What do you expect US soldiers do every day at war? Sing flower songs and discuss the first amendment with their sergeants? That's what the peace nicks wanted our soldiers to do in Nam - with the result of having millions of South Vietnamese ruined and killed when we let the North run over them. We are at war and we are all soldiers.
Lincoln carried out a murderous war that in some terms paled in comparison to Hitler or Stalin, who at least did not carry out purely total civil wars against their own people - Hitler targeted Jews only. In the end Lincoln gave us back our freedoms, and that's the difference between Hitler and Lincoln. Both needed the salute of the troops, the later however knew the difference between war time and peace time burdens. I suggest you learned about those differences too.