"Dwight Stewart" wrote in message
ink.net...
"Roger Gt" wrote:

(snip) The Anti war movement attacked the
Veterans when they returned and ridiculed
them. (snip)


That's a myth, Roger. Soldiers heading for Vietnam flew out on military
aircraft departing from military bases and returned from Vietnam on
military
aircraft landing at military bases. The soldiers returning from Vietnam
were
very rarely close enough to civilian demonstrators to even be attacked or
ridiculed. I joined the military in 1970 and traveled, in uniform,
throughout the country to various training facilities that year. I was
never
attacked or ridiculed. Instead, the vast majority, in all age groups, were
friendly to me and respectful of the job our military was doing. Americans
had doubts about that war, but it was not directed towards the soldiers.

I don't doubt that the majority were polite and respectful. It is in the
nature of most patriotic Americans to respect the Military service, with
many being drafted and understanding the nature of the task!
And I am glad you had it easy, there was no excuse for the unruly behavior.

BUT 'This' MYTH I saw myself, watched repeated and got involved in breaking
up a few or the attacks!
They did not occur at return points for the military, but at schools when
the Vets would enroll and attend, and sometimes in other groups when some
one identified a member of the military in the immediate area. Sometimes it
was verbal, but I saw at least twenty fist fights. The worst one was when a
gang of about fifty demonstrators tried to prevent an ex Marine from going
to class because the demonstration was "shutting down" the school.. It was
only heated discussion, until some jackass decided that since the Jar-Head
wouldn't do what they told him they would restrain him. He was gentle, no
fatalities, fifteen taken for medical attention. NEVER JUMP a mud Marine!
The crowd scattered when he started breaking bones. Arms and Collar bones
break pretty easily and put unruly people down. Since I was older and
dressed in a suit I was identified as staff, funny, since I was only a
sophomore, but I came over to the school from work, I had to wear a suit in
my job! Because of this I helped cool off some other confrontations that
might have escalated into violence. Couldn't get the police or school
security to do anything, they got scarce at the sight of a crowd!

My brother told me that while he was flying home (civilian air lines) he
encountered people who spit on him. He avoided them. He returned to Vietnam
for another tour before he got out.

(snip) Politicians should never be allowed
near a battle field unless in Chains!

And that sentence shows your lack of understanding of the wider
implications of that war. We had just ended a major conflict with the
Chinese in Korea just a few years earlier - a conflict we didn't win. That
same China now had nuclear weapons, an even larger military, and was not
exactly thrilled that we attacking another of it's neighbors. A major
escalation of the Vietnam war, which would have been necessary to win it,
would have certainly caused China to openly join the conflict, with
potentially devastating results for this country. Our government did the
best it could do, within the constraints of the realities of the times.

Never jump to conclusions without all the facts. There may be nothing there
to land on.
The theory that China would have joined the war was never a factor, except
in the eyes of the peaceniks since the Chinese WERE FINANCING the war!!!
They also supplied most of the Munitions used! They had whole divisions in
Korea! There were Chinese Military Advisors we captured and released in the
Field. The Marines were ordered NOT to take Chinese prisoners.

BUT civilian politicos are not Generals, lacking the training and skills
required in warfare, and often have wrong headed motivations. I am very
well educated on the political scene of the time, and My job was to design
weapons systems for use in the battle, or I would have been in the military
then. I had been out ten years when the heavy fighting began. (reserves)

As for the soldiers, many of the things they were complaining about (the
operation tempo, shortages of food and supplies, and so on) were the
result
of faults within the military, not the civilian government. And, since the
civilian government rarely selected the daily targets for patrols or
missions (the civilian government set the wider strategic goals, leaving
the
daily activities to the military leaders there), many of the screw-ups in
those daily activities were the result of military leaders also. In the
end,
the military just used the civilian government as a convenient scapegoat
to
hide their own screw-ups and failures whenever possible.

There was a change of our tactics due to the change in the warfare tactics
used in Vietnam, no question! And in all wars there are screw-ups. Some of
which cause casualties. BUT interference by non military government
personal was a major factor in the length of the conflict and the level of
losses we sustained.

All Soldiers complain, even when there is nothing real to complain about.
It's the nature of the Job and the pressure on the individual.

Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/