The mechanization and industrialization of war, completely changed war. War as seen from WWI and especially WWII on are completely different beasts than anything that came before.
With the absolute industrialization of war, survival or death was far more luck than skill, no amount of skill is going to keep you alive storming the beach at Normandy, or in the trenches at Verdun.
I can’t imagine anyone who has walked into such battles and came out alive waiving their bloody shirt as testament to their bravery as anything more than a sociopath.
Now, though, soldiers are better protected by body-armor and technology that incorporates skill into warfighting again. I wonder if Iraq and Afghanistan vets will be a little more open about their service once they start running for office.