The Myth of the Spat-on Vietnam Veteran: Difference between revisions

There is a persistent myth or [[List of common misconceptions|misconception]] that many Vietnam veterans were spat on and vilified by antiwar protesters during the late 1960s and early 70s. These stories, which overwhelmingly surfaced many years after the war, often involve an antiwar female spitting on a veteran, often yelling “baby killer”. Most occur in U.S. civilian airports, usually [[San Francisco International Airport|San Francisco International]], as [[G.I.|GIs]] returned from the war zone in their uniforms. Perhaps the most well known version of this caricature appeared in 1982 in the first Rambo movie, [[First Blood]], where ex-Green Beret John Rambo, played by [[Sylvester Stallone]], furiously complained about returning “to the world” and seeing “all those maggots at the airport. Protesting me. Spitting. Calling me baby killer”.{{Cite web |date=1982 |title=First Blood, Sylvester Stallone: Rambo, Quotes |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083944/characters/nm0000230 |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=www.imbd.com |quote=And I come back to the world and I see all those maggots at the airport, protesting me, spitting. Calling me baby killer and all kinds of vile crap! Who are they to protest me, huh? }} It also appeared in an issue of Marvel Comics [[G.I. Joe (comics)|GI Joe]] series in January 1988.{{Cite web |date=January 1986 |title=G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero |url=https://www.yojoe.com/comics/joe/joe43.shtml |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=www.yojoe.com |quote=The first thing that happened when I got off the plane in San Francisco, a girl in love-beads and a headband spat in my face and called me a baby-killer… }} But most often now it is used as a talking point by politicians and opinion makers when arguing for the importance of supporting U.S. troops, especially during war time. For example, during the [[Iraq War]], [[Daniel Henninger]], deputy editor of [[The Wall Street Journal]] editorial page wrote about the “horrifying” images of GIs being spat on as they returned from Vietnam.{{Cite web |last=Henninger |first=Daniel |date=2007-02-15 |title=House Iraq Debate Reveals Political Divide |url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/02/house_iraq_debate_is_revealing.html |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=www.realclearpolitics.com |quote=So horrifying are the famous images in the 1970s of what presumably were not evangelicals spitting on GIs coming home from Vietnam, that House Democrats, with every second intake of breath, spoke of the troops and their families }}

There is a persistent myth or [[List of common misconceptions|misconception]] that many Vietnam veterans were spat on and vilified by antiwar protesters during the late 1960s and early 70s. These stories, which overwhelmingly surfaced many years after the war, often involve an antiwar female spitting on a veteran, often yelling “baby killer”. Most occur in U.S. civilian airports, usually [[San Francisco International Airport|San Francisco International]], as [[G.I.|GIs]] returned from the war zone in their uniforms. Perhaps the most well known version of this caricature appeared in 1982 in the first Rambo movie, [[First Blood]], where ex-Green Beret John Rambo, played by [[Sylvester Stallone]], furiously complained about returning “to the world” and seeing “all those maggots at the airport. Protesting me. Spitting. Calling me baby killer”.{{Cite web |date=1982 |title=First Blood, Sylvester Stallone: Rambo, Quotes |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083944/characters/nm0000230 |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=www.imbd.com |quote=And I come back to the world and I see all those maggots at the airport, protesting me, spitting. Calling me baby killer and all kinds of vile crap! Who are they to protest me, huh? }} It also appeared in an issue of Marvel Comics [[G.I. Joe (comics)|GI Joe]] series in January 1988.{{Cite web |date=January 1986 |title=G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero |url=https://www.yojoe.com/comics/joe/joe43.shtml |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=www.yojoe.com |quote=The first thing that happened when I got off the plane in San Francisco, a girl in love-beads and a headband spat in my face and called me a baby-killer… }} But most often now it is used as a talking point by politicians and opinion makers when arguing for the importance of supporting U.S. troops, especially during war time. For example, during the [[Iraq War]], [[Daniel Henninger]], deputy editor of [[The Wall Street Journal]] editorial page wrote about the “horrifying” images of GIs being spat on as they returned from Vietnam.{{Cite web |last=Henninger |first=Daniel |date=2007-02-15 |title=House Iraq Debate Reveals Political Divide |url=https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/02/house_iraq_debate_is_revealing.html |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=www.realclearpolitics.com |quote=So horrifying are the famous images in the 1970s of what presumably were not…