He wouldn’t discuss it no matter how much you asked except to tell you where he served.
I would listen when he got together with other WWII veterans. He was very active in American Legion. He wore a hat signifying his veteran status. I managed to get him on an Honor Flight to the WWII memorial, and was able to join him along with my youngest daughter.
After mom passed, he opened up when I was with him, told me a lot more than I ever knew.
Unfortunately the time I could spend with him, and he passed 4 years after mom. Wish I had learned more.

Besides the info about where he served, he said he had two Purple Hearts, and has gone back three times. My husband talks very little about VN, fortunately he saw little action, but was there for Tet. He also wears a ball cap at times.

Unfortunately, my FiL, also a WWII veteran was an ass. He would wear a Pearl Harbor cap, although he’d never set foot in Hawaii, but if asked by strangers he would say he was there. He served in the army air corps as a supply guy in the Pacific. However, he treated his own son like crap because of the loss in Vietnam. Veterans Day was always hell for us.

was great and we can still learn a lot from them. It is tragic that there are so few left, because we need their wisdom now more than ever. I was privileged to know a WWll vet very well (my late father in law) who also served three tours in Vietnam. He wasn't perfect, but he was modest and knew the dangers of authoritarianism firsthand. I miss him, but in a way I am glad that he passed away right before trump came on the scene.

Fifteen men. One woman. All but one in wheelchairs. Every one a WWII vet. I cared for all of them, in every sense of the word. A couple were paratroopers. One has a brother buried in Normandy. Another married the nurse who cared for him after being the sole survivor of a military plane crash. He had an 18 inch scare on his leg from the crash. I asked him about the scar. He told me of the love of his life. I cherish the stories they were able to tell. They are all gone now.

They will wear the ball caps, have the license plates. But it’s usually just a nod and to acknowledge each other, but no big conversation at it. And spouses learn quickly about what’s acceptable to ask, unless it’s a dire situation. I know very little about my husband’s experience, only what he’ll voluntarily talk about. Like I said he didn’t see a lot of action, but because of where he was stationed he saw the casualties every day.

Again I worry about what this elderly vet saw, and what he’s seeing now in his own country. It has to be haunting.

These two guys were apparently regulars at the diner. While I'm eating, I overhear one ask the other...What was the closest you ever came to getting your ticket punched? The other, a former Marine, responded with a story from his time in Iwo Jima. He said he made the mistake of chasing a Japanese soldier down into a rat hole only to lose sight of him. After that, the Marine turned to his dominant left side and found himself face to face with the Japanese soldier, whom he then took out. Had he turned right, the Marine would have been the one killed. 70 years later, the only reason this Marine was alive and eating breakfast with his fellow WW2 vet was that he was left handed. Finishing my breakfast, I made a point to tell the waitress I was covering both vets' meals. I didn't introduce myself. Sometimes, I wish I had. A couple years later, I returned to the diner and asked the waitress what ever happened to those two vets. She told me they had both passed.