Our Vietnam War veterans deserved a better homecoming. Their time has come, albeit more than 40 years late.
As part of a Maryland Public Television (MPT) documentary honoring Vietnam veterans, to be aired in May 2016, and a two-day salute at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium in June 2016, MPT has organized a statewide traveling exhibit, which I saw last week at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Easton. It was well worth the visit.
Though I never served in Vietnam, fulfilling my military obligation during that time in the U.S. Army Reserve, I was painfully aware of how those who served during this wildly unpopular war were treated when they returned home. Some citizens considered them baby-killers unworthy of respect. Some veterans were spat upon. Many veterans when they returned from Southeast Asia to the San Francisco airport quickly removed their uniforms and changed into civilian clothes for fear of being publicly chastised.
This ill treatment on the part of some of their fellow citizens still resonates in the quotes featured in the traveling exhibit.
Vietnam veterans deserved better. They still do.
The American public, disappointed and disillusioned about the conduct and purpose of the war, blamed the soldiers (a term I’m using to encompass members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force), instead of the policymakers. Soldiers fought and followed orders; they didn’t decide why it was considered necessary to engage in combat in a small Southeast Asian country riven by civil war, nor did they develop military strategy.
As in all American wars and conflicts, our Vietnam-era soldiers served well, often sacrificing their lives, if not suffering injuries that maimed them and scarred their psyches. Our nation failed to appreciate and applaud the valor and dedication of our Vietnam veterans. Their re-entry into post-combat life was far more difficult and complicated than it should have been. Our veterans often felt they had to hide their pride of service, inhibited in discussing their experiences.
Due primarily to the Vietnam War and roiling undercurrents of dissent disrupting our country, our veterans returned home to a country marked by sit-ins at colleges and universities, civil rights protest marches and an anti-establishment attitude permeating communities throughout the United States. Sexual and social taboos were questioned and flaunted. The decade of the 1960s was marked by three assassinations—President John F. Kennedy, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy—and a beleaguered President. Lyndon Baines Johnson, forsaking a reelection campaign in light of serious opposition in his party and the nation.
As I read about the eight veterans pictured and quoted in the MPT exhibit at the VFW Post, I felt drawn back to the late 1960s and early 1970s and many wrenching memories. Perhaps because of my age, perhaps because of Vietnam veterans with whom I served as an officer in the Maryland National Guard, I understood even more clearly the injustices and insults faced by our returning soldiers.
As I have learned, the Vietnam War generated some good. The American public realized that wartime veteran deserve commendation, not condemnation; they deserve to be treated as returning heroes, not pariahs chastised for policies for which they had no responsibility. From a military standpoint, civilian and uniformed leaders learned that participation in combat requires a robust force to achieve victory; half steps are dangerous and unsustainable.
I applaud Maryland Public Television for producing a documentary about Vietnam-era veterans (with many of their voices included), organizing a major weekend event to honor those who serve in a much-maligned war and assembling a statewide traveling exhibit.
Our Maryland veterans of combat in Southeast Asia finally are receiving favorable attention and long-overdue gratitude—from all of us.
Columnist Howard Freedlander retired in 2011 as Deputy State Treasurer of the State of Maryland. Previously, he was the executive officer of the Maryland National Guard. He also served as community editor for Chesapeake Publishing, lastly at the Queen Anne’s Record-Observer. In retirement, Howard serves on the boards of several non-profits on the Eastern Shore, Annapolis and Philadelphia.
Tilghman McCabe Jr. says
When I returned, an old lady stood right in front of me as I tried to pass a crowd of travelers in the airport. She spat on me and called me a baby killer. I’ve never forgotten it. I have veteran friends who had red paint thrown on them. So, my episode was certainly not the worst. It’s nice to be remembered. But it will never make up for the humiliation of serving one’s country and then becoming an outcast. I married late in life. And I have a son who was just commissioned an Ensign at the 2015 graduation from the US Naval Academy. He has my utmost respect and love. He needs a country who will stand behind him no matter what. I’d hate to think he’ll face the shame and humiliation of the Vietnam era. Thank God there are still men and women who desire to serve this country despite the vitriol, duplicity, corruption and politics. As Winston Churchill once stated, “democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the rest.” I guess that keeps us going.