Vietnam Veterans

I recently heard the phrase, "A War Vet has so many perks!" Well, isn't it ironic that so many homeless men you see on the streets, are holding signs that say "Vietnam Vet."?

According to the National Alliance To End Homelessness -- approximately 49,933 Vietnam Veterans were homeless in the year 2014. That was 8.6 % of the total homeless population. That doesn't seem like a lot of perks at all. ​​​​​​​This article is separated into two posts. The first is a brief history of the Vietnam War, and a testimonial from a Vietnam veteran. The second we will discuss benefits that veterans are entitles to. We will also list steps that will help your case, should you need to file a law suit. WHAT IS A VIETNAM VET? A Vietnam War Vet is a veteran who served in the U.S Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. VERY BRIEF HISTORY The Vietnam War was a long expensive conflict that began in 1954-and ended in 1975. The conflict marked the communist regime of it's North Vietnam and it's southern allies who were called the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. Throughout the 1950's a small majority of American Military were stationed through out the territory. A larger scale was introduced in 1961--active combats were introduced in 1965. By the year 1969 more than 500,000 U.S Military Personal were stationed in Vietnam. VIETNAM DRAFT AND LOTTERIES During the Vietnam War about two-thirds of American troops volunteered. The rest were 18-25 year old selected boys via of a Military draft. 20% of the men drafted were middle class, 55% working-class and 25% very poor. Few upper class men were drafted. This would become a heated political debate. One of the known men who avoided his Vietnam draft was Dick Chaney. On December 1,1969, In response to the drafting political outrage--the Selected Service System conducted two draft lotteries. This was the first draft lottery since 1942. The boys selected for the draft were born in the years 1944-1950. The draft numbers were selected by birth dates that were placed in a deep glass container. The first date drawn was September 14th- to April 24th. The drawing continued until each birthday was assigned a number. The Second Lottery, was on the same day. This time, the draft was selected by letters. The letter J, G, and D were the first three letters to be chosen. The next letters were, E, B and V. This meant boys with the initials JJJ, would be the first selected. By 1970 all men with the number 195 or lower, were called in order of their numbers for a physical examination. Several men were arrested when burning their draft cards at protests and parties. Only the very wealthy and ill were able to avoid being drafted. THE END OF AMERICA IN VIETNAM! In the year 1973, President Richard Nixon finally put an end to Americas involvement in the Vietnam War. However, several Americans continued to die in the Vietnam conflict until 1975. Unfortunately, Vietnam vets who returned home were left with very little medical care and support. The benefits the vets were entitled to, they weren't aware of. Although the majority of the soldiers were sent to Vietnam against their will, and were clueless as to what they were fighting for--much of the public's attitude towards them was shameful. The veterans were dubbed "baby killers" and often spit on. A VETERANS TESTIMONIAL "I wish that I had known about benefits as soon as I got back. After being removed from society for two years a lot of stuff was going on in my head. We didn't come home as heroes so we didn't know what benefits we were entitled to. We received our discharge papers and were set free into the world we didn't fit in, and there was no one to guide us. No one told us what to expect regarding our mental health. I have been to several psychiatrist and none of them mentioned that I had PTSD until 10 years ago. Vietnam PTSD wasn't mentioned in the 70's and 80's. I'm sure things are different now, but in the 70's I attempted to go to college with a VA loan, half way through the school disapproved. I ended up working for a family owned business, they loved me and it turned out my career went pretty good! For about 10 years I have been receiving disability. I had no idea that I was exposed to agent orange, disbursed by our government. Not much has been made public about agent orange, so I don't think a lot of guys know if they were exposed to it. It's caused a multitude of illnesses including lung cancer. We all have our battles, I just wish I would have known I could have had help a long time ago." WE CAN HELP! If you are a Vietnam veteran we can't change how you were treated when you returned from the war. We can however ensure, that going forward-- your legal benefits granted to you by the Government will be met. We also can bring you justice for the years of support that was taken away from you