With very few exceptions, very few, most turned out to be normal productive people.
Most of these people experienced prolonged combat during 1966-1968 period. Army and Marine yet came back, adjusted, after blowing off some steam, and are some ones Grandfather.
Try to see that even terrible auto accidents have people who are killed, others critical and some walk away fine.
Combat affects different people in different ways, and that depends on their unique combat situation and state of mind at the time. Extreme hunger, cold, and emotional state at the time of the attack or incident will have some influence.
I had three Uncles and my own Dad who were in WWII, three came back okay, one uncle was diagnosed with ‘shell shock’(now known as PTSD)...he managed for twenty years by isolating himself on a farm with the help of one of the other Uncles. They told my grandmother he would never be a threat to family or others, but he would be a threat to himself. He would hit the ground when an airplane or helicopter went overhead. A radio or tv was disturbing, and eventually he did shoot himself in the middle of the night.
So just because you or your friends did not experience PTSD doesn’t mean that our soldiers aren’t suffering....some in silence, undiagnosed. Doctors have done better at informing families that PTSD can affect anyone... it isn’t about their being less of a soldier than anyone else.
My doctor told me that most severe car accident victims experience some form of PTSD for at least six months in various levels. And although you and your friends claim you didn’t suffer from it in combat, the real test is what your spouses and family say....low levels come out in stress, new anger, and a change in personality.
It isn’t always violence, it can be depression, isolation, and the inability to do the things, or a lack of interest in things they once liked....avoiding parties, or family gatherings. Not always an overt action...sometimes it’s hidden by the soldier from family....and that is more dangerous because help will not be forthcoming. Denial kills. A person who loved to laugh is now a constant complainer, sad, or unhappy...different levels of change.
I knew two Vietnam Vets who were severely PTSD damaged. I had a neighbor who threw himself on a grenade to save his unit, he died....Vietnam stole a generation of men, either through death, PTSD, unforgettable memories, or injury.
So you and your friends were blessed, thank God every day!