Overview

Returning Vietnam veterans had every reason to expect that the government would take care of their readjustment needs in the same way it had done for veterans of both World War II and Korea. But the Vietnam generation soon discovered that their G.I. Bills fell well short of what many of them believed they had earned. Mark Boulton’s groundbreaking study provides the first analysis of the legislative debates surrounding the education benefits offered under the Vietnam-era G.I. Bills. Specifically, the book explores why legislators from both ends of the political spectrum failed to provide Vietnam veterans the same generous compensation offered to veterans of previous wars. Failing Our Veterans should be essential reading to scholars of the Vietnam War, political history, or of social policy. Contemporary lawmakers should heed its historical lessons on how we ought to treat our returning veterans. Indeed, veterans wishing to fully understand their own homecoming experience will find great interest in the book’s conclusions.

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9780814724873

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Reviews

Outstanding... Boulton sees the big picture of the policy discussions, but backs up his assertions with plenty of detail... Will make a valuable contribution to the scholarly literature on the Vietnam War and of the history of U.S. veterans. -Mark Van Ells, Queensborough Community College, The City University of New York In this richly researched and finely argued book, Boulton challenges us to put aside the 'damaged goods' stereotype of the PSTD-suffering Vietnam veteran, offering in its place a portrait of hard-working, ambitious veterans hoping to climb the ladder of success by attending college. Boulton's penetrating insights into how political wrangling ultimately dashed the educational dreams of many Vietnam veterans offers a cautionary tale as the nation once again welcomes home men who have fought unpopular wars. -Jennifer D. Keene, Chapman University

This book fills an important niche, helping explain the difficulties encountered by those never labeled 'the Greatest Generation'. -Choice In this richly researched and finely argued book, Boulton challenges us to put aside the 'damaged goods' stereotype of the PSTD-suffering Vietnam veteran, offering in its place a portrait of hard-working, ambitious veterans hoping to climb the ladder of success by attending college. Boulton's penetrating insights into how political wrangling ultimately dashed the educational dreams of many Vietnam veterans offers a cautionary tale as the nation once again welcomes home men who have fought unpopular wars. -Jennifer D. Keene,author of author of Doughboys, the Great War, and the Remaking of America Outstanding... Boulton sees the big picture of the policy discussions, but backs up his assertions with plenty of detail... Will make a valuable contribution to the scholarly literature on the Vietnam War and of the history of U.S. veterans. -Mark Van Ells,author of To Hear Only Thunder Again : America's World War II Veterans Come Home The shoddy treatment of our veterans is one of this nation's dirtiest secrets. Mark Boulton deserves high praise for the systematic way in which he reveals how the betrayal of American veterans has been carried out through the course of numerous Presidential administrations. One can only hope that his no-holds-barred censure of callous politicians will lead to a new era, where the government that sends men and women to war acts responsibly in taking care of them once they return home. This book needs to be read by every politician who ever voted on, or ever will vote on, a veterans' rights bill, and by every American who votes those politicians into office. -Gerald Nicosia,author of Home to War: A History of the Vietnam Veterans' Movement With the country facing decades of costly health and service benefits for veterans of its 21st century wars, nothing could be more timely than Mark Boulton's look-back at the political, economic, and ideological battles that shaped public policies currently in place. He gives us a detailed but easy to read history with unsettling implications for our future. -Jerry Lembcke,Associate Professor Emeritus, College of the Holy Cross

Author Information

Mark Boulton is Assistant Professor of History at Westminster College (MO).

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