Professor Mark Boulton Sheds Light on Plight of Vietnam War Veterans in New Book
Westminster College Assistant Professor of History Dr. Mark Boulton sheds light on the poor treatment Vietnam War veterans received in his new book Failing Our Veterans: The G.I. Bill and the Vietnam Generation.
“The benefits of the original G.I. Bill of 1944 were hailed as a fitting reward for the returning soldier heroes of World War II,” says Dr. Boulton. “However, when American soldiers from the Vietnam conflict returned home they found the G.I. Bill fell far short of what they believed they had earned.”
As Dr. Boulton’s book traces the background behind why the benefits Vietnam veterans hoped to receive were cut due to political wrangling over this unpopular war, the reader gains an understanding of what effect politics has exerted on veterans’ benefits from that day forward.
Given the recent scandals in the Veterans Administration and the ongoing debates about the treatment of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, Boulton hopes that the book will encourage both politicians and the public to have a more open and frank discussion about what we owe our returning servicemen and women.
Gerald Nicosia, the author of Home to War: A History of the Vietnam Veterans’ Movement, has this to say about Dr. Boulton’s book: “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…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.”
Purchase Professor Boulton’s Book
