"Roger Gt" wrote:

(snip) 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. (snip)


Sorry, I don't buy that either. I've been a veteran for 30 years and my
wife is a disabled veteran. We've attended school with many veterans, attend
veterans events throughout each year, and both have been members of veterans
organizations for at least the last 20 years. Throughout all that, we've
never met a veteran yet who has said he or she personally was spit on or
attacked. Instead, these claims most often come from those who were not
directly involved with the military at the time, and almost always involve a
third party ("I knew a guy who said..."). This is the stuff myths, not
facts, are made of.


(snip) I saw myself, watched repeated
and got involved in breaking up a few
or the attacks! 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. (snip)


When and where was this? A violent incident like that (fifteen injured,
broken bones, and so on) should easily be verifiable through newspaper
accounts of the time.


My brother told me that while he was flying
home (civilian air lines) he encountered
people who spit on him. (snip)


Really? Which civilian airlines flew into the Vietnam war zone? Which
airlines allowed passengers to spit on other passengers?


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!!! (snip)


The possibility of China openingly joining the conflict was a major factor
in decision making of the time. China was obviously supporting the North
Vietnamese, but that is vastly different from what I said ("an esculation of
the conflict would have caused China to *openly join* the conflict"). An
open conflict with China would have led to several million Chinese soldiers
flooding into Vietnam to fight our soldiers directly, and may have even led
to nuclear warfare between China and the USA. Only a darn fool would have
ignored that possibility (yet some military leaders did actually want to
ignore the possibility - our civilian government was wise enough not to).


BUT civilian politicos are not Generals,
lacking the training and skills required
in warfare, and often have wrong
headed motivations. (snip)

BUT interference by non military
government personal was a major factor
in the length of the conflict and the level
of losses we sustained.


And Generals lack the knowledge and skills to judge the wider political
implications of a conflict. They also don't have a mandate from the people
of this country, a Constitutional mandate, to make decisions that could
impact all Americans. The elected President is Commander in Chief of the
military and I expect that Commander to command and the soldiers (including
Generals) to obey. Anyone who has a problem with that should consider
relocating to a country controlled by a military - this country and it's
military is controlled by an elected civilian government.


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

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