How do teens and young people feel about Vietnam vets?

Thozz: How do teens and young people feel about Vietnam vets?
The reason I ask is, being a 56 year old veteran from the conflict in Vietnam all I get is disrespect, ridicule, and snide remarks from teens and such on the internet.
This hurts, as I lost many friends and brothers over there and the ones who made it home were weeping shaking wrecks of the men they used to be. Teens just don’t get it nor do they care.

Answers and Views:

Answer by ONAN DJA
Teen ager’s now days have respect for nothing not even them self, As for me that remember that tragic chapter in history I admire and have the utmost respect for all veterans. Teens of today follow the rap ghetto doctrine and find it glamorous to be thugs.

Answer by Adrian
Well-liked and respected in my demographic. Teens can be @sses to anyone, especially on the internet and in crowds. You pretty much hit the nail on the head when you said they don’t care or don’t get it.

Answer by D. (Da Dude) Danderfoose
Because they are self- centered, don’t care, don’t give a damn, could care less, oblivious to the past (History) generation who expects everything to be handed to them on a silver platter!

I see them disparaging veterans or disrespecting the flag, I give them a piece of my mind and if they decide to get physical………………I kick their sorry A$ $ E$ !!!!

Answer by Erik
Sadly, I feel you’re right. They don’t care, but more importantly, they don’t know. I’m 22 and if you mention the Vietnam war, automatically our minds think about the anti-war protests. But ya know what? I thank you for fighting so we can live in a world where the worst part about the war was the “peacefulness” of protests. I hope you get what I’m trying to say…

Answer by my sword my trade!
i feel i was not for the war it was a unproductive war. yet, i never be cruel to a vet! i know they deserve respect have fought for our country when they came back from the war they should have got more respect than they should have!

also i think the bright side Vietnam was it united everyone, to make love not war. some of the best music come out of rebellion, drugs, love. it seems the best artistic music came out of the war thats when people started the long hair” bed peace hair peace” grow your hair out till their home safe. the long hair opposed the opposite of the buzz cut. personally i dont know how hippies could have been mean to the vets when they came home. if they stood for peace so much then why are they creating another civil war? they grow their hair out till their loved ones came home yet, they disrespected them.

any how john Lennon creative side really came out during the war. hats why he is my hero he stood up against a whole country. went against everything the government was. he was promoting peace, he was bailing the radicals protesting out of jail. really, where are our people now? np one protesting the Iraq war, i mean this is a another unproductive war.

edit i dont care what anyone says we did not lose the war! we where winning then the government pulled us out of the war! are we under a dictatorship? no then we did not lose the war they did not get our country! it was a neutral war! so the vets did not even lose the war!

honestly dont feel bad if teens dont respect you im finding non of them respect anyone any more.

im still a teen im 18 years old!

Answer by Greg
I’m 24, and I have always been under the impression that people in my generation have more respect for Vietnam Vets than your hippie peers may have given to you. My reason being is pretty simple: first, we were not alive during the Vietnam war, and therefore won’t have as strong of opinions about the war as someone who lived in its time. second, ever since 9/11 and the war on terror, no matter what political affiliation you have, everyone seems to support the troops; I believe that this new-found patriotism and support can only transcend to troops of past wars and conflicts. Of course, you need to keep in mind that all kids of all generations can be disrespectful pricks to anyone or anything. So I wouldn’t let that bother you too much.

Answer by Em
Teens get no education about the Vietnam war. By that I don’t mean any one-sided view, but the facts about the war itself, so they can make up their own minds about it. As a society we have failed miserably in this area, probably because we resist revisiting that war, and the conflict that raged here at home as well. It was a trumatic time for our veterans, but for many of us at home too. Maybe if kids were told about all this, from the political, societal and veterans’ remembrances and points-of-view, they would learn to respect all points-of-view, and better understand what our vets endured.

I think it is up to all of us who lived through those times to talk to children about it, to add our own perspectives, whatever they may be.

Answer by Monty S
you got to remember they have not had fight to save there lives(only in video games) and have not have a friend die in our arms ,you and me have both seen it .i was in Afghanistan in the early 1980,s when the russians invaded the country to help maintain the government there and helped as a military adviser for the guerrilla forces ,then three tours in iraq the first war with iraq in the late 1980,s
and two tours in this more recent action and retired in 2008 after 33 years (can you say lifer) but there is one thing we can both say and that,s BEEN THERE ,DONE THAT and one more thing if no one has said it to you WELCOME HOME ,YOU EARNED IT .

Answer by Thomas R
Hello Thozz;

I was there also.
It was when we begun to see that the truth was being manipulated as to how we were doing and what reasons for doing a covering up.
Immediately after release became a protester and had always felt that there was a stigma involved with those that didn’t stand against. This was a very divisive time as we well remember.

But the worse came years later when Robert McNamara admitted that reporting of the war had to be marginalized for the press. Years later Gen. Westmorland confided the same.

I am sure you can remember how infective we were at winning the hearts and soul of the people. Never knowing if the interpreter was really on your side or a good conduit.
Never learning the Language or culture, we were just trained to fight.
A book that covered in depth written by a Journalist that lived with the Army and took 16 years to write. “A Bright Shinning Lie” Other books about that era is what is perhaps most influential to a lot of people that have raised their children to have some feelings.

Thozz; How do you image the service men will feel when they return to a America that is just as unresponsive and are asked “Why did we go into Iraq”?
If the American people were in complete satisfaction with a decision to go to war and felt they could trust the information given to them, trusted their leadership and was committed to supporting them we would have seen a lot different outcome. Once that breaks down then well,, ,, How do you image the service men will feel when asked “Why did we go into Iraq?

Last; I was there. Retired now. Was able to march 3 times during the time we were going in to Iraq and the third came home and watched the news only to find that we were not supportive of our troops. ..We seem to come full circle with another generation that will feel the same as us.

The Amish in Pennsylvania tought me the most valuable lesson of all. Their school children were murdered while classmates watched in horror before the gunman turned the gun on himself.
Worse than 9/11 was for us.. They reached out to the gunman’s family to offer their help.

Collin Powell was asked for his advice in a meeting immediately after 9/11 and he suggested sending C5’s loaded with medical supplies, food, clothing and tents as the weather was bad. He was never asked for advice in a committee again. (Book “Bush at War” Author: Bob Woodward”

If we had leaders like that during the Viet Nam era it would have changed the course of history and we would be dealing with these feelings.
War is hell.
Thank for your attention.
tom