[Chainmail]

I think that you are correct about WWII vets - but I think that was a different time, a different culture. We had a nearly universal mobilization and as always, about 90% of the veterans didn't experience the close-in, vicious experience of infantry combat and of those, maybe 30% or more died or were permanently disabled. You don't want to look at the photos of the surviving wounded veterans of Iwo Jima, for instance.

Of my infantry company in Vietnam, almost everyone was wounded at least once, some as many as three times. The average time before being wounded or killed was one and half months. All of us who survived Vietnam have had prostate cancer - all of us.

I tell my stories to help others learn (particularly those wearing our uniform now), to preserve our history, to preserve our memory and to let everyone know that I am proud to have been one of us.

[Sequoyah101]

I don’t doubt your statement but it is truly shocking that all who survived Vietnam have prostate cancer.

I weep for all of us but particularly for those who served harsh terms in any cause that they were called for whether it was for our freedom or some tom foolery of politics. They served and suffered at the bidding of the nation. That is enough to give me anguish when I see how our liberty is being trampled and cheapened.

[Gay State Conservative]

I see you're a Marine (yes,I know enough not to use the past tense)...27 years. Yikes!! But seeing that reminded me of an experience I had around 10-15 years ago:

Washington DC...the WWII Memorial (which,IIRC,had just recently opened when we visited)...it wasn't very crowded for some reason but not far from us I saw a middle aged man pushing an elderly man in a wheelchair. He was wearing a WWII USMC baseball cap and for some reason I approached him (which could be seen as rude or intrusive) and I saw that he had tears in his eyes. I said a few words to him and then I had to walk away because to me the sight of those tears was too much for me to take.

And one last note...I did my BCT at Fort Knox in '69,back when Ft Knox was The Home of Armor...Army *and* Marines. There were Marines taking Armor training that were housed right near our barracks...we were so scared of them that we avoided contact with them at all costs! :-)