ticevent, nightmares, eating disorders, anxiety, fatigue, amnesia, and social withdrawal. Many veterans could not cope with coming back to a changed America, and as a resultthey turned to drugs and alcohol. This abuse and change in attitude left many veteransjobless and some even homeless. They probably had no idea that their lives would not beback to normal once they returned home. Rons paralysis in his legs had an immense impact on his life. His lack of mobility kepthim from doing all sorts of things he had dreamed of doing. He would never be aprofessional baseball player or even be able to run again. He best described the effect his"new" body had on him when he wrote, " I feel like a bog clumsy puppet with all hisstrings cut. I learn to balance and twist in the chair so no one can tell how much of medoes not feel or move anymore. I find it easy to hide from most of them what I am goingthrough. All of us are like this. No one wants too many people to know how much of himhas really died in the war" ( Kovic 37 ). He could no longer perform the everyday actionsthat most people took for granted. Rons change in his attitude toward the war was bitter and aggressive. He resented thegovernment and all people who supported the war. What had Ron become? He used to bean All-American boy. Characterized by his intense love for his country; his patriotismexuded in everything he did. However, once he realized how naive hed been about warin general, he learned to hate it. Hed lecture to families and children not to enlist for thewar, because they might not come back how they had dreamed. They might come backlike him, or not even come back at all.A few choice veterans overcame the adversity, but despite the few gains made byVietnam vets, in many situations, public perspectives toward the veterans had taken upthe enemys bullets left off. Instead, they had bullets of hatred and rancor shot at them.Their lives were never the same....
