nostalgebraist:

This article from 1967 about the Baby Boomers sure is … something

I’m on page 3 of 11 and it’s talking about how luxurious it is to fight in Vietnam:

For the American fighting man in Viet Nam, the “whether” does not even arise. Unlike his World War II or Korean predecessor, he has known all his life that he must serve a military tour of duty, indeed has planned it along with college, marriage and choice of vocation. From the moment he arrives (usually aboard a comfortable troop ship), through his bivouac experience (under conditions less arduous than most Stateside weekend hunting camps), to combat itself (as intense as any in history, but brief), he is supported by the best that his country can offer—even though it is to fight a mean and dirty war.

He is swiftly moved into and out of combat in planes, helicopters or trucks.

He has a camera, transistor, hot meals and regular mail. If he is hit, he can be hospitalized in 20 minutes; if he gets nervous, there are chaplains and psychiatrists on call. It is little wonder that he fights so well, and quite comprehensible that his main concern in off-duty hours is aiding the Vietnamese civilian.

Earlier, historically dubious superlatives were invoked:

Never have the young been so assertive or so articulate, so well educated or so worldly. […]

Never have the young been left more completely to their own devices. No adult can or will tell them what earlier generations were told: this is God, that is Good, this is Art, that is Not Done.

And great accomplishments were prophesied:

Untold adventure awaits him. He is the man who will land on the moon, cure cancer and the common cold, lay out blight-proof, smog-free cities, enrich the underdeveloped world and, no doubt, write finis to poverty and war.

I remember reading WWI accounts that were all about how men rotated from the front to reserves to drilling to leave on a weekly basis