(ArtKramr) wrote in message ...
If you didn't fight in WW II do you feel as though your had missed something?
Do you feel that given your druthers you'd rather have been there than not? Any
regrets at having missed it? Anyone?

I think I understand the onus of this question, and why people (as Art
mentioned) tell him "I wish I coulda been there". It's sort of the
latent desire to have been involved in a period of human strife that
was a turning point in history, brought on by some sort of deficit in
things to feel macho about. And I don't say that in derision, but it
is (it HAS to be) based in that Hollywood vision of what that war was
like, horrors and all. Take "Band Of Brothers" on HBO...the simple
title induces visions of quietly being heroes for each other in the
fields and villages against a common enemy. Men who weren't a part of
that (in any war, from WWII to Vietnam to today's conflicts) sometimes
wonder how they'd handle that situation, and I think it's safe to say
some think a little more highly of themselves than might be warranted.

Me personally, I can't say that I regret not having taken fire for my
country. If she asked, I would have, but she didn't, and my life's
course didn't steer me that way. But I honor those who did.