My Dad was in the Battle of Manila. He saw what the Japanese did there. When we were little e told us about the goofy things they did in the Army. When we got to draft age and Viet Nam War was at its worst, he didn’t want his sons to go. He told us about some of the horrible things he saw.
It was always understood (mostly by mom and dad) that I would grow up to be a Marine, just like my dad.
When my WWII, China, Korea, and Vietnam veteran dad got off the plane from Vietnam at El Torro, he hugged my mom, gave her a big kiss, then hugged me, held me at arm’s length, locked eyes with me, and said “If I ever see you walking and you start with your left foot, I’m. Breaking. Your. Leg.”