A Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman and Coast Guardsman all take the same oath upon joining their respective branch of the military. It is a contract between that person and the people of this nation to uphold and defend the United States Constitution "against all enemies foreign and domestic".
Following World War II returning service members were welcomed back into their communities with parades. They were the guests of honor. It gave the citizenry the opportunity to thank the service member for his/her service. After Vietnam there were no parades. The service men and women were turned loose with a pat on the back and a "good luck" and that was pretty much it. The environment in this nation at the time was so poisoned that it was nearly impossible to have a parade to welcome service members home. The bitterness resonates today. Following Desert Storm there were parades, almost too many. There were many statements made at the time that this was an opportunity to welcome back not just the Desert Storm Veterans, but also to right an old wrong. You see as time passed, many people recognized that the service member is a servant of the people and therefore could not and should not be expected to act counter to the laws of this nation. My personal belief is this, when the people of this nation realized that the war in Vietnam was too costly in blood, sweat, and tears the people rose up and put an end to that war. There were many accusations made, but at the end of the day the service member did the job they were sent to do. They upheld the contract that they made.
Where am I going with this? You ask. This war, today will not have any parades. There have been comments made in the past about "why do these service members continue to fight in this war?", "why don’t they just refuse to fight?", and so on. Our service members fight in this war, because that is what they do, fight and win wars. What they do not do is solve diplomatic issues and political problems that is the domain of the civilian members of this administration and by extension the people that they work for. As long as there is no specified end to this war, there will be no parades. Our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Coast Guardsmen will come home to a pat on the back and a "good luck" and that will be it. They deserve more.
As the old saying goes, "those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it"