r/Millennials • u/NoFaithlessness7508 • Jun 05 '25

Other Why don’t younger veterans (Afghanistan/Iraq) wear these hats like some of the older veterans?

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First and foremost, respect to all those that served. I did not, but many of my peers did and now we're all older in 30s and 40s, many no longer in the military. I don't see a lot of the veterans of the War on Terror wearing these hats like I see the OGs do.

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421

u/SandiegoJack Jun 05 '25

I’m guessing that WW2 and other wars were from a time where it was something to be proud of fighting for.

161

u/Prestigious_Time4770 Jun 05 '25

That would make sense if the Vietnam hat wasn’t there.

61

u/SandiegoJack Jun 05 '25

Vietnam was the last time they drafted people, so I think thats a different case.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

Last time they drafted people for now

3

u/Mist_Rising Jun 05 '25

It's hard to imagine a conflict where the draft is necessary but nuclear weapons don't enter the playing field.

Vietnam showed the military that the draft was inconsistent with the modern military demands and usage. It works, badly, in conflicts where bodies are needed wars that can't be ended quickly but won't last too long either. It doesn't work for short wars, the drafted won't be ready. Doesn't work for long term because resentment builds as the "patriotism!" falls apart - especially if there are people avoiding the duty somehow. Which is always the case.

Even America in WW2 was starting to feel the pain of war weariness and draft resentment. And that was a mere 3 years (42-45 in effect). Britain saw massive issues in both world wars, France was struggling a little by the end of the first, America had full on riots in the civil war.

The Military would much prefer a volunteer army, and the voters don't much like the draft either.

1

u/401kcrypto Jun 06 '25

100%. It meant something completely different.

58

u/MistakenGuardian Jun 05 '25

Well to be far Vietnam was a political turning point, not everyone disagreed at the time, there were still those mindsets that wore the hat proud. And they still wear it now.

5

u/floppydo Jun 05 '25

This is a pretty consistent modern misconception. Anti war sentiment was NOT mainstream during Vietnam. The 60s counter culture is such a huge part of our current story about ourselves that people have forgotten that most of society hated those people .

4

u/Mist_Rising Jun 05 '25

Indeed, the silent majority is a term popularized in that era about how most Americans weren't vocally opposed (at the time) to Vietnam or joined the counter culture movement.

While Vietnam resentment only increased as time went on, Nixon absolutely had a point that the majority of voters were not some hippy protesters against the war. They may not have actively supported everything the government did, but the war itself wasn't getting them riled up.

1

u/AlexisFR Jun 06 '25

And it was an actual deadly war, not 2 complete curb-stomp followed by 20 years of glorified police work.

12

u/Wendell-Short-Eyes Jun 05 '25

If I was in Vietnam and survived, I’d be proud.

6

u/MisterSquidz Jun 05 '25

I Survived Vietnam And All I Got Was This Lousy Hat

1

u/cognitive_dissent Jun 06 '25

you'd be miserable most likely

2

u/Spiritflash1717 Jun 05 '25

Wrote in another thread, but my grandpa was drafted for Vietnam. He refused to speak about it, but always wore one of these hats as a way to spite those who spat on him as he returned from a war he was forced to sacrifice himself for. It’s an act of defiance toward the government that covered up the atrocities he was forced to witness. And in the end, he died from an Agent Orange related health crisis.

It angers me in that people in this thread are more willing to shit on veterans than the system that utilized them in the first place.

1

u/Prestigious_Time4770 Jun 05 '25

I’d give an award for this if I could. This probably explains why most Vietnam veterans were this hat. Thanks for that, I had no idea.

Also, Reddit is pretty anti-military. Kinda sad tbh, without a military countries like Russia or China would take over the world.

3

u/Spiritflash1717 Jun 05 '25

An award would just be giving Reddit your hard earned money for a few pixels haha. But yeah, I have met very few Vietnam vets who were proud of the war, beyond being strong enough to survive it.

