War…What is it Good For?

Upon their return home, many Vietnam veterans were subjected to cruel harassment at the hands of disillusioned Americans. The argument is made that this treatment has been romanticized beyond its historical reality and therefore, is a myth. While not every veteran encountered the same derogatory behavior, many veterans' unfortunate homecoming experiences are far from myths. The stories are true and cannot be disregarded as legend; this sentiment runs deeply through the American conscience. Many Americans want to make sure that today's veterans are not victims of the same treatment as the Vietnam veterans. The war itself became an object of national disgrace, leaving a black mark on the United States; a stigma that still exists today. This sentiment was particularly evident with regards to the Gulf War; support groups emerged, showing the veterans that America was behind them, and letting them know that they were loved no matter what the outcome was. Not only were the American people aware of the Vietnam legacy, but the soldiers themselves were also afraid of the potential treatment they would receive upon their homecomings. Although these horrific homecomings that characterized Vietnam happened more than thirty years ago, the memory remains; the American conscience will never forget the stigma created by the Vietnam experience, nor the disgraceful, pitiful treatment that many of our beloved soldiers received. America learned from the Vietnam memory, applying the knowledge from these lessons to the Gulf War to ensure that those unfortunate incidents would never happen again. America took a look at themselves, realizing that there was much to learn regarding their veterans and the way our fellow Americans should be treated. This is a reflection of how America used the experiences of yesterday to become a smarter and stronger country, bringing the nation together in a circle of unity on its quest for progress.

America's memory of Vietnam influenced the country's attitude and behavior toward the Gulf War. The legacy remains in the hearts and minds of the country, particularly yesterday's generation. This is an idea that Meta Mendel Reyes develops in her book Reclaiming Democracy. Reyes argues that the memory of the sixties, and in this case, Vietnam, has helped shape the American community today. Working from Reyes' theoretical framework, the memory of Vietnam catalyzed change in the country's behavior with the arrival of the next war. America retained the ugly memory of Vietnam, particularly the soldiers' return home, uniting the country and correcting its mistakes with the inception of the Gulf War. The paper will be following the theoretical framework of Mendel Reyes: primarily, how the memory of yesterday has affected the actions of today.

The Vietnam War created an image of the United States that many would love to forget. While the past cannot be erased, a healing process has begun, helping America cope with the scar left by the War. Many Americans were ashamed of their country for its involvement in Vietnam, as well as for the treatment many veterans received upon their return home. Although not every veteran was harassed, many have opened their hearts, sharing their experiences of mistreatment. The most notable of these veterans is Ron Kovic, a young soldier paralyzed from the waist down who shared his experience in his book, Born on the 4th of July. Kovic volunteered for the war because he feared a Communist takeover throughout the world. Upon his return home, Kovic, once a patriotic veteran supporting the War's cause, realized that he had been misled and cheated by his country. Kovic became outraged by the United States' involvement in the War, joining the anti-war movement which was attempting to stop the fighting in Southeast Asia. Kovic is a perfect example of how most Americans felt toward the War: outraged and disillusioned. Kovic is one of many men who were cruelly treated after returning to the United States. As previously noted, not every veteran was harassed, yet many maintain that this was how they were received. Although the experiences differ, they are similar in their power and lucidity. Many Americans are in denial, not wanting admit that these incidents occurred; these people often claim that the tumultuous homecoming experiences of some veterans are myths. A myth is a legendary story built up through storytelling and thought to be fictitious. Granted, there are many Vietnam "wannabes" who often tell glorified stories of the War to gain attention; but to suggest that the stories are myths is an insult to the men who suffered at the hands of a disillusioned country. There are too many genuine first hand accounts shared by veterans suggesting that the incidents did indeed happened. This was Chicago Tribune columnist Bob Greene's motivation in writing Homecoming, a compilation of Vietnam veterans' firsthand accounts, both good and bad. Greene has "no doubt that many returning veterans truly were spat upon-literally-as part of their welcome home. There were simply too many letters, going into too fine a detail, to deny the fact. {He} was profoundly moved