I listened to Richard Winters, the Lt. who commanded the real unit that was portrayed in "Band of Brothers" say that there were men in his town who comitted suicide because they were not accepted.
My own father gorged himself on banannas and milk just minutes before he went to join so he could pass the minimum weight requirement.
There once was an America.
There were certainly a lot of virtuous people in that age, but there were also commies and anarchists galore. A 28 year old anarchist shot McKinley earlier on, remember. And tens of thousands are volunteering today for service knowing they will go to combat zones.
Now, I am concerned about the future of the republic, but I don’t think any particular time was uniquely virtuous. Every age had its patriots and traitors.
“There once was an America”.
There once was an America where people couldn’t come from other countries illegally, protest in the streets demanding “rights”, put up their flag from their home country while flying ours upside down, and get away with it.
And we’re supposed to want to fight and die for this America? Well, once I took an oath too and didn’t have to. I’ll discourage my sons from joining and taking that same oath until the America we once had has returned. I don’t see that happening though.
The same stuff happens today. I graduated with 4 close friends in college that went to serve in Iraq.
One of them was waiting on his citizen papers to go in as an officer but decided to enlist before that to 'not miss the war'. He didn't eat and ran all week to lose the last few pounds to qualify. Right now he's on track to be an officer.
Another friend of mine joined the Army on his 18th birthday straight out of high school. He's a Major now and has been in Iraq since the start.
I felt like joining but didn't even come close to qualifying. I just lost almost 100 pounds and I'm thinking about joining when I get fit enough.