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No one with money joins the army. Basically you have to be psychotic, desperate or stupid enough to believe patriotic hogwash. A lot is made about soldiers coming home and not fitting in: they didn't fit in before they left.
Vietnam was obviously unjust: it was mass murder on a grand scale: the war dragged on despite the fact it helped no one: only the poor and stupid ever got drafted: anyone else found a decent reason not to go.
Your statement was about as accurate and impressive as Val Kilmers.
Oh DEAR. I've been reading so many different forums and people lambasting liberals, and liberals saying everything that's wrong in the world is the conservatives' fault.
I'm a vet - not a vietnam vet. I've never taken a life, nor did I grow up in a blue-collar household. I'm the daughter of immigrant college professors who deeply believed in America and were profoundly grateful for the opportunities afforded them by this amazing Melting Pot.
I consider myself to be liberal, not leftist.
The vietnam vets I know (and I know many) are a cross-section of America. 3 million Americans over 15+ years were uprooted and sent to a country halfway around the world. There's no way to generalize 3 million Americans under ANY circumstances, and I'm incredibly offended by Mr. Kilmer's generalizations. It's a shame that anyone - actor, CEO, or truck driver feels that they can speak about a group of people that they really know nothing about.
I mean really...taking Mr. Kilmer's "logic" one step further, one could infer he thinks himself a better Jim Morrison than Jim Morrison, or a better porno star than John Holmes. Sadly, I will not be able to look at Mr. Kilmer in the same way ever again. If I watch a movie, I will be looking for the underlying arrogance that says he "knows" better than his subject.
It isn't very politically correct, and I guess Val is rather blunt, but would say that I basicly agree. If you classify 'poor' as crossing the 18 year threshhold, having poor job prospects, and your parents are bugging you for rent or to just get a life, and you really don't want to do McDonalds, then many if not most are 'poor'. 'Borderline criminal'? Well, many that I know who joined the National Guard or Military, and this doesn't just apply to the Vietnam war, had some scrapes with the law, mainly drugs or petty crimes.
I think you must be from that era to know what was really going on. During the Vietnam period jobs were scarce. About the time I graduated HS I had a friend who was working in a machine shop making $35 a week. I lived in Philadelphia and the major newspaper at the time was the Philadelphia Bulletin. All the jobs advertised in that paper during that time occupied one third of one page. There was two choices upon graduating HS, go on to college, which few could afford, or enlist. There were a lot of young men who enlisted and probably most were from poor to middle class families. What's wrong with that? We were patriotic in those days and joining the service was an almost expected thing to do anyway. I am not offended in anyway by saying I came from a poor family and enlisted in the Marine Corps because it was my duty to serve my country, secondly jobs were hard to find so it was a good time to do it. There was also training in the service as an alternative to college.
At the same time the courts were interested in rehabilitation more so than punishment and when a person came before a judge with a first time offense or minor crime they were given the option to enlist or do prison time. Most choose to enlist. The few I knew were grateful for the opportunity.
One friend whose father owned and operated a store was fairly well off. He put his oldest son through Dartmouth and he became a naval pilot. My friend decided to enlist with the rest of us instead of going to college.
The way I look at it, no matter who we were, or where we came from, we were doing our duty for our country, and that was sure a hell of lot better than those who moved to Canada.
Don
Good question. I guess when someone has access to a national spotlight on any level and then uses it to disparage something you or someone close to you did, you want to use a forum like this to "set the record straight."
Do You Agree With Actor Val Kilmer About Most Vietnam Vets?"I understand it more. It’s an actor’s job. A guy who’s lived through the horror of Vietnam has not spent his life preparing his mind for it. He’s some punk. Most guys were borderline criminal or poor, and that’s why they got sent to Vietnam. It was all the poor, wretched kids who got beat up by their dads, guys who didn’t get on the football team, couldn’t finagle a scholarship. They didn’t have the emotional equipment to handle that experience. But this is what an actor trains to do. I can more effectively represent that kid in Vietnam than a guy who was there."
That's one of the most disgusting things I've read. An actor is more suitable than a vet? Are f'ing kidding me?! An actor isn't qualified to wipe my arse as far as I'm concerned. He might be qualified to wipe all the BS from around his mouth from spewing out so much of it.
No one with money joins the army. Basically you have to be psychotic, desperate or stupid enough to believe patriotic hogwash. A lot is made about soldiers coming home and not fitting in: they didn't fit in before they left.
Vietnam was obviously unjust: it was mass murder on a grand scale: the war dragged on despite the fact it helped no one: only the poor and stupid ever got drafted: anyone else found a decent reason not to go.
That was an awesome statement. Did you learn that in a public school?
I come from a poor area: the only firm that ever comes to the schools to recruit 16 year olds is the army: it picks the people who have no chance of getting a job any other way.
The facts are quite simple: around a third of army recruits would be prime candidates for jail: psychological problems plus low education/skills. A further 50% are considered unsuitable for further training: this leaves around 17% of "normal " people: these are the U.S. military's own figures.
Stating facts seems to be a crime in America: Vietnam Vets were statistically poorer, less educated and black. They would be the kind of people you'd worry about moving next door to you.
Statistically the best way for a woman to get murdered is to marry a viet vet.
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