I was disappointed on June 14 as I saw several social media posts celebrating the low turnout at the military parade honoring of the 250th anniversary of the United States Army in Washington, D.C. Closer to home, Lawton/Fort Sill canceled their anniversary celebrations to ensure public safety following protests nationwide.
I understand that President Trump is a divisive president who most either love or hate, but historically speaking, I thought we had moved past protesting the troops for the actions of our president.
I cover Vietnam in my Modern America class. At the end of the lecture covering the conflict, I claim that America learned two lessons from that war. One was to be wary of giving the president too much power to conduct a long, drawn-out war. With that in mind, Congress passed the War Powers Act in 1973, allowing the commander in chief to deploy the army basically for 90 days before needing a declaration of war from Congress.
The second lesson—which I thought we had learned—was to not blame our troops. After the deplorable treatment of troops during and after Vietnam, modern politicians who opposed the War on Terror always made a special effort to say they supported the troops.
That’s not how it was for American soldiers back in the 1960s and ‘70s.
As Vietnam grew more unpopular, much of the frustration was taken out on the soldiers themselves, even though many were drafted and had no say. Back then, there were reports of soldiers returning home being booed and some even being spat on while being called murderers and baby killers. Celebrities like Jane Fonda traveled to North Vietnam and took pictures with enemy soldiers while sitting on an anti-aircraft gun. Because of the unpopularity of the war in Vietnam, our soldiers were not given the homecoming they deserved. Unlike soldiers from earlier wars, there were no parades or celebrations. Large gatherings on the National Mall protesting the war did not honor our brave servicemembers.
In 1969, more than 600,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C. to protest the war. The protests were about the leadership, but our soldiers felt the effects. Many veterans even struggled to get jobs as employers did not want to hire them.
I was born toward the end of the war and grew up in a home that respected the military. Dad was one of the troops standing guard over the monuments during those protests.
My first experience of seeing negative treatment toward any veterans was from the Sylvester Stallone movie, “First Blood.”
While the later Rambo movies became corny, “First Blood” had some truth to it. The movie starts with John Rambo walking into a small town and being harassed by the sheriff. The line that hit me was when the sheriff said, “You know, wearing that flag on that jacket, looking the way you do, you’re asking for trouble around here.”
I could not understand why wearing the flag was bad; Dad had to explain it to me. Rambo, at the end of the movie, summed up his experience perfectly with “I come back to the world, and I see all those maggots at the airport, protesting me, spitting, calling me baby killer and all kinds of vile crap! Who are they to protest me, huh? Who are they? Unless they’ve been me and been there and know what the hell they’re yelling about… Back there, I could fly a gunship, I could drive a tank, I was in charge of million-dollar equipment, but back here, I can’t even hold a job parking cars!”
Fortunately, things did change in America.
In 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated. It is such a simple design, a large black granite wall with the names of more than 58,000, mostly men and eight women, who gave their last full measure for our nation.
I have visited many times and each time I have felt the reverence of that place. As I walk along the wall, looking at names of people I’ve never met, I am filled with pride and gratitude for their service to our country.
Then in 1991, our nation held a massive celebration in our nation’s capital to honor our men and women who fought in the Gulf War. It was an amazing sight. I know this because I was one of more than 200,000 people who turned out to watch it. I remember it being one of the best fireworks displays ever as the crowd sang along to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” I still get chills thinking about it.
I’ve been in airports where people clapped as troops got off planes, and I get teary-eyed when I see videos of soldiers returning home to their families.
Yet on the 250th anniversary of “our” army we witnessed nationwide protests against our president. Protests big enough to cancel parades and keep people away. I loved attending the parade in 1991, but I would not have taken my family to the parade this year, not because my patriotism has diminished, but because of the potential for violence that we have seen from protesters.
I have nothing against peaceful protests. Our soldiers have fought for the protesters’ right to do so. Yet they could have chosen any other day. June 14, 2025, was a day to honor a major milestone for our army, to celebrate the brave men and women who protect us no matter who is president.
As a kid watching Rambo, I could not understand how the flag could be controversial. It’s our flag, and Rambo was one of our soldiers. Yet here we are again, where wearing an American flag lapel pin marks you as dangerous or a radical in some circles. Last year, an Edmond North High School student was suspended for flying an American flag on his truck. Right here in the heartland.
It’s almost like the ‘60s are back, just without the good music.
James Finck is a professor of American history at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He can be reached at HistoricallySpeaking1776@gmail.com.
