These soldiers didn't necessarily sign up because they're 'good' and the enemy is 'bad,' and the United States military, just like every other military on the planet, has a history where it has committed actions that can be considered both 'good' and 'bad.' There aren't even many armies you can say that are objectively 'good' or 'bad,' they all have one purpose, to further their nation's foreign policy.

So I say you're sensationalising the military because you're implying that servicemen in militaries are special because they're dedicating lives to fight 'evil,' but that's not necessarily the case. There are plenty of 'evil' soldiers out there. There are plenty of 'good' ones too. And there are plenty out there that look at it as just a career, and aren't 'evil' or 'good.'

I understand your point about people not getting benefits that only veterans are entitled to and I agree with it. If this kid was trying to nab money out of this, I'd totally agree that he should be taught a lesson.

However saying 'Oh you're just a kid wearing a military costume? No, you can't do that, it's disrespectful to soldiers, they actually matter, they fight for stuff they believe in, because they fight for goodness' is, to me, incredibly stupid, because no nation affords that same respect to other occupations where people might join for their ideologies, or for goodness, no one gives doctors and nurses the same respect, no one gives teachers the same respect, no one gives lawyers the same respect. Only people in the military get this hero-status, which they haven't necessarily earned. And this doesn't apply solely to the US, everywhere I've lived with a relatively active military has a similar attitude to it.