Camp Lejeune  is back in the news again and this time it’s not because of something in the water. I always worry about public appearances and perceptions of Veterans where they are used as poster material.

When we came home from Vietnam, we were hustled to the back of the bus and seated next to the Rosa Parks of life. America couldn’t wait to put it behind them and move on. Veterans were anathema and the military industrial complex was held in even less esteem. One can say we’ve come a long way, baby. I suppose when America was attacked as it clearly was in 2001, it provoked a strong patriotic response. That may be the reason we have tolerated the current wars and their ensuing loss of human life for as long as we have.

Vietnam, in the memory of Americans, lasted from 1965 to 1970 from a combat perspective. In truth, it began in 1955 when the French bailed out of Dien Bien Phu  and tactically advanced west on Route 7 in a new direction (Vientiane, Laos). America’s military, hoping to try out all their new military hardware, showed up to survey the damage. Eisenhower was well aware of the coming cold war and the advance of Communism.  Our overseas foreign policy then was intrusive like Big Brother. Citizens tolerated this until social consciousness awakened and the casualties became too excessive. In terms of time, it can be said that we were “in there” far longer than the current conflict in southwest Asia. Our current casualties are not nearly as horrific as the 58,000 + in that prior conflict.

We have now been actively engaged in SWA  for twelve years and our citizenry supports the troops but the will is waning for the actual support of our mission there. One can say it’s hard to muster support when our allies are busy shooting us in the back and strapping on explosive vests to commit hari kiri in our midst. It gives the impression that somehow we are now a fifth wheel and unwanted. We haven’t helped ourselves with some of our actions there but I submit they pale in comparison to our excesses in Vietnam.

Be that as it may, the issue that provoked this diatribe was an article I spotted in  the newspaper yesterday morning. A small column entitled News of the Weird stated this:

The Marine Wounded Warrior Battalion at Camp Lejeune, N.C. generally enjoys excellent support from the community, but in an April report to the Government Accountability Office, Marines complained of a “petting zoo” environment in which civilian charities and advertisers use the battalion to seek out “poster faces” and bodies that “looked the part” of wounded Veterans, such as those severely burned or missing limbs. Warriors who suffer PTSD or TBI often appear outwardly “normal” and are likely to be ignored by the support organization, thus setting a “bad tone” among the wounded.

Some of you might be inclined to say how terrible this is.  Why, everyone should get top billing as an equal opportunity casualty. Others might roll their eyes and say what is the world coming to when the wounded start demanding equal face time before the press. I may have only scratched the surface on what various public opinions are of this but it is demeaning. Demeaning to Vets and to Americans. Does a newspaper article have to point this out?

No Vet, be he/she a peacetime, Korean War, Vietnam, wheelchair-bound, PTSD -afflicted, SWA  or any other, should be shopped around for the perfect photo op. Many of our scars are invisible and no single one is more deserving of attention to the exclusion of others. The media loves to shock us with graphic photographs of all manner of destruction. Veterans are now “in” and politicians love to use them to wave the flag. What could be finer than to have a Veteran minus a limb or two up on stage or on a poster asking for donations? How tacky. Not the Veterans. They have been hornswoggled and inveigled into this by promises of the beneficial effects it will have for their brothers. One may notice that they are never remunerated for these services either.

I do not know if this bothers other Veterans but one thing disturbs me. If you foolishly mentioned you were a Vet in 1973 when I got out, you wouldn’t get much more than a job driving a taxicab. Nowadays you get the handshake and that hollow “Thank you for your service” . Some may honestly express that sentiment to me but to most it is a rote response like saying “God bless you ” after a sneeze. This is why I never use the phrase or the other one  I hear frequently aimed at Vietnam Vets- “Welcome home!”  Where were all these Welcome Wagon gladhanders in the sixties and the seventies? Why has their attitude changed? Political correctness may be the salient reason.

We are going to see this camaraderie  fade soon when Afghanistan is no longer palatable to Americans. Enjoy it while it lasts ladies and gentlemen Vets. Congress, too, will inevitably be swayed and turn their financial backs on us when it suits them to do so. Mark my words. You’re only as good as your last war.

P.S. I prefer to express my admiration for fellow Veterans by thanking them for their unselfish support for America. Many hear the siren call. Few heed it and and make the ultimate sacrifice. Murphy’s First Law holds sway- No good deed goes unpunished.