US servicemen returning home from Vietnam were treated with hostility, discrimination, and rejection.
Many returning servicemen did not tell anyone they were veterans because of discrimination. Discrimination might come from his girlfriend (she would leave him), an employer (would not hire him or fire him), a neighbor (might trash his front yard), a school instructor (teacher) (purposely give him a lower grade), or a family member (would criticise him, or belittle him), when eating out in a restaurant and a young man had a crew cut (short hair) people knew he was in the military, and he would not get served, the waitress would be too busy of course, but all the "long hairs" got served. In 1974 (?) the U.S. Government passed a federal law specifically prohibiting discrimination against a Vietnam Veteran.
Vietnam, like the US Civil War before it (1861-1865), divided families (arguing amongst themselves), and physically divided the families when the father, husband, son, brother, uncle, nephew, etc. was physically removed from the household for military service, then, often, off to Vietnam. If the "removed" family member became a casualty in the war, then the family suffered even more.
Having permanently handicapped Fathers, Sons, Nephews, Cousins, Brothers, Husbands, and friends, etc. or dead Fathers, Sons, Nephews, Cousins, Brothers, Husbands, and friends; tore families apart...by arguing about the war...and who was responsible for their particular families tragedy.
Agent Orange
Apart from the psychological damage inflicted on the veterans, by the late 1970s many believed they had also been poisoned while fighting in Vietnam. Between 1962 and 1971 over 17 million gallons of herbicide and insecticide were used in Vietnam to clear vegetation so the Viet Cong had nowhere to hide. Agent Orange was only one of the many insecticides used but that name has come to represent them all. This action was known as Operation Ranch Hand. During Ranch Hand, American and Australian soldiers were exposed to the chemicals.
In 1978 a report appeared that linked Agent Orange with cancers of the soft tissues and blood, birth defects in children born to those exposed to the herbicide and toxic brain dysfunction. All three of these disorders were common enough among Vietnam veterans that the State Veterans Associations in Australia began to ask for a government inquiry to establish a link between Agent Orange and the large numbers of veterans with disabilities.
The legacy of the Vietnam War
The legacy of the Vietnam War among Vietnam veterans and their families was long looked upon as something that should not be talked about. The higher rates of birth defects and miscarriages, depression, suicide, cancers, Alcoholism and the many other physical effects of herbicide poisoning were all ignored for a long time. Both the war and its consequences on those who fought in it were pushed to the back of the national conscience. Australian society has been mostly unwilling to acknowledge what took place in Vietnam.
Each veteran's experience in Vietnam was, of course, different and it is difficult for anyone who was not there to truly understand what they went through.
Psychological EffectsThe return home
After the war was over and the Australian troops came home, they were angry and confused by the reaction they met. The anti-war protests led to many shunning the soldiers. They were not welcomed home as they had expected they would be. Many veterans felt like they were being blamed for the war - instead of the government.
Unlike returning soldiers from previous wars that century, they were not victorious and there was no big welcome home parade for them. They also came home suffering effects of war that went beyond what had been suffered by veterans from the First and Second World Wars - no one knew how to deal with it. They did not receive an official 'Welcome Home' parade until 1987 - nearly 20 years after the last soldiers left Vietnam. Not surprisingly, many veterans felt their service to their country went unrecognised and un-thanked.
The psychological effects of the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was so unlike any other war Australian soldiers had fought in that no one really knew how to deal with the after effects of it. Vietnam was not a war fought on open fronts, with areas of safety to which they could retreat. There had been nowhere to relax in Vietnam, the soldiers had been constantly on alert for the enemy. What made it worse, was that they did not always know who the enemy was. It could be the women and children they thought they were protecting. The result of this was that many Vietnam veterans suffered psychological damage in the form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Studies have proven that compared with other men of that generation Vietnam veterans have higher rates of psychiatric disorders, Heart disease, alcoholism and alcohol-related diseases, as well as a higher suicide rate among their families. Many Veterans just could not cope with the things they had seen and the stress they had lived under for two years. Many veterans also could not understand why they were feeling the way they were. In many cases, PTSD was not diagnosed until years later. By that time a lot of damage had been done, both to the veterans and their families. A lot of the men became emotionally detached from their lives. They felt they could not love or show affection to their wives and children, even years after the war was over.
Another of the reasons that many veterans found it hard to settle back into their lives in Australia was the selective nature of the National Service programme. Unlike the world wars where all the young men form an age group had gone off to fight together, the National Service Act (1964) only called up men selectively based on their birthday. This meant that while some young men were fighting in Vietnam, the rest of their peer group was getting on with their lives and careers in Australia. Vietnam veterans returned home to find that life had moved on without them and that they had essentially lost two years of their lives. It also meant that only a very small section of Australian society really understood what the Veterans had gone through. The Vietnam War had become so hated in Australia that no one wanted to talk about it when the Veterans came home - not many people could, or tried to, understand the extreme circumstances those young men had lived through for two years.
Losing a loved one thru death/MIA/POW.
Having a loved one handicapped for life (e.g. amputee, wheel chair, etc.).
Turning down offers of home buying, relocations, careers, marriages, children, college, etc. due to the uncertainty of the draft (not knowing when "your number is going to be called").
Anger, when their sons, fathers, and husbands, brothers, etc. were drafted.
Even a Spartan Mother or Spartan Wife suffered when their Son or Husband was killed or maimed in war. War is not new; neither is suffering.
They were drafted.
supplies and soldiers were easier to move by railroad during the war
About 58,209 U.S. military service people died in the Vietnam War. About 645,000 Americans died during the Civil War fought in the U.S.
By 1967, most American students did not favor U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. There were many demonstrations taking place against the war. Soldiers coming home from the war were not greeted warmly.
At least 153,303 were wounded seriously enough to require hospitalization. Add to that the 58,152 that were wounded and died and you have 211,455. This does not include the number wounded, treated in the field and returned to duty.
Well, a lot of them died.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
They just did their duty, and discharged; being as how they had no say in the matter.
In America. the American soldiers? No. In Vietnam - the Vietnamese Viet-Cong? Yes.
To remember those lost in the Vietnam War, you can participate in memorial events or ceremonies dedicated to honoring veterans and fallen soldiers. Visit war memorials or pay your respects at veterans' cemeteries. Educate yourself about the war and its impact by reading books, watching documentaries, or speaking to veterans and their families to gain a deeper understanding of their sacrifice.
Division.
The Vietnam war lasted twenty years from 1955 to 1975. Many children were orphaned and families were uprooted and separated. Citizens of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia were adopted by American citizens or immigrated to the United States.
no
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Approximately 2,594,000 US Servicemen served in the Vietnam War.
2000 soldiers
Rejection.