I know what you mean. I was too young to take much interesting in talking to “live history” and I knew that those men didn’t want to discuss their war experiences, so I didn’t pry or bring it up. But they are all gone now. So sad.
Everyone should watch “They Shall Not Grow Old”
My awareness of them first occurred when my dad took me golfing with him in junior high. I would be playing in his foursome when they talked to each other. That is where I learned that service in the military was just a regular rite of passage into adulthood. I really didn’t want to volunteer for Vietnam, but it was my turn.