General Discussion

It was a very bifurcated attitude.

There were people who thought that if you were drafted, you should go. Suck it up, you dad did it, we've never lost a war, blah, blah blah. Anything else is traitorous.

There were "draft DODGERS." Some just burned their draft cards, some just tucked the thing in their wallet and ... disappeared. Moved from place to place, no fixed address for too long. Can't find me, can't call me to get a physical...that was the attitude.

Some went over the border to Canada, fewer went to little pockets in Europe or elsewhere. Some were driven by their mothers to Canada!

There was a "baby killer" theme that took hold briefly--the Calley trial didn't help that.

The VVAW and the very articulate John Kerry's testimony helped to turn the tide, and started the process of more people understanding the whole "Good guys, bad war" big picture. As more service personnel came home, the more they populated the relentless demonstrations, large and small, that could be found on streets and college campuses most weekends.

Then, of course, Hollywood weighed in, with everything from the dramatization of Born on the 4th of July to Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now. Those cemented images of vets that weren't necessarily appropriate for all or even most vets.

Some people still like to hew to the image of the wild eyed, hair trigger, Will Go Nutzo if You Look At Him The Wrong Way, Rambo caricature/stereotype when talking about vets with SE Asian experience. It's a convenient cartoon. While anyone is fully expected to be traumatized when encountering violence, that doesn't mean they'll manifest behavior straight out of (bad) central casting.