Your service was every bit as genuine as anyone else's, & I thank you for it, Mr. Dyer. People forget, I think, that there are no rear echalon personnel on a ship. Hit a mine, get bombed from the air & you all sink together.

I'm a few years younger myself. Came of age in '76. I actually went to see a Marine recruiter after the college money my father promised me never materialized. I was interested, but in 1976 everyone knew, Just Knew, that the US would not get involved in an overseas conflict for at least another generation (ha ha!), so I decided not to enlist.

If Trump could just be honest. Bill Clinton opposed the war, & so didn't serve. That makes sense. If Trump had just said the same, I could have a tick more respect for him.