We're not saying these people are all liars or that their books should be tossed in the garbage. It's just interesting to see how the human mind works.
As awful as war is, it has a way of bonding people. We'd imagine that goes double for these guys, who found themselves having to pretty much fight battles themselves.
Some of what you think you know is wrong, some of it is misconstrued, and most of it just left your head completely the minute 8th grade history ended.