by the end of the war they were not the exception....every Vietnam veteran that returned at the end of the war tell the same stories.
Most of the veterans I know don't tell stories. I have heard of the zeitgeist of postwar 70s. I'm not saying it never happened, I'm saying that there is a lot more talk than what actually happened. If we're going to disagree it's fine but at least let's know what we are disagreeing with.
It's like the narrative is controlled by the guys who want to be treated like heroes and the actual heroes want to forget it. I don't really believe the ones doing all the talking. I believe the ones who helped establish the antiwar veterans group that I was a founding member of.
The same sort of thing has repeated itself. Pogues have their communities convinced that they single handedly won major battles and actual combat vets hate to be tagged in veterans day click bait.
This sort of nonsense is one of the hurdles to dealing with problems like veteran alcoholism, addiction, legal delinquency, homelessness and so forth. Sniveling in a corner because someone didn't exalt you as a returning hero doesn't solve a damn thing. Suck it up. If anyone really wants to see vets get honored, they should see them getting those actual problems solved.
Edit *
Yes, I'm telling you to get over it, respectfully, trooper.