The dividing line between troops who enlisted before and after Sept. 11 was initially stark, veterans have said. But the replacements he received by 2003, who had all enlisted in the wake of Sept. 11, said they joined for different reasons. Jon Gillis was in fifth grade on Sept. 11, and his friends had parents in the Pentagon during the attacks. Barracks talk focused on the generational gaps, he said, with Sept. 11 as the reference point. Bolyard could recall a world before Sept. 11.

Source: National Post September 12, 2018 16:07 UTC