Famous Veteran: Oliver Stone USARMY

After Basic Training Stone landed in Vietnam on September 16, 1967, and was assigned to the 2nd Platoon of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th infantry, stationed near the Cambodian border. He was wounded twice in action, and was later transferred to 1st Cavalry and assigned to a Long Range Reconnaissance Platoon in April of 1968. It was during this time that he Juan Angel Elias, who would become the inspiration for Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe) in Platoon, which drew heavily on Stone's Vietnam experiences. Eventually Stone was discharged in November 1968 after 15 months of duty, and received two personal awards: the Bronze Star with "V" device, which he received after conducting "extraordinary acts of courage under fire," and a Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster.

I’ve known men who served in World War 1, World War 2 and the Korean War. Some were family. Some were friends. Others were neighbors and acquaintances who told me much about their experiences, because I was interested. With the exceptions of a couple of Navy officers who were in upper management in manufacturing and one of my own relatives (one who enlisted to be a painter), they were all conservative (meaning, in favor of national defense, in favor of traditional family, etc.). And there were many.

In the past, for most working class people, Democrat v. Republican was more about economic choices. Most voters of both parties were socially conservative where I grew up and worked through early adulthood. The movement of many toward social liberalism, drugs, communism, etc., started in most parts of our country in the late 1960s.

Of Vietnam veterans, I’ve known many who were conservative and many who were liberal.

Most, but not all of the conservatives had been in specialties that included combat patrols, ambushes, etc. They were light (meaning on foot). Several of them were in motor pool platoon in my National Guard combat unit long after their service in Vietnam. Two were medics who’d been on many patrols with infantry and engineers in Vietnam (who left their medical units to attach to us on field exercises). One was our unit first sergeant, and he’d been a tunnel rat (infantry).

Most of the liberals had been in specialties that were not as directly combat related, and most of them were liberals before they went to Vietnam. Most of liberals I knew were either drafted or had enlisted to get a specialty other than infantry, and most of them vowed to grow their hair long when discharged (very common to hear from some of them back then). I’ll remind you again, that I also knew many Vietnam veterans who were not infantry-related, but who were also quite conservative.

For many, there’s the gnawing realization that they exchanged a chunk of their lives that could have been happier and more productive for difficult daily routines, uncommon exhaustion and what seemed to like long periods of time away from home. The time really drags. And many lost their wives, not because the man changed. But because...well, because “Jody”...and the wife...and our messed up, anti-family social paradigm. [Some of you will known what I mean by Jody.]

And most veterans don’t like to talk about that. I don’t want to talk about it, either, to be honest. It’s humiliating and even unhealthy to even think about it much. It’s easier to joke about it and move on.

From what I’ve seen, the socio-political leanings of veterans depends much on the beliefs of most others in their generation or their own personal beliefs (family influences, personal influences, etc.). Each chooses his own way, usually in his teenage years.

I don’t know many of the younger veterans who were more recently mobilized to fight. There’s one, though. He was a combat engineer (combat type, not construction), went on patrols and was hit. There was a head injury, and there was another crippling injury. There’s physical pain, but he works full time and then some.

When his civilian coworkers and other acquaintances assert their stubborn assumption from the media that he’s mentally affected, he agrees with them. He gave up on trying to disagree or explain. He’s not mentally affected when talking to me, including when he talks about his tour. As with many enlisted-type veterans, lifelong civilians and others annoy him with their assumptions and focus on the morbid.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.