Wow that's a good comparison David. My Dad was stationed stateside during WWII and his Dad was called back from retirment and stationed here at the Naval Hospital but he had served as a Chief Pharmacist Mate on shipboard during WWI.
All of the other Uncles were in either Europe or the Pacific. Daddy's sister was an Army Nurse stationed in England during the war. I heard a cousin say some smart a$$ remark about Daddy not going overseas. He left college (University of Florida) to enlist. He was a genius. No, I am not just saying it. He was a walking calculator before they had calculators. They put him in material control and supply at Ft Dix for the most part. I told the cousin that his Daddy had to have ammo, tents, blankets, food n stuff. He could thank my Daddy for sending his Daddy the helmet that saved his life when he was buried alive til they dug him out in the sand at Iwo Jima.
It was years before many in the family really believed Mom's cousin had a real medical problem. Some heart defect. It was when he died at an early age of a heart attack they decided maybe he wasn't dodging the draft.
In most wars, there is one event that gets the ball rolling. Pearl Harbor, the Lucitania, the Maine------
Sometimes humans need a push. Those worked real well.
Pam