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>Hi Joe and the rest, > >I served in Vietnam during 1969-70 and came home >excited to get on with life. I never joined the VFW >because I heard (while still in Vietnam) that they >were a bunch of old guys too self-absorbed to care >about us. We were issued some commemorative coins by >the top brass to celebrate our service with the 1st >Mar Div. My company Gunny jokingly told me that the >"coin" along with 50 cents would buy me a cup of >coffee. In other words, I should not have any >expectations about being warmly received when I got >back to the states. He was a lifer, but also a very >wise man. > >In fact, quite the opposite was true wherever I >travelled and wore my Marine uniform in public. I was >spit upon at LAX on my way to San Francisco and I was >treated rudely by practically everyone I met >(including candy vendor, bus driver, bartender, etc.). > Only person who treated me with respect was a young >Marine I met at LAX who (presumably) was soon to be on >his way to VN. We talked a few minutes and hopefully I >allayed some of his fears. > >As for any kind of recognition, what my Gunny said was >true. Only my family cared that I was home alive. In >the three months time I spent in California in my >hometown, no one outside of family said a word to me >about my service. I left there to get back into the >workplace and never returned. I won't name that >city/town. If you lived during that era and ignored >your returning military townspeople, then shame on >you. (If you're ignoring our returning >Iraq/Afghanistan vets, shame on you again.) > >I packed up my uniform and tried for 25 years to just >forget about it. Didn't work. Suffered from PTSD in >the early first 10 years. I sought Jesus and He saved >me and healed me (over time). > >Most people who think they know me well would say I'm >quite normal; however, I am STILL very sensitive to >what people say about the Vietnam era--I HATE the >"welcome home" BS we've gotten over the last several >years. It doesn't ring true. How can those words >make up for 30 years of neglect of a nation's >warriors? Answer: It can't. Only people who know >what that expression really means are current and >former military personnel who served overseas, I >gladly accept "welcome home" from them because it >means multiple things to us vets. It's a shared >bond/brotherhood. > >I'm not bitter. I've forgiven all who offended me. I >carry no weight from any of it. But I AM emotionally >scarred. I say that because it is a matter-of-fact >result of living my life. I don't care to show off >those scars in public. I'll be polite to those who >say, "welcome home" and I'll thank them because I >understand they don't know what else to say. > >Sorry kids who may be reading this. You simply CANNOT >understand unless you've walked a mile in a veteran's >shoes--and that isn't going to happen. You can't >understand what war (or its personal impact on your >life) is really about until you've joined the service >(after graduation from high school or college). > >Servicemen and women who haven't lived in a combat >zone cannot fathom it either. Sorry guys, I respect >you and I'm proud of you and your willingness to serve >your country, but it's true nonetheless. Not that I'd >wish life-in-a-war-zone on anyone, either. No one >knows what it's like until they've been there and done >that. > >I hold no animosity for old vets, but I'm content to >let the VFW die off/fade away with the last of the old >WW2 breed. > >Semper fi, > >Harry
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