50 years after Tet: can we now show appreciation to our Vietnam vets?

Elise Cooper writes at American Thinker

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Tet Offensive, in which the North Vietnamese orchestrated a massive coordinated attack throughout South Vietnam. A book out in paperback on May 8, entitled The Odyssey of Echo Company: The 1968 Tet Offensive and the Epic Battle to Survive the Vietnam War, takes readers on the journey of Stan Parker. Americans need to be reminded of soldiers like Parker who fought patriotically for this country.

It is a disgusting truth that

“The scariest part of his military career was coming home from Vietnam[.] … It is the hate they felt back home in the states that haunts these guys.” Even to this day, Parker cannot comprehend the reaction of his fellow Americans. “I did not know why they were so hostile. There was even a time we attended a White Sox baseball game and the crowd booed the guys there in wheelchairs. I thought how I had done my job, what was asked of me, and for some reason everyone is mad at us.

“Another incident occurred as I left the Oakland Army terminal. I felt as if I was walking down the jungle trail in Vietnam, unsure of what the next bend would bring. I knew how to defend myself over there, but not here at home. I was called a baby-killer and could do nothing about it. Why? Because we were cautioned numerous times to not get in a fight or we will be detained in the stockade.”

He expected the same scorn, disdain, and fear when coming home on leave from Afghanistan. “In late ’68, people were very hostile. I felt more at home in Vietnam than I did back home in Gary, Indiana. Neighbors would wave at you but didn’t come over to talk, because they didn’t want anyone to think that they were pro-military. Yet, decades later, returning from the War on Terror, I received a standing ovation on the plane and was offered a first-class seat. What a culture shock. It was very emotional for me. I did think, Where was this forty years before when I returned home from Vietnam? If one ounce of kindness had been displayed, then it would have made a big difference.”

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