by how, all these years later, so many men remembered exactly where and when they were spat-upon, and how the pain has stayed with them"(Greene, 11). A point that arises whenever talking about personal accounts is their credibility; how do we know if the veterans are actually telling the truth? There is no way to confirm whether or not the veterans are telling the truth; therefore, trust in the veterans is essential. Greene investigated the accounts that he felt were shaky, acknowledging this in his book: "any letters that seemed suspect to me-letters which raised a 'red flag' in my mind- I did not include in the book…Second, I wrote back to every person who had sent me the letters I decided to use here. I explained to them that I thought the subject deserved to be treated at book length, and I asked for their permission to use the letters. My feeling was that-on the odd chance that someone had said things in a letter that he knew not to be true-he would not want the letter in the book. The letters you are about to read were all confirmed by the people who wrote them"(Greene, 15). Additionally, Greene had a contact in the Veterans' Administration, confirming the veteran status of a limited number of names that Greene had submitted; Greene comments that "{his} source confirmed whether these veterans had, indeed, served"(15). To bring some of the veterans' experiences to life, a limited number of first-hand accounts are essential. In order to comprehend the chastising experience endured by the returning GI's, it is important to understand where these men are coming from. The piercing pain in these quotes demonstrates how these experiences served to alienate the veterans from their country, something America wants to correct. In Homecoming, Bob Greene includes many moving and heart-breaking accounts. These veterans bared their souls, sharing the anger and frustration with a country that has done them wrong. A personal account by Tony J., a Vietnam veteran who would like to remain anonymous, verbalizes these emotions: "Well, I had to take this fellows body to his wife-she was nineteen years old…I was helping the mortician take the casket out of the hearse. Of course I was in my dress uniform, medal and all that, and the American flag was over the casket and some guy walked by when we had it about halfway and the fool spit on it and said, 'Good, he deserved to die"(Greene 30). This quote from the unnamed veteran shows how alienated the veterans became when they returned from Vietnam. Rather than receiving their due respect, many were disrespected in unfathomable ways. While many veterans expected a peaceful return, they were met with disillusionment and anger, the very thing they had tried to escape while in Vietnam. Many wondered if they would ever again be accepted into American society, or if they would continue to be the country's scapegoat. Frederick Downs, a Vietnam veteran, poses himself this very question in his book Aftermath: A Soldiers Return from Vietnam; "I wondered if my country would ever welcome us back. Welcome all of us in body and spirit. Or would we always remain a flaw in America's vision of itself'(Downs, 222). This quote typifies how many veterans felt upon their homecoming; would America welcome them back with homecoming parades, or would they be seen as a stigma, something America would rather not talk about? America tried to hide the ugly experience of Vietnam; in doing so, the veterans who were called to fight the war were alienated from the country they once revered. Much has been written about the Vietnam veterans' preference not to discuss their war experiences at home; whether or not America was willing to listen is another issue altogether. A personal interview conducted with Dan Mouer, a veteran returning home in 1967, further develops this point; "…I found people who just had no clue what I had been doing in Vietnam, nor did they have any sensitivity to the issues of someone who had been at war. My mother recently told me that I never wanted to talk about the war, while my memory is that nobody else wanted to hear about it"(Personal Interview, Mouer). America was insensitive to the needs of many veterans like Mr. Mouer. Nobody wanted to be bothered with the war; and hence, they did not provide a very welcoming atmosphere for the soldiers. The same theme arises over and over again; at a time when scared young men needed the country's support the most, many were left to deal with "their" problems alone. The homecoming experiences of many veterans served to alienate them from their country, keeping them isolated from their fellow Americans. After returning home, the veterans strongly sensed that nobody could or would identify with them. Certain unfortunate incidents did not help the situation; "never before had America's fighting men returned home so quietly and so unwelcomed. Much has been made of the fact that there was no 'victory parades' for the veterans of Vietnam, but little consideration has been given to the consequences of this fact for the soldiers'personal identity. Many found their status of 'veteran' a stigma rather than a source of pride"(Figley and Leventman, 