I saw nearly the entire The War series and will buy the dvd's as I think everyone should see it, especially our children and grandchildren. I grew up between Vietnam and the Gulf War and although I was in the Naval Reserve never went to war. That series shows what war really is like; difficult, uncomfortable, tough, dangerous and very frightening.
One thing I noted in the series is that one of the guys said that everyone went to war because, "they had to". Indeed, there was a snowball effect of men that volunteered, and when the entire society is involved it is hard not to get engulfed in the movement. This contrasts with our soldiers today that serve in Iraq. They are volunteers that don't have to be there. Put into perspective, it is evidence how brave and committed our military is today and how they more closely reach the definition of "heroes".
