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Even as unpopular and controversial as Iraq/Afghanistan wars were, they were clearly treated FAR better than those in Vietnam. Vietnam vets being spit at, yelled and screamed at, discriminated against, just treated like dog crap....even though ironically enough most Vietnam vets were drafted and didn't have a CHOICE whether they wanted to go or not. Yet very little if any of the same kind of crap happened to vets of Iraq/Afghanistan even as unpopular as they were and they weren't even drafted.
During the Vietnam era were people back then just that freaking stupid compared to people today?
I think because the treatment of Vietnam War vets disgusted us, and we decided to do better for the millenial generation much like everything for the milennial generation.
Vietnam vets being spit at, yelled and screamed at, discriminated against, just treated like dog crap.
As the war was being waged, it was becoming pretty clear to many that the U.S. was committing war crimes or such in general e.g. targeting civilians, massacres, fire-bombing large swathes of land, etc. Reporters took pictures of many atrocities. If war crimes are committed, someone committed it. While your nearest soldier/vet may be upstanding, some were not so innocent. The main controversy with Iraq/Afghanistan stems mainly whether they should have been invaded at all not so much how many war crimes are being committed daily. Additionally, in the Vietnam War the North Vietnamese/allies had a mass and cohesive national liberation ideology, not so much the case of the "insurgents" in Iraq and Afghanistan. So it would be much easier to see the U.S. as actively fighting against "freedom," with the soldiers as participants.
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even though ironically enough most Vietnam vets were drafted and didn't have a CHOICE whether they wanted to go or not.
Not saying it is easy, but could not one evade drafts or refuse induction?
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Yet very little if any of the same kind of crap happened to vets of Iraq/Afghanistan even as unpopular as they were and they weren't even drafted.
The U.S. military has learned much from Vietnam viz. keep P.R. tightly controlled. I mean I can think of quite a few atrocious pictures of Vietnamese being killed or mutilated; not so with Iraq/Afghanistan:
almost every picture or footage seen are those of happy soldiers with civilians and and the combat footage are of "precision" air strikes or whatever, with these you can't see people getting killed or mutilated or jungles being carpet-bombed; not having a conscripted army also makes for tighter P.R. control. Reporters are much more complacent with the military nowadays and war crimes are just isolated events exposed some years afterwards.
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During the Vietnam era were people back then just that freaking stupid compared to people today?
No, the times were different which gave people a different logic.
Even as unpopular and controversial as Iraq/Afghanistan wars were, they were clearly treated FAR better than those in Vietnam. Vietnam vets being spit at, yelled and screamed at, discriminated against, just treated like dog crap....even though ironically enough most Vietnam vets were drafted and didn't have a CHOICE whether they wanted to go or not. Yet very little if any of the same kind of crap happened to vets of Iraq/Afghanistan even as unpopular as they were and they weren't even drafted.
During the Vietnam era were people back then just that freaking stupid compared to people today?
9/11 was a bit different than a torpedo boat possibly shooting at a foreign destroyer off of the coast of the country they were sworn to protect, neither Iraq or especially Afghanistan was as unpopular as Vietnam.
As the story of the Vietnam generation became known everybody learned not to treat the soldiers as some were back then. But now that a new generation has matured who have no direct memory of either 9/11 or especially the Vietnam era we have some comparing the combat operations in Afghanistan to Vietnam. And our political rhetoric has changed from the odd proverbial bomb throwing muckraker to accusing political opponents of rape by the mainstream "pundit" class
Why were Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans treated much better than Vietnam war veterans?
....even though ironically enough most Vietnam vets were drafted and didn't have a CHOICE whether they wanted to go or not. Yet very little if any of the same kind of crap happened to vets of Iraq/Afghanistan even as unpopular as they were and they weren't even drafted.
During the Vietnam era were people back then just that freaking stupid compared to people today?
I can't answer your question, but, as you allude to, one great difference was imposition of the draft before and professional soldiery after, even though it is not clear what specific point you are trying to make in that regard.
