“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what

you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
This quote was part of the inaugural address of John F. Kennedy in 1961. I am
sure that he never realized the gravity of these words and the effect that they would have
on the generation of Americans that where growing up during this period of history.
Larry Burke, a Vietnam veteran, reflected on the impact that these words has on his life.
He recalls, “Those kinds of things just where so meaningful, I think, to people in my
generation. When we went to Vietnam and this is the ironic thing about it. I think one of
the things that a lot of people don’t understand is that when we went to Vietnam I was
willing to go. This was my thing for my country” (Burke, 19).
He and countless other young men volunteered for the Army in the early 1960’s.
These men where proud of their country and of its ideals. Like their fathers before them
they where ready and willing to defend the United States and the world from evil. This
time the evil that was threatening the world was the Communist regime in Northern
Vietnam. Mr. Burke remembers thinking, “We’re the ones that are going to go save the
world from Communism. We’re willing to make that commitment and proud to do it
(Burke, 19).
Burke who was interviewed in 2001 about his experiences in during the Vietnam
War relates that there was a very positive feeling in the United States in the early 1960’s
before the Vietnam War. He recalls, “I can remember the intense patriotism in the
country at that particular time. Total determination to win that war. Everybody was
united by it. Even as a child you could just sense that it was just a kind of glorious,
maybe not glorious. Maybe glorious is not the right word, but a satisfying feeling of
everybody just with the same determination going in the same direction. As a child, even
as a child, I could sense that and feel it. It’s something that has stuck with me. I don’t
want war to unite us like that again obviously, but it was great for the country to be that
unified” (Burke, 3).
The theme that united the country during this period in history was a
determination to rid the world of communism. Jed Proujansky another veteran comments
on the policy of the United States. He says, “In the 60's there was a growing trend
towards Communism and it was feared that if Vietnam went Communist, so would much
of S.E.Asia. (The Domino Theory). So we decided to make a stand and try and prevent
that trend from happening.” (Proujansky)
The government was determined to promote the war. Burke relates, “they were
issuing bumper stickers, “Win in Vietnam” Trying to mobilize public opinion behind the
war.” The public response was mixed. There were those that supported the quest to save
the world from communism and there were those that were bitterly opposed to going to
war from the start.
One group of people that went to war willingly was the soldiers. They viewed
themselves as heroes. As one veteran commented, “We’re the good guys. We’re the ones
who are going to go save the world from Communism. We’re willing to make that
commitment and proud to do it” (Burke, 19).
As another citizen put it, “So many young men served their country during this
was, without even really knowing why. Those who did not ask to go ther but did so
without protest, answering the call of their government. They Truly risked their life daily
for a year or more, hardly giving it a thought; most did what they were supposed to do,
and went on to the nest day!” (Betrayed).
One soldier, Donald Fredrick, was wounded early in the war and recalls giving a
speech in support of the war at a local high school while on leave. He said, “At that time
(Dec. 1966) I did not here of or see any anti-war activities. He also recalls heeding the
call to do something for his country that Kennedy so effectively delivered. He speaks for
many veterans when he says, “I was there and did my best and would have done the
same giving what had led up to the Vietnam War as a teenager.
Any doubt that the United States forced these first troops to fight is dispelled by
his pointed recollection. He says, “We did not tazke a lot of prodding, so don’t kid
yourselves. We went because we wanted to. Yes we were ignorant of the history of
Vietnam, had we had any knowledge of the Vietnameese we would have know a coundty
wo fought or was occupied by the Chinese for 12 hunders years were not going to be
vanquished by Uncle Sam’s boys in a short war which is the only kind America will fight
in…” (Frederick)
 A Long War
By the late 1960’s and early 1970’s the outlook of both the American public and
its troops in Vietnam was beginning to change. As one veteran said of the troops, “they
believed and they went. They didn’t know any better But they learned otherwise rather
quickly. The men who sent them there knew better along” (Rosenberg).
