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The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory, and the Legacy of Vietnam Paperback – May 1, 2000
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How the startling image of an anti-war protested spitting on a uniformed veteran misrepresented the narrative of Vietnam War political debate
One of the most resilient images of the Vietnam era is that of the anti-war protester ― often a woman ― spitting on the uniformed veteran just off the plane. The lingering potency of this icon was evident during the Gulf War, when war supporters invoked it to discredit their opposition.
In this startling book, Jerry Lembcke demonstrates that not a single incident of this sort has been convincingly documented. Rather, the anti-war Left saw in veterans a natural ally, and the relationship between anti-war forces and most veterans was defined by mutual support. Indeed one soldier wrote angrily to Vice President Spiro Agnew that the only Americans who seemed concerned about the soldier's welfare were the anti-war activists.
While the veterans were sometimes made to feel uncomfortable about their service, this sense of unease was, Lembcke argues, more often rooted in the political practices of the Right. Tracing a range of conflicts in the twentieth century, the book illustrates how regimes engaged in unpopular conflicts often vilify their domestic opponents for "stabbing the boys in the back."
Concluding with an account of the powerful role played by Hollywood in cementing the myth of the betrayed veteran through such films as Coming Home, Taxi Driver, and Rambo, Jerry Lembcke's book stands as one of the most important, original, and controversial works of cultural history in recent years.
- Print length217 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateMay 1, 2000
- Dimensions6.13 x 0.6 x 9.25 inches
- ISBN-100814751474
- ISBN-13978-0814751473
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"The image is ingrained: A Vietnam veteran, arriving home from the war, gets off a plane only to be greeted by an angry mob of antiwar protesters yelling, 'Murderer!' and 'Baby killer!' Then out of the crowd comes someone who spits in the veteran's face. The only problem, according to Jerry Lembcke, is that no such incident ever has been documented. It is instead, says Lembcke, a kind of urban myth that reflects our lingering national confusion over the war." ― Los Angeles Times
"The best history I have seen on the impact of the war on Americans, both then and now." -- David Dellinger
"The myth of the spat-upon veteran is not only bad history, but it has been instrumental in selling the American public on bad policy." -- Maurice Isserman ― Chicago Tribune
"Lembcke builds a compelling case against collective memory by demonstrating that remembrances of Vietnam were almost at direct odds with circumstantial evidence." ― San Francisco Chronicle
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Product details
- Publisher : NYU Press (May 1, 2000)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 217 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0814751474
- ISBN-13 : 978-0814751473
- Item Weight : 12 ounces
- Dimensions : 6.13 x 0.6 x 9.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #681,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,203 in Vietnam War History (Books)
- #5,351 in Asian History (Books)
- #29,993 in Social Sciences (Books)
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And it is through the prism of that Russians-crossing-England that I view the spitting myth, and yes, it is a myth. It did not happen. Certainly it did not happen to me, when I returned in late August, 1969. And I do not believe it happened to anyone else either, in particular, as the myth has it, a hippie in the San Francisco airport. But as Lembcke is careful to point out, and I fully concur, it is impossible to prove a negative. Both he and I would concede that somewhere, somehow, some returning soldier may have been called a "baby-killer" and even, still less likely, but possibly, spit upon. And Lembcke provides the central argument to buttress his assertions: at the time, there were no reports that this occurred. At least one other reviewer has performed this simple thought experiment, similar to Lembcke' argument, consider: young males, and it was all males back then, having endured a year in Vietnam, that, at a minimum, took off some of the "civilizing edges," usually with thoughts of real or potential girl friends, gets off the plane, and the first thing that happens is a long-haired, and therefore "effete" hippie, spits on you. I consider myself on the "pacific" side of the temperament scale, but I would have decked the guy. How many others, less pacific, would have done the same thing? It could easily have erupted into a brawl, with bystanders participating, the police intervene, court charges, etc. As Lembcke carefully documents in Chapter 3, both Nixon, but particularly Spiro Agnew, the Vice-President, were vociferous in their denunciations of the peace movement, with real, and all too often, imaginary charges. SURELY, Agnew would have used even one incident of spitting, and named names, to discredit the peace movement. It didn't happen.
Lembcke convincing demonstrates how and from where the "spitting myth" evolved, pointing particularly at the 1978 movie Coming Home , most ironically featuring Jane Fonda. Yes, a re-write of history, fitting national needs, coming from Hollywood. He also details how the treatment of returning veterans was a prominent part of the Bush I strategy during the 1990-91 Gulf War. So, why do numerous individuals claim that they had been spit on? Lembcke also convincingly, in my opinion, since it is also one of my "pet peeves," details that many individuals claim they were in the military, and never were (certainly one of the reasons subsequent to this book, that the "Stolen Valor Act" became law in 2006). And even for those who were in the military, many were never in Vietnam, and for those that were, most were not truly in combat, but were cooks, clerk-typists, etc., who might have been killed via a rocket attack, but there chances of surviving their tour were magnitudes greater that the "grunt" walking point. The author says, on p.117, "The reality is that 85 percent of the men who went to Vietnam did not see combat." I believe the percentage a bit lower, 75 percent, but still, we agree that it was the majority. Essentially the same point is made by Philip Beidler in his excellent book Late Thoughts on an Old War: The Legacy of Vietnam starting on page 134. From my own experience, I'd estimate that I've (briefly!) talked to 20-25 individuals who would claim they were in Vietnam, but the simple question: "Oh, what unit were you in?" would lead to a quick back-peddle, and a discussion about the weather.
Of personal interest, the author tells the story of Dwight H. Johnson, who won the Medal of Honor for actions taken near Dak To, when five tanks were ambushed, in Jan. 1968, and who was subsequently killed in Detroit, attempting to rob a store, in 1971. Dwight was in my battalion, the 1/69th Armor, though I did not know him. He "DEROSed" two months before my arrival in September, '68. The author postulates that Johnson was one of the first who commenced the image that all Vietnam veterans had PTSD, in his chapter "From Badness to Madness."
It is depressing noting all the 1-star reviews, all of which I have read. It is reflective of the "civil war" that still divides Vietnam veterans, some 40 plus years later, the one between those who have realized it was a tragic mistake, and those who continue to have seen some sort of purpose to it. What most of us could agree upon is that we were spit upon, metaphorically. Unmentioned in Lembcke's account is Agent Orange, and how the US government argued for many years that there were no deleterious effects, which culminated in the truly outrageous "settlement" imposed by Federal Judge Julius Weinstein that said that $12,000, spread over 10 years, was a "fair and just" settlement for those affected. And asking a man to be the last soldier to die for a mistake, what is that?
I really wanted to give this book a 5-star rating since it addresses a heart-felt issue. However, I think it is marred by redundancy and disorganization. And the chapter "Women, Wetness, and Warrior Dreams" got WAY too "new-age" for me. The author gave short-shift to the movie I've always considered to be the classic movie on the war, Hearts and Minds (The Criterion Collection) which he calls "scholarly." Also, as mentioned above, there was the "metaphorical" spitting that he neglected, by individuals in our own government, certainly, op cit., Nixon and Agnew, but such that it continues to the present day. 4-stars.




