Vietnam hats aren’t trophies. They’re badges of survivors. They know they lost. They were fucked by our govt while they were there, they got their asses kicked and then came home to a population that didn’t see them as heroes like previous soldiers has experienced. Everything about that war was a shit show and it’s no surprise so many of those vets couldn’t transition back into civilian life.
On this specific point, I’d say that neither side seemed poised to pull that again. GOP has historically kicked off the biggest conflicts, but Trump’s rhetoric and even his first term seemed consistent with “it’s not worth risking American military over foreign crap” in a break from the broader GOP.
His second term seems to have shifted that and you can see it as it fractured his base, to the point where Trump supporters threw “America First” in his face and he petulantly declared HE gets to decide what “America First” means because he "invented’ it.
Yeah I know people who justified their vote for him because “he won’t fuck around with wars in other countries, he’s a great negotiator”. Imagine their surprise when Trump turns out to not be what they wanted shockedpikachu.jpg
I know at least one who was very proud of his war crimes, and I do mean very specific things he did and told to me as a child. I hope they never take away his antipsychotics.
Vietnam hats aren’t trophies. They’re badges of survivors. They know they lost. They were fucked by our govt while they were there, they got their asses kicked and then came home to a population that didn’t see them as heroes like previous soldiers has experienced. Everything about that war was a shit show and it’s no surprise so many of those vets couldn’t transition back into civilian life.
And yet they vote for a party and administration who would and will gleefully send people into the same situation again without hesitation.
On this specific point, I’d say that neither side seemed poised to pull that again. GOP has historically kicked off the biggest conflicts, but Trump’s rhetoric and even his first term seemed consistent with “it’s not worth risking American military over foreign crap” in a break from the broader GOP.
His second term seems to have shifted that and you can see it as it fractured his base, to the point where Trump supporters threw “America First” in his face and he petulantly declared HE gets to decide what “America First” means because he "invented’ it.
Yeah I know people who justified their vote for him because “he won’t fuck around with wars in other countries, he’s a great negotiator”. Imagine their surprise when Trump turns out to not be what they wanted shockedpikachu.jpg
I know at least one who was very proud of his war crimes, and I do mean very specific things he did and told to me as a child. I hope they never take away his antipsychotics.
And many came back with serious health and mental problems too! I know I was married 2 Vietnam vets. The fought and suffered for their government.