as an example, until his UNtimely death in the '90s, i was "best friends with" former 1LT Joseph O. March, late of Merrill's Maurauders of WWII CBI fame. the NEAREST i ever heard Joe come to bragging about his (HEROIC & HEAVILY decorated) exploits was he said "we went through the 18th Jap army like - - - - through a goose,. not many of those boys survived our "especial" care."
fyi, that's HOW i "just knew" that "Hanoi John" was a FRAUD, a COWARD or BOTH, long before he was "Swift-Boated" by the REAL heroes.
You are so right! My now deceased father-in-law served under Patton and surely had stories galore- very seldom did he ever mention the war, and he never made himself out to be a hero. My cousin, brother, and husband served in Vietnam, and will tell you very little, again when they do they are not the hero of the stories. Most of their stories are about the people they met there, funny things that happened- not war stories.