This episode explores how men of the Vietnam generation were primed for war based on the experiences of their fathers and uncles in World War II, and how that patriotism turned to disillusionment when soldiers were confronted with the realities of Vietnam.

Hosts Bill Short and Willa Seidenberg take listeners on a tour through Bill’s red bag of personal war mementos and introduce us to Marine veterans Paul Atwood and Steve Spund. They were two working-class kids who acted on instinct during the brutality of basic training, and in the absence of any knowledge of the growing GI anti-war movement.

Their stories reflect conflicting feelings about their fathers, the physical and psychological trauma faced by military recruits, and the message passed down to the next generation.

NOTE: This episode contains profanity and descriptions of violence.