(Webmaster note: The views expressed here are those of the writer. If you have a differing view, you may send your rebuttal to the Webmaster)

"I am a member of Vietnam Veterans of America and Veterans of Foreign Wars. I contributed my thoughts in Newsletter 21. I have some further thoughts and reflections 30 years after my service in Southeast Asia. I strongly believe that we were hated then and are still hated now by the American people, politicians, and media. We were sold out by Kissenger, Nixon, and Ford at the Paris Peace Talks to the Communists and we soldiers took the blame for the leaders betrayal to our country. 

I have never marched in any parades in 30 years. The reason? Because they are a sham! People clap and say "Welcome Home" and other "insincere" statements when what they really mean is "Go away into history and die!" I personally do not need anyone's "forgiveness", let alone the Vietnamese communists, about what I did in Southeast Asia. I do not need people pretending during a parade that I am somehow "Welcomed Home" by the USA after all. 

I do not need to hear their "apologies" as to what the USA did to us veterans of the war in Southeast Asia. And I do not need to reconstruct my experiences after 30 years and rationalize that somehow everything is alright now. No, everything is not alright. We were betrayed by our political leaders, we were never welcomed home even by our families, and we were never apologized to by the American people who spit on us!

 These are my memories for 30 years. I am a realist and can face the truth. And the truth once again is "We were hated then, and we are hated now." But "their" opinions and lies mean NOTHING to me after 30 years. It has taught me some great truths in life about people and their depth of sincerity. They usually have no "sincerity" and their "words" are untrue. They are masters of deceit! These are my reflections on how veterans of the war in Southeast Asia were really treated by the USA as a country since they came "home." Thanks for nothing America!
Sincerely,
Michael Wilson
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