Why American soldiers were on front lines of anti-Vietnam-war movement
Ho Chi Minh City exhibition recalls how American GIs organised protests, published underground newspapers and served jail time in their efforts to bring peace to Southeast Asia
By Gary Jones
7 Apr 2018
The stereotypical image of the Vietnam war veteran, returning to the United States after an arduous tour of duty, only to be spat upon and cursed as a murderer by sneering, long-haired peace protesters, is seared into the American psyche like a scar from a white-hot burst of napalm. The accepted belief is that weary veterans trudged home to be condemned, cold-shouldered, even physically assaulted – simply for doing their duty to their country.
In popular culture, the phenomenon was memorably depicted in the 1982 film First Blood, which unleashed Sylvester Stallone’s traumatised John Rambo on the world.
http://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2140414/why-american-soldiers-were-front-lines-anti
