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During my first tour in Vietnam I met old soldiers who wore the CIB with two stars, which meant they had served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. It was my pleasure to have been in the Army at the same time as these old war horses were finishing up their careers.

Also, 98% of the officers I served under were totally professional and cared about the troops under them. The only problem I saw was that they usually only served in the line for six months and then went to a rear area job and then we had to go through another officer learning the ropes and by the time he got to where he knew what he was doing it was time for him to move on. In fairness though, like Mr. Webb said, the casualty rate for officers was high.

During my third tour as a platoon sergeant I went through three officers and even served as the platoon leader for a time until a replacement came in. It was during this time also I saw young PFC draftees leading rifle squads and one very brave soldier go from from PFC to sergeant and serve as a platoon sergeant because we did not have enough senior NCOs. The "Greatest Generation" was well served by their sons.