The jungles of Vietnam were brutal. Without going into the gory details it is
possible to gain a picture of the situation from the mouth of returning veterans. These
testimonies along with the picture of those long dead paint a grim and awesome picture
of war.
One veteran Arthur Varanelli relates, “I cannot forget my feelings about how we
actually fought the war on the eye to eye combat level. That’s where the action was. You
have to realize that the mission of any soldier is to win, and to win by any means”
(Varanelli). This testimony speaks volumes about the way that American troops gave
their all and many their lives for the cause.
This cause that was embraced by the first combat troops was beginning to wane
however. One veteran remembers, “…you could see the support for the war starting to
slip. You could get trainees who would do anything to get out of going. They’d come up
with the damndest stories like, “I’ve got a bad back.” You know all this kind of stuff to
keep from going” (Burke 94).
Another veteran recalls his experience in Vietnam. He says, “there was no sense
of winning. No territory was ever gained. The front line was the first strand of
concertina wire around your fire support base or the perimeter of your LZ or NP. You
were mortared and rocketed from any direction. An assault by sappers could happen at
any time. We all knew that the “pacification” campaign was a real joke. Some retarded
general decided we should give the local people jobs inside the wire. We really had the
“enemy “all around us.” (Varanelli).
“We really felt that we were not supposed to win, with all the conditions and
restrictions placed on the conduct of combat” (Varanelli). Another veteran recalls the
same sense of restriction in a sobering account of a massacre of U.S. troops on May of
1970. In his opinion the U.S. government was using their own troops as part of a
publicity campaign. He relates, “…the highly unusual order was given for everyone to
turn-in every weapon into the armory. Rumors were going around that we were going to
get “hit.” THAT NIGHT, at 11:35pm, we were! … you can’t imagine the scramble when
Charlie hit. They came under the wire, got in, burned some BRAND NEW helicopters
which had just “happened” to have been brought in earlier that day, killed at random, and
left” (Betrayed). This is crazy. How did things like this happen? In his opinion, which
was shared by many at this point in the government was betraying its own troops. He
states, “We were ALL set up, Someone in Washington needed casualties in Vietnam that
day, and were to be those casualties.”
Arthur Varanelli informs us, “Most of us realized soon after we arrived in country
that this was not war that could be won.” The sheer number of the foe that they faces and
the unconventional fighting practices also deflated the courage and fighting spirit of the
troops. Mr. Varanelli continues, “Stories of children throwing hand grenades into busses,
jeeps and trucks, were true. I recall a hand grenade tied to a mess hall tray at the 8/6th
ARTY which blew up at lunch, and blew away a lot of guys. The hand grenade did not
get there by itself… I feared the legendary Dong Nai Ladies Mortar Platoon, as did most
everyone else. All this stuff did not inspire confidence about our mission. Who was the
enemy?”
The recollection of veteran Andrew Alday is very close to the truth. He relates,
“what I did was serve my country in the noblest of ways, fighting a war that it did not
intend or knew how to win!” (Alday). The men in the trenches of Vietnam were heroes.
They did what their country asked them to do.
It is the opinion of some veterans like Arthur Varanelli that the governmental and
military leadership was the cause of the U.S. losing the war. He states, “the Military
leadership was a real contributing factor to the chaos… I was firmly convinced that the
Vietnam Was was just a career boost to many. The mistakes these people made were
crazy” (Varanelli). He concludes, “How can anyone win with such chaotic conditions.
They called it a war?”
After the War

Vietnam was taxing on the mind, will, emotions, and physical wellbeing of
American troops. What they experienced there could never prepare them for the
reception that awaited them on their return home however. The patriotism that was so
strong in the early years of the war had long since disappeared. Some Veterans have
never recovered from the horrible way that they were treated.
