From a reader:

Jonah,
On your point about the short-term victory of ending US support in Vietnam
leading to a long time curse of distrust and regret, I think there is one
other point. Well, more, but only one I’d like to make now.
60s worshippers or Vietnam anti-war romantics seem to have trouble
understanding why they don’t have full grasp of the post-Vietnam
generation (I’m 33). What they seem to have forgotten is that those vets
– many if not most who had pride in their service — came home and had
kids, too. It wasn’t as if there was a complete victory by anti-war
elements in society that completely eliminated any other side which is
what those aforementioned worshippers seem to want to believe.
Now about these kids — I myself am not the son of a serviceman, but I’ve
known a lot of them. Meaning also there are a lot of them around. They
didn’t necessarily grow up warmongering conversatoids, but they did grow
up and see how those on that other side had viewed and treated their
fathers. That created in them a distrust for those who constantly invoke
their old victories (let alone just plain burnout from hearing about the
glorious 60s growing up — to this day one of my favorite Simpsons lines
is from the greying pony-tailed teacher without his teacher’s edition
saying, “Have I ever told you kids about the 60s?”).
I’ve known people my age whose fathers were vets who are, overall, quite
liberal, but there’s always an uncomfortableness or distaste whenever
Vietnam is invoked to them as the great failure and evil of the age.
Those who do that will never really be able to connect with that rather
large part of society. And continuing to do so currently will just
alienate them.