I knew somebody would bring that up.
You were enlisted at that age, and as such you were under constant orders and supervision from older, more experienced males. At seventeen you weren’t in charge of anything. You were being taught manhood. You earned the right to be called a man, it wasn’t handed to you.
The actor Hugh O’Brian was famous for being the youngest man to ever be a Marine drill instructor. He became a DI in 1942 when he was just 17 years old. He didn’t just follow orders, he gave them. And his orders were followed, too, by other tough men.
Audie Murphy was just 16 when he enlisted in the Army in 1942. He lied about his age. No one in their right mind would ever say he was snot nosed kid.
It is beyond ridiculous to hear today’s pampered azzholes try to rationalize every lame excuse for our current generation’s collective laziness and enstupidation. There is no doubt our forefathers were made of sterner stuff. Freedom isn’t free.