Whilst serving my country in the Republic of Vietnam in 1970-71, was in a position to be aware of all the soldiers who were wounded and killed. And died.
My unit was MACV - an advisory unit that worked with RVN soldiers near Danang.
We had three deaths in my unit during the 15 or so months I was over there. Two were self-inflicted and one was simply a random occurrence when a soldier was doing his business in an outhouse, and the outhouse was destroyed by an enemy rocket. There was so little of his body remaining that he was never positively identified, and he remains to this day, "Missing In Action."
Although I was awarded a Bronze Star Medal, an Army Conduct Medal, a Good Conduct Medal, and the other bullshit that everybody got, I was no hero, or even a particularly good "soldier." I'm not being modest, only truthful.
God bless my unfortunate comrades who actually had to fight, got wounded, or most of all got killed in that savage, pointless "police action." Fifty thousand plus, at latest count.
Historically, this country has sent primarily "kids" into combat, knowing that they lack the judgment to know how stupid war is. With our All Volunteer Army though, the solders are older and wiser, and they more or less demand to be given the kinds of equipment and support that minimize the chances of getting killed. Thus, in the aggregate 20 years or so of ******* around in Iraq and Afghanistan, the combat deaths are only about a tenth of the number killed in Korea and Vietnam (respectively).
But humanity will never learn the ultimate lesson. People continue to get killed for either no reason at all, or for stupid reasons, and "we" are powerless to stop it. Watch today as Ukrainians fight and die over which incompetent, corrupt government they will be subject to. Jesus.
But regardless, the global effect of radical Islam is a pox on humanity, responsible for 80% of the senseless killing in the world, today and for the past 40 years at least. Eradicating them bastards would be one cause worth fighting for.
