Treatment of returning vets a "stain" on boomer legacy

Local veterans Dan Rogala and Andy MacVie told me that when they arrived on a flight from Saigon and landed in California, they were met by anti-war protesters who spat on them. That was their thanks for serving their country in a nasty was in Southeast Asia. They were also called ‘baby killers’ and other names that can’t be printed here. Their experience was common. Other returning servicemen (back then, they were almost always men) had blood thrown at them on their arrival. Despite the deep-seated hatred felt by many for the war itself, those serving their country didn’t deserve that. The actions by those members of my generation were despicable. As the memory of the Vietnam War fades in the rear-view mirror of history, their behavior will be a stain on the baby-boomer era that will be difficult, if not impossible, to remove. "Talkin' Bout My Generation" Niagara Gazette (New York)