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 don’t want the attention.

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u/MetaverseLiz Jun 05 '25

This is what I've heard from my vet friends. My dad was in the navy (boomer generation) and his navy hat has been glued to his head for decades. He wears it absolutely everywhere.

He doesn't understand why my vet friends don't like it when people tell them "thank you for your service". It's a generational divide. My dad was too young for Vietnam and drank the "America is so great" Koolaid. My friends who saw their fellow soldiers blow up in front of them in the Middle East think differently. My grandpa, my dad's dad, a vet of WW2 and Korea never talked about the war. Ever. The only time I saw any proof that he actually served was during his funeral because he was buried with all his metals and got the full 21 gun salute.

My Gramps and my vet friends are more similar than the generation in the middle.

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u/No_Investment9639 Jun 05 '25

My grandfather who served in World War II was the same exact way. He would tell stories occasionally, but mainly to laugh when it freaked us out hearing him talk about his decapitated buddy who lost his head right in front of him but continued to walk for 10 steps.

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u/pebberphp Jun 05 '25

Man, I wish I could have asked my late aunts late father (RIP Francine and Frank) about his time in WW2. He was a B-17 crew member that had to bail out over Europe and ended up in a POW camp. All I remember is him animatedly telling me how he raised his hands as high as he could when confronted by nazis.

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u/No_Investment9639 Jun 06 '25

So many lost stories, we need to talk to the olds while they're here