Those who have been there have no need to tell others about it, nor do they wish to publicize their experiences. I am reminded of a late friend who, at his retirement party a decade ago, at the time of the 50th anniversary of the battle of Iwo Jima (1995), mentioned that he was there during the momentous battle as a 17-year old Navy corpsman who joined the service against his parent's wishes and, nominally, illegally. But that was then, when duty, honor, and country meant something to a lot of folks in the USA. In any case, he had never spoken of this before, I was taken aback. Most unlike charlatans such as Murtha and Kerry. The latter are despicable. I knew deep down that Murtha is a fraud, and have known since 1971 that Kerry is one, too. The MSM latches on to these clowns because that's all there is on their side.
I would just add that I never knew my uncle was at Iwo Jima until my mother quietly whispered it to me at services for the first Veteran's Day after my son's enlistment- nearly twenty years after his death. My jaw hit the floor. I whispered rather loudly in return, "WHY DID I NEVER KNOW THAT?!" She just kind of shrugged.
My uncle (with six sons of his own) privately presented my brother with his dress blues upon his enlistment. They were ruined in a hurricane. My brother, alone, lit a fire especially for them, and cried as he burned them.
He didn't tell me about his little ceremony, someone who saw it told me.