Larry Burke one veteran relates, “I think if a lot of Vietnam Veteran’s have trouble
adjusting and have problems underneath because ther’s still that seething resentment of
the fact that here I was going to do something heroic and these other people made me out
to be the bad guy. They were the ones that didn’t have the guts to go and do their job.”
Mr. Burke reflects the feelings of many returning veterans. They went to Vietnam at the
call of their country and never received the heroes welcome that all U.S. troops that serve
in combat deserve.
This is also the opinion of another veteran Arthur Varanelli who states, “I think if
ther’s bitterness among Vietnam War Veterans it’s not toward the Vietcong and the NVA
some just as it is toward the people back home who turned their heroic image of
themselves into something else” (Varanelli).
Many vets received harsh treatment by anti-war protestors that were taking out
their frustrations out on the veterans. This was often the result of miscommunications
between the front lines and the news media. The Vietnam War was the first war to be
seen on television and the images that people viewed on the news were often skewed
which turned public opinion away from the cause of the troops.
One veteran John Ratliff believes that part of the problem was a failure by the
government to support the troops on the home front. He tells us, “I think the Nixon
administration did much for the GIs in the field but was extremely negligent in explaining
their actions at home; at times they lied to the American public about the actions
occurring in Vietnam, and this really turned the public off concerning their feelings about
returning GIs” (Ratliff).
In response to a questionnaire by a student earlier this year one veteran Richard
Coogan from Philadelphia shed some light on what power the newsmen had in Vietnam.
He stated, “I also became more aware of the power the press had, specifically Walter
Cronkite who reported that the North Vietnamese 1968 Tet offensive was a catastrophe
for the USA. Tet 1968 was a catastrophic defeat for the Viet Cong and the North
Vietnamese. There were (40,000 wounded and 80,000 killed)but America did not know
this at the time and as a result of this demonstrators nad bogus information to further fuel
their rhetoric (protest speeches) (Coogan).
How many other news broadcasts and newspaper reports from the war were
bogus? This is a question that will probably never be answered. It does however shed
some light on the reasons for the vehement protests that occurred in such fury on
returning veterans.
The anti-war movement had been growing for a few years already. This was
something that not all veterans where exposed to. The story of one veteran Donald
Frederick is proof of this. He comments, “Having been out of the country and not
keeping up on the news and shutting out news of the war I had not been exposed to the
Anti- War Movement” (Frederick).
Understanding that the reactions of some of the protestors and anti-war
demonstrators were ignorant of the truth there was still much injustice committed at the
end of the war on returning veterans that was uncalled for. The veterans that experienced
combat in Vietnam were changed for life emotionally and physically. The experiences
that they received at the hand of the anti-war crowd are something that still affects many
veterans today. For example one veterans recalls “There was an organized attempt to
demonstrate these feelings against GI’s at airports and terminals…” (Ratliff). Their
bitterness and hate ran deep and in most cases was well justified.
One veteran named John Mendenhall recalls his shocking experience. He relates,
“I wasn't a protestor. I remember, though, getting off a plane at Seattle, drunk in a dress
uniform they'd given me that morning at Nha Trang, and being splattered by hot melted
plastic from a baby doll being burned with a Bernz-O-Matic hand torch by a girl with
braces and a screaming face red as a baby's in tantrum. She shook the burning doll at me.
I have the little round scars still. This was because, I assume, the girl wanted to teach me
a lesson about burning babies that would make me think twice before I burned any more.
I am completely to my core contemptuous of that girl, whoever she grew up to be, as well
as her compatriots, whoever they grew up to be…” (Mendenhall).
A direct result of the anti-war effort in the United States was that most returning
veterans found a deaf ear turned to the stories they wanted to tell. The general public had
created an image of Vietnam and nothing would change this. One civilian relates his
experiences with this. He tells us, “I hitchhiked around a lot in the late 60’s and ‘70’s.
Went across country quite a few times. By far the biggest chunk of people who picked
me up were Vietnam vets. The story was always the same – no one at home wanted to
hear what they had to say.” (Rosenburg).