103-4). Vietnam veterans returned to a country with both little interest and understanding of what the veterans were experiencing. The previous quote typifies many veterans' sentiments; the country unfavorably viewed the War, leaving many veterans as the unfortunate recipients of the country's bad feeling. Because the war was so unpopular, many GI's arrived without so much as a 'hello,' viewing their veteran status as something to scoff at rather than embrace. This feeling was due to the unpopularity of the War; however, the soldier's esteem was not helped by the lack of support back home. This theme is reversed with the Gulf War and will be dealt with later in the paper. Another aspect of veteran harassment that is often overlooked is the fact that many were harassed by older veterans of foreign wars, the few who were supposed to identify with and understand them. Figley and Leventman also share this sentiment, because "the men {they} interview often spoke of their fear of hostility and blame from their peers for having participated in the war and the lack of respect accorded them by older veterans who reproached them for not having won 'their' war"(104). The older veterans did not seem to understand the younger generation of veterans. Many veterans returned home and joined the peace movement, something that did not sit well with the pro-war veterans of yesteryear. Jerry Lembke bolsters this claim by saying: "members of such groups as the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion shunned Vietnam veterans because of their long hair, love beads, and peace symbols that many wore. In the Veterans Administration hospitals, wounded Vietnam veterans were treated as second-class citizens by the World War II veterans who worked and ran the hospitals. The 'class of 46,' as the Vietnam-era vets dubbed the old timers, thought Vietnam had not been a 'real war'"(Lembke, 78). Stereotypically, hippies were responsible for these incidents; however, this is largely unfounded. There was a generation gap between the Vietnam veterans and the veterans of older wars, causing an ideological difference between these two groups. Many of the older veterans believed that the Vietnam veterans were incapable of carrying the country's weight on their soldiers. What the older veterans did not realize, however, is that the Vietnam veterans did not want to carry that weight. The impact of the generation gap, however, changed with the Gulf War. The major difference was the level of support for the cause, translating into support for the soldiers. This is directly attributable to the Vietnam experience and the lessons taken from it. America took the experiences of Vietnam and used them to insure that the same mistake would not be made again. Rather than shun their returning veterans, America embraced them, making them feel like the heroes they are. Even though Vietnam was unpopular, the support of the soldiers should not have been affected; unfortunately it was. When entering the Gulf War, many Americans were still well aware of what happened in the last War. Operating as one united country, America used the Vietnam experience to progress, leaving the negative stigma surrounding Vietnam and its veterans behind. The ghost of Vietnam was haunting the Gulf War soldiers upon arriving in the Persian Gulf. Many had heard the horror stories associated with the War, particularly the harsh treatment and neglect many faced upon their homecoming. The troops in Desert Storm worried about their homecoming; would they be embraced by their country or pushed away? Lieut. Brian Vaughn shares his feeling on the subject in a 1990 New York Times article; " But I had a brother and uncle in Vietnam, and we all know what happened to the Vietnam vets. They were disrespected by the American people for being there. Well, that's a big concern to us out here, and we talk about it every night; We are ready to defend our country, but we want to be supported and respected for what we're doing"(LeMoyne). The Gulf War veterans had a profound fear that their mission would not be well received in America, thus creating apprehension as well as fear of another Vietnam experience. A Gulf War soldier who preferred anonymity in the same New York Times article, illustrates the fear of the troops in the desert; "When we deployed here, people cheered and waved flags. But if I go back home like the Vietnam vets did and somebody spits on me, I swear to God I'll kill them"(LeMoyne). Fear of another Vietnam experience hung over the heads of many Gulf War troops; and, they earnestly wished that there would not be a repeat. Americans were also aware of the fear that many Gulf War troops were suffering, wishing to lend their support. Pennsylvania Representative John Murtha, a former Marine and Vietnam veteran, commented that "the aura of Vietnam hangs over these kids, their parents were in it…They worry, they wonder"(Apple). Following Mendel-Reyes' theory, the memory of yesterday haunts the troops today, affecting their behavior as well as the behavior of America; this is a point that will be illustrated later on. America wanted to show the veterans that they were