Tuesday, October 3, 2023

 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?



[i] Catton, Bruce. “Grant Takes Command.”


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