His reasoning supports the claims of many veterans that were convinced that the
government was at fault in the failure of the Vietnam War. He continues, “More often
than not it was precisely because what they had to say was how horrible and senseless the
war was. The people at home KNEW that, of course, but they didn’t want to have to
confront it – for then they would have to confront that THEIR government was
responsible, and since this is SUPPOSED to be a democracy, that would mean that THEY
were responsible” (Rosenburg).
Another bitter veteran expounds further on the governments reasons for the war
and why many people didn’t want to hear the other side. It is his belief that the economy
of the United States depended on big business. A comfortable life was not something
many wanted to give up. He explains, “Some of us did this, only to find out that politics
and booming industries back home, and their CEO’s and friends, just had us all there, to
the extent of giving our life, so their economics could continue to boom: THAT GREAT
MILITARY MACHINE; that great money producing machine” (Betrayed).
These are very interesting commentaries. I am sure that they do not speak for all
of the American public in the 1970’s but it does explain why there was so much violence
and hate toward the returning veterans. Know one likes to be caught being in the wrong.
As a result of this mentality many returning vets did not receive the typical heroes
welcome that so many veterans have received in the history of this country. They left
heroes and returned failures. On veteran describes the effect that this had on them. An
emotional Larry Burke tells us, “I think if a lot of Vietnam Veteran’s have trouble
adjusting and have problems underneath because ther’s still that seething resentment of
the fact that here I was going to do something heroic and these other people made me out
to be the bad guy. They were the ones that didn’t have the guts to go and do their job.”
(Burke).
The importance of receiving a proud patriotic welcome is cited by Mr. Burke who
relates, “Psychologically when a soldier comes back from war ther’s got to be something
very soothing very healing about a parade where he walks down that street and gets the
acclaim for his heroic sacrifice. As Vietnam Veteran’s we never got that. I think it’s a
factor. I get emotional when I talk about that.” (Burke).
Not all veterans received the violent treatment that a lot of their fellows were
subjected to. Although they didn’t receive a hero’s welcome they were spared the
violence that left such deep scars on so many veterans. Larry Burke recalls, “You know
when I hear about that stuff about guys getting spit at I don’t understand that. Because if
somebody spit at me I would have just knocked the living shit out of him” (Burke).
America definitely did not effectively support its veterans on their return from the
battlefield. These men laid their lives on the line for their country. I received an email a
few days ago from Craig Hawley a Vietnam Veteran from Belding, Michigan. He doesn’t
recall a major adverse reaction on his return from Vietnam. He does however remember
that many veterans’ organizations discouraged returning vets to join. He recalls that at
the time many of the veterans in charge were World War II veterans and they felt that the
Vietnam Vet was not worthy of joining. This was a sad day in American history.
Not all veterans were mistreated on their return home. One veteran recalls, “This
country was nothing but swell to me when I returned.” (Coleman). This was not the rule
however. Although not all veterans experienced physical violence almost all of them felt
the negative feeling of the American public and the pressure that this failure was their
fault.

The Anti-War Story

A lot of the veterans that returned from Vietnam received less than respectful
treatment. Most veterans believe that they were not rewarded, in fact they were snubbed
by the very government that asked them to fight. The lingering bitterness that still resides
in a lot of veterans is either toward the government that betrayed them or the anti-war
effort that shed them in such a negative light.
This anti-war movement started in the final hours of the 1960’s. Support for the
war was becoming unpopular. This was partly a result of the graphic images that the
news media portrayed. The propaganda machine was put into use. Propaganda was not
something new it is used in either a positive or a negative manner in almost every war.
Another element that triggered the massive anti-war element was the persistence of those
that had been against the war all along.
