Veterans

So I was at work today and a man came in and he wore a shirt saying "VIETNAM veteran" with an American flag, an old hat stating his division and pins with other veteran paraphernalia, and one of those ubiquitous "Livestrong" bracelets but instead saying "I support our troops". As I thought about this, I questioned: what does this guy expect from doing this? Does he think citizens of America will start to run to him and hug him and worship him? And I mean, why should we "respect" Vietnam vets? I mean, they weren't fighting for freedom. They were fighting for paranoid MaCarthiests (sp?) who were obsessed with the Domino Effect. The people fighting there didn't volunteer either. They either went to Vietnam. Or they went to prison. I don't understand this whole thing. It just doesn't make sense to me.