Many young men at the time (and I'm not speaking about the most motivated ethically or politically) felt they had a choice between losing their life or ruining their life. Anything from draft resistance to less than honorable discharge was thought to mean never being able to get a job again.

In the States nowadays you can get practically anything written on your license plate if you pay for it... favorite team, save the bay, I love my dog, etc. I was driving earlier today behind a guy who had "Veteran" license plates. He had a newer car so Veteran wasn't a reference to the age of his automobile. For many years, I have seen POW and Disabled Veteran plates. This just said Veteran. I started wondering whether I could get Veteran plates and whether that might weigh in my favor to help me get out of a possible traffic or parking ticket. An ignoble thought? Maybe not.

Since the end of the Vietnam War, I cannot think of one job application that wanted to know what I did in a military way. I can't recall anyone younger than me ever asking whether I was ever in the service. Getting away with the occasional parking ticket would never make up for the 2 years I spent making $60 - $90 a month... or maybe I've seen so few Veteran license plates because you get tickets just the same!