[cross-posted at NPR Check]
In November of 2007 NPR's Allison Keyes trotted out the tired old myth about Vietnam vets being assaulted, harassed and showered with hate on returning from the war. The editors at NPR apparently felt like it was time to drag this corpse of a lie out again - so this afternoon they turned to Blake Farmer of WPLN in Nashville to report on a Vietnam veterans propaganda event being hosted by Fort Campbell in Kentucky. Siegel opens the report by claiming that returning vets "were often greeted with anger about the war," then Farmer takes the baton and is off and running:
- "....and for some the only greeting as they walked off the airplane was from angry war protesters - until now."
- "....says he was lucky, lucky he wasn't tossed into the hostility that awaited other discharged service members."
- "Larry Hamm from West Chester, Pennsylvania recalls angry crowds lining the airport fence, throwing rotten eggs..."
There are a few little problems with Farmer's reporting. To start with, that bit about "until now" overlooks the 200,000 Vietnam Vets and 500,000 adoring spectators who turned out in Chicago in 1986 to honor the vets and pretend that the US military didn't actually slaughter about 4 million Vietnamese. The exaggeration of "crowds lining the airport fence" and "throwing rotten eggs" would be hilarious if it weren't being reported as fact. Jerry Lembcke carefully researched the claims of Vietnam Vet abuse and could find no substantiated evidence of their veracity - not one article, photo, or news broadcast. You probably can guess how interested NPR is in Lembcke's work.
UPDATE:
I posted the following comment Monday afternoon on the NPR site for the story and had it removed as "inappropriate":
What a load of historical erasure this story is. NPR continues to cover up the active role Vietnam Vets played in ending the Vietnam War and their role in the "angry" antiwar movement. Frankly, the people claiming the nonsense about "spitting on vets" have no evidence to back up their claims and - in fact - a Vietnam vet, Jerry Lembcke, exhaustively researched the claims and found no evidence - none.
NPR could do us all a favor and cover the real heroes of US wars - people like Camilo Mejia and Victor Agosto who have shown the true courage of exposing US wars for what they are. Of course that would take some courage on NPR's part - something noticeably lacking these days...
I have no idea what made it "inappropriate," but I went ahead and posted this similar but revised version:
This report is full of hearsay and debunked inaccuracies. First, there was a huge Vietnam Vet welcome parade in Chicago in 1986. Second, many Vietnam Vets played an active role in the "angry" antiwar movement of the 60s and 70s. And third, people claiming the abusive treatment of vets have NO evidence to back up their claims and - in fact - a Vietnam vet, Jerry Lembcke, exhaustively researched these kinds of claims and found no evidence - none.
It would be great if NPR could even once seriously cover the war resisters - people like Camilo Mejia and Victor Agosto who have shown the courage of exposing US wars for what they are. I won't be holding my breath though, since I don't think NPR has the courage to challenge the militarism and worship of war that is so pervasive in the US...
We'll see how it fares.
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Comments
This is really remarkable
Evidence against becomes evidence for. Presto-change-o!
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We can't afford not to have single-payer!
So glad you jumped on this-I heard it and was yelling at the car
radio, but I forgot about it when I got home.
Actually, this morning I was ticked off about a Morning Edition lead-in to a story about the British being quite miffed about the lies being told about their system. The British system was called a single payer system, which it is, but in this supercharged atmosphere about US health care payment changes, it muddies the waters to include the British wholly government owned, run, and paid for system, the National Health Service, with our Medicare and Canada's Medicare, where the payment is by the government, but the service providers are wholly private.
Now, in the US we do have a government run, paid for system -- for military families and also for vets, the VA.
But, sheesh, is that lazy journalism, poor understanding of English words and their meanings? Villager mind worm of misinformation? Or corporate master fluffing?
Mytwords, I see there was a transcript at this segment--is this
something new from NPR? Or have I missed these for lo these many moons?
Oh, and I left a message. I bet yours was considered too dangerous bcz it was filled with links to facts!
Mistreated Vietnam Vets.
When I came back, I was stationed in NY City. To explore the city, I would take the subway to a stop that I could not recall having been to before, walk into the neighborhood bar. Everyone stopped talking and looked at me. I was not in uniform.
I would belly up to the bar, ask the bartender for beer on tap. When he brought it, I would tell him that I was back from the Nam and trying to find a good homemade meal.
Within minutes, anywhere from 2 to 20 empty shot glasses would appear in front of me, meaning that someone had bought me a drink. Then the room would caucus on where to get the best meal.
Sometimes, it was down an alley and into a chinese restaurant. Sometimes, it was call the wife and ask if there was enough for one more. Sometimes, someone would call an Italian restaurant and have all kinds of Italian food delivered. Someone would take me to a southern cooked meal.
Always, never any problems. A couple of times, neighbors would come over and ask about their sons, had I met them, how was it over there, etc.
I would always say, "I'm sorry I cannot talk about it. For me it was bad." No one ever pushed. They were just curious.
I would try to pay, it was always refused from Harlen to Coney Island in Brooklyn.
ABSOLUTELY no one gave me any static any time. It was "Welcome home, Mr Veteran."
My family broke up while I was in Vietnam. My father and mother got divorced. All my father would tell me was that Mom was somewhere around Huntsville.
I flew into Fayetteville. The only cab was a huge old limousine that had seen better days. I talked to the driver as we drove to Huntsville. We tried various places that I could remember, finally I wanted to just quit and get a drink. The driver flat refused, he would keep asking until he got an answer. He finally found it. My mother came onto the porch and I said, "Mom, it's me, I'm home."
The driver unloaded my baggage and insisted on carrying it into the house.
Then I tried to pay him. He said, "Son, my boy never came back from Korea, but if he had and had to look for his mother, I hope someone would have helped him." I still tried to pay him. My mother pulled my head down and told me "son, leave him his pride." We shook hands and he headed home at 2 or 3 in the morning, after driving for at least 6 to 8 hours helping to find Mom and the younger kids.
Every time this lie about abused veterans comes up, I get so enraged that I have to take downers. I was never shown more courtesy in my life than when I came home. That was the civilians.
Oh, except there was supposed to be a steak dinner with all the trimmings waiting when I flew into McCord Air Force Base and was bused to Ft. Lewis. I went in to get it.
The meat was not even gradeable it was so bad (someone selling rations, I'm sure), the potato wasn't even cooked through. I took the tray over to the entry to the kitchen asked for the top cook and threw it at his head. Then I went into Tacoma, bought a bottle and sat up hating the army till daybreak when I could get a bus south.
Self exile