The Difference Between WWII & Vietnam

Taken from JRE #1820 w/Jack Carr:

[Ryan-thzm]

I used to work at a gas station when I was younger and I had a customer who was this older black man who would tell me stories about his time in Vietnam. One day during one of his stories I shook his hand and said thank you for your service because I know you guys got treated horribly when you came back so I want to show gratitude for what you guys went through. He started crying in middle of the store very quietly and said “thank you young man that means so much to me, no one has ever said that to me before”.

[catfunt]

We shouldn’t have been in Vietnam but the way veterans were treated was absolutely deplorable.

[tvelis]

My grandfather went into Normandy on a glider behind the lines with the 82nd Airborne. He was a SSgt. and he only ever said that he did his job just like everyone else. I hope they all know just how special what they did was. RIP grandpa 1921-1999.

[supergrendel]

There's a guy in my town we call "mean Gene". He's now 99 years old and is a WWII vet. He watched his son commit suicide by gun in his driveway, lost his wife of 70 years to cancer and had a major stroke that has since paralyzed his left arm and nearly all of his left leg but he can still get around with a cane. He served in the Pacific theatre. Anyhow, Gene was on a transport ship and the Japanese pilots would come down real low almost to the water line and use our transport ships as shields from the gunships because they sat higher in the water and would come up over the tops of our lighter less important ships to attack the more important ones. Gene would stand on the open deck of his transport ship and throw potatoes at the Japanese Zero pilots. I don't think the reaper will take this man for fear of him.

[daddymcpapi]

my neighbor, Sam Hunt, was at Pearl Harbor. He told his story when I was in my late 20s. Sam was on a minesweeper and heard the chaos above decks. He ran up to the top deck to see Japanese planes bombing and strafing. He told me he jumped back into the stairwell and knocked his front 2 teeth out. His CO came up the stairwell and threw up when he saw Sam's bloody face. He told me they were able to get underway and made it out of the Harbor. After that, I cleaned his pool, did yard work etc and wanted nothing. He wouldn't accept something for nothing and would always press 10 bucks in my hand. it was literally less than 2 bucks an hour but I knew his pride was involved so I thanked him. when he passed away, I did the same work around the house for his wife for cookies, brownies, etc. I'll never forget it and glad for it.

[ArkaeaFCL]

I love what he said in the beginning about language. It reminds me of something that George Carlin said. "They want to control your language because that's how you control thought. Because we do think in language. So the quality of our thoughts, actions and ideas can only be as good as the quality of our language." I just felt like I had to point that out.

[pammathers]

I worked in a VA hospital in the late 80’s, my patients were the remaining WW2 vets. It was one of the best experiences of a 37 year nursing career! They were phenomenal men!

[Nunya]

My uncle had a shit ton of medals from Vietnam, he was a green beret that was highly decorated and had a thousand yard stare anytime I ever saw him. My cousin and I one time asked him what it was like and he looked both of us directly in the eyes and said we’d never hear about it from him. Definitely got the vibe he’d seen some shit. RIP Uncle wayne…

[XxkbtjexX]

My dad took me to Normandy and Ohama Beach when I was around 10 (22 now). I remember it so well, the mass burials with crosses and bunkers. At that time it didn’t really hit me because I was too young, but looking back at it man… Wow. So grateful for those unimaginably brave men who fought for OUR freedom, something we take for granted so much nowadays. Taking yourself through the experience of imagining what that was like really changes your view of the world. I’m so grateful my dad took me there to do just that when I was younger.

[chileanwey]

He’s right, somehow we stopped holding our politicians accountable. I never liked Nixon but he had the decency of resigning, and that’s respectable.

[pookienumnums]

my grandfather was in ww2, the korean conflict, and vietnam. he was a proud american. even though he said he didnt think everything the government did was right, and that they needed to take better care of the men and women who serve, he was proud to be an american mostly because of the bonds he formed with men and women in the service. he was raised by racist people, in a racist area, but he military completely changed him. he said you didnt care what color the men were next to you, only whether or not they had your back. and they did. they had eachothers backs. brothers in arms, truly. rest in peace grandpa, i wish i had been more mature while you were around, to ask you more about your life experiences.

[Priceluked]

The initial question at the beginning of the clip was inadvertantly answered I feel. You can describe all of these heroic events and battles in WW2, the difference between it and conflicts like Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Syria, etc. is those conflicts are long, drawn out, and fought for unclear reasons to the public and without any definable end goal in mind.

[DawsDaws]

The real difference: we were the liberating force in WW2, and the occupying force in Vietnam

[goatbaaad]

Whenever I see a Vietnam vet I always shake their hand and say welcome home. It honestly is the best feeling seeing their faces afterwards

[Azskippyz]

My father and his brothers from Kansas decided that it was their duty
to fight for our country and join the Navy right after Peral Harbor.. Dad was sank twice the last he was the sole survivor. He got out in 1945 then went to being a sheriff. 1948 dad reenlisted into into the Army and served during the Korean war. Dad stayed in the Army and saw 3 tours of Vietnam 1st Cav active combat. Purple, bronze, etc... While stationed in Seoul I was born. My mother and her family were refugees from the Korean war. Dad was a big man at 6'4 300+. Dad was a gentle man that loved his country. When I was little I asked about how come the Vietnam war was so bad and horrible (Vietnam flashbacks) and the others wars were not? He told me this a few times that during WW2 we had nothing but the dirt under us. When WW2 broke out it was duty to our country. And said that he had 3 meals a day, fresh clothes and $44 dollars in his pocket. We fought an enemy and we won with the world celebrated. Then the soldiers came home, got the GI bill got homes and started the families. The children of those families grew up with so many new and modern things, High School, automobiles, Prom, drive in's, surfing, ColorTV, etc.. The American dream. Then throw an 19 year old kid with a M16 into the jungles of southeast Asia. I miss my father.

[jakecozzz]

My grandpa was a battle vet from ww2 he was born 11-11-1919 he had bad PTSD he slept with a loaded 357 under his pillow he would tell us crazy stories about how after they took the beach his tank driver had lost his mind and would drive over the bloated bodies to hear them pop and all the men had to tie him up. He went into the war a racist and by the time he came out he realized how foolish his beliefs really were. Made him question God and everything he was taught his whole life. Rest easy pop.

[ssppaarrttaanns]

I think the difference was that in ww2 there was a clear cut villain with Hitler that needed to be stopped. I’m Vietnam a lot of the soldiers didn’t even know why they were there and what they were killing for. The soldiers were used and essentially thrown away for the interests of people who didn’t care about them at all

[anonony]

WWII was the last war that people generally feel was justified

[bjkarana]

One difference in particular that stands out between WW2 and Vietnam was _who_ fought. In WW2, all social classes served, but for Vietnam, it was largely working-class Americans who couldn't get those college deferments or cushy Air National Guard assignments Stateside.

[PullupTight]

I am 26 and already medically retired from the Army after serving in Iraq & Syria. I miss the brotherhood but I also miss the ones we lost. I really don’t know what to do with my life now since it feels like I have no purpose but I just try to live on for the ones who didn’t make it