One of these early protestors was Paul Rosenburg. He tells us, “I was against the
war from 1963, when I was 13…” (Rosenburg). He firmly believed that the U.S.
involvement in Vietnam was wrong from the start. He defends his protesting by firmly
stating that he was not angry with the veterans themselves. He recalls, “I never spit on
anyone who went to Vietnam, I did everything I could to stop them from going in the first
place. To stop them from being killed, to stop them from killing, to stop them from
fighting against everything our country I SUPPOSED to stand for.”
Another citizen relates a similar experience. He believes that he was just as
patriotic by protesting, as the veterans were that fought. He emphatically writes, “I stood
up to screaming patriots, and burned by draft card. I protested and marched, screamed
and cried, told my generation to stop, don’t go, this was wrong. I ended up a C.O.
(conscientious objector) doing 2 years of bedpans, not smoking dope in Canada. I think
that I , and those like me, are the true patriots, the true dissenters, who tried to stop 50,
000 of our generation from coming home in bags.”( Spatz). Another anti-war member
also recalls, “Being a member of the “other side” I can honestly say we HOPED we were
doing the right thing, as did you…We NEVER hated the vets. We were simply frustrated
that they seemingly gave-in so readily, to authoritarianism!” (Bozyk).
The opinion of many veterans is extremely different from the account of these
men. One veteran Ricky Vandal believes that the U.S. might have won the war if it had
not been for the anti-war movement. It is a sobering, thought provoking story. He tells
us, “In the book How We Won the War written by Giap, the military leader of the Viet
Cong, he says that the VC was pretty much defeated on the battle field and was about to
implode when the protests in the United States against the war started to give the VC the
idea that they could win the war after all. On the political front. All they had to do is
help the anti-war protesters win the argument. How did they do that? By killing as many
Americans as they could. These body bags were then used by the anti-war crowds as
reasons to cut and run.” (Vandal).
If this was indeed the strategy that the Viet Cong employed it worked. The anti-
war movement grew by leaps and bounds. The once peaceful protesters now resembled
an ugly mob. As Paul Rosenburg explains, “…the Anti-War movement got so big, and so
diverse that there were bound to be some who were out of control, along with the
government agents who intentionally did things to make us look bad, and to get us
fighting amongst ourselves” (Rosenburg).
Not all veterans supported the war however. Some returning veterans like former
presidential candidate John Kerry returned to the U.S. firmly against the war. According
to one citizen Kerry had the right and privilege to protest the war because he had been
there. He states, “I also respected Kerry’s decision to protest the war. In fact, I think that
returning vets had more right to do so than anyone” (holdfast). Many of his fellow
veterans, including the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth, did not agree with his protests.
The main reason many citizens and returning veterans did not like the protest of
Kerry was because of how he went about it. “Holdfast” continues, “The way in which
Kerry chose to protest however was despicable. Lying to Congress and slandering his
fellow vets in the process was about as low as you can get.” One veteran who refers to
himself as “Rick” relates, “I was serving in the Air Force at the time Sen. Kerry launched
his political career with his widely-publicized Senate testimony in 1971. My reactioni at
the time is the same as my gut feeling today. He cynically slandered an entire generation
of veterans – almost single handedly created the “baby-killer” meme that dogs us to this
day…” (Rick).
One of Kerry’s fellow veterans Richard O’Meara reacted in a similar manner. He
recalls, “In 1971 when John Kerry spoke out to America, labeling all Vietnam veterans as
thugs and murderers, I was shocked and almost brought to my knees, because even
though I had served at the same time and in the same unit, I had never witnessed or
participated in any of the events that the Senator had accused us of.” (O’ Meara).
Not all veterans protested the war in the same manner that Kerry did. Paul
Rosenburg believes that the reason the war finally ended was because so many veterans,
depressed and sick of the endless pointless fighting finally joined the anti-war effort. He
recalls, “The Army and Marines, and even, finally, the Air Force joined the anti-war
movement…The enlisted men went AWOL, deserted, refused to go into combat, wore
peace sighs, black armbands on Moratorium day – and even fragged their officers on
occasion. THEY were the reason the War finally ended” (Rosenburg).
