For the most part, GIs were treated like the heroes they were. There were huge parades in NYC and other cities, large and small. You may know of the GI Bill of Rights which subsidized schooling and home ownership, preference (through bonus points) in Civil Service jobs, medical care and the like.

Nobody spat on them and called them baby killers. Nobody condemned them for the job that hey did and endured. And nobody wished that the other side would win. Of course, when I say 'nobody', I do not literally mean every single person, but you get the idea.

Suggest you read the Brokaw books about "The Greatest Generation".

John Hindsill