Who Are Our Vietnam Veterans?
Posted by Michael
Part of “our mission” is to dispel the long-standing “myth of the Vietnam Veteran.” Perpetuated by movies, TV shows and media myths, the Vietnam Veteran has long been portrayed as dysfunctional, haunted, anti-social and a host of other unappealing qualities. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Vietnam Veterans are our teachers, doctors, lawyers, bankers, elected officials, filmmakers, entertainers, artists and more. They are the backbone of our society and it is way past time that we recognized them as such and honored them for their contributions. Vietnam Veterans are one of the most powerful demographic groups in America. You think you know who they are?
Read on…
- 91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served.
- ONLY 25% of Vietnam Veterans were drafted. (In WWII, 67% were draftees; 33% were volunteers).
- There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non-veterans of the same age group.
- Vietnam Veteran’s personal income exceeds that of the same non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent.
- 97% were discharged under honorable conditions; the same percentage of honorable discharges as ten years prior to Vietnam.
- Vietnam Veterans were the best educated forces our nation had ever sent into combat. 79% had a high school education or better.
- A Vietnam Veteran is more likely to have gone to college than a man of his age who did not serve.
- Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison - only 1/2 of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes.
- 87% of the American people hold Vietnam Vets in high esteem.
- Servicemen who went to Vietnam from well-to-do areas had a slightly elevated risk of dying because they were more likely to be pilots or infantry officers.
Statistics courtesy of the Veterans Administration, Census Bureau, Gen. Barry McCafferty, Gen. William Westmoreland, National Archives, Labor Department, National Personnel Records.