In the Vietnam era, powerful people forcibly drafted young people into a war with no discernible purpose, it was a criminal imposition on their liberty and life, and a large swathe of the public reacted violently, to some extent justifiably, to some extent beyond the pale.
The main result of the war from that perspective was the end of the draft as a matter of policy.
Since 1973, the US has had a professional military by career choice. The few skirmishes in the 1980s and all post-Cold War wars have been waged by professional military personnel.
We, on US soil, can and do argue about the merits and demerits of these wars on foreign soil, but almost no one is protesting violently, whether it would be justifiable to some extent and beyond the pale to some extent.
Moral to the story: what powerful people do with their businesses is none of average people's business unless the former grossly and tangibly effect the life and liberty of the latter.
Humans complain too often simply as a matter of being human, it's what they do.
US policymakers craft policy such that a critical mass of people by and large have nothing substantial to complain about, at least not to the point of becoming justifiably violent.
As the war was being waged, it was becoming pretty clear to many that the U.S. was committing war crimes or such in general e.g. targeting civilians, massacres, fire-bombing large swathes of land, etc. Reporters took pictures of many atrocities. If war crimes are committed, someone committed it. While your nearest soldier/vet may be upstanding, some were not so innocent. The main controversy with Iraq/Afghanistan stems mainly whether they should have been invaded at all not so much how many war crimes are being committed daily. Additionally, in the Vietnam War the North Vietnamese/allies had a mass and cohesive national liberation ideology, not so much the case of the "insurgents" in Iraq and Afghanistan. So it would be much easier to see the U.S. as actively fighting against "freedom," with the soldiers as participants.
Actually it was the incorrect perception (continuing to be perpetuated somewhat by your example) that all returning GI's were "baby killers" in Vietnam. The press focused on what they perceived and labeled as atrocities, sometimes accurately and sometimes inaccurately, and by highly publicizing these events, exaggerating the events, or taking them out of context it became a representation that far exceeded it true rate of occurrence. "Fake news" existed even then.
It was unfair to those returning, you said some were not so innocent and the "nearest vet may be upstanding", I would take it even further - the overwhelming vast majority of returning GI's faught the war in a difficult environment in the most honorable and ethical fashion that they could. The overwhelming vast majority had no exposure or involvement in any atrocities. Most returning from the war actually didn't even see combat at all and served in a support role (they still served in a combat zone and still deserved praise).
No one ever yelled, spit or discriminated against me when I came back. This whole treatment issue I think was mostly a myth and an invention of Hollywood anti war films. I don’t doubt some vets may have been treated poorly but I think they were in the minority.
I received a generous Vietnam War bonus check from the state I lived in at the time. The federal government paid thousands of dollars to send me through university where I obtained a BA degree. I got a decent well paying job in the insurance industry.
No one ever yelled, spit or discriminated against me when I came back. This whole treatment issue I think was mostly a myth and an invention of Hollywood anti war films. I don’t doubt some vets may have been treated poorly but I think they were in the minority.
I received a generous Vietnam War bonus check from the state I lived in at the time. The federal government paid thousands of dollars to send me through university where I obtained a BA degree. I got a decent well paying job in the insurance industry.
I was going to add that - I think I remember reading somewhere that there is actually not one documented case of a returning vet being spit on or called "baby killer" upon return.
I remember reading any news stories of the times, in the 70s, and if there were any criminals that went on a shooting spree (yes they occured then as well) the press were quick to latch on to "he is a returning vietnam vet" as a potential reason. Rubbish.
I was too young to fight in the Vietnam War, but I did appreciate the returning veterans who had fought there. I think people who didn't enjoy the harsh way in which some Vietnam War veterans were treated made an effort not to allow that mistake to be repeated. That doesn't mean one needs to be favor of, say, the second Iraq war; but we should still honor those doing the fighting. It's the politicians who voted to fight a particular war that deserve the negative attitude.
I think it was the My Lai Massacre that turned our hearts against the Vietnam vets. Obviously, not all soldiers participated in the massacre, but the coverage of it painted American soldiers pretty badly.
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