Gough
Moderator
- Sep 29, 2006
- 71,675
- 132,994
- AFL Club
- Hawthorn
- Moderator
- #2,026
It's remarkable to think that as a 70s baby I'm part of the first generation of Australians not to face the prospect of going to war as a young man since the 1800s.Have a brother-in-law who was seriously wounded in Vietnam and treated like s**t by Australia and DVA on his return. He still suffers serious health effects from the injury.
Is he a hero? He doesn't think so. He in fact rarely if ever talks about his time on tour and has never attended an Anzac Day parade. His number was called and he was required by law to go to a country that he knew nothing about to kill or by killed for reasons he had no interest in. They numbered in the tens of thousands.
Although I have never asked, I reckon he would say that his views on the flag and other matters of politics have nothing to do with his service. And he would not be alone.
Veterans using their service as a platform for political statements on media are most often the ones showing dis-respect to other veterans and their country.