebrity status. -
jacc1515 — 9 years ago(April 19, 2016 11:12 PM)
You obviously do not know your history, as this happened a LOT. Did every single protestor show up and do this to every single returning soldier - well no. But it DID happen to many of them, and this is even documented in many historical Vietnam history documentaries and by countless interviews by soldiers and even some of their family members who were there with them.
Many of these fiascos were organized by the likes of Jane Fonda, and I quote her "spit in the faces of those baby-killers". Was she being literal when she said that - who knows. But people sure took her that way. She has since "kinda sorta" apologized for all the crap she pulled back in the early 70's, but the facts still remain she was a traitor, bordered on committing treason, and only skated everything because of her celebrity status.
Exactly. Anyone who denies this happened is probably some ex-hippie who participated in this disgusting behavior and wants to revise history.
Mother is the name for God on the lips & hearts of all children -Eric D. Raven -
Manowarman — 10 years ago(May 20, 2015 06:32 AM)
This is definitely NOT legend. This is my reply to another poster, who obviously has his facts wrong:
You obviously do not know your history, as this happened a LOT. Did every single protestor show up and do this to every single returning soldier - well no. But it DID happen to many of them, and this is even documented in many historical Vietnam history documentaries and by countless interviews by soldiers and even some of their family members who were there with them.
Many of these fiascos were organized by the likes of Jane Fonda, and I quote her "spit in the faces of those baby-killers". Was she being literal when she said that - who knows. But people sure took her that way. She has since "kinda sorta" apologized for all the crap she pulled back in the early 70's, but the facts still remain she was a traitor, bordered on committing treason, and only skated everything because of her celebrity status. -
chrismovieman — 10 years ago(June 22, 2015 04:26 PM)
Two points need to be understood here.
- There's little to no evidence that any American, anti-war protestors LITERALLY spit on returning American soldiers. That part is indeed likely an urban legend.
- However, it IS true that returning soldiers were often treated unfairly (in a variety of ways in society) after returning home from the Vietnam conflict. There were indeed a minority of protestors who had personally animosity towards Vietnam veterans themselves and expressed it verbally. (Though not with their saliva) But many anti-war protestors simply wanted the war itself to end, and in some cases, had friends/family members who were drafted.
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the_bigguy_15 — 10 years ago(December 10, 2015 09:33 AM)
Two points need to be understood here.
- There's little to no evidence that any American, anti-war protestors LITERALLY spit on returning American soldiers. That part is indeed likely an urban legend.
That isn't true. There have been lots of folks who try to spin the fact that there isn't video evidence of people being spat upon, but read this article to see the real story:
http://www.startribune.com/disrespect-for-vietnam-vets-is-fact-not-fiction/160444095/
And David Sirota is
wrong
about the history and policies of that war and about the treatment of returning military men and women ("The myth of the spat-upon war veteran," June 8).
I am not aware of many Vietnam vets who were not subjected to some disrespect, either personal or from the culture that called us "baby killers." We were shamed and embarrassed. My car (with a military base sticker) was "egged." I bought a wig to hide my military haircut.
The spitting on veterans was just a small part of the overall feeling of lost honor
, but it was real, contrary to Sirota's article, which appears to borrow heavily from a review of a book written by socialist and war protester Jerry Lembcke.
But Lembcke is refuted by many other sources, including Jim Lindgren, a Northwestern University law professor who cited news accounts that documented many spitting incidents. One example: A 1967 Bucks County Courier Times article reporting that two sailors were spat on outside a high school football game by a gang of about 10 young men. One of the sailors was stabbed.
Others:
In October 1967, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter James Reston's front page article in the New York Times described his eyewitness account of protest behavior so vulgar that spitting was the least of the transgressions.
Even Medal of Honor recipients were abused and "spat upon as 'monsters'," according to the head of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, WWII medalist Thomas J. Kelly. Kelly recounted how about 200 anti-war protesters showed up one year to harass the Medal of Honor recipients at their annual dinner. WWII Medalist James Conners was unable to avoid a particularly obnoxious man yelling, "Killer, killer, killer." Conners decked him.
Other spitting incidents were reported by Pulitzer Prize winners Max Frankel in the New York Times (November 1969) and Carl Bernstein in the Washington Post (May 1970).
- There's little to no evidence that any American, anti-war protestors LITERALLY spit on returning American soldiers. That part is indeed likely an urban legend.
