Beautifully written, thoughtful piece, Paul.
As you describe, my adding years is also one of those waypoints on the chart of life that just seems to allow for more mental space to step back and turn more freely in thought when looking at issues like, in this case, war. My biggest mental change about war was when my son was born, and together with the influence of my Army service back in the day, worked up my present-day view of the sacrifices of self, country and family that I think necessarily confront every parent and patriot the world over.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/features/reader-mail/top-letters-and-comments-november-12-2021