loved and that they would be supported regardless of the outcome. This was a very different tune than the one sung in Vietnam. Many Americans were aware of what happened to the Vietnam vets and wanted to reverse that in the Gulf War. One of the biggest ways that America did this was through their overwhelming support for the troops. During the War, many organizations cropped up to lend support to the soldiers in Iraq. These groups, including Operation Eagle out of Shrewsbury, Ma, collected valuable items that the troops needed in the Iraqi desert. Operation Eagle and other programs such as Operation Yellow Ribbon, also began to cultivate support in the local school systems. A volunteer for Operation Yellow Ribbon supports this argument saying that, "the first reason, the first time I came out, the reason was, is, because of what happened to the Vietnam vets. I felt that they were treated so badly and they fought for their country and they were treated so bad that I tried to make up for it in this way…"(Lembke, 23). This quote shows how America progressed from the past by treating our Gulf War veterans with honor and respect. The memory, that until that point had been suppressed by the American conscience, was now being confronted by the community in an effort to move beyond the ghost of Vietnam. The yellow ribbon campaign was another effort to show the troops that America was remembering their sacrifice and commitment to the country. Diane Pillari, a Vietnam-era Army veteran, was asked about the symbolic nature of the Yellow Ribbon Program; "as I recall the yellow ribbon program was a "remembrance"-yellow connotates "remembrance" so this was in remembrance of don't let this become another Vietnam relative to our involvement and a remembrance to embrace our troops who had to be there. At all times the troops (Gulf War) there knew they were supported by the American people, very different than the troops in Vietnam"(Personal Interview, Pillari). Letter writing was also a significant morale booster for the Gulf War troops and was another source of moral support for the soldiers. In a 1990 Newsweek article, John Ficara writes that "mail alone cannot neutralize the Vietnam syndrome, but it helps"(Ficara). In the same article, Marine Staff Sgt. William Fitzgerald recalls that when "{I} joined the corps 11 years ago {I} heard Viet vets telling horror stories all the time. They'd get letters from home, sure, but the media, the war protestors, even some of the politicians were telling them they were doing the wrong thing, they were murderers, they were on their own"(ibid). The mail in the Gulf War had a much different effect on the soldiers than the Vietnam veterans. They knew that when they returned home they would not face the demeaning treatment their elders had. This was a comforting feeling for troops because, as previously demonstrated, the GIs in the Gulf War had very profound fears regarding their return as a result of the Vietnam experience. Letter writing was another way to show support for the troops, indicating that their experience would be different than that of the Vietnam veterans. The letters soothed any fears the Gulf war troops may have had regarding their support, putting the Vietnam demon to rest. During the Gulf War, there was a large contingent of supporters who were committed to its cause. Naturally, not every American was a supporter of the War. Many Americans protested against the War, but these protests were different from the anti-war protests of the Vietnam era. The rallies (Gulf War) were a show of support for the soldiers, not a cry against them. During Vietnam, the protests were filled with anti-soldier sentiment; making the veterans the enemies. However, with the onset of the Gulf War, protests were approached in a different manner . Soldiers were perceived as the victims and the protests were essentially rallies for the soldiers rather than against them. A Newsweek article from 1991 expresses this idea nicely; "Vietnam-era protests often were directed at the soldiers themselves, revealing an ugly streak of elitism at best; this year's demonstrations see the GIs as victims, 'You won't see protesters spitting on soldiers as they come off the plane,' predicted Greg Sommers, director of Fayetteville, N.C., branch of Quaker House, a pacifist organization"(Adler). The last quote is especially powerful because it shows both America's awareness of the abuse many veterans received and how the protesters would like to approach things differently this time around. Again, this illustrates how the memory of Vietnam shaped the behavior of the Gulf War; unwilling to make the same mistakes twice, the community has stored those ugly memories, using them to build constructive support. As previously mentioned, some of the harshest treatment and criticism of the Vietnam veterans came from older veterans of foreign wars. This alienated the veterans and caused many to doubt themselves; Ernie DiRocco, a Vietnam veteran, explains the treatment he received; "when people protested against the war, they'd take it out on guys coming back from Vietnam just because we were the most visible…you just shrank