One question is constantly being evaluated is, what is the mental state of the Vietnam Veterans of today. Never before and never again have U.S. soldiers been treated in such a manner. It is clear from the testimony of many veterans that regardless of the way they are treated today their bitterness still runs deep. As one of my education professors used to remind us, a life time of injustice and oppression cannot be undone in one day. It will take years for the veterans of Vietnam to forgive and forget the hurt that they experienced from the hands of their government and the anti-war effort. Some vow that they will never forget how they were treated.

Included in these ranks is the uncle of Juan Casillas who exclaims, “I was praised because of my bravery and other such things, but for me, that was and is pure shit, because that was decided my future, decided the future of my family. I now, am just a veteran who never went to college, because some bastards decided that violence was the best way to solve things” (Casillas). In his opinion the war scarred him for life.

Another veteran Paul Lavelle seems like he is at the end of his rope. He was one of the veterans that received rough treatment on his return to the states and he is still bitter about it. He writes, “Shortly after I came home, I was in a Bar… trying to wash it away.. Someone hit me from behind … then Spit and called me Baby killer. The Pain lingers.. just under the cuff …forever.. I will never be able to get out from the shadow… for it has affected us all in ways that have no words … our hearts are broken, our minds twisted … because we did what our country asked of us.”

He firmly believes that the debt will never be paid. Treating the veterans of Vietnam well now will never make up for the mistreatment that occurred back then. He continues, “People want it buried … don’t talk about it and it will go away … avoid him … he’s a baby killer from Vietnam. We were shit on when we went over and we were shit on when we came home.” Shockingly his bitterness runs very deep. It appears that things have never changed for him and he doesn’t view life as being worth living. He concludes, “Some days its almost worth taking the round…”(Lavelle).

Another veteran who is still irate at the way that he and his fellow veterans were treated is Andrew Horne one of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. His words in opposition to John Kerry’s presidential bid earlier this year are evidence of this fact. He said, “Thirty-five years ago, many of us fell silent when we came back to the stain of sewage that Mr. Kerry had thrown on us, and all of our colleagues who served over there. I don’t intend to be silent today of ever again. Our young men and women who are serving deserve no less” (Horne).

Not all veterans are bitter about their experiences after the war. One veteran recalls his experiences with sadness and regret. In response to the question of how the war changed him he responded, “How did the Vietnam war change me? I’, not sure that the war itself changed me negatively at all; that great politician/ army-high-brass structure did! It destroyed the blind loyalty I had towards this nation … I was betrayed by MEN in government, and I will die KNOWING that. I’m only sorry that so many others who were also betrayed had to die because of it” (Betrayed).

One thing that comes shining through the bitterness of the commentaries of a lot of Vietnam veterans is the pride that they still hang on to. They are not ashamed of their service to their country even though a lot of their fellow citizens were.

One such veteran Arthur Varanelli emphatically states, “I still feel proud that what I did, I did very well. Once you become a soldier, you always remain one. My decorations, having been hidden away for twenty six years, are now up on a wall. I have deep anger and emotional scars and issues confronting me, and I live the war constantly in my mind. In time, I will acquire the skills to deal with these things” (Varanelli). Here is a veteran that is beginning to deal with the bitterness that is still residing within him. He is no longer ashamed of being a Vietnam Vet.

Others echo his pride in their military service. On veteran writes, “I don’t let go of Viet Nam. I think about it or some part of it every day. This is ok for me. I have no nightmares, hatred, or regrets. Because I never did anything that I am ashamed of” (Fez). “Fez” doesn’t harbor any bitterness. He continues, “I can’t hate. And I don’t regret anything. I do know that me and the other Grunts have done thing that most people have or never will do. This makes us very special. We have some thing that’s our very own. Don’t try to forget that. It was a different life that’s all.” It is possible that “Fex” didn’t experience any of the anti-war harassment that his fellow veterans did. What is clear however is that he was not ashamed of his military service. This is something that I hope one day all Vietnam veterans will be able to experience.

Larry Burke another veteran shares this pride, although he is very bitter about the way he was treated. He relates, “I have a bitterness there that’s pretty deep. It really is. It really does run deep. And I’ve thought about this alot…I sure as hell wouldn’t want to wish the experience on anybody, and even though there are things about it that I wouldn’t want to have to do again, I wouldn’t give that up for anything” (Burke).

As we observe the veterans of the Vietnam War today there is still a deep seated bitterness and intense pride in the service that they gave to their country. I believe that this is justified. There is however another wave of emotion among many Vietnam Veterans. There is an understanding that this was a very difficult time in the history of the United States and a hope that we can put the bad behind us.

One veteran sums up this attitude well in his commentary. He says, “I can clearly see many of my fellow Vietnam veterans are still having trouble readjusting to the WORLD. People ask me why! And all that I can think of is that our Vietnam vets fought in a very unpopular war, during a time when the USA was going through a cultural revolution” (Munger). He concludes, “What I do know for sure is that we must never forget Vietnam but we must get on with our lives. We must get our families back and get off this kick of poor me.” It is his opinion that the vets have cried enough and they need to take it upon themselves to become productive members of society again.

Others look at their experiences as something positive that they can use in the instruction of their own children. One such veteran relates, “…the war lives on in my everyday. It won’t go away. What was it for? It’s for me to use as a tool to teach my children with. To teach them that a war like Vietnam does very little good. Win, Lose or Draw people only suffer in the end” (Featherston).

Daniel Bozyk a protestor agrees with this testimony. He writes, “This thing we call democracy is till an experiment … we must let go of the past and learn from it rather than letting go of the past, learn nothing from it and condemn the future” (Bozyk).

Veteran Donald Fredrick has finally come to terms with the experiences of the early 1970’s. He writes, “After all these years, two failed marriages and finally getting help from the VA with lots of medication and counseling. I have now made it back to a point where I can say yes I was there and did my best…” (Frederick). In his opinion the cause of the Vietnam vet will never be heard. He concludes, “I would like to say to all on both sides of the war it is over, except it and move on . Yes for us it is hard to swallow, but nobody cares.” This skepticism is shared by veteran Alex Hernandez who states, “Some day we will get the respect as soldiers that went into battle. But I doubt if any of us will be alive to see it” (Hernandez).

We can learn a lot from our history. The experiences of the veterans of Vietnam are something that we should reflect on over and over again. The United States is now at war again. Many are comparing this war to the one that we fought in Vietnam so many years ago. It is important that we realize the power that the government and the media have in our society. We must remember that, “what makes a democracy wok is that people are RESPONSIBLE for what their government does. They can’t be responsible if they don’t know what’s going on. And you can’t understand the present if you don’t understand the past” (Rosenburg).