Today?s generation of veterans return home to perhaps the most pro-veteran environment in decades. Many large companies actively recruit and employ veterans, and the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill provides benefits for higher education and vocational training to help veterans make the transition. Organizations such as the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion are entirely focused on veteran issues, and many other nonprofit organizations are assisting veterans in their transition to the civilian life.
Part of the motivation for this all-out effort may be guilt, as veterans have done what the vast majority of Americans did not want to do. But a more likely reason for the positive reception is that Americans feel embarrassed and guilty for how Vietnam veterans were treated when they returned home.
The coverage of Vietnam veterans in the history books, news media and movies almost unwaveringly emphasizes not only the fighting overseas and callous decisions by government leaders, but also the divisions on American soil. They portray the returning Vietnam veteran as an isolated individual who had only a fragile connection to the rest of American society.
Today?s military still lives in the shadow of the Vietnam War. The issues we confront today are legacies from Vietnam: how to successfully recruit and manage an all-volunteer force, wage counterinsurgency versus conventional warfare, mitigate collateral damage and civilian casualties, and the military?s relationship with the rest of American society.
The Vietnam War casts an equally large shadow over American society. The Vietnam War exposed underlying racial issues, whether the elite had to serve, the role of the media, and distrust toward government.
In my own interaction with veterans of different eras, I have found Vietnam veterans to always be the most understanding and sympathetic of the issues that younger veterans experience. These feelings are present on the national stage as well. Many of the biggest proponent of veterans? issues have been Vietnam-era veterans: Eric Shinseki, former Army chief of staff, currently serves as secretary of veterans affairs; Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, a former Marine Corps officer and secretary of the Navy, and a major proponent behind the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill; and Senator John McCain of Arizona, a former Navy pilot who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
This Veterans Day, most communities will focus their celebration on the recent veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. But it would be a travesty if there were not a full acknowledgment and appreciation of Vietnam-era veterans. Today?s veterans would face a much more challenging transition to civilian life without their experiences then or their efforts to help new veterans today.
Tim Hsia is pursuing a J.D./M.B.A. at Stanford. He is currently in the Army Reserves as an R.O.T.C. instructor at Santa Clara University, which offers training for Stanford cadets. The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense or the United States government.
Source: http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/did-vietnam-change-the-way-we-welcome-veterans-home/
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