I have not heard the term 'Disgruntled Vietnam veteran used in some time now. In a way it's kind of sad.
Of course most GIs came home from Vietnam, found work, married and put their lives back together. They worked and raised families. Most of them, anyway.
As with all wars there was a handful of angry young men that returned and did things they should not have. This has gone on since the days of the Roman Legions.
Every time the anti war media heard of a Vietnam vet doing practically anything unacceptable the Vietnam vet status went straight to the top.
Yes, there were a couple of horrific crimes caused by Vietnam vets but I suppose the percentage of them caused by Vietnam vets was probably close to the non veteran.
Still, the media made the average GI, former or still serving, look like a fiend. Many GIs denied having served. Some claimed to have served stateside and said they had never been overseas.
When something happened the media would always comment that they believed it was the work of a disgruntled Vietnam veteran.
The image of a returning Vietnam vet was that he was a bloodthirsty fiend that would kill at random for no reason according to the media.
In a way it probably angered the veterans far more than being deployed did in the first place.
Recently I ran into one that shares the same dark sense of humor I do.
"I miss the old days," he said. "I miss walking down the street and causing panic and having women snatch their kids up and run into stores shouting 'OMG! Here comes a VIETNAM VETERAN!'"
"What has happened to us?" He asked me.
"We have gotten old," I replied. "I think the last time the news tried to pin anything on a Nam vet was the beltway sniper. This time the public didn't let them get away with it."
He shook his head sadly in agreement.
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