Reply #99: You start out by calling it a myth. Obviously you wouldn't believe in a

[Mountainman]

a myth. You then get some words from someone else to support your conclusion. Nothing in those words proves it didn't happen. Like I said there is no proof it did happen because no one made and issue of it when it happened so there was no recording of the incidents. In my case, I did not know there would be any negative reaction to my coming home. I never in a million years would have thought that vets would get mistreated. No one told me what was going on back in the states. I actually thought I might get a hero's welcome. Boy was I stupid!

The book the guy wrote reminds me of an employer I once had. He would call me in to chew me out for taking too long to do something. Before I could explain he stated all the actual reasons why it took the time it did and then said, it wasn't for any of those reasons, so what is your excuse. I was left defenseless. Just as this book list all the things someone like me would say then states none of it is true so now what do you have to say. It is interesting to me that he says most of the people he interviewed give the same story. Maybe they gave the same story because they all had the similar experiences. Also, since I did not know anyone else was spat on until then I could have told my story a hundred times before this and it would be the same it is here. I never read the book and I never talked to or knew anyone else who had the same experience I had, so I could not be copying someone else and I doubt all of us could conger up the same story having not read the book and not talked to each other about it.

In my case, I never told anyone what happened until the book came out and that was almost 30 years after it happened. I never gave it a thought until then. I really thought what happened to me at SFO was an isolated incident. I did not know that others were saying the same thing until the book came out.

I think it is hard for you to believe me because you are thinking that we are saying the anti war crowd did this. I am not saying that. I don't know the politics of the guy who spat on me. I never gave it a thought and I surely do not want to discredit the anti war movement because I supported it when I came home. He could have been anti war and if so it doesn't make what I say a lie. If that is your reasoning then you are very naive I think. I really do not have any reason to lie about this. The truth is that if the book hadn't came out I would never have talked about it to anyone so how could I have a motive to attack the anti war movement. You cannot use that reasoning on me.

I was driving to work one morning and listening to KPFK. They were having a fund drive. They were giving the book away as a premium to donors and the author was on talking about his book. That morning was the first time I had ever heard that others were spat on. I knew right then that the guy who wrote the book was wrong and I called KPFK to tell them that. I never got a response. Then I started reading posts like yours and realized that there is no way in hell people like you would believe me. I didn't like that idea but there is nothing I can do about it. It is like I said, something we have to live with. Something we have to accept.

This is the truth and this is what happened to me and whether you believe me or not doesn't matter any more to me. I have no reason to lie and I have nothing against the anti war movement, rather than that, I felt I was part of the anti war movement.

I was walking through SFO with my green class A uniform on because I was flying standby and we had to wear our uniforms. I thought to myself I would much rather be wearing civilian clothes but I did not want to buy the plane ticket so I wore my uniform. I was discharged a few hours before and because of that and because I did not support the war I felt really bad wearing the uniform. I was out of the service yet had to dress this way to get home.

I saw a guy and girl walking toward me about 25 yards away. In my head I was telling myself that I was civilian just like them really and no longer a soldier even though I had this stupid uniform on.

I actually thought they were going to be pleasant to me as a returning soldier. You could tell we were returning because of the medals we were given to put on our uniforms. I really thought that I would get a very warm reception from everyone I met.

As the guy got a few feet from me he spat on me. I was shocked. But I thought this is just some loony guy and let it go, I was excited about the idea that I would be home the next day and like I said, we were told that we were subject to the UCMJ for 72 hours after we were discharged and I did not want to do anything that would keep me from getting home. I had just spent 3 days at Ton Su Nut air base waiting for shelling to stop so the plane taking us home could land. It was now 3 days after I was supposed to leave that the plane landed amid the shelling. We were rushed onto busses and put on the plane. It took off in an extreme hurry to get out of there before it got hit. At times I thought I would never make it home so to be safe in the USA and just hours more until I got home was a real turn on. I would have never done anything to prevent that. It took four days and a lot of anxiety to get to that point. Being spat on was nothing compared to my last four days.

I never talked to anyone about it or did anything about it for years until I heard about the guy's book on KPFK. I never knew that anyone else had the same experience until then, 30 years later and I hadn't given it a thought until then.

Now I am not making this up. It happened at SFO on March 19th 1968.

I know that you and the majority of DUers will not believe me and that's OK. It is kind of hard to read what you posted and maybe I should never respond to these posts any more. I realize that it's the way things are just as I accepted that we were not welcomed home like the guys returning from WWII. The funny thing is I can accept the way things are and you can't.
I know you will never believe me but I am not lying here.