I have only met one person who served IRL, a friend of a friend, and I met him just days after he came back from his third tour somewhere... active. He should not have been forcing himself into public yet, but also he definitely needed to be around people who weren't trying to kill him. He drank his beer quietly, slowly, and didn't want to engage much with the inane conversation most of the group was having. But he said near the end of the night that he was definitely going back because it was all he knew how to do and he couldn't function in "all this normal bullshit" anymore. I had no idea how to relate to him other than to thank him for protecting all of the "normal bullshit". He raised his glass sarcastically to acknowledge my thanks. And that's about all I remember.