 There were also portions of the anti-war crowd that did what they could to help
the returning veterans. According to Arthur Rosenburg, “The first rap groups that
allowed vets to get together and deal with their pain, the trauma of loss, their own
feelings, and the difficulty – often impossibility of communicating with others -- they
were formed by anti-war psychologists and ordinary vets” (Rosenburg).
Regardless, the remarks that Senator Kerry and others made have had a lasting
effect on the veterans of the Vietnam War. I believe that there were probably a lot of
protestors that peacefully protested the war for good reasons. Outbursts like his however,
have clouded their noble purpose forever labeling the anti-war movement as being cruel
heartless ignorant men and women who slapped the worthy veterans of the Vietnam War
in the face after they courageously and heroically fought for the freedom of the world.

Veterans Today
One question is constantly being evaluated is, what is the mental state of the
Vietnam Veterans of today. Never before and never again have U.S. soldiers been treated
in such a manner. It is clear from the testimony of many veterans that regardless of the
way they are treated today their bitterness still runs deep. As one of my education
professors used to remind us, a life time of injustice and oppression cannot be undone in
one day. It will take years for the veterans of Vietnam to forgive and forget the hurt that
they experienced from the hands of their government and the anti-war effort. Some vow
that they will never forget how they were treated.
Included in these ranks is the uncle of Juan Casillas who exclaims, “I was praised
because of my bravery and other such things, but for me, that was and is pure shit,
because that was decided my future, decided the future of my family. I now, am just a
veteran who never went to college, because some bastards decided that violence was the
best way to solve things” (Casillas). In his opinion the war scarred him for life.
Another veteran Paul Lavelle seems like he is at the end of his rope. He was one
of the veterans that received rough treatment on his return to the states and he is still
bitter about it. He writes, “Shortly after I came home, I was in a Bar… trying to wash it
away.. Someone hit me from behind … then Spit and called me Baby killer. The Pain
lingers.. just under the cuff …forever.. I will never be able to get out from the shadow…
for it has affected us all in ways that have no words … our hearts are broken, our minds
twisted … because we did what our country asked of us.”
He firmly believes that the debt will never be paid. Treating the veterans of
Vietnam well now will never make up for the mistreatment that occurred back then. He
continues, “People want it buried … don’t talk about it and it will go away … avoid him
… he’s a baby killer from Vietnam. We were shit on when we went over and we were
shit on when we came home.” Shockingly his bitterness runs very deep. It appears that
things have never changed for him and he doesn’t view life as being worth living. He
concludes, “Some days its almost worth taking the round…”(Lavelle).
Another veteran who is still irate at the way that he and his fellow veterans were
treated is Andrew Horne one of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. His words in
opposition to John Kerry’s presidential bid earlier this year are evidence of this fact. He
said, “Thirty-five years ago, many of us fell silent when we came back to the stain of
sewage that Mr. Kerry had thrown on us, and all of our colleagues who served over there.
I don’t intend to be silent today of ever again. Our young men and women who are
serving deserve no less” (Horne).
Not all veterans are bitter about their experiences after the war. One veteran
recalls his experiences with sadness and regret. In response to the question of how the
war changed him he responded, “How did the Vietnam war change me? I’, not sure that
the war itself changed me negatively at all; that great politician/ army-high-brass
structure did! It destroyed the blind loyalty I had towards this nation … I was betrayed
by MEN in government, and I will die KNOWING that. I’m only sorry that so many
others who were also betrayed had to die because of it” (Betrayed).
One thing that comes shining through the bitterness of the commentaries of a lot
of Vietnam veterans is the pride that they still hang on to. They are not ashamed of their
service to their country even though a lot of their fellow citizens were.