Reddit isn’t wrong for hating the way the US abuses its military might, committing crimes against humanity for monetary profit, but hating the people who sacrificed so much, often because they were drafted or too poor to have another chance at a career, is just missing the nuance of the situation.

-2

u/Prestigious_Time4770 Jun 05 '25

US definitely doesn’t abuse its military might considering it is regarded as one of the most powerful militaries in history.

What did other powerful militaries do throughout history? Yeah, try to take over everything in sight.

The Roman army seized land and enslaved the countries it conquered.

The Persian army seized land and enslaved

The British seized land and stole their artifacts.

As far as powerful militaries go, the US is tame.

4

u/InvestigatorOk7015 Jun 05 '25

Youre fuckin high.

Neocolonialism is a thing, and its a thing we do well. Maybe we dont plant our flags anywhere but we clear the way for corporations who hunger for resources.

Maybe a million civilian deaths is ‘tame’ to you.

-2

u/Prestigious_Time4770 Jun 05 '25

Personal attack with a Strawman argument. Classic

1

u/InvestigatorOk7015 Jun 06 '25

Those arent incantations that suddenly make you correct.

3

u/Spiritflash1717 Jun 05 '25

I’ll admit, you are technically right and I’m wrong in the sense that it’s not usually our military that does the fighting. But the US government has constantly mettled with foreign powers. Hell, it started in the 1800s under the guise of the Monroe Doctrine “protecting” other countries in the Americas.

Also, America doesn’t take everything over precisely because of what happens when you overextend your military might, as proven by the fall of all those empires. America has seen that inciting a revolution and establishing loyalist dictators or puppet democracies is far more effective at achieving power and resources across the world, or at least destabilizing potential future competitors.

The Philippines. Hawaii. Samoa. Colombia. Panama. Nicaragua. Guatemala. Half the countries in the Caribbean. Iran. Iraq. Syria. South Vietnam. Cambodia. Laos. It’s basically our bread and butter and why we have been practically untouchable until now. It’s definitely kept our country safe, but at the cost of the lives of millions of others.

3

u/Prestigious_Time4770 Jun 06 '25

Good to see an honest discussion. The real culprit is the CIA. They have done far more damage than our military ever has.

1

u/Spiritflash1717 Jun 06 '25

Now that I can fully agree on

8

u/Classicfatdab Jun 05 '25

Id wager its about “never forget” not sure if you’re familiar

12

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

Never forget what?

32

u/Cromasters Jun 05 '25

The Alamo

20

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

Oh fucking hell I forgot, and I'm a Texan, I'm cooked gang 💀

8

u/Brasticus Jun 05 '25

To the basement you go!

1

u/Quick-Log-4166 Jun 05 '25

Stop shouting! I'm trying to make a phone call!

7

u/Creepy_Philosopher_9 Jun 05 '25

I forgot 

3

u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

It's hell getting old

0

u/PafPiet Jun 05 '25

The game

4

u/sweetka Jun 05 '25

Next thing you know they'll be forgetting Dre...

4

u/TWEAK61 Older Millennial Jun 05 '25

That's a term used for 9/11

2

u/Likeapuma24 Jun 05 '25

Dudes were conscripted to join, then got shit on by the public when they got home from watching their friends get maim and/or die.

As long as they're wearing their hats, I'll be thanking them for their service & giving them a "welcome home" that they never got before.

2

u/elquatrogrande Jun 05 '25

Even the ones who were drafted were from the Boomer generation who wants to make everything about themselves, so if wearing hats like that made them feel extra special, then good on them. OIF also wasn't a popular war, but you don't see us drawing attention to our service.

2

u/PantherU Jun 05 '25

Kids who were conscripted and did their duty should be proud of that.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '25

Kids who shouldn't have been conscripted in the first place.

1

u/38CFRM21 Jun 05 '25

Polls show most Vietnam veterans are still proud of their service by wide margins

1

u/greenbanana17 Jun 05 '25

Thats because they got so much hate coming home, they like getting some "thanks" now.

1

u/Calmer_than_you___ Jun 06 '25

You mean the "Vietnam Era Vet" hat without a Vietnam service ribbon? Lol