So very young.

When I look back and see what the enlisted guys looked like and those who worked for me, they were just boys. Some were my age or a couple of years older, but they still looked like high school kids.
 
All the guys who joined up were that young...and still are to this day...

the class of 2020.. UK

The-Drill-team-put-their-best-foot-forward-e1476784890696.jpg
 
Very handsome!

It makes me sad to think that you guys had no choice when drafted yet so many were treated as though you somehow represented the war makers behind the scenes when you returned home. I was in Manhatten for a birthday weekend several years ago and my birthday falls near Veterans Day. Got caught up in the parade route and saw a lot of guys your age marching. I clapped, cried and wasn't the only one doing both!
 
I remember that when someone I knew came back home, they never seemed to be the same. That loss of innocence, I suppose. Coming home and seeing many of their friends already married with a child or two made them feel like they needed to catch up. And a sadness that would come over them sometimes. War really is hell.
 
jerry old said:
See thread BRIGHT-EYED CHILDREN WITH GUNS
on thread Any of you write Poetry
Post 82 JaniceM
Click to expand...
Yes, struck close to home. How bout this?

At Arlington he's lowered down without a pause,
And his native land welcomes him with open jaws,
And the tombstone reads such a noble cause,
That's the sad and silent song of a soldier.
 
Talking about how young dog looked, reminded me of this. I was in my mid 20s when I was stationed In GTMO, Cuba. Right next door was the Marine barracks. Marines all looked like they just turned 18. I was a corpsman, and worked in the eye/ear clinic. One day a Marine came in with physical form. I did the ear test and took him back to do the eye part. As he's rattling off letters, I noticed that the form was one used only for induction into the service. He's wearing a uniform? I asked if he was a Marine. He sat up "at attention"-only Marines can do that. He shouted, "Sir. Today is this Marine's 18th birthday.

This Marine is entitled to join the Marine Corp,. Sir". This was in 1972, and the Marines in GTMO, usually had spent time in Viet Nam. I asked him how long he was in the Marines. "28 months". OMG. That made him 15 when he joined up. I called over to the barracks and asked for the Gunny. I said "Gunny, I have one of your men, he says it's his birthday." The Gunny said, "I know. He informed me bright and early ,today. at 8 AM. We don't know what to do with him." .

At Somewhere along the line it was suggested that I bring him to my Officer Of the Day. I remember walking into his office. I poked my Marine in the side, and said. "Tell him what day it is". "Sir, This is this Marine's.............., Sir". "Now, tell him how long you have been a Marine". "Sir, 28 months, Sir." The OOD figured it out faster than I did. Somebody got a 15 year old kid to join. I left the 'problem' with the OOD I don't know what happened. We were afraid the kid might loose service time because of being underage. In 20, years that could be a huge difference in pensions, etc.
 

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