The moniker of The Greatest Generation was given to the men and women who fought World War II. The credit is deserved, but I think that putting one generation of servicemen over another is not a fair comparison. After World War II, the victory parades and welcome home celebrations were beyond anything we would ever see again. The victory was huge, and it took a whole nation to win it. In the end we were an exhausted people. When the next war came, the size and scope of the conflict and our reason for being there was not appreciated in the same way. The threat seemed to be against South Korea only, but the real threat was communism itself and the ability for it to spread across the world. Had the communist machine taken hold in all of Asia, Europe would have been next. This was the reason we went to Vietnam, too. Our government saw the danger of communism spreading and wanted to fight it in every corner of the world.The problem in the United States was that World War II had set boundaries and we all knew where the battle lines were. Korea and Vietnam became unpopular wars, and in the end the Korean War veterans were forgotten and the Vietnam Veterans were hated. No victory parades for the Korean War veterans and no coming home parties for either group.Vietnam veterans became well known for having massive problems readjusting to their return home. The problems were there, but certainly not on the scale that some wanted people to believe. I wonder if the problems were more because of the war they fought or the treatment they received back here? The Vietnam War was the first modern guerilla war that we fought, and the confusion over whom we were fighting hurt the soldiers and Marines and made the controversy in the States worse. Could you imagine massive peace protests and high-level politicians running down the efforts of the military and their country during World War II?It took until the Persian Gulf War in the early ’90s for the United States military to get any credit for their service. Many others that fought in smaller conflicts were allowed to pass as though they never existed. After the quick victory in Kuwait the country once again forgot that we even had a military. Over the course of more than five decades the members of our military services went from heroes to ghosts, villains, and non-effects.I don’t feel that any group of veterans should be placed above the others. All of our service members answered their nation’s call to duty and worked to defend our freedom and the freedoms of millions of people worldwide. The men who fought in Vietnam would have performed the same as the World War II guys did in their situation. All of the men and women that have served throughout the years deserve the same credit as all others. I think that they are all the Greatest of Their Generations.To be continued:Curtis HendelAdrian