SwiftVets.com

[Guest]

Ten Common Misconceptions about Vietnam Veterans:

1. THAT WE WERE DRAGGED INTO MILITARY SERVICE: Two-thirds of
the men and women who served in Vietnam volunteered for duty.
In contrast, two-thirds of the people who served in World War
II were drafted.

2. THAT VIETNAM WAS SOMEHOW SOMETHING LESS THAN A REAL WAR: Why
then were there more total combat casualties for the Marine
Corps in Vietnam than in WWII? Why then, according to the
Department of Defense, were the chances of being killed in
combat in Vietnam 85 in 1,000? In WWII, by comparison, the
number was 12 in 1,000.
Why then did Vietnam produce eight times as many paralyzed
men as WWII, three times as many totally disabled and 35
percent more amputees? Why then out of the 300,000 wounded
Vietnam War veterans are 12.4 percent totally disabled?

3. THAT WE WERE SOMEHOW NOT AS BRAVE OR DID NOT SACRIFICE AS
MUCH AS OUR FATHERS DID IN PREVIOUS WARS: The American
public, unfortunately, forgot the countless acts of
incredible courage at Dak-To, Khe Sahn, Ia Drang Valley, Hue
City and a thousand other unknown or too-soon forgotten
places.

4. THAT THESE SOLDIERS DID NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR COMRADES:
Nothing could be further from the truth. We cared deeply
then and still remember them every day and in our
nightmares.

5. THAT VIETNAM TROOPS WERE HABITUAL USERS OF DANGEROUS DRUGS:
In fact, hard drugs never emerged on any scale until the
final years of the Vietnam War.

6. THAT WE FACED AN INFERIOR ENEMY FORCE: Again, untrue. We
faced two enemy forces. First were the elusive, courageous
Viet Cong who were fighting in their own back yard and were
geniuses in camouflage and underground concealment and
experts in improvising ambushes and booby traps. The second
enemy was less well known by the American public, but
probably a more formidable foe -- the North Vietnamese Army.
This well-trained, large army was equipped with artillery
and 122mm Russian-made rockets. Most importantly, both
groups carried the AK-47 assault rifles, high velocity
automatic weapons the likes of which were never faced by any
previous American force. Furthermore, the Vietnamese now
have the world's fourth largest army.

7. THAT WE WERE MASS KILLERS OF CIVILIANS: False. More
civilians were killed in the four years of the Korean War
than in eight years of the Vietnam War.

8. THAT THE VIETNAM TROOPS WERE NOT AS EFFICIENT AS PREVIOUS
AMERICAN SOLDIERS: We were the youngest, best-educated,
best-trained, best-equipped and most-decorated troops
America has ever seen. And we never lost a major battle
during our involvement.

9. THAT WE ARE TROUBLED: For many of us this is true.
Although, considering the unique and tragic circumstances of
our war, we are a remarkable group. We were sent to war
alone and joined a unit of complete strangers. We
experienced the trauma of total, absolute warfare and, if
not severely wounded, we returned to a country which would
not or could not welcome us, mourn our dead with us or
recognize our sacrifices and courage. It is not by accident
that the freed hostages from Iran were returned slowly to
this country and will continue to have reunions of their
group. Our government learned to reduce the frequency and
intensity of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome from the
mistakes it made when we returned and from the observation
of the work done by Vietnam-veteran therapists at the Vet
Centers.

10. THAT THE VIETNAM VETERAN IS UNGRATEFUL AND DEMANDS TO BE
SEEN AS A HERO: False.
We are not ungrateful; we are honest. We received very
little. A graphic example: In 1945 a GI's educational
benefits included tuition, books, room and board, and a
monthly stipend of $54. In contrast, a Vietnam veteran
returning from the war in 1968 received only a monthly
stipend of $130 and no tuition, room, board or other
benefits. Furthermore, two weeks after their return,
groundbreaking for a memorial to the Iran hostages was
completed. Tragically, 10 years after the end of our war no
memorial yet stands anywhere to console the hearts of the
mothers who lost their sons fighting in Vietnam.



Finally, we do not wish to be seen as heroes because OUR heroes
died in Vietnam.

[1991932]

I could comment at length on these 10 valid points, and probably will before another 38 years pass.

Two words for now, though:

"Public Perception"

Good topic, powsnmias. It ties in beautifully with The Loser, who ain't dead by any means.
_________________
Former "War Criminal"