Looking back at my 20+ year Naval career, riding fast boats, I had many reasons why I joined and stayed in. The reasons were not always easily verbalized then as they are not easily verbalized today. Those many reasons were not always present at the same time. Some of those reason came and went, and then came back again. Some folks would have called some of the reasons selfish and some would have called them patriotic. Though, I would have never then, and do not today considered myself a patriot, I just did what I thought I had to do. What I thought was 'right' at the time.
But, when I summarize my military career, I guess the predominate reason was that I felt is was worth my time and effort to do my small part, like millions of citizens before me, to ensue that this great nation and its citizens could do whatever the heck they wanted to.
Liberty, and the freedom to chose to do or not to do. No other country on earth has the liberties we enjoy here. It is worth defending, it's worth defending her citizens, every single one of them. My likes and dislikes are insignificant compared to this great experiment in liberty that is America.
I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it. - Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Archibald Stuart, December 23, 1791
Citizens wearing military awards.....don't mean nuthin as far as I am concerned.