back into the woodwork"(Sabar). However, the Vietnam veterans made sure that the Gulf War troops were not subjected to the same treatment as they; "the Gulf War became a rallying point, even an obsession, for DiRocco and many other Vietnam veterans, who wanted to make sure that soldiers there (Gulf) didn't get the same reception at home that they did"(Sabar). The memories of many Vietnam veterans were vivid, compelling them to support their fellow veterans, providing a much different experience than they discovered at home. The past haunted the veterans, driving them to overcome their fears and uniting them as they welcomed America's heroes. As the troops returned home from their triumphant effort in Iraq, they were welcomed back, eager for their country's embrace. They got the treatment that the Vietnam veterans only dreamed of; " the brass bands, speeches, and ticker tape are a far cry from the shame and silence that greeted Vietnam veterans, who came home feeling they had no choice but to slink back into the 'world'"(Cloud). America was united as our heroes were welcomed home. Overall, the experience served as a catharsis, allowing the memory of a disastrous war to fade. Many Vietnam vets looked at the Gulf War troops with envy, wishing their country had done the same for them. The word "veteran" shed its negative connotation, serving as a source of pride for the Gulf War troops. In many ways, the victory in the Gulf redeemed the Vietnam vets and helped to soften the blow they received with their humiliating defeat. In some respects, the homecoming parades intended for the Gulf War veterans were also a turning point for the Vietnam veterans. Finally, they could begin to leave the past behind; "now these people (Gulf War vets) are going to have a hero's welcome. It may even help the Vietnam guys lose that feeling of shame that was thrust on them"(Shribman). While the victory in Iraq may have been earned by the Gulf War troops; its glory was shared with the Vietnam veterans, helping them to rid themselves of the Vietnam syndrome.

After presenting the data, there is no doubt that the Vietnam experience had a profound impact on the Gulf War. Upon their arrival in the Persian Gulf, the fear of the Gulf War troops was evident as a direct result of the harassment suffered at home by many Vietnam veterans. During the war, support groups used the memory of the Vietnam experience to fuel their support for the Gulf War soldiers. The wondrous return home that the troops received after their victory of the Gulf was a far cry from the Vietnam reception. America wanted to learn from its mistakes, using their national memory to begin the healing process that would put the pain behind them. The politics of yesterday helped to change the events of the present; for America, Vietnam served as an example of what not to do during the Gulf War. The government and the community joined together in the learning process; and in doing so, made sure their country remained unified throughout the War. The data effectively compliments the framework provided by Meta Mendel-Reyes because the recovering of national memories helped push the country towards progress. Although Mendel-Reyes is writing about reclaiming democracy, her framework of analysis can be applied to this case. Mendel-Reyes poses the question to her readers: what is the national memory of the sixties and why does it matter to us? (Mendel-Reyes). The national memory is so important because it helps America to better understand the current events of today, shaping our views of a new and improved country. The memory should often be recalled as it allows the nation to learn from its mistakes. Taken in this context, the effect of Vietnam on the Gulf War fits the theoretical framework of Mendel-Reyes perfectly; recovering the memory caused a pivotal recovery for the nation.

The legacy of Vietnam continues to live, propelling the country to look beyond its dark past into a bright future. The Vietnam experience, particularly the treatment of veterans upon their return home, has cultivated a remembrance within the country, allowing it to learn from their mistakes, while forgiving its heroes. With the inception of the Gulf War, the legacy of Vietnam burned within the American conscience, shaping the behavior of a nation that wished to remain unified rather than divided. The effects of Vietnam were especially evident regarding the numerous support outlets provided by the American community, something the Vietnam vets longed to have during their time. America was determined to get things right the second time and succeeded, treating their GIs with deserved respect and dignity. Additionally, the incredible reception given to the Gulf War troops catalyzed the Vietnam veterans' recovering process, showing them that the nation had learned from its mistakes. For the Vietnam veterans, the victory was bitter-sweet; although they would have loved the acceptance that the Gulf War troops had received, they shared in the victory themselves, putting their hearts and minds to rest. The Gulf War exorcised the demon that was Vietnam.

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