I live between the two stations (King St., Alexandria) and can categorically state that people here have a high degree of respect for the military, regardless of their own political views on the war. The story of soldiers in uniform being verbally assaulted here is totally bogus.
The closest thing to verbal assault would be the inane announcements, such as “Please move to the center of the car.” (The center of the car is the most crowded.) “Eating and drinking is not permitted anywhere on the Metro.” (False – Metro and the local jurisdictions have no such authority in Virginia; this only applies in DC and “anywhere on the Metro” is not DC. http://www.scn.org/~bk269/metro.html )
And of course the familiar pushing and shoving on the escalators. Definitely physical, but not an assault on the military.
