Posted on 02/04/2007 11:34:50 AM PST by Chi-townChief
The myth of the spat-upon Vietnam veteran refuses to die. Despite Jerry Lembcke's debunking book from 1998, Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam, and my best efforts to publicize his work, the press continues to repeat the fables as fact.
Earlier this month, Newsweek resuscitated the vet-spit myth in a dual profile of John McCain and Chuck Hagel. Newsweek reports: "Returning GIs were sometimes jeered and even spat upon in airports; they learned to change quickly into civilian clothes."
Nexis teems with such allegations of spat-upon vets and even includes testimonials by those who claim to have been gobbed upon. But Lembcke—a Vietnam vet himself—cites his own research and that of other academics to assert that he has never uncovered a single news story documenting such an incident.
Lembcke writes:
If spitting on veterans had occurred all that frequently, surely some veteran or soldier would have called it to the attention of the press at the time. … Indeed, we would imagine that news reporters would have been camping in the lobby of the San Francisco airport, cameras in hand, just waiting for a chance to record the real thing—if, that is, they had any reason to believe that such incidents might occur.
In researching the book, Lembcke found no news accounts or even claims from the late 1960s or early 1970s of vets getting spat at. He did, however, uncovered ample news stories about anti-war protesters receiving the saliva shower from anti-anti-war types.
Then, starting around 1980, members of the Vietnam War generation began sharing the tales, which Lembcke calls "urban myths." As with most urban myths, the details of the spat-upon vets vary slightly from telling to telling, while the basic story remains the same. The soiled soldier either slinks away or does nothing.
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
If it weren't for a cop who grabbed me by the arm and said "the punk ain't worth it" a SF hippie would have made it to the emergency room...then it would have made it into the press!!!!!
Newsweek is trying to protect Hillary Clinton, as I'm sure she spat on many American soldiers during the 1960s.
Utter B.S> and well-dissected here:
http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2007/02/why_is_jack_sha.html
A friend of mine is a Vietnam vet. He says he was spat upon when he returned to the United States via San Francisco.
OCD Spam Alert.
Oldie but goodie thread here:
The author of the "urban myth" view is Holy Cross professor and Vietnam Veteran Against The War alumni Jerry Lembcke.
email: jlembcke@holycross.edu
Taxman might have soemthing to say about this crap.
Next, 'Newspeak' will inform us the term 'baby killer' was never used. Refs unpersons rewrite fullwise.
Denial and Projection are 2 of the three core pillars on Liberal psychology (the third being Fear).
This is a perfect example... deny that leftists have ever spit on military people and then say that war supporters spit on leftists.
When dealing with Liberals you are dealing with 7th grade girls.
Sir, while I think your statement is accurate, I also think that it is unfair to 7th grade girls.
The 7th grade girls might not know better.
I returned from Vietnam on Labor Day Weekend, 1969 and processed out at Oakland, CA. I was part of the first wave of Nixon's troop reduction in Vietnam and we log-jammed the system. I was at Cam Rahn Bay for three days and then shipped over to Long Binh for a day or so to get on a flight out.
We arrived at Oakland Army Base on Friday of the Labor Day Weekend and the lifers there gave us a separation date of Tuesday (they were going on weekend leave) and we were just going to have to sit there for three days. A number of returnees began calling their Congressmen and within hours, all weekend leaves were cancelled!
Anyway, I and about twenty others made our way to Oakland Airport on Saturday evening, in new uniforms and damn happy to be "back in the world." People at the airport were friendly and there were several business men buying drinks at the bar. It was the same on the plane, as the stews brought us drinks paid for by passengers.
Shortly after I was home, the mayor of my city (Orange, CA) sent me a letter commending me for my service in Vietnam and asking me to come to the next city council meeting so that they could thank me in person.
No hippies, no spit, no insults, but that's not to say that it didn't happen to some.
From CBS Evening News, Dec 27, 1971
Abstract: (Studio) January, 1971, report on medics in Vietnam recalled; retd. medic featured.
REPORTER: Charles Collingwood
(Manhattan, Kansas) Delmar Pickett, Junior, hero, returns from Vietnam, finds US indifferent to war; vets' unemployment high; returns to school at Kansas State University as better student than before Vietnam experience. [Student Gwyn STEERE - speaks of Pickett's modesty.] [Vietnam film from earlier feature shown.] Pickett home is in Olsburg, Kansas. [PICKETT - tells of being spit on in Seattle, WA.] Disillusioned but not downed by Vietnam experience. [PICKETT - tells of experience as medic in Vietnam.] [Father Delmar PICKETT, Senior - says son more settled.] [MOTHER - says son a much better student than formerly.] Drugs no problem for Pickett. 2 1/2 million Vietnam vets.
REPORTER: Morton Dean
http://openweb.tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/1971-12/1971-12-27-CBS-17.html
For the record, in SF in 2002-2003 during a counter FReep at an anti-war rally with perhaps 100,000 left wing, maggots. I WAS SPIT UPON for holding an American flag. And the press didn't report it.
I was living in San Francisco in 1967. I never saw anybody spit on soldiers returning from Vietnam. But I did see hippies confront soldiers getting off flights in the S.F. airport. No spitting, just rude comments. I got the distinct feeling that no soldier would tolerate spitting or other overt physical abuse.
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