'Too few of us, and too few with perspective' - very perceptive WhirlwindIII.
I don't have the faintest clue what the vets went through (nor what the current generation are finding in Afghanistan or Iraq), and reading the posts brings me no closer than reading a brilliantly-written novel. But you lived through it. Every day, you did not know whether you were going to live or die. By definition, you were the lucky ones. 35 years later you're remembering the 'good' bits. For me, if I don't step off the kerb at the wrong time, it will be a dull, senile, dribbling drift off to sleep in about the year 2045.
I actually met SASless at Helitech 2005 beside the Huey, and he invited me to sit at the pilot's station. I was so excited! I felt like a little kid. Partly because 'hey, I'm in a Huey!', but mostly because I couldn't actually reach the controls it was so damn big. Then he drew the bullet-proof screen across and the fun drained right out of it. People died in that machine. On the other side of the aircraft, their names were written on the door.
I feel guilty laughing at these funny stories, because I haven't earned the right to. A lot of civilians haven't. But please keep telling them, because they deserve to be read.