Vietnam Vets Came Back With Very Different Experiences. They Argue Here In 1968
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Published 2018-10-26
I love films that capture real people in real situations debating real issues – talking openly about how they feel in this 1 is masterfully made. Just folks in a bar debating the war at a time when it was actively going on and some of those in the debate had fought in it. The film called 8 Flags for 99c by Chuck Olin. Ordinary citizens debating sides of the Vietnam war. Elements of what they are saying reminds me of the 1960sIn the heated debates about that war that were taking place in just about every home in America. On all sides. With a 50-50 America split for or against the war. Other things that they said remind me of debates going on today. In some ways things change. In other ways it seems they don't or at least haven't.
Subscribers are often asking my position then and now. I can share with you this: the Vietnam veterans who returned and presented what they experienced of any political stripe, I respected and honored. They had seen something I had not seen except on TV and you could see the reality of what they were describing by the intensity behind their eyes. That is why I interviewed them whenever I got the chance and let them express their experiences – many having never done that before, certainly in front of a camera.
There are many other clips on my YouTube channel from the Vietnam war era if you are interested. If you like this, please subscribe to see other David Hoffman interviews. #vietnamveteran #1960s #protests
All Comments (21)
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This Vietnam vet became a cop and found himself fighting in Vietnam war in San Francisco - https://youtu.be/kVec1zg6Pmo
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“You had WW2, you had Korea, and now you’ve got this, and after this you’re gonna go to the east.” Man, that guy knew what’s going on.
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50 years ago I encountered a very old man reading the news paper. I asked him "what's new", he replied "nothing new just different names" .
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My dad is a vietnam vet. Im 32. He is 74. He was 17 when he was drafted. He raised me since i was 1 year old. Best man i know
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"A lot those people liked that we were there. A lot of those people hated that we were there. A lot of those people felt that if you were an American you owed them something. We do owe them something, we owe them the right to live." This was the exact same sentiment un Afghanistan.
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Man, it's the same conversations we've been having since 1969. Shit never changes.
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"We do owe them something. We owe them the right to live." That one hit me the most. Damn..
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My dad was in Vietnam - he came back at 28 years old with a monster heroin addiction. Everyone said what a sweetheart he was before his war experience. It ruined his life.
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The average infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II saw about 40 days of combat in four years. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in just *ONE* year, due in part to the mobility of the helicopter, and also the geographically confined nature of the war in Vietnam. Every year in Vietnam was like fighting 24 years in the Pacific in WWII. In fairness, a lot of WWII veterans had no idea about this massive difference when they chided returning Vietnam Vets for being ‘complainers’ and ‘soft.’ How could they know? This new manner of war would have been unimaginable to them, and would not align with their decades-earlier experience at all.
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This footage is insanely important to preserve, my God.
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“They say we’re fighting communism, yet Russia hasn’t lost a single man”
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"We support the country, and yet, we have the least to say about it." Crazy how true this statement STILL is.
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My dad said the ride back was the most quiet plane ride in his life. Him and 3 other men in his platoon surrounded by all the others in body bags. God bless Veterans
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"Every year this country has to have a war." "Politicians get their cut of the defense contracts." "So many things around the war are fixed on the dollar." "Got hit by a piece of General Motors shrapnel. They're supposed to be making cars but they're making mortars." Wow! The more things change the more they remain the same.
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It’s crazy that after all that’s happened, 60 years later, we are all still saying the same exact words and literally nothing has change a bit.
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The irony of that woman at 1:38 saying "they're ignorant" is astonishing
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The editing format used here is so different than modern documentaries. There’s no narrative being pushed, no narrator cutting in every 5 seconds.. just actual people sharing their honest thoughts, opinions, and experiences.
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"Pulled a piece of mortar shrapnel out of myself, and it said General Motors on it. They're supposed to be making cars, not mortars." Goddamn.
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He was right when he said "The people of this country isn't fighting a Vietnam war. The government is fighting it." TRUE to this day.
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Having both served in Afghanistan and had honest dialogue about it years later, if I closed my eyes and listened to this audio, I wouldn’t be able to tell you which war it belonged to. Heartbreaking to me. I admire and relate to the Vietnam vets so much because there are so many parallels. They had it far worse, but we both fought in wars that made no sense. In another video I’ve heard it said “I don’t know how to explain the war to myself.” That’s what keeps me up at night. All that I did and gave, both physically and mentally….for what reason? At least my generation was welcomed home with warmth, and that was thanks to the Vietnam vets. I have more to say, but I’m crying over these men and their families, and it’s just a damn shame.
