Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Not that anyone has noticed

Could you imagine the typical 17 or 18 year old going off to war today?
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I've seen it too often over the past 12 years. The majority of them I'm sure would fit right in with the greatest generation. Truly outstanding, upstanding people that I'm proud to know. But then, with less than one percent of the population currently serving, they are anything but typical. And the average American rarely realizes it.

Imagine the boys of the greatest generation marching off to war, but being told they can only shoot when shot at. That when they see scouts spying on their position in advance of an attack that they just have to watch them in binoculars, see them through the cross hairs of their scope and can do nothing, despite knowing that in a short period of time that hell was going to rain down on them, or an IED was going to blow up their next convoy just because some muslim asshat in Washington doesn't want to make a puppet-ruler, who is gorging himself on American cash, angry.

Like others have stated, I too can imagine it. How many 18 year old men have you spent time with in the last 10 years, or your time in the military...

My parents sure knew about it. My father was flying blimps out of Tillamook, OR searching for Japanese subs. My FIL was a fighter pilot. He was on Okinawa training for the invasion of Japan. They were very happy when Germany went down and ecstatic when the Japs folded.

Quite a number of women ferried bombers across the Atlantic to Europe and actually found their way. I became acquainted with one that later became a crop duster and charter pilot.

I was ten years young when the war with Germany ended.

Kind of ironic ain't it that the Greatest Generation raised the most [bleep] up generation of kids.

Hard to understand how that happened.

Watered down beer, OK, so that's where all that horse piss goes!

You have definitely got that right as I used to transport to VAMC Seattle on the DAV Van off the Olympic Peninsula an ex army nurse who had a ship shot out from under her during WWII.

I've seen it too often over the past 12 years. The majority of them I'm sure would fit right in with the greatest generation. Truly outstanding, upstanding people that I'm proud to know. But then, with less than one percent of the population currently serving, they are anything but typical. And the average American rarely realizes it.[/quote]



Yes, and that was the only point I was making. It was a different day back then. Boys became men much sooner because they had to. The typical boy back then had to take on much more responsibility within his family by that age and it was expected he would serve his country. My comments were not a put down to the great men who are in our armed forces today.

Yes I remember VE-DAY and VJ-DAY ,I was about 5 years old at the time.On VJ-DAY New York City went wild with celebration ,it was a fine time too be an American you could feel the PRIDE ,but not any longer at this time..

I'm keeping in mind your post below:

[/quote] Parents need to active it on their own phone, most especially women.

If there is a single woman in the car I will say 90% of the time they are either talking or texting. I'm 48 and I can count on one hand how many times I've heard anything important come from a woman...

And my response to your statement/question in this thread:

The 17 and 18 year olds serving in our military are anything but "typical" today. I was referring to the majority of the 17 and 18 year old population. Have you had the opportunity or time to research statistics?

So you know the majority of 17 and 18 year old kids in the population today? Does Mark know?

My next door neighbors on either side are WW II vets, one 89 and one 93. Army in the Philipines, and AF mechanic in Europe. Has a doorknob that he literally ripped off Hitler's house in Berchtesgaden.

Paul