” and by no means was it all about Vietnam”
That depends what you mean by “it”...
My post (it) refers only to the time specific to the Vietnam war and the remainder of the 1970’s and how all of that was going on when I was too young to have any real involvement.
I worked as a civilian one-year temp with the Army during Desert Storm (GS-9) and as I recall it, there was no significant public anti-war sentiment and for all intents and purposes, we won that war as it was intended to be waged.
I am not offended by your assertion that I am by proxy of never having served as an enlisted regular or reservist, separated from “millions of boomer males”.
BTW, I think you meant to say 9.5 million...Or was that 9.5 BILLION served? Whatever it is, it’s a whole lotta hamburger.
“It” being the period for military service of the boomers which goes well beyond Vietnam and involves the boomers serving even today, which for you ran to about 1986 for normal enlistment, a time of great patriotism.
Vietnam by the way, was an overwhelmingly volunteer war, unlike WWII, when all branches of the service drafted and 93% of the Army service was by draftees.
The Vietnam war was won by the young fighting men, a war in which they never lost a major battle, it was politically given up by the American government within a couple of years after the 1973 peace accords, and the U.S returning home.