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hobartz — 9 years ago(December 17, 2016 11:54 PM)
And should. so I doubt it happened very often. Otherwise there'd be a whole lot of contemporaneous reports of hospitals having to surgically remove freshly hacked long hair from far up the asses of thoroughly beaten hippies.
So I'm thinking that such incidents would have been rare. -
frankzappayay — 10 years ago(December 12, 2015 11:26 AM)
It is true but not everyone felt like that. It's like today, you still get people who shout and spit on people who go to get an abortion. Back then a lot of people felt thankful for soldiers but a lot of other people felt like they had been fighting an unjust war.
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brtndr — 10 years ago(December 16, 2015 11:03 PM)
First, allow me to qualify my opinion. I have a father who served in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot and I was born in a military hospital while my father was in flight training. I have many family members who have served in the military from WWII to the Iraq War. So, if there was any actual incidents of civilians spitting on returning veterans? I would feel very angry and outraged if that actually ever occurred.
However, there's several big problems with the story about the hippie anti-war protesters spitting on veterans at airports after returning from Vietnam. For one thing, if it ever did happen? The incident was never reported by a single newspaper during the entire time America was involved in the Vietnam War.
While that's no proof that the incident never actually happened. However, for any accusation to be proven true, it requires at least some amount of evidence in order to render a verdict of guilty, or not guilty. Both, in a court of law and the court of public opinion. So, without at least one reported eye witness to an actual incident of a veteran being spat on by a protester. Then, we are forced to accept that the incident never happened until it can be proven otherwise.
Secondly, military flights transporting troops from Vietnam to the US never landed at commercial airports. Surprise everyone, troops returning from a war zone always landed at military airfields. It wasn't until after returning soldiers arrived at various airbases (usually on the west coast) would they be free to perhaps catch a commercial flight to where ever they needed, or wanted to go next.
Which makes it a lot harder to believe the claim that groups of anti-war protesters were spitting on returning Vets at airports, because it's pretty safe to assume that there weren't any anti-war hippies hanging around military bases waiting to spit on soldiers as they disembarked from their military transport planes.
And, unless the protesters knew in advance what commercial flights the vets would be taking after leaving their bases? Then, how would the protesters know where to go to protest returning vets at commercial airports?
Were the protesters just hanging out at airports all day in hopes that a returning vet would eventually disembark from random flights, just so they could spit on him? I doubt it.
For these reasons, I believe that the story of the spitting hippie protesters at airports never really happened and, it's quite possible that the whole story was completely manufactured in order to demonize the anti-war movement by demonizing the protesters as unpatriotic spitters.
Then, the unproven manufactured story gets repeated so many times over the years that it takes on a life of its own until it becomes real.
So, NO. I seriously doubt that any veterans were ever spat on after returning from Vietnam. -
hskerfanlife — 10 years ago(January 16, 2016 04:51 AM)
Accounts from an Uncle who served in Vietnam, said there were different reactions that Vets received when they came home.
-Being spit on, called murderers
-fallen heroes
-American soldiers doing their duty
-who cares
I have an Uncle that talks about areas of Vietnam but not the war, but will sit down and watch the documentaries and the war films.
My Wife has an Uncle who doesn't talk at all about the war, refuses to watch anything about Vietnam because of too many bad memories. -
daverindone — 10 years ago(January 21, 2016 06:57 AM)
It just seems a little strange to either wait for a veteran to walk by or randomly say "Hey, there's some guy in a uniform. I think I'll spit in his face." I've personally known some Vietnam vets, most were just regular, well-adjusted guys. Plus, too, the ones that I did know were the last dudes you'd want to mess with.
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movies789 — 10 years ago(March 16, 2016 12:59 PM)
Utterly absurd. Any allegations of spitting are invariably third-hand, anecdotal hogwash. The test of such claims is simple enough; just ask anyone claiming first-hand experience with being spat-upon a few basic follow-up questions, like: Specifically how and where did it happen? What was your exact response? Did you punch the attacker? Wrestle him to the ground? Call the police? What was the response of nearby bystanders? Did they join with the attacker and attack you? Did they leap to your defense and hold the attacker for the police? Etc., etc. The person's response to your cross-examination will usually be something articulate and specific - like, "Hummanahummana" or the like.
In short: It's bull. Never happened.
Infantryman, 1st Cavalry Division, Vietnam, 1969-70 -
fede_4488 — 9 years ago(January 01, 2017 12:24 PM)
It's all anti-hippie/peace movement propaganda from war-mongers/right wing nuts. The same people who tried to ruin John Kerry's presidential campaign because of his anti-war testimony and for throwing away his medals
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kerry_military_service_controversy