
How The Homecoming Treatment of Vietnam Veterans Affected Today's
Veteran Generation

picture courtesy of www.geocities.com/~nam_album/
The purpose of this website is to shed some light on a very complicated
issue surrounding the Vietnam war: veteran harassment. Upon returning
home, many veterans faced unfair criticism at the hands of angry
protesters. This is not to say that every veteran was harassed. Many enjoyed peaceful returns to civilian
life. This website will serve as educational tool for people looking
to learn more about the issue, the site will also offer resources
for veterans of all types. Additionally, a connection will be
made between the harassment faced by Vietnam veterans and how
this affected the treatment of future veterans, namely, the Gulf
War veterans. Regarding the homecoming treatment of Vietnam veterans,
refer to my paper entitled, "Welcome Home Boys." This paper primarily focuses on the treatment of Vietnam veterans
upon their homecoming, attempting to dispel the myth that veteran
harassment was a glorified aspect of the war, built up throughout
the years. As a spin-off to this paper, I wrote a paper in another
class entitled "War...What is it Good For?" This paper used the former as a foundation while expanding the
boundaries to include the connection to the Gulf War homecoming.
Essentially, this paper argues that the treatment of Vietnam veterans
was a very sensitive issue for Gulf War veterans, hoping that
they did not suffer the same treatment as previous vets. Also,
the paper illustrates how the homefront in America mobilized support
groups because they were also conscious of the Vietnam stigma.
In an effort to reverse that, many people felt obligated to show
their support for the Gulf troops, because they were aware of
how the Vietnam vets were treated, not wanting to make the same
mistake twice. The paper makes great use of periodicals and newspapers
in attempting to capture the homefront sentiment during the Gulf
War. This paper is the foundation for the website, before progressing
any further, I strongly recommend you read it.
