GEORGE MEADE, THE VIETS, AND ME
By Jimmie von Tungeln
October 3, 2023
I can’t provide
one. [An explanation foer the lack of appreciation] What I can do is recite my path toward understanding how the stories are
entwined. No doubt there are other unappreciated individuals or groups who have
endured the misfortunes of history’s spotted chronicles. England’s Alan Turing
comes to mind as do the men and women of color and same-sex orientation who
served our country through its wars only to face discrimination and prejudice at
home. I can’t speak for them. But I can speak for the Viets with some degree of
authority. And I will try to provide some solace to the neglected personage of
George Meade.
Take the Viets, for example. Few people in the 1960s or 1970s would have publicly condemned them. That would have required a reason, an explanation, or even a verifiable fact. In my personal experience the enmity was personal, casual, and multifaceted. It included:
-
The band of protesters who met our plane at the
San Bernadino, California airport upon our arrival home from the war.
-
The airline representative who told me, with
distaste in his demeanor, that the baggage (seabags) of “you people” wasn’t
processed with those of normal people but was shuttled to a fenced bin three flights
of stars below the main course.
-
The veterans’ associations that didn’t want “losers”
as members.
-
The personnel officer on the ship to which I was
assigned on my return who bragged, “I always give those Vietnam vets the
shittiest assignment we have in order to put them in their place.”
-
The job interviewer who suggested I might omit
my military service from my application.
-
The myriad Americans who accepted the stereotype
of my brothers and sisters as drug-crazed sociopaths.
-
The book, film, and TV producers, even including
some Viets, who clung to the stereotype of misfits who could not function in or
after stressful actions.
In fairness, both
General Meade and the Viets generated some of this animosity. I’ll cover that
in a later section. For now, may we just say that all had a right to expect better
treatment?
