War interest but never served

[Harp]

Well, I have always believed that my failure to join the miliatry was the biggest mistake that I ever made...

AF

...and perhaps not-seems a very wise choice; reached through struggle
and not easily made; nor any less difficult to reflect upon today.

 

[SGT Rocket]

I am actually very interested in WWII history, as all my uncles served in the services. I would have volunteered myself, but I wasn't born until 1968 :-(

I also have an interest in the history of the War of Northern Aggression, but I was born too late for that one too.

 

[Chas]

I don't really understand the original poster's point. Does having a military background confer some special powers of intellect that I am unaware of?

I Spent some years in The Naval Reserve, both at sea and ashore. I have always have been interested in most periods of military/social history. I don't recall that serving in the military is a necessary requirement to have a valid opinion about it all, however.

Stephen Ambrose, for example, never served - unless you consider R.O.T.C. serving, which I don't. He seemed to have plenty of opinions and ideas about military history.
Sir John Keegan, one of the most widely read and respected of military historians never served either on account of his poor health. I take his opinions seriously, though I don't always agree with him.
Martin Van Creveld also never served. He lectures at the US Naval War College. I'm sure he has some opinions.
George F. G. Stanley was another historian that never served.

Some military types like Robert E. Lee maintained that choosing a military career the worst life choice they ever made.

 

[John in Covina]

I notice there are a great number of people who are very interested and very knowledgeable in WWII and military history in general but have themselves never served. I would be interested in hearing how that is reconciled.

People can have an interest in sports but never played.

(I had an interest but have extremely flat feet and before graduating high school had severely damaged one knee playing sandlot football with fellow students. This is back during the time when they still split your knee open like a Thanksgiving turkey for surgery. As I was and still am, very prone to re-injury of both knees, it suggested that military service was off the table.)

 

[ukali1066]

I'll leave it to Dr. Samuel Johnson.....

"Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea."

 

[Pompidou]

All branches of the armed forces tried their hardest to get me to enlist. I wasn't interested. It would never have worked out - especially now. I don't like being micromanaged. In the event I have to have a boss, I prefer having a broad set of duties and obligations with little to no outside interference, and free reign to determine how I want to accomplish them. Boot camp would give me an aneurism, and I'm not sure actual service is dramatically better.

 

[Gene]

I walked out of a restaurant once that happened to be right next to a recruiting station, and a soldier just standing outside smoking a cigarette casually looked at me and said "Hey man, wanna join the Army?" I just politely replied "No thank you, I'm leaving for college in the fall." It's not that I'm a wimp or anything, but joining never really interested me either. I'm happy "camping" on the weekends with my friends while we just happen to wear WWII uniforms

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Hi Burton! My Dad was a Marine between the World Wars and two of his brothers served in WWII. I used to love to hear the stories. My Dad and I used to wathe Jim Bishop's 'Battle Line' on TV in the '60's and he would explain all the details to me. He also bought me books on WWII - that along with the TV shows 'Combat!' and 'Twelve O'Clock High, I just became deeply interested in WWII and history generally. It just has stuck all these years and I still find it fascinating. Oddly enough, I came of age during the Vietnam era and I wanted NO part of that fiasco myself.

-dixon cannon

 

[scotrace]

I'll leave it to Dr. Samuel Johnson.....

"Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea."

That boils it down nicely.

When I came of age, I registered for the draft (1981), but was excruciatingly glad there was none. As AtticusFinch has indicated, Vietnam left a bitter legacy, though those who had to go there have my profound respect (my brother is retired career army, and was drafted in 1968). I must also agree with Atticus' on-the-mark-as-usual observation that were service mandatory today, the current Middle East wars would be in-your-face unpopular.
And the WWII era merits endless fascinating study.

 

[Burton]

"Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea." to me is really the key. I loved the new remake of "The Four Feathers" where it is quoted. The guys that didnt serve had a chance to to do so and for whatever reasons did not. Several posters have asked what does that have to do with WWII and all I can say is you fellows that didnt serve will never really understand the brotherhood from books. Take it from me a former Marine who happens to live and work on Wake Island. My original question was not designed to denigrate guys that didnt serve but rather to help me (and others) understand non servers interest in the military.

