Vietnam veteran
A Vietnam veteran is an individual who performed active military, naval, or air service in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War.[1]
The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and other South Vietnam–backed allies, whether or not they were stationed in Vietnam during their service. However, the more common usage distinguishes between those who served "in-country" and those who did not serve in Vietnam by referring to the "in-country" veterans as "Vietnam veterans" and the others as "Vietnam-era veterans." Regardless, the U.S. government officially refers to all as "Vietnam-era veterans."[2]
In the United States, the term "Vietnam veteran" is not typically used in relation to members of the People's Army of Vietnam or the Viet Cong (also known as the National Liberation Front) due to the United States' alliance with South Vietnamese forces.[3]
However, in many parts of east and southeast Asia, the term "Vietnam veteran" may also apply to allies of the North Vietnamese, including the People's Army of Vietnam, the Viet Cong (National Liberation Front), the People's Liberation Army of China, and the Korean People's Army of North Korea.
South Vietnamese veterans[edit]
While the exact numbers are not entirely known, it is estimated that several million served in the South Vietnamese armed forces, the vast majority in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). From 1969 to 1971, there were around 22,000 ARVN combat deaths per year. The army reached its peak strength of about 1,000,000 soldiers in 1972. The official number of South Vietnamese personnel killed in action was 220,357.
Following the North Vietnamese victory on April 30, 1975, South Vietnamese veterans were arrested and detained in labor camps in desolate areas. The veterans and their families were detained without trial for decades at a time. After being released, they faced significant discrimination from the Communist government. A significant proportion of the surviving South Vietnamese veterans left the country for Western countries including the United States and Australia, either by or through the Humanitarian Operation (HO).
Stereotypes[edit]
There are persistent stereotypes about Vietnam veterans as psychologically devastated, bitter, homeless, drug-addicted people, who had a hard time readjusting to society, primarily because of the uniquely divisive nature of the Vietnam War in the context of U.S. history. That social division has expressed itself by the lack both of public and institutional support for the former servicemen that would be expected by returning combatants of most conflicts in most nations. In a material sense also, veterans benefits for Vietnam-era veterans were dramatically less than those enjoyed after World War II. The Vietnam-Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended, 38 U.S.C. § 4212, was meant to try to help the veterans overcome the issues.
In 1979, Public Law 96-22 established the first Vet Centers,[20] after a decade of effort by combat vets and others who realized that Vietnam veterans in America and elsewhere (including Australia) were facing specific kinds of readjustment problems, later identified as post-traumatic stress (PTS). In the early days, most Vet Center staffers were Vietnam veterans themselves, many of them combat veterans. Some representatives of organizations, like the Disabled American Veterans, started advocating for combat veterans to receive benefits for their war-related psychological trauma. Some U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital personnel also encouraged the veterans working at the Vet Centers to research and expand treatment options for veterans who were suffering the particular symptoms of the newly recognized syndrome. It was a controversial time, but eventually, the Department of Veterans Affairs opened Vet Centers nationwide. They helped develop many of the debriefing techniques that are now used for traumatized populations from all walks of life. The veterans who started working in the early Vet Centers eventually began to reach out and serve World War II and Korean vets as well, many of whom had suppressed their traumas or had self-medicated for years.
Veterans, particularly in Southern California, were responsible for many of those early lobbying and subsequent Vet Center treatment programs. They founded one of the first local organizations by and for Vietnam veterans in 1981, now known as Veterans Village.[21] Vets were also largely responsible for taking debriefing and treatment strategies into the larger community where they were adapted for use in conjunction with populations impacted by violent crime, abuse, and man-made and natural disasters and those in law enforcement and emergency response.
Other notable organizations that were founded then included the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and the National Organization for Victim Assistance. The organizations continue to study and/or certify post-traumatic stress disorder responders and clinicians.
There are still, however, many proven cases of individuals who have suffered psychological damage from their time in Vietnam. Many others were physically wounded, some permanently disabled. However, advocates ignore the many successful and well-adjusted Vietnam veterans who have played important roles in America since the end of the Vietnam War such as Jim Nicholson (former Secretary of Veterans Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See), Al Gore, Frederick W. Smith (founder and president of Federal Express), Colin Powell, John McCain, Craig Venter (famed for being the first to map the human genome), and many others. To find closure, thousands of former American soldiers have visited and some have decided to move permanently to Vietnam to confront the psychological and physical remnants of the Vietnam War. They participate in the removal of unexplored mines and bombs, help people affected by Agent Orange, teach English to the Vietnamese and conduct Vietnam War battlefield tours for tourists.[22]