I had uncles who were every bit the “war hero” GHWB was, but they came from dirt-poor families in flyover country. It never hurts to be the commissioned scion of a wealthy east-coast family when it comes time to get all the bennies and launch a lifetime of “public service.”
you don’t measure up.
My Father never considered himself any kind of hero, he said he was just a Soldier who did his job.
From Normandy, to the Bulge, to Linz Austria.
Liberated a few Concentration camps along the way, and couldn’t wait to get back home.
After he died I wrote to the Army and got a copy of his Unit Diary.
The things that were written in there scared the crap out of me.
And that was long after I spent 5 years in the Marine Corps, 68 to 72.
MY FATHER ALWAYS HAS BEEN AND ALWAYS WILL BE, MY HERO.