 

[SGT Rocket]

I think that the original poster is just curious why some people never served and have an interest in military history. I don’t think he was trying to insinuate anything.

I agree with ukali1066 by 100%. Dr. Samuel Johnson had it right. "Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea."

I think that people who served or may not have served see the military as a place of camaraderie amongst men (people/soldiers). I think at one point in our lives we yearn for this type of camaraderie/brotherhood. It is the shared experiences in hardship that build this camaraderie. That is one reason that boot camp is designed to be stressful; the army is trying to get you under high stress to build bonds among men, to work as a team, to build a community quickly from strangers.

After having served for a few years in the regular army and in the National Guard, I’ve noticed something about military people and the army. I’ve noticed that the “real army” is a unicorn. Here is an example: when I first joined the army in the mid 1980’s, every time I went to a new unit, and something FUBAR happened or the unit tried to do some training and it turned into a Cluster F***, someone would take me aside and say something like “Don’t let this get you down soldier, this isn’t the real army.” Then the person would begin to tell me about his previous unit or his old airborne unit and how great it was.

Now, flash forward to 2009. I’m in Iraq with a National Guard unit, and we are augmented by regular army Joes. No matter what the National Guard unit did, it wasn’t like their “old unit.” All they did was complain about the National Guard unit they had to serve under. For some regular army folks, this was their first deployment, and they were disappointed that their combat patch would be from a National Guard unit. But, I digress.

I guess the point I’m trying to say is that the military, like the unicorn, is a mythical being. No matter what you perceive the military to be, it isn’t. And, there are as many views of the military as there are people on the Earth, and no to views are exactly the same. So there are many reasons for not serving. Not everyone is cut out for military life. I’m a great example. I would HATE to be regular army again for a host of reasons. But, I don’t mind serving in the national guard (with multiple deployments and all). I see no cognitive dissonance or inconsistency in a person who doesn’t want to join the military, but loves to do the reenacting stuff.

Also, as one who is currently serving, I thank G-d that there is no conscription. The last thing we need on the battlefield is someone who was forced there. It lowers the quality of the force by 1000%. Yes I’m being hyperbolic but it’s true.

 

[Edward]

I'm not entirely certain it needs to be reconciled; we would never expect someone with an interest in the history of 19th Century London to have rickets, work in a iron smelting plant and send their children up chimneys; or an Art Historian to be able to paint.

I think that's about all there is to say on the matter.... it seems to me that beyond the objective notion that an interest in a very specific period of history (WW2 changed the face of the modern world, not least in that it led directly, IMO, to the break up of the European Empires) need not lead one to wish to join the contemporary military. I did type some further consideration of my own opinion, but it's impossible to give a personal opinion here without it inevitably becoming political (as several posts already show) - suffice it to say that, if we're going to throw Dr. Johnson into the mix, I by far prefer:

"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel."

 

[Tiller]

I(WW2 changed the face of the modern world, not least in that it led directly, IMO, to the break up of the European Empires)

That's interesting. I personally think that World War II was simply the final nail in the coffin, and if anything just increased the speed of the Empires of Europe declining. I personally believe that it was World War I that signed the death tags of the great Empires of Europe. Had there not been a Great War in Europe, I think the European Empires would still be standing today in some capacity, but getting into the realm of alternate history is always hard to predict .

-suffice it to say that, if we're going to throw Dr. Johnson into the mix, I by far prefer:

"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel."

Personally, I prefer George Orwell's general idea that there is a difference between nationalism and patriotism. That's it's very natural to be proud of your family, the home you've built, and the culture of your ancestors, and that such sentiments are different then nationalism. In other words their is a difference between "I love my home" and "My home is better then yours." But as you said it maybe best to simply close the door on that issue.

 

[PADDY]

I notice there are a great number of people who are very interested and very knowledgeable in WWII and military history in general but have themselves never served. I would be interested in hearing how that is reconciled.

Nothing to 'reconcile.' People have an interest in many areas (history just being one of them), yet have 'never' experienced 'that area of interest' first hand.

Looking forward to seeing you Gents with 'an interest' in WWII (and other vintage conflicts) contributing to the many threads we have running here.