In a back room of the Veterans Memorial Museum war is a personal topic and while these vets prefer to talk about other things it's hard to ignore what's happening in Syria .
"If we were young like we were fifty or fifty six years ago we would probably be right there ready to go again," said veteran Fred Machado.
Like many young men of his era, Fred Machado was called on to serve his country. His war was fought on the distant battle fields ofKorea , pitting democracy against communist expansionism. Now he sees a war in Syria that needs a similar American intervention.
"We should have been there a long time ago and each day that we go back we just let them kill a few more innocent people," said Machado.
Since civil war erupted in 2011 the United Nations estimates more than 100,000 people have died inSyria , leading some to favor limited American involvement. But Vietnam veteran Jesse Fabela can recall another war that also started small.
"I think if we do that we are going to end up in a quagmire like we did in Vietnam and like we are in now in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's going to take forever to get out of there," said Fabela.
"If we were young like we were fifty or fifty six years ago we would probably be right there ready to go again," said veteran Fred Machado.
Like many young men of his era, Fred Machado was called on to serve his country. His war was fought on the distant battle fields of
"We should have been there a long time ago and each day that we go back we just let them kill a few more innocent people," said Machado.
Since civil war erupted in 2011 the United Nations estimates more than 100,000 people have died in
"I think if we do that we are going to end up in a quagmire like we did in Vietnam and like we are in now in Iraq and Afghanistan, it's going to take forever to get out of there," said Fabela.