Best years to be born in?

[Jimdalf]

As an American male, or if you were an American male (for simplicity's sake), and were eligible for conscription during a major conflict, which war would you prefer to serve in?

Taking roughly two decades off a date during that conflict will give you your preferred date of birth if you were a member of an unlucky generation. Non-Americans will just have to grin and bear with it, as mankind are a bit too violent to include wverybody's fights! Please do not take offense at the omission of some conflicts, and ignore the fact that the drat may not necessarily have been effected during some of the wars.

I'm just looking for opinions... personally I wouldn't have minded serving in the Second World War... generally the conventions (e.g no chemical weapons, decent treatment of prisoners) were observed in the case of Nazi Germany, whatever their domestic sins, and of course the eventual victory was nice. It was not an easy war to fight in, by any means, but it was an honourable conflict and a decent competition too.

[sublime8022]

I would rather fight in a modern day war, although there are bigger and stronger weapons, there is also more stealth and smarter technology (gps and thermal and night vision stuff like that). Didn't we lose Vietnam war in way? Think about the past wars you walked in a straight line with a drummer stood face to face with the enemy then shot at them. It was so dumb IMO.

[.writer]

Originally Posted by sublime8022

It was so dumb IMO.

Why was it dumb? That was real war. The **** that goes on these days is weak compared to the past. Nowadays it take weeks, sometimes months to attack or be attacked, back then it was everyday and all day until it was over.

[firestorm3986]

id rather WWII as long as i was in the European theater. in my opinion, the soldiers from WWII are the most prestigious. They came home to a country who honored them and loved and respected them. Once vietnam and the korean war came along, there was more protestors than supporters and VERY low morale. the revolution and civil war, along with 1812 were too brutal for my liking, I just never understood the point of standing face to face with an enemy... sure its more honorable for your enemy's sake, but as far as war goes, it makes no sense. And WW! was just plain retarded (trench warfare, that is).

Modern warfare is allright with technologies and the like, but i'll stick with my decision and say WWII

[sublime8022]

Originally Posted by E. Writer

Why was it dumb? That was real war. The **** that goes on these days is weak compared to the past. Nowadays it take weeks, sometimes months to attack or be attacked, back then it was everyday and all day until it was over.

You think standing in a line with drums out is better? Idk man.

[Pvt.Dirt]

Originally Posted by E. Writer

Why was it dumb? That was real war. The **** that goes on these days is weak compared to the past. Nowadays it take weeks, sometimes months to attack or be attacked, back then it was everyday and all day until it was over.

I disagree, real war is what WWII was, frontline vs. frontline most of the time.. not standing in a line and knowing that if you're on the front line, you're screwed. I'm not attacking your post Writer, I see where you're coming from and it makes a bit of sense, having the balls to stand in a line is pretty intense..

[Scuba Steve]

The dates in the poll are WAY off.

I know the twenty years was given, but to do so makes absolutely no sense.

You shouldn't of included the wrong dates in the poll options, but instead, just leave the name of the wars as the options.

Anyway, I love modern warfare, but I've always been fasinated with WW2. I won't go into much detail about it, but I love the European campaign of WW2.

[The mOBSCENE]

I would go back in time during the American Revolution with advanced technology from now years and DESTROY a whole army single handedly. Body armor, automatic weapons, night vision, long range sniper rifles, etc, etc, etc...

[OME6A]

I went with the American Revolution. Not to slight the first and second World Wars, but it's probably the most meaningful conflict in our nation's history.

[Jimdalf]

Oh bollocks, which dates did I get wrong? Or is it just the Birth date idea thats stupid? I admit that it coul have been done much more neatly, but I'm kind of interested in the whole "best time to be unlucky?" side of things. Like a German born in 1896 would have been 18 just in time for the First World War and would have been forced to serve the full four years. Of course, so would a German man born in 1884... so yeah I should have just done it plainly and worked it out myself at the end.

And I can't believe I forgot about the Civil War, I knew there was something to fill that gap in the nineteenth century but couldn't quite grasp it... pretty big omission! I doubt that anybody would prefer fighting their own countrymen in some extremely brutal battles instead other wars, but it should be there nonetheless.

Feel free to go into as much detail as you like, if you know it you can preach it. And the emphasis of the thread should be more on exploring and celebrating history, you don't have to just talk about hte most pleasant war. The Regiment to which I am most closely linked is the Parachute Regiment, which was essentially born and baptised in the Sicilian, French and Dutch campaigns of WW2. This makes me feel inclined towards favouring that particular war, as most other regiments can trace their lineage back hundreds of years and, well, you have to love what you know. Which ain't much for us!

The European theatre of WW2 was probably as nice an environment to kill and die in as you'll find, but the naval battles of the Pacific campaigns just capture my imagination, and fights like Midway and Leyte Gulf are superb to investigate. The bravery of the sailors and pilots is just amazing... although I wouldn't want to be in their shoes!