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.

 

Introduction