Yep. My advantage stemmed from my father taking me golfing with adults from about age twelve on. These men were all members of the Greatest Generation who served in WW II. There was a man who used the first golf cart I ever saw, because as a brigade commander of the 41th infantry in New Guinea he was debilitated by sickness. I remember one fairly good golfer who had kind of a weird back swing. I found out he was crippled while serving with the Big Red One in Sicily. My Economics professor in college served with one of the first UDT teams clearing barricades and mines in the surf zone before Pacific landings. I often ended up as a dishwasher at Michelbook Country Club and noticed the chef always limped as he moved around the kitchen. He saw my puzzled look, and said he got the limp from a wound received when he was with the Rangers at Pointe De Hoc.
I could relate other stories and have forgotten many. The upshot of these experiences was I volunteered for the Navy. I would rather have worked for a CPA firm, but learned from these men it was my turn.
Others said they would not fight in an immoral war. That implied that they would be the first to volunteer for a moral war. The men I knew fought the “good war”, but never indicated to me it was moral.
Others said they could never bring themselves to shoot another human. The men I knew, were like me, much more concerned about being killed.
Since that time I have never wanted to identify with the other Boomers.
It’s hard at times knowing some of the boomers that we know. There are those that can’t grasp the concept of, (small thought in the back of my pea brain back then) that when my dad swore me in, I was committing to the government the use or abuse of my life as they saw fit. Not everybody gets assigned to a combat unit but, we were still offering up our lives in any case to be called upon at any time. Just look at how many non combat accidents occur. Late 60’s early 70’s was not an easy time to be in the military due to all the lies the msm and left wing were putting out. There was the far enemy and the at home enemy.