What was your War?

As time move, on and memories fade, there are aspects of one's life which still hold a profound recollection.
One of which being that of War - and it's Horror, be it Home and Away - During and After.
During my lifetime; to date - the most significant for me was that of the Vietnam conflict ... and all that went with it,- Social reaction, Atrocities - received and given, Psychological consequences - and hopefully a lesson that such should never happen again ... though things have a bad habit of recurring.
Since then, there has been, Falklands, Iraq/Iran, Afghanistan, Bosnia etc.
For me = Vietnam - as one reflects - What was it for others?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE9TNG8IQNI"]The Marmalade - Reflections of My Life - Vietnam Vets - YouTube

 

Billyxx- you gave all good reasons why that war was so significant- mostly because of the effect it had both there and at home- The following conflicts ,just happened in a different era. The world had been changed forever by that time

Was hooked up with the 67th Med. unit(1 that I remember well) we were semi -mobile - After 71, the hospital was moved to Pleiku-
from Qui Nhon-(an even worse place)
The 67th E was decorated with a couple of accommodations during that time - -I just did some research on the the ol unit & see that it was reactivated in the The Falklands and Bosnia-

It was a lifetime ago,,but that war effected all of us in one way or another- no matter what age....Society had been changed forever
Jeeezzz,,,
muchpeace,
jack

-

 

Although it was over more than a decade before I was born, I think the war that had the most effect on my life was WWII.
Looking back, I can see that whilst to me as a child it was something that happened a long time ago, to all of the adults around me the memory was very fresh still, even in the 60's and 70's.
Also, it determined a lot about the general nature of the society in which I grew up. The general trend of things in the UK from 1945 until the start of the 80's was determined by the post war Labour government of 45 who introduced the welfare state, National Health Service etc. Even at school, we were taught what amounted to a left wing version of history, which probably had a major effect on most of my subsequent thinking.

Vietnam wasn't popular over here, but obviously had much less effect than in the US. The counter culture which in America was often tied to anti Vietnam stuff did penetrate here, but not really to the same degree.

The Falklands war was mainly a publicity stunt to ensure the re-election of Margret Thatcher IMO. It seems to me like a ridiculous hangover from Imperialism, and really should never have been fought. We should have negotiated long ago to hand the islands over to Argentina.

The wars in the former Yugoslavia were extremely depressing. We saw things going on in Europe which many people had thought were consigned to history. Racial hate, ethnic cleansing, targeting of civilian populations and so on. And all that in a country which a few years earlier was held up as an example of harmonious racial and cultural diversity.

The Iraq and Afgan wars were probably a mistake. The whole middle east now seems even more unstable than before. The main effect of the Iraq war on myself and many others was simply to confirm a complete lack of trust in the political class in this country, thanks to the blatant lies and skulduggery of Tony Blair.

 

when i was in high school civil rights was going on. and when i graduated, i had to join the air force to avoid being drafted into the army and sent to kill people who didn't need killing in viet nam. my dad was in world war two.

no war has ever been mine, and never would be. but it did get my out of my parents house, and the pension i'm living on now.

 

Iraq '03-'04. Glad to be home.

- JKHolman

 

Afghanistan - the Bush version, not the Soviet. Iraq.

 

Why do you say that, Billy?

Don't you believe in self-determination??

The Falkland Islanders don't WANT to be Argentine subjects ... and you and I and our elected representatives have no right whatever to make them so against their will.

 

I think if they're so enamoured of being 'British' (a label that may no longer exist if the Scotts vote for independence) they ought to come and live here.

 

my war is perpetual. it is against tyranny. which is the dominance of aggressiveness.
it is never against people.
it is not even in terms of ideology, because every ideology is no more then a means and excuse for manufacturing consent.

that is the real war. not the lying excuses people make for killing each other. but against those excuses and the making of them.

 

Bosnian and Croatian.

 

My war? Or a war I have a profound recollection of?
Well the Falklands, I'm too young to remember.

IraqWar 1, as a kid I bought into all the shit.

Iraq War 2 and NATO invading Afghanistan, I saw thro all the lies. And decided against ever moving to America.
Kosovo etc was a similar thing in numerous ways.

The civil war in the former Ukrainian SSR is quite a big one for me. 1stly, its the only war I've ever considered taking part in, or supported in any way. As per my sig, I support the Novorossiyans against the US installed junta. When I was little, we'd have exchanges with many people from Novorossiya, arranged by my grandparents. I've even got a watch that was given to my grandfather from the Mayor of one of the republics. So its terrible to see the bloodshed which I am sure was started by scum 1000s of miles away in the name of "geopolitics". The other side of my family are originally from Kiev and Russian not remotely Ukrainian, so its very annoying to read propagandist crap from our press about Kiev somehow being "oppressed by Russia". All in all, a terrible affair.

To me, the Novorossiya war symbolises the date the West lost its position of dominance in the World. It lost Eurasian support due to its greed, vanity and arrogance. It also lost all its moral credibility, and now I feel very dissociated from what we term "Western values" in international matters.

Wars are terrible staggering events. Most often instigated by cowards and scum who'd never dream of risking their own lives. But, ultimately I'd risk and even lose my life every time for things I believe in.

 

I remember watching the Vietnam news reals and counting the days in school towards a peace agreement. Later, I was nearly shipped out to a small island called Granada, but they sent the 82nd instead. I've been fortunate to have served four years in the military and never seen conflict firsthand. As a matter of fact, only my father spent time in combat. My three older brothers and I lived in a relatively peaceful decade. My son has no interest in the military, so recent conflicts haven't been an issue in my home.

 

For me, it was Vietnam and the fact that my draft number was 77, which meant I was likely to be drafted if I dropped out of school.

 

The Yugo. war; anybody call him(her)-self a Yugo anymore? And then they meant to put that away; those 'kind' international peace-keeping forces.

 

A few yugonostalgics, ex comrades. It is very, very rare though.

 

I was in love with a Croatian at the middle of it. I'll be honest. I knew a "Serbian" working at the airport, who called herself Yugo or Yugi.

 

Interesting.
I am sure some still refer to themselves as Yugos, but it mostly belongs in the past.
What happened with the Croatian you were in love with?

 

Oh and as ridiculous as it sounds, I have very fond memories of those first years after the war.

 

I'm not really into black flag, but every time I see this thread, I think:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28NZ8cEFHgY

I like damaged a lot more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om6ho37eSYE

 

The perpetual soft wars that have been flaring up like clockwork every ten or so years since the end of ww2.