Did older veterans want to accept Vietnam veterans?

Answer 1

During the Vietnam War, WWII and Korean War veterans were in their 30's, 40's, and early 50's...they were fathers, NOT GRANDFATHER's, for the most part. Some of those WWII & Korean War veterans were members of the still existing veteran organizations, such as AMVETS, VFW, and the American Legion. The membership of those veteran groups were at a loss as to why "us 1960's generation men" couldn't defeat a bunch of enemy soldiers who weren't equipped with "aircraft carriers, battleships, submarines, cruisers, destroyers, (and in the beginning of the Vietnam war...tanks, big artillery, and jet aircraft)." The WWII and Korean War fellows had defeated much more powerful foes, therefore they were at a loss as to what was holding us up from defeating those communist guerillas? At the same time, drafted men were now protesting (draft dodgers, draft card burning, draft riots, etc.), this aspect of the war really angered the WWII & Korean War veterans; after all, MANY OF THEM HAD BEEN DRAFTED TOO during WWII & Korea. And "IF" there had been any draft dodging or draft card burning during their wars, it wasn't as advertised as much as it was during the Vietnam War.

So, to answer the question...it was very difficult, for a time, for Vietnam Veterans to gain membership in the above listed veteran organizations.

Pretty good answer except that during WWII, about two thirds who fought were drafted, during Vietnam two thirds were volunteers. The average number of days a WWII vet spent in combat during a year was 40. During Vietnam it was 240 due to the advent of the helicopter. Vietnam was a small unit war not greatly understood by either WWII veterans or the general public. US troops were not allowed to attack the enemy in their homeland as they had been in WWII. Then there was the attitude that they were somehow better because they enjoyed widespread public support in WWII, which Vietnam veterans did not. As a Vietnam vet, it was a sad commentary that the WWII vets at first turned their backs on their fellow vets, even though they qualified for membership according to the rules of those organizations at the time. Over the years many myths about Vietnam veterans have persisted. In spite of indifference from both the government and general public, the vast majority have gone on to lead productive lives. It may take another generation to sort out truth from myth. Contributing to many of the myths is the large number of phony Vietnam veterans who perpetuate these myths. The Census Bureau says of the 2.8 million in country veterans who served about 1,027,000 survive as of the 2000 Census. At the same time there are according to Census, 15 million claiming to be Vietnam veterans.