Movie/film suggestions.

I just took a look, @nonoise , and it appears I can rent Warfare for 5.99.  I have got Elephant at the top of my "pay for list", but I will put Warfare as #2.  (You may be interested in Elephant yourself; the trailer makes me think that it is based on Columbine.)

 In the end, things look rather fruitless considering what they sacrificed but that is basically the cost of war. It should be required viewing for all the gung-ho wannabes out there.

That was me when I was growing up.  From reading some of your posts, I think I am about 5 years younger than you, meaning that I was growing up under the shadow of Vietnam and the draft, but in the end the US was out before I was old enough.  But I was like Tom Cruise’s (nationalistic in his youth) character in Born On The Fourth Of July--I thought it was my duty, and I guess I couldn't wait to be old enough to go somewhere and be a hero.  Many times since then I have given thanks that I was born in ’59 and not ’49 . . . talk about fruitless.

@immatthewj  I'm in the same boat as you, or thereabouts. I was 6 months out from being drafted for Nam before the war ended. My older brother went in but he ended up in Germany as an MP. I, too, was gung-ho what with my dad being a Seabee in the Navy in WWII and my uncle was in intelligence. Raised as a good Republican in a Republican household and extended family until I first voted, and never looked back.

Born in '54 and I used to think it was too early but the way things are going now, at least I got to live a good, normal American life. 

All the best,
Nonoise

You were closer than I was, @nonoise .  I didn’t graduate HS until ’77 and by that time I actually had a pretty good part time job (36 hours a week for a high school kid!), and after I did graduate they gave me a raise (five and change an hour!) and put me on full time.  So when I did join the AF in ’78, it was more because I needed to get out of a certain small town in Montana and didn’t see higher education as something that would work for me, as opposed to it being my waning sense of nationalism.  A month or so before I was inducted I went to see The Boys In Company C (1978), and I remember thinking to myself that I was glad: 1) that Vietnam was over, and 2) that I did not join the Marine Corps.

but the way things are going now, at least I got to live a good, normal American life. 

My sentiments exactly.  At least I got to live the best days of my life when things here were not perfect, but all in all, still pretty good in comparison.   

@immathewj and @nonoise: I’m just ahead of you guys, being born in 1950. By 1968 (when I started college, and therefore had a student deferment) everyone knew the Vietnam war was already lost, and skeptical (at best) about Nixon’s claim of having a secret plan to end the war (with "honor"). That was when my cynicism regarding politicians was fomented.

My Dad served in the Army Air Corps in World War 2, as a navigator on a bomber (the Air Force was created after WW2), and was a staunch Republican (my Mom a Democrat, a typical family voting situation in the USA). But even he knew Vietnam was a lost cause, and was not willing to sacrifice his only son for it.

In 1969 the military instituted the draft lottery---based on date of birth, and my number (249) was quite away from the highest number than year (around 210 iirc). After your first year in the lottery, your military obligation was fulfilled. My younger sister’s boyfriend wasn’t so lucky, and ended up in Nam. But not for long; he took a bullet to his forehead on his first trek into the jungle..

That sister joined the Navy in 1978, being deployed first in Hawaii then in Germany. Her military benefits have come in handy, as she suffers from a lot of health issues. When I take her to her doctor’s appointments at the local Vet facility I see lots of Vietnam Vets, and it’s not a pretty sight. My Dad refused to talk about WW2, typical of Vets who saw combat.

I found the statement made by Francis Ford Coppola about his film Apocalypse Now extremely despicable: "My film is not about Vietnam. My film is Vietnam." Unbelievable! In addition to his statement being so offensive and ridiculous, his film is a bloated, pompous, pretentious pos. IMO Full Metal Jacket and The Deer Hunter are much better movies about the war.