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There are many grey-haired Vietnam vets who are still serving, and are OIF vets... my old man is one of them.
I found the difference in his opinions of those respective conflicts is mostly manifest in his willingness to discuss them. In the case of my dad, he NEVER discussed his Vietnam experience (while growing up, I asked about it, several times), yet he is very willing to discuss OIF.
Perhaps this has something to do with the nature of the audience (I'm now a veteran myself, and not a kid anymore)... but I also think it has to do with the nature of the conflicts.
I also think the Vietnam/OIF vets also have a sense that there are people on the homefront who appreciate their sacrifices, and are willing to push back against all the "blood for oil" tripe. When he got back from Vietnam, my old man went into the bathroom at the airport and changed into civies to avoid being hassled by protestors. This time, he actually got thank-you's and handshakes.
Those little gestures of appreciation stick in your mind. I had an airline employee who thanked me when I got back from my first ME deployment... I never forgot it.
Posted by TheNewGuy at February 18, 2006 09:02 PM
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