My father died of stomach cancer in his mid 40's. He did share stories from the war but they were mostly about things like poisonous snakes falling from trees.
My mother ended up part of a class action suit related to agent orange that netted her like $100 in the end. My father died in 1991 and this seems crazy but it's true: She has been paying off his hospital bills $10 a month for 20+ years.
I know my family was hammered by the recession in the early 80's. The timing of that had to be brutal for vets with young families. It's interesting how many people from that era are staunch conservatives who don't support government programs.