I'm sorry to throw a spanner into the works of the "how much we all suffered" comparison scale, but from my children's point of view, they say that in the long run, it was the best thing that ever happened to them. (Note that phrase "in the long run". They wouldn't have said so for the first year or so.)
They became children of the world, were educated in places and in schools they would never have seen, became and remain close friends with people from places in the world they would only have (maybe) heard of from books and television, and have since travelled to and worked in places I very much doubt they would have had the confidence to go to had they remained in suburban Melbourne to complete their education.
As for their Dad... well, ever since Adam thought that apple might taste better than the fruit on offer at the Gaden of Eden free store, when did kids ever appreciate what their Dads went through? Would I have done it differently knowing what I know now? You betcha. Would I have gone back? Don't think so; even after all this time, even with all the grief I had to go through, (and although I consider myself among the very lucky ones in the long run, [there's that phrase again], there has been more than enough grief along the way), I still don't think I could have looked at myself in the mirror to shave had I joined the heroes.
But as I said, in the long run, I was one of the lucky ones. I appreciate that there were many who weren't so lucky.