Let me explain something to you. If you have a so called veteran telling you war stories, I can guarantee you that 99% of his/her talk is bullshit and they never saw direct action. We call these wannabe war heroes "FOBBITS". this means that the majority of these Forward Operating Base heroes stayed on a FOB for the majority of their tour.
I along with every other true combat soldier I know will never talk to any other soldier about what transpired in combat much less a damn civilian. We try to forget, not gloat.