Seems to me the first clue is the willingness of the person to tell the stories. Most if not all of the vets I’ve met are quiet and humble men who don’t go out of their way to talk about their wartime experience.
It’s usually after being able to let them know that you have a bit of a clue yourself that you might get them talking a bit, and even then I’ve yet to find any that want to tell ‘war stories’. It’s usually about the people they served with, the good times they had away from combat etc.
I remember getting the chance to meet a Medal of Honor winner at an airshow one time. He was walking near the flight line and I took a second to thank him for what he’d done. He then thanked me for being interested.
It felt strange that he would think to say that but he was clearly a humble man who felt like he’d done his job and didn’t expect any recognition for it.
Dan
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