I feel about the movie the same way I feel about all of the wars the US has been in since WWII. I think WWII was the last "good" war. No war is good, people dying is horrific, but at least our "Boys" died for a noble purpose. Every war since then has gotten increasingly more questionable in terms of why we were there and what we were trying to achieve. I think Bette Midler's attitude reflected that. She became increasingly disillusioned as she went off to entertain in each war. The loss of American (and the other countries) soldiers lives became more questionable. The benefits we got out of so many young men and women dying became less clear. The songs that were written about the wars are a really good reflection on how the war was perceived. As the mother of a marine officer I empathize with her loss. But I think they way she played the part really reflects all of the things that I've said above.