I served as well- a long time ago when things were very different:
- I did not volunteer, I enlisted in the Navy with my draft notice folded neatly in my back pocket. I ended up in VietNam anyway.
- The nation then was willing to take its angst and ambiguity about the war out on those of us who fought in VietNam. I had people spit on me and call me all kinds of names. My girlfriend had found another guy while I was gone "killing babies (her words exactly) and no father wanted his daughter dating a sailor- especially in cities where there was a navy base.
- The little shed by the road outside Long Beach Naval Station where sailors used to get a ride to town during WW2 was full of cobwebs. If you stopped there hoping for a ride, people would slow down to throw things at you.
Today it is more complicated - and in my opinion much worse. At one end of the spectrum, people offer their first class seats and buy meals for people in uniform. If there is a soldier on a flight, the crew says thank you. I am sometimes uncomfortable about how over the top it can get. Especially since it all changes when the uniform comes off.
The Veteran's Center where I volunteer is full of men and women who are invisible based on their need for basic services. As sad and angry as I was when I came back- 19 and pretty screwed up- I think that the invisibility of today's veterans is much worse than the active rejection of the VietNam era. No one wants to be invisible- especially those who can barely see themselves. It took me years to get my shit together but I was lucky enough not to fall off the grid. For these men and women, the climb back is much much harder. And it is our national shame that we tolerate it.
I am one of the lucky ones... and I still occasionally wake up at 2AM in a cold sweat.
Veteran tribute
