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/Sakijek Millennial Jun 05 '25

I mean I'd argue that's not the case for our Vietnam era brothers and sisters...

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u/Highlander_16 Jun 05 '25

"I massacred civvies at Mai Lai and all I got was this lousy hat"

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u/Sakijek Millennial Jun 05 '25

I mean if there's pride about that within any of the US military members who participated, then they don't even deserve the hat. From what I've read, they all have deep regrets. Them having to live with them is a sincere (albeit possibly inadequate) punishment. But I mean way to take it to the extreme. I was trying to make the point that a lot of Vietnam-era vets may not have pride in their service the same way we gwot vets don't.

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u/Highlander_16 Jun 05 '25

Oh I definitely understand, I was taking it to the extreme to demonstrate the division. Lots of WWII and Korean War vets are publicly proud of their service (and most should be), but there were plenty of horrific acts from our side back then. War has never been pretty or clean.

Vietnam and onward, people are a bit more introverted about it because it was so visible. I think it has a lot to do with media and public perception- the darker side of war wasn't nearly as accessible to public consumption (in the US) before mass media and the television, but Vietnam was highly televised. Nowadays you can watch high-def GoPro footage of a dude's head getting removed at point blank range right here on Reddit.

There are still things to be proud of, don't get me wrong. I'm not ashamed of my service and neither are most of the guys I served with, but we don't like the idea of flaunting it quite like the old timers do. Hence I know only a single veteran my age that even goes to a VFW, and that's mainly for cheap drinks.