10 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About The Vietnam War
2. Vietnam War Veterans Were Spat On In Rambo... Although This Never Actually Happened In Real Life
There really isn't enough time in the world available to discuss all the historical inaccuracies in the Rambo series and other Vietnam War films - but one of the most infuriating misrepresentations is the spitting aimed at veterans. In the film, John Rambo says of his experiences after returning from Vietnam:
"And I come back to the world and I see all those maggots at the airports - protesting me, spitting, calling me a baby killer!"
Yes there was ferocious oppositions to the Vietnam War from all quarters on American soil, but there is not a single media report of any incident whereby a veteran was spat on - and certainly not when they returned to the airport. Protests were mainly aimed against the government and against top-ranking military officials who had gotten the US involved in the conflict, and not the soldiers who were serving.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
There really isn't enough time in the world available to discuss all the historical inaccuracies in the Rambo series and other Vietnam War films - but one of the most infuriating misrepresentations is the spitting aimed at veterans. In the film, John Rambo says of his experiences after returning from Vietnam: