After well over fifty Memorial/Veterans Day observances, I finally figured out the “why” of omitting even the slightest reference to our Korean or Vietnam veterans during our patriotic observations on Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
Being a “Nam” vet, I have been well-conditioned for such treatment. Still, I always questioned this attitude regarding our vets from our nation’s first undeclared and forgotten Korean War. It now makes sense since too many politicians for too long have danced to a foreign drummer, no matter the cost!
WWII is rightly celebrated at every opportunity, especially since it was the last time those self-promoting pontificators remained true to their sworn oath of office when they declared that a state of war existed! That happened years before I was born, and I’m just about eighty years old now!
Following our WWII victory, in less than five years, American GIs were again in combat, this time against a communist enemy in Korea, which now appears as a dry run in lieu of our next dereliction of duty in Vietnam. However, in Korea, who knew that Gen MacArthur was not allowed to accept Chiang Kai-shek’s offer of invading China, which obviously would have saved American lives and probably changed the final outcome. And that was just one of many restrictions! The bridges over the Yalu River were supply routes for the invading Chinese army but were restricted targets for our bombers.
Concerning Vietnam, the same held true, again, against another communist enemy when restricting our military’s ability to gain victory while protecting the enemy’s supply sources in the North and their supply routes in the South. In addition to the official; “rules of engagement,” a new page was added to our Vietnam sacrifice. The chemical Agent Orange (AO), along with other lesser-mentioned “agent” colors, were introduced as defoliants to supposedly limit the enemy’s
movement/concealment. A strange concern for a war effort that was never intended to succeed!
The bottom line to this new chapter of warfare is that AO has caused many deaths of former veterans. While in service to their country, government policy endorsed the reckless spraying of friendly forces and maybe even an unlucky enemy or two! The dangerous side effects from AO exposure surfaced years later when the babies of veterans were born with deformities, and the veterans themselves were dying prematurely of prostrate cancer and suffering from other ailments.
From a personal perspective, I was fortunate to be diagnosed early so that radiation treatments prolonged my living, but more importantly, my children were not affected. Their births occurred before AO’s long-term effects were made public and before I realized I had been exposed.
So, is there any doubt as to why Washington celebrates WWII? It was their last official act of honorably endorsing and supporting a military victory. As stated, I finally awakened to why our government and our media elites continue to ignore both undeclared wars; it’s because our government’s official policies intentionally prevented victory in either one.
A side issue needs to be aired since it carries over to the present. There’s no denying the “exceptional” treatment directed at the Nam vet when returning home to another enemy: that of disgust and hatred from their fellow Americans, especially when experiencing the venom from our campus locales. Also, it got so that a Nam vet would not list his military service on a job application form; uniforms were closeted after arriving home, and when returning in winter months, our deeply tanned appearance was usually credited to a Florida vacation. Given this homecoming, Nam vets were indeed the exception to America’s tributes.
Veterans of those two “wars” are now in their later years, but ever since coming home, I personally can attest to the fact that Nam vets were always ready for a rematch, to go back and finish what America started, and I expect our Korean brothers were no different—hell, just knowing that this time, victory would be had made it a no-brainer!
In closing, veterans in general, from every war and especially the WWII vets who were with us in Nam, are a proud bunch who join together to sincerely wish each other and our fellow citizens a happy Veterans Day in a peaceful America. God Bless America.