One such veteran Arthur Varanelli emphatically states, “I still feel proud that what
I did, I did very well. Once you become a soldier, you always remain one. My
decorations, having been hidden away for twenty six years, are now up on a wall. I have
deep anger and emotional scars and issues confronting me, and I live the war constantly
in my mind. In time, I will acquire the skills to deal with these things” (Varanelli). Here
is a veteran that is beginning to deal with the bitterness that is still residing within him.
He is no longer ashamed of being a Vietnam Vet.
Others echo his pride in their military service. On veteran writes, “I don’t let go of
Viet Nam. I think about it or some part of it every day. This is ok for me. I have no
nightmares, hatred, or regrets. Because I never did anything that I am ashamed of” (Fez).
“Fez” doesn’t harbor any bitterness. He continues, “I can’t hate. And I don’t regret
anything. I do know that me and the other Grunts have done thing that most people have
or never will do. This makes us very special. We have some thing that’s our very own.
Don’t try to forget that. It was a different life that’s all.” It is possible that “Fex” didn’t
experience any of the anti-war harassment that his fellow veterans did. What is clear
however is that he was not ashamed of his military service. This is something that I hope
one day all Vietnam veterans will be able to experience.
Larry Burke another veteran shares this pride, although he is very bitter about the
way he was treated. He relates, “I have a bitterness there that’s pretty deep. It really is.
It really does run deep. And I’ve thought about this alot…I sure as hell wouldn’t want to
wish the experience on anybody, and even though there are things about it that I wouldn’t
want to have to do again, I wouldn’t give that up for anything” (Burke).
As we observe the veterans of the Vietnam War today there is still a deep seated
bitterness and intense pride in the service that they gave to their country. I believe that
this is justified. There is however another wave of emotion among many Vietnam
Veterans. There is an understanding that this was a very difficult time in the history of
the United States and a hope that we can put the bad behind us.
One veteran sums up this attitude well in his commentary. He says, “I can clearly
see many of my fellow Vietnam veterans are still having trouble readjusting to the
WORLD. People ask me why! And all that I can think of is that our Vietnam vets fought
in a very unpopular war, during a time when the USA was going through a cultural
revolution” (Munger). He concludes, “What I do know for sure is that we must never
forget Vietnam but we must get on with our lives. We must get our families back and get
off this kick of poor me.” It is his opinion that the vets have cried enough and they need
to take it upon themselves to become productive members of society again.
 Others look at their experiences as something positive that they can use in the
instruction of their own children. One such veteran relates, “…the war lives on in my
everyday. It won’t go away. What was it for? It’s for me to use as a tool to teach my
children with. To teach them that a war like Vietnam does very little good. Win, Lose or
Draw people only suffer in the end” (Featherston).
Daniel Bozyk a protestor agrees with this testimony. He writes, “This thing we
call democracy is till an experiment … we must let go of the past and learn from it rather
than letting go of the past, learn nothing from it and condemn the future” (Bozyk).
Veteran Donald Fredrick has finally come to terms with the experiences of the
early 1970’s. He writes, “After all these years, two failed marriages and finally getting
help from the VA with lots of medication and counseling. I have now made it back to a
point where I can say yes I was there and did my best…” (Frederick). In his opinion the
cause of the Vietnam vet will never be heard. He concludes, “I would like to say to all on
both sides of the war it is over, except it and move on . Yes for us it is hard to swallow,
but nobody cares.” This skepticism is shared by veteran Alex Hernandez who states,
“Some day we will get the respect as soldiers that went into battle. But I doubt if any of
us will be alive to see it” (Hernandez).
We can learn a lot from our history. The experiences of the veterans of Vietnam
are something that we should reflect on over and over again. The United States is now at
war again. Many are comparing this war to the one that we fought in Vietnam so many
years ago. It is important that we realize the power that the government and the media
have in our society. We must remember that, “what makes a democracy wok is that
people are RESPONSIBLE for what their government does. They can’t be responsible if
they don’t know what’s going on. And you can’t understand the present if you don’t
understand the past” (Rosenburg).