It was only once in recent American history--during the Vietnam war--that members of the general public saw fit to ridicule and harass military veterans. Before and since, we have tended to honor vets for their service and sacrifice. But so few people have ties to the military in our draft-less time, the true knowledge of the sacrifice is mostly absent.
Norman Solomon, a frequent critic of US war efforts, puts it right in front of the faces of readers in his book War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine.
The author joins us to make the case that wars are easy to get into, hard to get out of, and cast a very long shadow for decades after the fighting is over.