Reply #19: My story, December 1973 [View All]

[5thGenDemocrat]

Dad, a Korean War-era veteran who actually spent his overseas time (c 1951-52) in a very nice assignment in downtown Tokyo, told me that the US was just pulling out of one war in Vietnam and probably wouldn't get into another one for five years or so. If I was going to enlist, it was probably best to enlist just then, when my odds of completing my hitch and coming home intact were probably pretty good. Turned out he was right.
Of course, that was when the intelligent if paranoid Richard Nixon was president. Chimpy, in his cream dreams, would like nothing better than presenting "The GOP Monday Night War of the Week." It ain't his kids dying, after all -- that, in this day and age, would be your kid's job.
Anyhow, this vet doesn't have any problem at all with you and your son's decision. The service can be a rewarding experience for the right sort of person, but it sure as hell isn't for everyone. It wasn't, for the long haul, right for me (though my Aunt Anita, dad's sister, served 23 years and retired from the USAF).
John
Who has a nephew currently making a career out of the Air Force. Ryan has about 14 years to go. We've had at least one relative in every war (except Bush War I) since the revolution, and we'll probably have someone in every war for the next 200 years, too. But that's us.