At what point does military worship become dangerous?

[pinboy3niner]

87. Military service, even in peacetime, involves sacrifice

Frequent moves are one part of it, and the pay in the entry-level years isn't so great, especially for families. When I was a junior officer, I was buying groceries for troops with famiies who couldn't afford to buy milk for their kids.l

In wartime, you can be sent to a combat zone where people are trying to kill you, and you never know if the next round may have your name on it. Death is not the only thing combat troops have to fear. Genital wounds, facial injuries, traumatic amputations, traumatic brain injuries...

I was lucky in my combat service, being wounded and surviving. But it was a facial wound, having half my teeth and jaw blown away by AK fire, requiring 18 months hospitalization. And after I got out, having to go back into a military hospital 7 years later to have my jaw re-built again--twice.

I drew a paycheck for my service, but my job was far beyond any civilian job I've ever had. And when I got back I wasn't looking for anyone to idolize me or call me a'hero.' All I realy wanted was for someone to understand what we went through. What I got was, on one side, the warhawks telling me we should have nuked Hanoi (though wiping out a civilian population wouldn't have made me feel like a winner), and on the other side, people calling me 'Baby-killer.'

Another common consequence of service is PTSD (which I wouldn't fucking wish on ANYBODY). And the loss and grief for those we knew and lost. I knew more than 60 guys who died in Vietnam, and that's something I still live with every damn day. Just one more thing they didn't include in my paycheck...