U.S. president Harry S. Truman, who'd also served in World War I as an artillery officer, wrote privately to his wife, Bess, in 1936 something telling about the transitory nature of being a war hero. He points out how disposable the "hero" label can be, or how short-term people's attention really is. World War I was over, and World War II had yet to start, but he observed that:
"War heroes are no longer that. They are now looked upon as a sort of nuisance and are considered fools to have gone."
(It brings to mind the Bill Mauldin cartoon where his heroes, Army buddies Willie and Joe, visit the hospital bed of a fellow WWII veteran who is recuperating from his war wounds. The injured soldier asks his buddies, "How's things outside, boys? Am I still a war hero, or a drain on th' taxpayer?")
(The photo below right is of Truman in his WWI uniform.)
