Different time. Was offered jail or service when caught with weed. He wasn't carpet bombings kids/wasn't a pilot and while we were still in the middle east he served in more of an air support and refueling roles in Germany. Still not good by any means but I found it interesting that being exposed to the Soviets helped him quickly dismiss propaganda he was fed at home.

Mostly just that a lot of it was lies; most of the things he heard from his superiors and other soldiers at least. He said it just was "a different way of life, one better for the future I'd think"

Interestingly enough, he was a hardcore hippie/Beatles lover that didn't turn out complete shitlib. Not saying he's a communist either; but he doesn't revile at Lenin or Stalin and respected the Soviet Union. That's quite a bit for a soldier back then.