My 2 brothers were treated like criminals when they got home....

My dad was spit on walking through an airport while returning home.

My uncle by marriage served along with 7 of my dad's best friends, all immigrants from Guyana. They all survived. I will never forget the conversation with my uncle in 1995 about what they experienced. That honest conversation changed me for life.
The older generations are made of sterner stuff.

Years ago, I met a Vietnam veteran named John Burnham. He has been campaigning and speaking about military dogs for decades. He had a German Shepherd named Clipper who would go on patrol with John and his platoon through the jungle. Clipper would signal when there was a trip wire or a mine ahead. Those dogs saved countless lives. They were so effective that the Viet Cong had bounties out for anyone who brought in the badge of a handler or the tattooed ear of a dog.
What breaks my heart is when we left Saigon, because the dogs were considered equipment and not soldiers, they were left behind. If you type in "John Burnham, Vietnam War Dogs" on YouTube, an hour and 10 minute film will pop up. I start losing it when these men are telling their stories about how their dogs saved their lives and vice versa. Watch it with a box of tissues.