Join the Army/Navy and See the World (continued)

[Grant Barrett]

What's interesting to me about "join the Army/Navy; see the world" is the
absolute truth of it during both wars, compared to the sarcastic ring I
hear in the phrase today. In a couple of things I've read recently (no, I
dunno what, too much has passed through here lately), credit was given to
both wars for converting this backwater nation into a land of
sophisticates. Not just because of an better self-image, but because of all those
soldiers coming back from Europe with European ideas.