One thing that is very much lost is the context.
To someone under 40, the very idea of the”Cold War” seems ludicrous. An existential threat from a hostile empire capable of taking on the US militarily? That would belong to the era of tri-cornered hats and muskets. And without the context of the cold war, anything we did in Vietnam or Korea seems like simple imperialistic adventuring, a war in pursuit of empire.
Of course we face threats now- China resurgent and infinitely more patient than any occidental can even conceive of being in pursuit of what it rightfully regards as empire, Russia lead by a brilliant and ruthless, patriotic oligarch and of course Islam, but none of those post the type of ‘wipe you off the earth in 60 minutes’ threat the USSR did, and without that kind of threat, the first question any reasonable person would ask is ‘why the hell were we even there? what business of ours was it’?
LOL! Yeah, if you ponder it for a few minutes it really was an odd period. Based on that and general observations of late, yeah, the under 40s have no clue. Just like anything else that someone has NOT experienced, you can’t ‘splain it to them to the depth and breadth of that experience.
To someone under 50, the idea of a draft to send young men abroad seems ludicrous - and subsequent events in Iraq in particular bear that out.
While I had relatives serve in Vietnam, I can sympathize with anyone who was approaching their 18th birthday and draft eligibility. Unless the US is fighting a war within our borders, I would never let the government take my sons - especially if the borders are being left wide open and we are importing Muslims through legal means.