Anti Military sentiment is nothing new… I recall once when stationed at Ft. Sam Houston , in down town San Antonio Tx.,during the Viet Nam erra of 1967 , I attempted to Hitch-Hike thru the heartland of Texas , back home to Montague County for a week-end.
After hours of standing on the shoulder of Interstate 35 , thumb in the air , I realized a young guy in uniform was an unwelcome passenger even by those I had literally sworn to die for…. Americans hated the war , and therefore hated their military without rhyme or reason…
Eventually I was fortunate enough to flag down a passing Trailways bus… the driver felt compassion for me I guess …I was allowed passage to Austin where the driver escorted me inside to purchase a ticket for my ride from San Antone…
My nuther- brother was attending U.T. at the time… I called him and he picked me up at the bus station…loaned me his V.W. beetle to travel home in …on a three day pass..
Though proud of my service to America , I never wore my uniform in public much after that , except at my Daddy’s funeral latter that same year..( he was a proud veteran of WWII ), and once in Seattle-Tacoma airport , where I witnessed a bunch of Peace-Nic protestors yelling obscenities at Viet Nam vets on their way home…. after gallantly sacrificing their freedom in the rice patties and jungles for 12 months of unholy terror…
Unfounded bias is nothing new… humainty can be and will be inhumane by nature…
Defending the homeland is sometimes a thankless job to be cherrished and celebrated from within…..it’s called patriotism…not all have it , but all reap the benefits of it…Thank God for those who do…
It is an American tragedy that Vietnam veterans were treated with such disdain for fighting and dying in an unpopular war. My former husband was instructed not to wear his uniform when boarding flights enroute to Vietnam and upon return to the States. Afterwards, he was never the same; although, he made the Army his career.
Salute….Billy Boy…!…. God bless the meek..
While I know many were “short”sighted in their appreciation for the service of our fighting men in and during Vietnam, and that is a crying shame. I would offer a different viewpoint. That maybe your were not passed by because they saw you, but rather just the opposite.
LOL……..and still to this good day , no respect , just like my dear friend Rodney Dangerfield…