Cool story. Fwiw, my dad was a 20 year old farm boy when he was drafted. He told them he couldn't shoot anyone, and they told him since he had been raised on a farm, he could sign up for the cavalry and take care of the horses. And since this was a war of machinery, he would probably just stay stateside. A few months later the cavalry was disbanded, and they sent my dad to the Pacific, where his job was repairing guns. He never talked about it with me, except once. He told me there was an incident on an island where some civilians had been killed, and a baby remained alive. He and the other soldiers drew lots to see who would have to kill the baby, as the child would've starved to death. He had nightmares. I think he knew at the end of his days that we had fought on the wrong side, but he never said it.