Those numbers are very, very misleading. Days of combat have been averaged over all serving. But in WWII, there were huge numbers of support personnel, who saw no combat. Those who did see combat, though, for the most part, were involved for a long time. Unless, of course, they were killed. Consider the thousands of USAAF flight crew, who were killed after a few missions, or the Marines who were killed storming beaches in the Pacific in their first day or two, thus bringing down the average.
In Vietnam, you were in for a thirteen month tour, after which you came home. In WWII, you were in for the duration; until you were either killed, or the war ended.
Last edited by David Atkatz; 11-23-2011 at 12:50 AM.
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