I’ve always felt uncomfortable with all the kindness I was shown after my relatively tame deployment during OIF, especially from the Vietnam Vets.
God bless Navy Corpsmen, wherever they are.
I get it. I've always had some guilt feelings for not being in the sh*t during Nam when some of my friends did. However, you DO realize that during any war there are many more REMF's than those actually fighting? There is always logistics that support them and without that, the grunts couldn't do their job. That doesn't mean the REMF's wouldn't fight, if need be. Ever seen, "WE WERE SOLDIERS" movie? There were many Rangers who were in support positions, but volunteered to go out into Mogadishu after hearing their brothers were cornered?
The same for fighter pilots on the flight deck. The movie, "TOP GUN", gave little acknowledgment to the many yellow, white, blue, green, and purple shirts who get them on and off the deck with weapons ready. Without them, the pilots would sit in the ready room and just drink coffee. Those same simple sailors would give their lives to make sure those pilots got off the deck.
I'm proud I served well for years working on the flight deck and later chasing Soviet nuke ships from a surface ship. As long as you were Honorably Discharged, you should be proud you served. Not everyone can storm the hill. Thank you for your service.
BTW, love those old 1911's, if that is what your handle means. That was my first introduction to a pistol back when. What a kick! My choice of sidearm is my Sig P226.
Actually, my favorite is my Rem 870. Recently went to a famfire and learned to shoot from the hip and under the armpit. You'd be surprised how easy and accurate it is from those positions, while not nestling the stock in your shoulder and feeling that nasty kick. Just swings in your arms - no problem.