Obama pledges support for veterans,
families
- President Barack Obama used a Memorial Day Ceremony to say it is time for Americans to properly welcome home Vietnam Veterans and show them and their families the respect and gratitude they deserved but didn’t receive decades ago
- Obama said “It was national shame, a disgrace that should have never happened. That’s why here today; we resolve that it will not happen again.”
- This year marks the
50th anniversary of the
- In 1962, about 10,000
- A proclamation signed
on friday by Obama said the
- The first phase of
the commemoration will take place over the next two years, involves
generating support and participation, with a focus on “hometown” events
providing recognitions and thanks to
- “A central part of this 50th anniversary is to tell your story as it should have been told all along” the president said, he called it “another chance to set the record straight.”
- Obama asked
- Obama said the lesson
of
I think that it took this long people of people's viewpoint on the war. Since many Americans were opposed to the war, the separation between the war and the soldiers that were fighting in it wasn't established. I think that as Ms. Vivirito was right when she said they didn't separate the war from the worrier, and because of that when the "warriors" came home they weren't properly welcomed. I don't think it was right for people to note care and welcome the soldiers when they came home, their soldiers fighting for this country so no matter how opposed to war someone is, the soldiers should be welcomed. I think the proclamation is a great step to making up for when the soldiers came home.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Natasha’s point of view that since many Americans didn’t fully agree with the war, they didn’t want to show their support by welcoming back soldiers who fought without a real purpose. After years from the end of the Vietnam War, soldiers are now only being welcomed back and I find this very un-American. Many citizens were called to draft and thousands fought to help support their nation, only to be welcomed back unwanted and not respected. This was uncalled for and I’m disappointed it took this long for the president to recognize a proper time to finally welcome back the troops from Vietnam. Hopefully over the next couple of years with the proclamation in place, people will start to realize their mistake for not welcoming back soldiers.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the separation of the war from the warrior idea is one of the main reasons why it took so long. People who didn't support the war may not have been aware that people who were at war may have not supported the war ether. Although the war was terrible, the soldiers were still putting their life on the line for our country and that deserves a lot of respect and gratification no matter if you support the war or not. I feel that people should not criticize the soldiers unless they have been to war themselves and they know exactly what they are protesting and what those people have been through.
ReplyDeleteI also think that it took so long for people to finally give the Vietnam Veterans the respect they deserve because many people did not agree and support the war. Even though we as a country were not in favor of this war I still think that it was un-American of us to not show our respect to all the soldiers that returned. Because many of the soldiers that went into this war were drafted and had no choice but to go, so I think that we should have appreciated what these people had to do and went through. So I too am disappointed that it has taken this long to recognize the troops from Vietnam. I think that the proclamation is a great way for helping people respect and recognize the soldiers who came home from the war.
ReplyDeleteI think that it took so long for America to give respect to the veterans from the Vietnam war is because they did not support the war. This was the first war with so much media and it showed all of the bad to the war and other disturbing things the these veterans had to do. They put past the fact that they put their life on the line not only for their loved ones but the citizens and to not have respect and be treated with it after coming home is a disgrace. I do understand why they were upset because the U.S. was over forcing their power just because they do, in that case be mad at the government and other people who send the troops, not the troops themselves.
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else and Mrs. Vivirito said in class, too many people were opposed to the war and therefore were opposed to the soldiers coming home. The soldiers were seen as a symbol of the war - without them a war would not have been fought, so a lot of the blame and grief was put upon them. All of the protest against the war needed to be directed somewhere, and while it was directed at the government it was also directed at the soldiers, regardless of the fact that many of them had been drafted and had not wanted to be a part of the war. It obviously wasn't right but in the situation that is the way it played out. It wasn't a good situation for anyone to be in, put it's good now that they are being recognized.
ReplyDeleteThe reason that the war veterans returning from Vietnam were not welcomed is because our country had problems of its own at the time. Nixon's recent impeachment was giving a sense of dishonesty in our government the country was just unstable. Also with all though busy protesting the war they had little time to praise or deal with the affiliates of that war. It is a truly sad thing to think about, that the thousands of soldiers who gave their lives were not welcomed home with open arms. The people were in the wrong for not welcoming their soldiers home, but the american government was wrong for sending them their in the first place. It is truly gratifying that President Barack Obama finally gave the veterans of Vietnam a true welcome home.
ReplyDeleteIt was due to the problems and lack of trust in the government. This should not have been a reason not to pay respects for soldiers because they were still defending our country in war. I think that this is so wrong, and whether there was distrust in the government or not this should not have been acceptable. I think it works both ways, while the citizens and the government are at fault, as John stated. I still think that opposition to the war is not a reason to thank the soldiers who risked their life, protecting their country. Maddie made a really good point about the soldiers being drafted, so they might have even had opposition as well but by default they were chosen to go to war- they therefore need to be respected.
ReplyDeleteThe war was very unpopular by the time most veterans were coming home, and many people in the US were incredibly disrespectful to returning veterans. They should have, as President Obama said, separated the war from the warrior, as well as remembered the draft. Most of all, Americans should have paid more attention to the soldiers who were coming home in body bags, with 58,000 dead. The anger that many Americans felt should have been directed at the government, not the military, and especially not the troops who were risking their lives for their country. It is despicable that the people of our country could be so disrespectful to those who risked or laid down their lives to serve.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the reception of the soldiers returning home was poor because of the issues going on in America at that time. The biggest reason being that absolutely nobody in America supported the war and even know why we were fighting. We also had issues such as watergate among other things. I believe that it was very wrong not to pay the respect to the returning soldiers. No matter what the cause they were still fighting for our country and deserve to be recognized for that. We as a country failed to recognize the sacrifice that these brave men made. We were disrespectful to those who sacrificed their lives for us and that is just wrong.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I think it took this long for people to give the respect that the Vietnam veterans deserved because at the time, the popularity of the war was very low. The Veterans coming home were scrutinized for something they had orders for doing. Americans should have instead scrutinized the person who gave those orders out instead of the veterans. Having people risk their lives for a good cause should never be treated this way. As Obama said, people had it wrong. They were incorrect to blame this issue on the Veterans and should have blamed on those responsible.
ReplyDelete