muddyboots wrote:
How about this: We honor our veterans for their courage and sacrifice. And then we remember that their courage and sacrifice often leads them to do things as civilians which we are not so pleased with. Ira Hayes is a good example of this. He came home so messed up that he turned into a drunk and a vagrant and died of exposure lying drunk next toa road one night. I think Duke Cunningham's later actions are directly attributable to the fighter pilots mentality. I don't like it, but I have seen far too many vets come home and make major mistakes because their experiences as young men damage their judgement later.
We Americans eem all to willing to applaud our young men for their sacrifices, and then abuse them when they make mistakes as a reult of them.
Wow, that's a lot to digest. I had many conversations with my Dad and some of his buddies (WWII Fighter Pilots). As youths, they cared little for the philosphy of the war, only wanted to fly. They dealt with the circumstances as they arose. Some were highly challenged, some were not. I know of one of Dad's classmates, to whom I spoke many times, who, after the war, had many emotional scars that have stayed with him since.
Newer age pilots and veterans are exposed to many more, and perhaps different experiences. I think that the difference may be that as a pilot, you are removed by altitude from the destruction below. I know that Dad was. However, his friend then flew immediately after the war over the zone to show the support people what the war was like and in that review, realized what he had done and was responsible for. The mental toll of that can be overwhelming.
So each veteran has his own set of demons to deal with. For some it is denial, for others, compartmentalizing, for some, PTSD.
For us in review, they dealt with what confronted them at the time. We reflect and opinionate on that. Their subsequent civilian lives may be and usually are, a product of those past experiences. Some tranisition well, some don't.
If you respect an Ace that then fell from grace, keep it where it belongs. If you are judging his combat career and his subsequent life, that is a total package and not what the origin of this thread was.
Put your butt in the cockpit and duplicate their experience, then take that to civilian life and see how you fare. Then judge.
I can separate the two as I have known both sides of my father and his friends. I will not judge but can have an opinion on both aftermaths.
The End & Thanks!
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? Newt Gingritch? Bush? Clinton? Any number of guys hid or refused to serve or just plain didn't have to. I'm just not ready to place service on my list of things that will affect my decision. Duke Cunningham was a jerk. He would of lost my vote veteran or not. Clinton was also a jerk, who I voted for despite my being a serving member of the military 
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