I had two relatives who fought in WWII. The contrast between them is interesting. One was in an engineering unit and was a classic REMF. He had tons of stories

I had two relatives who fought in WWII. The contrast between them is interesting. One was in an engineering unit and was a classic REMF. He had tons of stories about the war. Usually about how he and his buddies would get drunk and wreck jeeps and somehow escape any disciplinary action for it. He was present at many of the famous Pacific islands like Okinawa. But always after the main fight was over. Asked him once if he was ever shot at and he had to think. He thought it was only once. He was a loud blowhard in many ways and not always pleasant to be around. Had another relative who was a Marine. Was present at many of the worst battles. Including Iwo Jima. I never heard his stories. He never talked about them. My mom pressured him into talking one day. She regretted that for the rest of her life because the stories were so traumatic and it left him in tears. He was a gentle man. Became a Methodist minister after the war. I never once heard him raise his voice in anger. One of the kindest men I've ever known. This is a sample size of only two. So I'm not assuming combat, or the lack of, shaped these men into what they would later become. But it's a little interesting to me. Since I myself am older, I have some relatives who go way back. My grandmother was once visited by her great-uncle when she was 6. He was a veteran of the Mexican War and the Civil War (on the Confederate side). He also wouldn't talk about combat. But he did tell this one story where he and some buddies snuck out of camp. Somewhere in northern Mexico. Found a bar and flirted a little with girls. Then the girls suddenly rushed the men out of the bar and hid them in a barn. Mexican soldiers heard there were Americans in town. The Americans hid under a bale of hay and were narrowly missed by a Mexican soldier who shoved a pitchfork into it. That great-uncle loved that story and would tell it often. Laughing every time.