He's actually my wife's nephew, but I'm very proud of him. Rob returned yesterday from his second tour. He had a couple hour layover in Atlanta so my wife and I, along with two of my kids and families, went to the airport to greet him.
My son said to ask someone to take the picture. I knew I wouldn't have to ask. The family got in a pose and immediately three people rushed over to offer to take the picture.
People were all over themselves trying to shake his hand or pat him on the back. It made me just a little sad. When I was "in", I either traveled almost exclusively in civilian clothes to avoid the less than friendly looks and stares I got back in the '70s.
GREAT NEWS!
When we came back only a few months after "Desert Storm" had been declared there was a quick layover in Maine. As long as I live I'll never forget there were about 20 total strangers there with American flags welcoming us with open arms. Not asking anything from us, but giving hugs and thanking us for our service. A strange and shocking experience.
They were truly great patriotic people who I'm thankful I got to meet!
Very glad he is home safe !
My active duty was with the Marines from 77-80. My experience in the aftermath of Vietnam was similar. I can't count all the times some said to me, "What, couldn't you find a
real job?".
During Desert Storm I was in the NH Army NG, The reaction was, as BM points out, considerably different.
I'm not an especially emotional person, but the "Welcome Home" Parade in Concord brought tears to my eyes.
Sadly, those people and their puppets now run the country. 
"Those people", were heavily influenced by Marx, Lenin, and Mao. After the war they went into politics, education, and Govt service, laying the groundwork for today's socialist regime.
The really sad thing is that the war would have ended a whole lot quicker than it did if the anti-war crowd understood that you could love the soldiers and hate the war all at once. There would have been a lot less polarization if the hippies had been driving around with "Support the troops, Impeach Johnson" bumper stickers and huging our guys at the aiport when they got home. It would have driven a lot of folks away from the pro war camp because they supported the administration out of being pissed at people like
Fonda, not from any conviction that there was anything particularly vital in Vietnam. It would have been good politics, good morality and good sense, but hey, they were stoned at the time. 
FQ13
FQ, Something to remember is that that era was only 20 years after the Nuremberg trials, where the world had seen real war criminals attempting to push the blame entirely onto the regime, and having their defense rejected.
Desert Storm, and the current conflicts come in the wake of Vietnam, where things like "Agent Orange" illustrate the point that the troops are the biggest victims of a bad administration.
The difference makes it possible for the population to separate the honorable character of our troops in combat, from the self serving, or incompetent actions of the administration that sent them there.
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