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I served in the Army from 1968 to 1972 and there is no doubt that many Soldiers, Sailors and Marines returning from VietNam were treated poorly compared to the way servicemen returning after WWII were treated. In reality, the veterans of the Korean War were ignored too.

However, I believe many of the stories regarding servicemen being "spit on" are grossly exaggerated. Most of the "war protesters" of that era wouldn't have the guts to spit on a serviceman. Servicemen were called "Baby Killers" after the Mai Lai incident, but hardly ever to their face.

I found that many of us were treated pretty good during those war years. While stationed at Fort Devens, MA, I'd make the trip into Boston and visit Boston Garden and get into Hockey games for free when dressed in uniform. On one occasion, a flight attendant moved my seat up to first class because I was in uniform and in an arm cast.

There were no parades and most men who served during those years did their duty and returned to civilian life, got married and had families.

Like the stories of VietNam veterans coming home and turning into malcontented freaks and druggies, most of the stories about those same veterans being treated like crap are over sold.

I served those four years here in the States and only speak for myself and what I saw going on with the men I served with and those who were in combat in VietNam. Two men I knew gave their lives there and what does bother me more than anything is that I feel they gave their lives for nothing accomplished.

Most of the "war protesters" of that era wouldn't have the guts to spit on a serviceman.

I lived in Chicago and worked in the Loop starting in 1970. My job required that I wear a suit and I of course had short hair. The day of Kent State I believe it was May 7, I was on Michigan Avenue and kids from Roosevelt University poured onto the street. I had no idea what was up -- they were mad and in an uproar. They singled me out and a cop had to pull me away from the confrontation.

The cops took the brunt of the abuse -- they had sh** thrown at them and were spit at and pushed and shoved. The Democratic Convention riots of 1968 caused Chicago PD to very gentle with the protestors.

"Two men I knew gave their lives there and what does bother me more
than anything is that I feel they gave their lives for nothing accomplished."

I won't presume to speculate on that (especially as I was too young
to have served).
But I suspect that photos like the first one in the linked thread makes
some Vietnam Communists wonder if they actually won the conflict:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1622794/posts

And I'm not any sort of Bill Gates fan...after having to reboot after
about a thousand freezes of my PCs.

"Most of the "war protesters" of that era wouldn't have the guts to spit on a serviceman. Servicemen were called "Baby Killers" after the Mai Lai incident, but hardly ever to their face."

While not in the armed services at that time, I WAS in high school ROTC and was the target of several epithets including "baby killer" in 1971. Ironically I had never fired a shot in anger at that time. Another story is from a guy I served with while in VA-146, he told me of pulling back into the San Francisco Bay after deployment to Viet Nam in 1970 and while passing under the Golden Gate Bridge, he and several others were manning the rail in their dress whites. The anti-war protestors managed to crowd the rails on the Golden Gate bridge with their anti-war banners and throw paint and piss balloons at the sailors, I guess they were "gutsy enough" due to the distance. There were a few dress white uniforms ruined and the flight deck needed a major scrub down. He also told me that when they had left to deploy to Viet Nam several small boats tried to block the way of the USS Enterprise (CVN-65). The Captain gave orders for "Full Speed Ahead" after warning the small boats to give way. He said it was hilarious to see the smaller vessels scatter to avoid being run over by 90,000 tons of diplomacy.

As a side note, most of the anti-war losers I went to high school with dropped from sight and as far as I know faded away.