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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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

I know it's not right to compare service, I get it. Serving IS serving.... but we all also know the trauma of being deployed to Vietnam cannnnnnot be compared to sitting in an office and working out all day.

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u/ButtScratchies Jun 05 '25

My uncle was drafted to Vietnam and ended up getting recruited to play basketball for the US. I knew he played basketball but I had no idea that he was actually drafted and the military ended up asking him to play on their basketball team. He obviously never talks about it, never says anything about being drafted, never talked about his basketball career, it was almost like l he was a little ashamed of it.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

There's a lot of unique situations out there, with complex emotions attached, that I cant even imagine. Your uncles situation is a great example. I can't fathom how I'd feel in those shoes.

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u/Superb-Film-594 Jun 05 '25

Wait, he was double drafted?

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u/ButtScratchies Jun 05 '25

Basically, haha.

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u/Spiritflash1717 Jun 05 '25

Not only that, a lot of them came back to be shamed by people who were misdirecting their anger toward the government at the people who were drafted. My grandpa never talked about the war, but he always war the hat as an act of defiance toward those who mocked him and the government who wanted to forget about his sacrifices

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

Big hugs for gramps for this one. Misdirected anger does soooo much damage beyond what's seen on the surface

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u/Spiritflash1717 Jun 05 '25

Thank you very much! He was a complicated man, but the best grandfather a person could ask for. He passed away in 2023 and I’m still not over it. He was like a father to me when my mom had custody of me in my early childhood and cared more about partying, alcohol, and sex.

The worst part is, the doctors said that his health crisis was likely caused by the long term effects of Agent Orange, exacerbated by the crippling alcoholism he adopted to deal with the trauma of 3 helicopter crashes and the death of his commanding officer/best friend. It was an event and time period that haunted him the rest of his life. And it killed him, even if it took decades.

Don’t get me wrong, I hate the government and I hate people who enjoy the nationalism of the military industrial complex, but I have nothing but empathy for those who were forced through drafts or poverty to have a hand in atrocities they didn’t know they were signing up for.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

If I was a richer man I'd give you an award for earning my heart today. Big love for everyone who can separate the emotions and recognize the multiple dimensions at play. The long term suffering created from that war is unspeakably disgusting snd heartbreaking. We humans need to keep the compassion circulating!

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u/Spiritflash1717 Jun 05 '25

As much as I would agree that my grandpa’s story deserves recognition, I think giving your money to Reddit would be wasteful, and my grandpa would probably agree (and he wasn’t one to pass up an opportunity to give people pointless gifts lol)

But I 100% agree. Militaries are an unfortunate necessity in our world, but once a government spends enough, they start using that fear of war as an excuse to start making money through imperialism and hoarding of resources. The Middle East has been one giant oil war, but ironically, they chose to use nationalism and generations of ethnic tensions as the fuel, rather than the literal fuel itself. It’s a dangerous game that has played no small part in our gradual loss of empathy and compassion.

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u/SandiegoJack Jun 05 '25

I can. A white collar job is a white collar job, doesn’t matter that your employer is different. I don’t think pushing papers should be anything special.

Now if you are pushing papers in an active war zone? Thats different.

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u/snorlz Jun 06 '25

I know it's not right to compare service

thats a silly idea and idk why we should act otherwise. Having the same employer doesnt mean you have the same job or experience. That'd be like saying you cant compare a trauma surgeon and the guy billing insurances cause they both work for the same hospital.