The treatment of returning Vietnam vets

[emaidel]

This is about as "off-topic" a subject as I can think of for this site. Nothing infuriates me more than hearing someone today state that the spitting upon or calling returning Vietnam vets "Baby-Killers' was nothing more than "myth and legend." The disgraceful treatment of our returning vets was no less outrageous than the internment of Japanese-American citizens during WWII.

Despite the fact that such treatment is well documented, and those like myself, a Vietnam-era vet, who watched this happen on TV, read about it in the newspapers, and personally know dozens of former GI's who experienced such treatment can only shake our heads in disbelief and fury at someone like Jerry Lembke, who wrote, "The Spitting Image: The Myth and Legacy of Viet Nam," in which he claims to "prove" that nothing of the sort ever happened.

I actually ended a 10 year-old friendship with someone who insisted that the mistreatment of our vets was "a myth, debunked long ago" by Jerry Lembke and his hateful book. I told her that her statements to such an effect were "total horse****," and she didn't much care for that. Most of the believers in Lembke's drivel are revisionist, ultra left-wing radicals who make people like Barack Obama seem downright conservative. Many of their beliefs regarding the truth about our country's mistreatment of our returning vets likely began with those who perpetrated such behavior in the first place, and just want their behavior expunged from history.

So why am I writing about this here? Well, I bought a Joan Baez record, "Come From the Shadows," back in '72. I like Joan's voice (it was hearing her sing "Diamonds and Rust" on a pair of Dahlquist DQ-10s that made me fall in love with the speaker), "Come From the Shadows" was a quadraphonic record, and I owned a quad system at the time. What I never did, surprisingly, is read the liner notes on the back of the album cover. Today's Lembke-supporters would likely eat this stuff up like crazy. Here they are, in all their hateful glory:

"Some Vietnam veterans have told what they did over there when they were animals (italics, mine). They have been giving testimony about it to juries, to judges. Some of the juries cry, and so do some of the judges.

One Ex-Marine has a face like a Puerto Rican angel and a body count of 390. That meams he and his unit killed 390 people in a variety of hideous ways, and the angel got to go count the dead bodies for the record. (italics, again mine).

And now, he and a lot of his buddies are trying to make up for waht we made them do. We paid the taxes that bought the war that hired the men and dropped the fire that burned the huts and killed the people who then were the bodies that Scott counted. It's a rotten thing to brainwash someone into doing the dirty part of the killing while we stay at home. It's a rotten thing to pretend the war is coming to an end when it's only taken to the air. And in 1972 if you don't fight against a rotten thing you become a part of it.

What I'm asking you to do is take some risks. Stop paying war taxes, refuse the armed forces, organize against the air war, support the strikes and boycotts of farmers, workers and poor people, analyze the flag salute (italics mine again), give up the nation state, share your money, refuse to hate, be willing to work... in short, sisters and brothers, armp up with love and come from the shadows."

I always knew Baez was a bit of a kook, but I never realized how much of a kook she really was. Some of the above is certainly well-intentioned, especially the statement that not getting involved to stop something you believe to be wrong results in you perpetrating that wrong. While I have no evidence to support this theory, I'd bet anything that Baez very likely denies the mistreatment of our returning vets, even though she herself very likely participated often in such.

[JohnMichael]

I have too many friends who were Vietnam Vets and I know the treatment they received. One man named Gary was partially healed when he saw how his son was welcomed home from Iraq. The cheering crowds for his son helped him so much. We have a lady in town who celebrates Veterans Day by writing thank you notes to all she knows who have served. It is never too late to thank a veteran of any war for their service.

Thanks to all AR members and family who have served!

[emaidel]

[QUOTE=JohnMichael . It is never too late to thank a veteran of any war for their service.

Thanks to all AR members and family who have served![/QUOTE]

Very, very well said, and I thank you.